2003 Toyota Highlander Service Brakes Problems
- 10
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 10 stored complaint records:
- 2 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- side rear · 5 records
- right side · 5 records
- brake lights · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 4 |
| 150–400k mi | 3 |
| 60–100k mi | 1 |
| 30–60k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Air Bags · Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 toyota highlander. While the vehicle was in reverse, it accelerated independently. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, but failed to effectively slow down the vehicle. The gear shifter button was pushed into drive and the vehicle sped forward and crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle…
Crash reported
ODI 10939869
Engine · Service Brakes
I have been the owner of my 2003 toyota highlander, for almost 8 years. I got it in nov.2008 at around the 69,000 mark. Since then, i have made sure that my car/baby has had the works in care, to keep the quality and value of the vehicle up. This would include:oil changes, new brakes, new tires, repairs of belts/filters etc, hoses, tune ups, great gas and car washes/body care. Most of this has been done by the…
ODI 10861207
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
Driver side rear brakes will not illuminate after you depress your brakes. Replaced bulb and socket that houses bulb and will not work. Check online for similar issues and read reports of 2002-2006 highlanders having either left or right side rear not working. *tr
ODI 10661004
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
Driver side rear brake lights will not illuminate even when you depress your brakes even after you replace bulb and light socket. Right side rear is ok. I have looked online and it appears other 2003-2006 highlanders are having similar issues. Some on right side and others on left like myself. *tr
ODI 10661001
Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
Driver side rear lights stops working once in a while. The bulbs are fine have replaced them with the new one and the problem still persist. There has been quite a lot of complaint and nothing has been addressed. *tr
ODI 10615050
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
Right side (passenger) brake lights do not light bright when brakes are applied, driver of another car almost hit our vehicle when turning right on to main road. Our car was stopping, but other driver did not see our brake lights on the passenger side as they were not working... The left (drivers) side works fine, but was not visible to the other driver. This seems to be an on going problem with 2002-2007 toyota…
ODI 10605937
Service Brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. While driving approximately 25 mph, the contact had to depress the brake pedal to the floorboard in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis. The manufacturer was not notified. The vin was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 137,000.
ODI 10596995
Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
Like thousands of other 2003 toyota highlanders only the right side brake light will illuminate when the brake pedal is pressed. *tr
ODI 10574187
Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
Grandmother was leaving and drove through a closed wrought iron gate that was over 10' tall and 16' wide. Continued accelerating through a parking lot across the street, drove over a large decorative boulders and came to halt after crashing into a neighbors fence. She said that she attempted to stop in front of her gate to open it but the breaks would not work and the car kept accelerating. Thankfully it ended how…
Crash reported · 1 injury
ODI 10552720
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Service Brakes
I have a 2003 highlander. When i press the brake, only the driver side of the tail/brake light becomes brighter. When the lights are on, the bulbs illuminate on the passenger side but they do not get brighter when the brake is pressed. When the lights are off, the brake lights do not illuminate on the passenger side. I saw the same problem today on a highlander just like mine. *tr
ODI 10524625
Catalog parts for this system
Catalog year/make/model rows for 2003 Toyota Highlander.
Catalog fitment does not by itself prove OEM-equivalent compatibility.