NHTSA Complaint #10745598 — 2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

THE ENGINE OVERHEATED SUDDENLY, BLOWING HOT AIR FROM THE AC AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT UP. WE MANAGED TO GET HOME AND GET TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY. THE DEALERSHIP MECHANIC TOLD US THE ENGINE BOLTS STRIPPED DUE TO THE BLOCK BEING SOFT, AND THAT HE HAD SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. THE ISSUE OF THE SOFT BLOCK WAS CONFIRMED IN A SUBSEQUENT SEARCH OF THE INTERNET. APPARENTLY TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS FLAW, BUT THERE IS NO WARRANTY REMEDY. THE 2003 INLINE 4-CYLINDER ENGINE IS THE MODEL WITH THE BOLT STRIPPING PROBLEM. NEITHER THE DEALERSHIP NOR ANOTHER JAPANESE AUTO REPAIR PLACE WOULD CONSIDER TRYING TO REPLACE THE BOLTS. THEY SAID THAT BECAUSE OF THE SOFT METAL IN THE BLOCK, A NEW SET OF LARGER BORED BOLTS WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO HOLD. THE COST TO PUT IN ANOTHER ENGINE IS APPROXIMATELY THE VALUE OF THE CAR, IF THERE WERE USED ENGINES AVAILABLE. A NEW ENGINE WOULD BE IN THE $15K RANGE, MUCH MORE THAN THE CAR IS WORTH. WE WILL LIKELY SELL THE CAR FOR SCRAP. WHEN WE BOUGHT THE CAR, WE FELT WE COULD REASONABLY EXPECT A 250K MILEAGE LIFE. THE ENGINE FAILED AT 128K. JUST HALF OF ITS USEFUL LIFE.