2004 Toyota Highlander Consumer Discussions

Toyota Highlander Maintenance and Repair

BAD ODOR

Written by: ohmygosh on Oct 06, 2008 11:11 AM

I have a 2004 Toyota Highlander that I keep in pristine condition, however, it has developed a nasty mildew smell over the last 6 months that I could not correct. Finally, I took it into the dealer and they told me that my sun roof drains were clogged and that is what probably caused this condition. They cleaned them out and deodorized/sanitized the ventilation ... Read More...

2004 Toyota Highlander Limited - Fog Light Lenses

Re: 2004 Toyota Highlander Limited - Fog Light Lenses [msagro]

Written by: phrosut on Oct 02, 2008 04:33 PM

Well.... y'all "made me look". I've got a 2003 HL, bought new, and I live on a gravel road. Almost 90,000 miles on the car so far. No cracks or any other defects in the fog lights. We don't use them all the time, but they've had sufficient use that if heat were the problem, it'd show. So did they do something different in the plastic lenses for 2004? and "thanks" to msagro ... Read More...

Re: 2004 Toyota Highlander Limited - Fog Light Lenses [eschulze]

Written by: msagro on Oct 01, 2008 10:42 AM

You do NOT have to remove bumper on a highlander to change foglamps. Look under the front bumper and you will see 2 wide hole for access. Inside, at the 6'oclock positon is a 10mm screw, just twist counter clockwise, and pop the foglight out. I got a replacement pair on eBay for about 90 bucks. Pop those back in, put screw back in, plug in. Done. Read More...

2009 Honda Pilot vs. 2008 Mazda CX-9 vs. 2008 Toyota Highlander

2009 Honda Pilot vs. 2008 Mazda CX-9 vs. 2008 Toyota Highlander

Written by: sleepybubba on Sep 09, 2008 11:45 AM

I ended up buying the 2008 CX-9 GT. On my initial list also were Acura MDX, Highlander and Pilot. I excluded the 2009 Pilot for the bus-like look and ride. Also '09 interior looked more like a bus rather than a family CUV. LOL, even 2008 Pilot interior looked much better than 2009, but when I was ready to buy most of the '08 Pilots were gone. Highlander didn't excite ... Read More...

Toyota Highlander Transmission Problems

Re: Highlander Transmission Fluid Leak [jmyong]

Written by: jmyong on Aug 01, 2008 10:31 AM

Update... I ended up paying 50%, $695.95 at the dealer to fix the issue. It was a poor fit of the sealer. I believe Toyota is well aware of the issue and applied the fix for a newer model. I have 70K miles on it, ad may be the one of the few got into the trouble earlier. Toyota flat denied to pay in full, nor process the recall. If you have 2004-2006 Highlander, please be aware. ... Read More...

Toyota Highlander Maintenance and Repair

Re: Timing Belts or chains? [edh]

Written by: electricdesign on Jul 16, 2008 07:31 PM

The Toyota Highlander 4 cyl has a timing chain and the V6 has a timing belt. The scheduled timing belt replacement is every 90,000 miles. You can go farther than 90,000 miles before the belt breaks, but if it does break, it would be a major disaster, a very expensive repair, requiring both heads to be removed and reconditioned, due to the engine being an "interference" ... Read More...

Re: Difficulty of timing belt change? 2004 Highlander V6 [wwest]

Written by: electricdesign on Jun 26, 2008 07:57 PM

What I said in messege #4331 is EXACTLY what I meant, take it litterally word for word. If you are not familiar with this type of work, I would strongly suggest that you do not attempt it. I am an old man, and I've been doing this all my life, I've worked in many Dealerships and shops, AMC, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Ammco, etc., and I have a well equipped garage. The cogged ... Read More...

Re: Difficulty of timing belt change? 2004 Highlander V6 [2004hl]

Written by: webgood on Jun 24, 2008 06:45 AM

First off, I'm not an expert or a mechanic. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but don't have many of the "car guy" tools or know-how. IMHO I'd NEVER attempt to do the timing belt thing. I once watched a small part of the process being done by a Toyota dealer mechanic and marveled at how having the right tools, training and the experience made such a difference. Plus ... Read More...

Difficulty of timing belt change? 2004 Highlander V6

Written by: 2004hl on Jun 23, 2008 03:57 PM

My 2004 Highlander V6 is due for a timing belt change and I'm interested in doing it myself - partly for economic reasons and partly for trust issues. I've done timing belts before but are there any specific issues or difficulties with the V6 Toyota that I should know about? Scale of difficulty? Brute strength required? I plan on doing the water pump and the seals ... Read More...

SF Bay area dealers Good,Bad or Indifferent?

SF Bay area dealers Good,Bad or Indifferent?

Written by: pedalstomper on May 30, 2008 07:20 AM

Try Putnam Toyota in Burlingame. I've purchased both a 2004 Highlander and a 2008 Camry from them. After checking both SF Toyota, City Toyota, and Melody Toyota, Putnam always came up the cheapest. Contact Mark Putnam in internet sales for the best price Read More...