Any Highlander owners..

Willow

With the arrival of our first child we are looking at getting another SUV. I say another due to the fact that our Nissan Xtrail lease is up in Sept. That leaves us with a Mazda 3gt and a Nissan Altima. We would like another SUV for the ease of getting the child in and out of (I have had 2 back surgeries). We found a used Highlander and we are going to see it Wed. Any feedback?

Thanks

kuntasensei

There can be only one!

(Sorry... It had to be done.)

Grimster74

My wife owns a 2006 Highlander and we absolutely love it. Plenty of room in the back seats which also adjust like the front seats and we also have the 3rd row seating as well in ours. Very strong running V6 and great on gas mileage.

AsSiMiLaTeD

What year are you looking at? It's a great family vehicle, just keep in mind that its essentially a Camry with more room on the inside and sits higher up off the road.

Danny Tse

Have a 2005 2WD Highlander V6 with 95,000 miles. Absolutely trouble-free. Gets about 20 mpg with combined driving (in San Francisco commute hour traffic). Highly recommended. The Highlander is being replaced by a 2010 RAV4.

I'm not so sure about the current version of the Highlander. It is of my opinion that the quality of Toyotas, in general, has fallen.

Willow

It is a 2001 with only 107k kms or 66k miles. it is the v6 awd. I like the camry engine I find it smooth and quiet. Like I said we want something taller for ease of putting child in and taking child out. We don't drive lots about 11k miles a year. Once my wife goes back to work, we plan on buying a newer suv. Say 2 yrs.

JimAckley

I used to valet here in Dallas and always enjoyed driving the RAV4, Highlander and 4Runner. Cant go wrong with any of the Toyota SUVs. They're all quiet, smooth, and pretty punch (especially that 4Runner!). I'd test drive a few comparable models from other brands just for the sake of comparison. How'd you find the car you're looking at on Wednesday?

AsSiMiLaTeD

I'm a 4Runner guy myself, had the 2004 and recently traded it in for the 2010. The Highlander has a smoother ride though, as the 4Runner is still built on a truck frame.

rooftop59

I have a pilot but my good friends who had twins at the time and now a third owned a highlander and sold it because it just wasn't enough room with 2 kids in it. Having said that they took a lot of roads trip with both families 4-6 hours away, but something to think about. I know that they loved everything else about it, but the space just ran out.

Let me know how it goes. We might have to get something larger as well (a 3 yr old with twins on the way). The highlander is comparable to the pilot, so I am concerned about space even with the 3rd row seat (which basically eliminates any storage space).

AsSiMiLaTeD

The new models are also bigger than older models, that 2001 is going to be fairly small.

Willow

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

The new models are also bigger than older models, that 2001 is going to be fairly small.

Which is fine by me I am not looking for some Escalade Super size.

I found the vehicle on Autocatch.com. I want something relatively inexpensive but that will do the trick till we figure out what we do.

rooftop59

In that case nix my comment which was about a 2000 highlander I think

Danny Tse

The V6 is indeed super-smooth but if you push it past 70 mph, get ready to see that needle on the gas gauge go south quick.

pmlewis

I've got 2. A 2004 4cyl 2wd with 105,000 miles and a 2010 with V6 and 4wd. The 04 has a 3rd row and we never had a problem hauling 6 people as long as 2 were kids that could fit in the back seat. Not much room behind the 3rd row so we got a top carrier and that helped a lot. The engine on the 4 cyl to crap at 84,000 miles and had to have a new short block. After some "discussions" with the dealer they paid for the parts, I paid for labor and everything worked out in the end. I think it even gets better mileage now. On the last trip to Door County we got 25 MPG with plastic carrier on top. The 2010 only has about 6000 mile on it so far but no complaints. The new style has more room for people in all 3 rows. Still has no cargo room with the 3rd row seat up.:frown: Also, the V6/4wd only gets 18 - 20 mpg.

pmlewis

One other thing to note. If you go to look at the Highlander check above the windshield for rust. We had a problem with the '04 where rust began bubbling up from under the paint. We got it fixed by Toyota. Since this happened I have seen a few on the road with the same problem.

mrbiron

I know this isn't going to be the positive feedback everyone else is giving you.
I got rear ended by a highlander a month ago. The guy was going 30 and hit my Frontier. He totaled his highlander and my truck only had a dented tailgate. The front end was all plastic and i was fishing plastic bits out of my bed the next day. I think it was an '07 but i'd have to check the accident report to verify. Oh, and his airbag DIDN'T deploy.

Drive safe i guess....

scottyboy76

generally speaking, we have been pleased with our 04 4 cyl. 2wd.

however, under warranty; replaced water pump-repaired on our dime;both front cv axles,after having trans. serviced by toyota, now transmission shimmies under torque.

Having undergone 13 surgerys, including two back surgerys, the standard cloth seats are merciless after an hour or two.

Hopefully yours has leather, or some sort of comfort upgrade package.

So far no niggly little things, such as buttons or trim **** up, and the 4cyl. still seems to be quite capable even though we live in the mtns, the odo reads app. 110,000

We get about 26 mpg mixed.

Also, the 04 was the last year with timing chain, so no expensive belt change every 100000 miles.

good luck

indyhawg

I test drove a couple a few years back. I really liked them, but went with the 4Runner due to a little more room and power.

Polk addict

We've got a 04' Highlander at home, 4WD. It has ample power, and there's plenty of space for a family of four...

I still fit in the 3rd seat for short rides, but don't expect a full grown adult to be comfortable back there ...

Oh, and the JBL's that are in there are pretty decent to my ear...

izafar

I had2004 2wd v6 and traded that in last year for an Odyssey at 95k miles. The only issue I had was that front brake calipers went bad at 90k and was $1k expense (front calipers, all rotors and pads). It has smooth camry like drive and should serve your family well.

mantis

When I was shopping for a SUV , I checked out the 4 runner , Highlander , Honda , Mazda , Subaru and Nissan. All models I drove I thought where nice. I was leaning towards the Mazda CX9 and CX7 but after driving the Nissan Pathfinder it was a done deal.

I have now owned 2 of them , 2005 model and now a 2008 model. When it's time for another one , I probably will do my rounds but I'll probably end up with another Pathfinder. They are amazing SUV's.

dpowell

Hey Willow, my wife and I have an '05 Highlander as our kid hauler and it has been a great vehicle. Easy to get the kids in and out. Congrats on the new one! Has the baby arrived yet or is there a fast approaching due date?

mantis

kuntasensei wrote: »

There can be only one!

(Sorry... It had to be done.)

LOL I was going to write that.

Willow

dpowell wrote: »

Hey Willow, my wife and I have an '05 Highlander as our kid hauler and it has been a great vehicle. Easy to get the kids in and out. Congrats on the new one! Has the baby arrived yet or is there a fast approaching due date?

Hey Doug, thanks for the input, the due date is June 10. We are so excited if you remember our conversation last year over lunch.