Toyota / Highlander / 2002
2002 Toyota Highlander problems
Owners have filed 335 complaints about the 2002 Toyota Highlander with NHTSA. Visibility accounts for 37% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of vehicle speed control at 9.3%.
Complaints335
Crashes27
Fires8
Injuries26
Deaths4
What owners report breaking
Visibility 37.0% · 124
Vehicle speed control 9.3% · 31
Engine and engine cooling 7.2% · 24
Structure 7.2% · 24
Visibility/wiper 4.8% · 16
Power train 4.5% · 15
Unknown or other 4.2% · 14
Electrical system 3.9% · 13
Severity
Of those complaints, 27 describe a crash, 8 describe a fire, 26 report an injury and 4 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 23 model years of the Toyota Highlander in this data, 2002 sits 9th by complaint volume. 2019 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 5 in the last three years against 17 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 70,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Driver/s side sun visor will not stay up. While driving, it suddenly drops obscuring my vision and putting the driver at extreme risk for an accident (impaired vision of the road). There is no apparent way to fix this problem short of replacing the sun visor (estimated cost of approx. $700 Per blogs). This problem has been experienced by many owners of 2002 highlanders as exemplified via "complaint" postings. Visibility · reported at 80,000 miles
Driver's side sun visor on the 2002 Toyota Highlander will not stay up. It falls down on a regular basis ,and sometime falls down while driving, momentarily, obstructing my view of the road ahead. Dealerships quoted me a cost upwards of $600, parts only, to replace it, and I didn't and have never used the homelink feature, which apparently was largely responsible for the relatively high cost of repair. Visibility
This is a 4-door model. When front windows are closed and rear door windows are lowered it sounds like an airplane flew over the back seat; noise created is horrendous. You cannot continue driving with the noise. Rolling down "a" front window eliminates the problem. I can't imagine the consequences of someone having a dog in the back seat and rolling down a rear window so they don't mess up the glass. Visibility
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…