2003 Toyota Highlander Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Highlander years
- More complaints than other years 11th of 30 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 2 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 258 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Highlander. That ranks 11th out of 30 Highlander model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is engine and engine cooling (46 complaints, 18%), typically at around 106,500 miles. Complaints mention 33 crashes, 1 fire, 11 injuries. There are 2 safety recalls covering this model year.
- 258owner complaints
- 2safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 33complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2003 Toyota Highlander problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 46 | 18% | 106,500 | — | — |
| Engine | 41 | 16% | 115,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 31 | 12% | 67,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 28 | 11% | 81,234 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 22 | 9% | 59,200 | — | — |
| Structure | 18 | 7% | 36,100 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 15 | 6% | 113,500 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 15 | 6% | 124,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 13 | 5% | 65,725 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 10 | 4% | 137,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 9 | 3% | 96,500 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 8 | 3% | 150 | — | — |
| Tires | 7 | 3% | 15,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 6 | 2% | 67,810 | — | — |
| Steering | 6 | 2% | 68,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 6 | 2% | 95,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 2% | 47,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 3 | 1% | 97,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 1% | 85,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 3 | 1% | 102,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 3 | 1% | 200,000 | — | — |
| Equipment | 2 | 1% | 33,750 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 2 | 1% | 105,850 | — | — |
| Child Seat | 1 | 0% | 51,000 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 0% | 44,000 | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | 3,973 | — | — |
| Seats | 1 | 0% | 58,400 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2003 Toyota Highlander recalls (2)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: Dealers will shorten the cpl lever. Owner notification began may 7, 2004. Owners should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Wheels
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: Owners will be provided with different style lug nuts, a warning label for the spare re/alloy wheel, and an owner's manual addendum.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Automatically disengage the transmission Stopped the road Icalled my husband Myhusband came and together we got the car to a safe place.Then Icame home with my husband and he called the insurance company and had the car towed. Ifound a place to fix the car and they said the transmission was broken…
The hood latch cable inside the vehicle when pulled did not allow the hood to open now the secondary hood latch is stuck in the closed position and will not release..I have to use a strap from wheel opening to wheel opening to keep my hood secure so when I am driving my hood won't open at high…
Passenger window has had to be fixed multiple times. Comes off the track and will not close. Have had interior damage because of it
2003 toyota highlander 4 cyl. Service bulliton from them #310436. Head bolts coming undone inside motor causing catastrophic failure of motor. Bolts not holding down mfgr knows about this. Was a manufacturing process that did not work. On carcomplaints.com this is a rampant problem reported. Reads…
Head on collision air bags did not deploy speeds 25-40 mph
Other Toyota Highlander years
← 2002 Highlander · 2004 Highlander →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Highlander | 4 | 0 |
| 2025 Highlander | 10 | 4 |
| 2024 Highlander | 43 | 7 |
| 2023 Highlander | 186 | 9 |
| 2022 Highlander | 262 | 5 |
| 2021 Highlander | 531 | 4 |
| 2020 Highlander | 320 | 4 |
| 2019 Highlander | 495 | 3 |
| 2018 Highlander | 268 | 4 |
| 2017 Highlander | 270 | 3 |
| 2016 Highlander | 111 | 2 |
| 2015 Highlander | 192 | 1 |
| 2014 Highlander | 136 | 4 |
| 2013 Highlander | 207 | 3 |
| 2012 Highlander | 182 | 2 |
| 2011 Highlander | 181 | 5 |
| 2010 Highlander | 216 | 10 |
| 2009 Highlander | 134 | 9 |
| 2008 Highlander | 404 | 11 |
| 2007 Highlander | 124 | 4 |
| 2006 Highlander | 278 | 7 |
| 2005 Highlander | 224 | 6 |
| 2004 Highlander | 286 | 5 |
| 2003 | 258 | 2 |
| 2002 Highlander | 301 | 2 |
| 2001 Highlander | 137 | 3 |
| 2000 Highlander | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 Highlander | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 Highlander | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 Highlander | 1 | 0 |
See all Toyota Highlander problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.
Similar Toyota models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2003 Toyota Highlander?
Owners most often report engine and engine cooling, engine, visibility problems. The top one, engine and engine cooling, accounts for 46 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Toyota Highlander?
Yes, 2 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2003 Toyota Highlander a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Highlander model years, the 2003 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.