This is an online automotive information provider of a detailed information on complaints, defects and recalls for Toyota HIGHLANDER 2003 engine. Our users can find data on mass market car models from most popular brands. The service allows to compare and analyze statistics for reported problems, complaints, recalls for various manufacturers. We hope our site will help with selecting of a reliable and safe car. By using this tool, you will be able to get records with description of safety issues for vehicles, equipment, tires and child restraints. These issues include safety recalls for your Toyota HIGHLANDER 2003 engine and complaints other owners have filed.

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2003 Toyota HIGHLANDER Engine Problems, Complaints and Defects

Issue ID	1205833
Internal NHTSA #	10745598
Manufacurer	Toyota Motor Corporation
Brand	TOYOTA
Model	HIGHLANDER
Model Year	2003
File date	15/05/15
Component	ENGINE
Product type code	VEHICLE
Description of the problem	The engine overheated suddenly, blowing hot air from the ac and the temperature gauge went up. We managed to get home and get to the toyota dealership the next day. The dealership mechanic told us the engine bolts stripped due to the block being soft, and that he had seen this problem before. The issue of the soft block was confirmed in a subsequent search of the internet. Apparently toyota is aware of this flaw, but there is no warranty remedy. The 2003 inline 4-cylinder engine is the model with the bolt stripping problem. Neither the dealership nor another japanese auto repair place would consider trying to replace the bolts. They said that because of the soft metal in the block, a new set of larger bored bolts would be unlikely to hold. The cost to put in another engine is approximately the value of the car, if there were used engines available. A new engine would be in the $15k range, much more than the car is worth. We will likely sell the car for scrap. When we bought the car, we felt we could reasonably expect a 250k mileage life. The engine failed at 128k. Just half of its useful life.
Vehicle Mileage at Failure	128000
Number of Occurences
Source of the issue	NHTSA WEB SITE
City and State	GRAHAM, WA
VIN pattern	JTEGD21A330XXXXXX
Was vehicle invloved in a crash?	N
Was vehicle involved in a fire?	N
Was incedent reported to police?	N
Was medical attention required?	N
Was part original equipment?
No. of injured persons	0
No. of fatalities	0
Date of purchase	08/08/26
Was original owner?	N
Anti-lock brakes	N
Cruise control	N
Number of cylinders
Drive train type
Transmission type
Vehicle speed	30
DoT tire identifier
Tire size
Location of tire code
Type of tire failure code
Was defective tire repaired?
Date of manufacture
Type of child seat code
Type of restraint
Dealer's name
Dealer's telephone number
Dealer's city
Dealer's state code
Dealer's ZIP code

What is Recall?
A recall is when a product is removed from the market or a correction is made to the product because it is either defective or potentially harmful.
What is Failure?
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. Product failure ranges from failure to sell the product to fracture of the product, in the worst cases leading to personal injury, the province of forensic engineering.
What is Defect?
Non-conformance of a car component with the specified requirements, or non-fulfillment of user expectations, including the safety aspects.

Last decoded VIN:

5NTJEDAF6NH038070 6FPAAAJLCMSD22558 ZARCABDCXF7365317 LDP95E963ME014751 SALWR2FE0HA144483 PP32M41GRF1002321 WDB2112871X183596 KNALB4125J5124653 MHYZE8159HJ305148 1HGCS22709A600524 KNAHU815GG7146228 WVGZZZCT7SW438064

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2003 Toyota HIGHLANDER Engine Problems, Complaints and Defects, Recalls and Failures

2003 Toyota HIGHLANDER Engine Problems, Complaints and Defects

What is Recall?

What is Failure?

What is Defect?