Problems with 2003 Toyota Highlander ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

2003 toyota highlander (4 cyl. engine) developed a coolant leak. vehicle was taken to dealership who advised the water pump was leaking. water pump was replaced at a cost of $600. vehicle was driven home and immediately found to still have a coolant leak. dealership was contacted and owner advised to bring the vehicle back. dealership checked and advised that cylinder head bolts were stripped out and that engine would have to be replaced at a cost of $5400. the engine never lost enough coolant to overheat but the only repair option given by the service manager was to replace the entire engine rather than replacing the head gasket and repairing the stripped out threads to head bolts. service manager slipped up by saying this is a defect in the engine but when questioned further about the problem he stated he only sees it "once in a blue moon". this seems to be a contradiction to all the other similar complaints for this 4 cylinder engine. toyota issued a service bulletin march 2, 2011 for the highlander, rav4, camry, and solara which states: there may be damaged cylinder head bolts. ...

There are two speeds associated with this. it was on the freeway driving back home when the check engine light came on at about 65 mph. later, after exiting the freeway and driving for about 10 minutes, the radiator hose blew off from the pressure, shooting coolant and contents of the radiator back onto the engine (4 cylinder). i was going 40 mph at the time. the thermostat must not have been working because i wasn't reading any overheating going on, though there obviously was. after getting it diagnosed, apparently the bolts were stripped, the head gasket blew, and the engine got too hot. i am now asked to pay almost $3,000 to rebuild the engine (rethread, etc.). this thing with the head gasket and the bolts failing at relatively low mileage (114,000 in my case) seems to be a recurrent problem with this particular make and model. i had been driving it and keeping it well maintained for about five years with relatively few problems until this happened. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. the contact stated that the temperature gauge indicated that the engine overheated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was located at the head gasket. in addition, the dealer advised the contact that the engine bolts were stripped. the vehicle was repaired. the dealer replaced the head gasket and the bolts thread. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure and the current mileage was 145,000.

Engine overheated while driving, and vehicle was parked overnight and coolant restored. when taken to local toyota dealer for repair was informed that bolts holding engine block had failed due to threads inside block being stripped, and coolant was leaking from seal in engine block. aside from hitting a deer once (minor vehicle damage in which the headlight needed to be replaced), this vehicle has not been in an accident. in reading information on web, this issue has been reported by other toyota owners. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. the contact stated that the head bolt detached from the engine block while driving 65 mph. the vehicle began running hot and water was leaking from the back of the engine. the vehicle was taken to a mechanic who inspected the vehicle and advised that the head bolt was stripped from the engine block. the mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not yet taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 189,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. the contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph the vehicle started to overheat. she drove onto the emergency lane and waited for the vehicle to cool off. the vehicle was then inspected by a independent mechanic who advised her that the engine bolt was stripped and caused the coolant to leak onto the engine. the mechanic also stated that the engine needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were approximately 111,400.

I have a 2003 toyota highlander 2.4l that had engine failure due to 3 headbolts on the intake side of the head become loose as other numerous folks have experienced. the engine blew the headgasket and lost compression/power and died. the seems to be a very well known issue by toyota, repair shops, and salvage yards. seems someone should hold toyota responsible for repair cost - i.e new engine since this is an obvious manufacturing/engineering design flaw. beware of highlanders, camrys and ravs since they all have this 2.4l engine. *tr

Car temp gage went up past h and there was no heat in car. i stopped as soon as possible at a mall parking lot and called service. had car towed to garage. per owner of garage, the head gasket leaked due to bolts stripping in the engine. he then fixed the problem and then upon test drive the tensioner failed and chain jumped causing further repairs to not be cost effective. through research he informed me that this is a well documented problem with the 2003 highlander engines and that toyota is not backing the problem. i called toyota and since recall has not been issued they stated they cannot help me. i feel the highlander should have lasted more than 8 years as i had kept up with required maintenance.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. the vehicle had a head gasket water leak. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the head gasket was blown and it would cost $2500 to be repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage 126,000.

The coolant kept leaking on my highlander 2003 4 cylinder for last few months. the temperature gauge one day showed heating of engine. took it to toyota , they said it is blown head gasket. demanded $3500. *tr

My 2003 toyota highlander's temp gauge started going toward the h while driving about 30 mph. i turned the heat on in the car and that made the gauge go back down to normal. i took the car to a toyota dealership where i was told my head gasket was blown and i needed a new engine for about $8000! i took the car to an independent mechanic that told me the engine itself was fine but 3 bolts on the head gasket were stripped. the repair is costing an approximate $2500 to retap the holes and use different bolts. i had done some research and i found out that this is a known problem with the 2003 highlanders and toyota is not doing anything about it (i have the website info and complaints if needed). many people who have purchased this year/make/model have spent thousands of dollars repairing this defect that toyota knows about but will not take care of. i called toyota national customer service and they gave me this website information to file a complaint (i have a claim number if you need it). i am very upset, actually outraged, that ...

2003 toyota highlander 2.4l 4-cylinder engine, 108,000 miles, developed coolant leak on the back side of the top of the engine, adjacent to an insulator pad at the back of the engine block. the back 3 head bolts were stripped, allowing coolant to also leak into the engine. the toyota dealer says that the short block or entire engine must be replaced, with no other option. the head had never been off since original factory manufacture/assembly. based on the frequency of identical engine failures, faulty assembly and/or design assures eventual failure of the engine. *tr

2003 toyota highlander with 110,000 miles started to overheat and lose coolant. took it to dealership and learned that the cylinder head bolts had come loose due to the holes in the block being stripped. toyota estimated $3000 to take the block out to a machinist to bore new holes, but if that didn't work it would cost $6000 to replace the block. i then took the car to a private mechanic who said it would cost $9600 to take out the block and send to machinist or buy a re-manufactured engine for $8200. the private mechanic stated this problem is due to faulty manufacturing of the engine and also stated that he sees this problem all the time in these types of vehicles. on the internet i have found consumers sharing the same stories about similar vehicles by toyota with similar engines that have the same problem; some only lasting 70,000 miles. i put in a call with toyota headquarters and they gave me a reference number in case any recalls should arise. toyota said that there was nothing they could do out of "good faith" since it is passed the warranty mileage and since i did not do ...

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. while driving approximately 65 mph with the air conditioner on she noticed hot air began to flow from the vents. she also noticed that the temperature gauge malfunctioned. the vehicle was driven onto the emergency lane and shut off while she added coolant to the engine. the vehicle was then taken to an authorized dealer where she was informed that there was an engine leak and some of the bolts were loose. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 109,171. the current mileage was 110,000.

2003 4 cylinder toyota highlander. coolant leak and subsequent need for a new replacement engine due to the defect of 3 rear engine short block screws/threads. had less than 85k miles on vehicle, when found a coolant leak underneath engine block of vehicle in garage after having no issues prior with engine, radiator or any associated accessories to the coolant system/engine system of vehicle. took to a toyota dealer prior to any overheating or vehicle operation failures or radiator failure. toyota dealer pulled engine manifold and cover off to investigate and found that when they pulled the three screws that connect the engine cover that cover the heads/cylinders, the threads associated with the screws came with them. the only fix per dealership determined to be a brand new short engine block and accessory replacement for $6,470. date on this is august/2010. have all past service history oil changes/transmission changes, radiator changes, water pump service, etc from 0 miles to current. told that the screws were never sprayed and sealed correctly, thus corroded into the threads and caused failure with both items. very unhappy ...