2001 Toyota Highlander Limited from North America - Comments

My four General Motors car's transmissions were shot when we did not change the fluid every 50,000 miles; and I have heard the same from friends who own Chrysler and Ford products. My neighbor has a 1994 Civic with 230,000 miles and I have not recorded a fluid change on his car since 90,000 miles. Although it does not drive the nicest--a little slipping, it has held up with old transmission fluid. Your Detroit talk bashing imports does not add up sir.

In my 141,000 miles, I only changed the fluid with the dealer before 70,000 miles. Ever since then I have taken the car to a trusted independent mechanic who changes the fluid now. He could not believe that the Transmission had no filter on it at all. He still uses Honda fluid, but he seems more trustworthy than the dealer. In little time it is easy to build up with a bunch of junk in the gears and I am not surprised that crap gets stuck between the gears and destroys the transmission.

After 2000 check out the Civic... I use to agree with you. Having the same family members and buying many Hondas over and over you notice issues you never had before. If I had Hondas like I had new in the late 80's and the 90's I would be pleased and was. It seems that after 2000 our problems started.

I would like to explain why you don't see a hummer in any "good" crash test score articles, its because they crash them into a metal barrier with very little padding, and the weight of the hummer simply adds to the force of the impact. with a small car, there's less impact force due to a lesser weighing car. now, in a real accident, that little accord is going to give A lot more than that metal barrier, and therefore the full weight of the hummer isn't confined to the 1.5 meter space the barrier provides. with a real accident, the accord crumples into bits as the hummer plows through it. THAT is why I would prefer driving a large SUV rather than a small car. I would, however, be concerned if I was planning on driving my hummer into a tree or a building any time soon. but I rest easily knowing that if any yahoo in a car decides to become an idiot and hit me, he's gonna be the one getting hurt, not me.

You would think mass would be beneficial. An airbag is thin protection when a large vehicle and inertia travel into the cab.

I'm pretty sure no one would deliberately hit you. To my knowledge, no one hates Hummers that much yet. Does preparing yourself for that one-in-a-million lunatic or drunk driver require driving a vehicle that obstructs the vision of those around you on a daily basis? I'm not sure if the trade off between the two is exactly worth it.

Thank you for clarifying that. After all, I wouldn't want to take the word of ACTUAL test results from SEVERAL independent testing labs over your theory.

Facts are facts, and Hummers are death traps and you are something like 43% more likely to die or be maimed in an accident than with a regular car.

You're just another passenger on the TItanic wondering when breakfast is going to be served.

Comment 01:03 is a very good point, and I appreciate the more sane approach to explaining a situation that often confuses people. Crash tests are NOT valid in real world conditions for the reason so clearly stated in this comment.

Seldom do steel reinforced concrete barriers run red lights in front of you. It is a simple (and all too obvious) violation of the laws of physics for a well built, heavy vehicle such as a Hummer (or my GMC) to be damaged much at all by something as insubstantial as a Civic, Corolla or Highlander in a collision. That is kind of like arguing that your egg can smash my bowling ball. My family will continue to ride in the safety of well built American SUVs.

As has been stated, those "independent testing labs" will gladly rate a Chevy Aveo as better in a crash test than a Sherman tank if you pay them enough. Real world is what matters. I've NEVER heard of ANYONE dying in a Hummer crash...EVER. I have seen lots of small imports that were indistinguishable from squashed beer cans after minor impacts with larger vehicles.

I went to the Poconos last winter in a H1 on vacation and we all lived. We had a great time.

I get it now. The higher the center of gravity, the less safety features, the worse the brakes, the more the structure is built on a truck frame, the more the goverment warnings stating the vehicle does not handle like a regular car, and the more uncorroborated stories by Joe 12 pack the safer the SUV.

I must thank you all for clearing that up.

Uncorraborated stories? Have you ever been in a large SUV? I would also hesitate to call a Hummer owner Joe Six Pack. I would call a Toyota owner..."a Toyota Owner." Its not a strain to appreciate others preferences. By the way a Hummer is typically not the only vehicle in the household.

Comparing roll over accidents to collisions with cars is not a valid argument. I was watching on the news about a hummer h2 rear ending a nissan sentra on a busy road, due to an electrical failure in the sentra. the sentra's rear end was almost to the drivers seat, and yet the hummer had only a mere dent and a scratch in the bumper. now, mind you that this accident was at an estimated speed of 40 mph. another thing, in this case, the 2004 nissan's airbag didn't deploy, but the driver DID survive with a broken leg, both arms, severe burns and abrasions from the seat belt, fractured hip, and a major concussion. so, now, who's the most likely to die in an accident, the hummer, or the little car that just got plowed?

When it comes to something like this, sheer mass will always win against small mass. once again, the only REAL application for poor crash tests in large suv's is when they hit something solid, such as a tree.

I think you need to do research on what exactly a rollover is. It means the vehicle is unstable IN AN ACCIDENT - you lose control because the car/truck is NOT responding as it should.

I would NEVER drive a vehicle that surprised me when I am attempting to avoid an accident. But that's just me, I like to live.

You can make all the claims about Hummers killing people in other cars and so on, but it doesn't change the statistical fact that SUVs are unsafe and bad for American roads.

With regard to comment 08:22, yes, high center of gravity, bad brakes, poor safety features, etc. definitely does describe the Highlander, however you made one mistake: The Highlander is NOT built on a truck frame. It is an underpowered Camry platform with a fat body.