Your vehicle report
2003 Toyota Highlander
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 258
- Received Jan 2003 to May 2023
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Head gasket leaks coolant into engine45 complaints · 17% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Unintended acceleration despite braking22 complaints · 8.5% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Driver sun visor will not stay up21 complaints · 8.1% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #04V181000Certain sport utility vehicles have a child protection lock (cpl) system on both of the rear side doors. When an operator of the vehicle closes the door very hard with the cpl lever set to the lock position, there is a possibility that the lever may contact the body panel, causing the cpl lever to move into the unlock position.
- Recall #02V339000On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with five factory alloy wheels (model 6934 and 6936), with factory llat, and with port installed WR4, four alloy wheel upgrade processed at the jacksonville, florida port and distributed by southeast toyota distributors in the states of alabama, florida, georgia, north and south carolina, when the vehicles were processed at the port, an alloy tire/wheel upgrade was installed. The upgrade included 4 alloy wheels. The original spare tire/alloy wheel was not changed. The spare tire requires the use of a different style of wheel nut to attach it to the vehicle.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 33 crashes, 1 fire, 11 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 20 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 22 |
| 2004 | 16 |
| 2005 | 9 |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | 8 |
| 2008 | 9 |
| 2009 | 19 |
| 2010 | 52 |
| 2011 | 19 |
| 2012 | 23 |
| 2013 | 26 |
| 2014 | 20 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 258 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head gasket leaks coolant into engine | 45 | 17% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 22 | 8.5% | – | |
| Driver sun visor will not stay up | 21 | 8.1% | – | |
| Frame rusts and corrodes through | 19 | 7.4% | – | |
| Brake lights fail or stay on | 10 | 3.9% | – | |
| Power window regulator fails and window drops | 7 | 2.7% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 7 | 2.7% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 6 | 2.3% | – | |
| Ford Escape engine overheats from coolant intrusion | 6 | 2.3% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 5 | 1.9% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 5 | 1.9% | – | |
| Suspension clunking or rattling noise over bumps | 5 | 1.9% | – | |
| Headlights dim or fail at night | 4 | 1.6% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 4 | 1.6% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 4 | 1.6% | – | |
| Heater blows cold air, defroster fails | 4 | 1.6% | – | |
| Rear door latch fails to open or close | 3 | 1.2% | – | NHTSA recall #04V181000 |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 3 | 1.2% | – | |
| Air conditioner blows hot air or fails | 3 | 1.2% | – | |
| Engine knocking from rod or main bearings | 3 | 1.2% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #04V181000April 15, 2004366,572 vehicles affected
latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
Certain sport utility vehicles have a child protection lock (cpl) system on both of the rear side doors. When an operator of the vehicle closes the door very hard with the cpl lever set to the lock position, there is a possibility that the lever may contact the body panel, causing the cpl lever to move into the unlock position.
This condition could allow the door to be opened with the inside while the operator believes that the cpl was activated. If the door were opened from the inside while the vehicle was in motion, an occupant could fall out and be injured.
Remedy
Dealers will shorten the cpl lever. Owner notification began may 7, 2004. Owners should contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
NHTSA recall #02V339000December 17, 2002176 vehicles affected
wheels
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with five factory alloy wheels (model 6934 and 6936), with factory llat, and with port installed WR4, four alloy wheel upgrade processed at the jacksonville, florida port and distributed by southeast Toyota distributors in the states of alabama, florida, georgia, north and south carolina, when the vehicles were processed at the port, an alloy tire/wheel upgrade was installed. The upgrade included 4 alloy wheels. The original spare tire/alloy wheel was not changed. The spare tire requires the use of a different style of wheel nut to attach it to the vehicle.
If the spare tire/wheel is installed on the vehicle using the wheel nuts provided for the upgrade alloy wheel, damage to the wheel could result and could eventually lead to a loose wheel.
Remedy
Owners will be provided with different style lug nuts, a warning label for the spare re/alloy wheel, and an owner's manual addendum.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2003 Toyota Highlander.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN