| Issue ID | 670390 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10223780 |
| Manufacurer | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
| Brand | TOYOTA |
| Model | HIGHLANDER |
| Model Year | 2004 |
| File date | 09/04/05 |
| Component | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | I have a 2004 toyota highland and believe there is a design defect or manufacturing flaw with regard to the lens covers to the headlights and fog light covers. Both have significant melting from the light bulbs. I am concerned that the vehicle will catch on fire. All products involved are original toyota parts. The lens covers each have a large (bigger than a quarter) circular spot where the melting took place from the inside out and there is a bubble on each. The same has happened with the fog lights and they are now cracked from the heat. I have contacted toyota and they will not fix, replace, repair the lens covers and say that there is no recall. I would imagine that anything melting on a vehicle has the potential to catch fire. This has been progressively getting worse over several years so the incident date is not exact. It is evident that eventually there will be holes in these covers from the heat/melting as the daylights run constantly and cannot be turned off. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | MEDWAY, MA |
| VIN pattern | JTEEP21A840XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 18/02/04 |
| Was original owner? | Y |
| Anti-lock brakes | Y |
| Cruise control | Y |
| Number of cylinders | 6 |
| Drive train type | AWD |
| Transmission type | AUTO |
| Vehicle speed | |
| 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 | IRA TOYOTA |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |