2005 Toyota Highlander from North America - Comments

Transmission slips and can't decide what to do.

Very disappointing. Dealer on 2 occasions tells us that the car is fine. No transmission issues. They even kept it overnight and drove it 90+ miles. There is no way they could have thought the way it drives is normal. If that is normal then I don't want this particular Toyota.

There are some transmissions out there that can't really decide what to do under normal driving. You didn't notice it during the test drive?

I agree with the previous reviews. toyota is having problems with their new 5 speed automatic transmissions. get the 4 speed transmission instead; you'd be satisfied. read other toyota and lexus reviews (2004 and onwards for the new 5 speed automatic)

we were tooking for a lexus rx300 (same platform as the highlander) 2004 or newer, but decided againt it when we drove over 10 of them in Chicago area (all at certified/lexus dealers) but didn't like the way they shifted. in the end we bought a 2003 highlander (last year for 4 speed automatic for toyota/lexus) and are very happy with it (knock on wood). it has a few extra miles and a little less luxury than what we wanted, but we're happy the way it shifts.

I must say the all time all wheel drive works like a charm in the midwest snow/ice.

My wife and I test drove the Highlander before buying our new SUV and it was the SCARIEST test drive I've ever had. The Highlander lurched wildly to the left when the brakes were applied, rode very poorly and was so underpowered we were terrified trying to merge onto the freeway. Of the 6 SUV's we drove, this had to be the absolute WORST!! Even the little Ford Escape was faster and felt much more solid. We couldn't get this thing back to the dealer's lot fast enough!! I won't even bother test driving another Toyota. I value my life too much.

In reading some of these comments I was reminded of a good friend who received a new Toyota Highlander as a Christmas gift from her wealthy uncle two years ago. After a week she called him up and BEGGED him to let her trade it for something else!! It was that bad.

The Highlander is basically a Camry with an SUV body. It has the same terribly underpowered engine as Camry, and is front drive. It can't be considered a real SUV in that regard, as trailer towing and off-road driving are not its forte at all. The larger rear-drive SUV's are the only choice for real "Sport Utility" driving. Front drives are basically kiddy-carriers. We test drove a Highlander and found it to be poorly made and very underpowered. We opted for a larger, more reliable American made rear drive SUV. It handles any terrain or load condition without breathing hard or falling apart.

In test driving the Highlander, we were so scared by the erratic braking (jerking violently to one side on braking) that we immediately turned around and took it back to the lot. We were also very disappointed with the power (very slow) and poor quality interior. We bought another brand.

In test driving SUV's we tried a number of models from Japan and US makers. We ruled out even looking at Honda because of all the bad stuff we had heard about their transmission problems. The Highlander was a major disappointment in terms of power, ride, and handling. In all, I think the US builds the best SUV's by far. It's hard to beat a rear-drive, smooth riding GM or Ford SUV.

Same terribly underpowered engine as the camry!? First of all, the v6 comes with a 3.3 L engine that will smoke half of the cars out there on the road. The Hybrid does 0-60 in like 7 seconds and then you have the 4 cylinder. I have an '02 Highlander with the 2.4 L 4 cyl. engine... never have had problems with it being "underpowered". Yesterday I was driving next to a Dodge Magnum... a car smaller and lighter than my Highlander...saw on the trim "HEMI" -- meaning it's got the 5.7 L V-8 in it. Can I just say it: overconsumptive waste!

Toyota has built itself on efficiency people! The Highlander is not going to be any different. I've heard of issues with the 5 speed tranny--fine, get the 4 cyl. and do the world a favor by getting 27 mpg on the highway and 22 in the city. it's more than enough power for most people--you're getting a Highlander not the Porsche Cayenne so quit your complaining about speed and power--I'm tired of hearing about it.

The Camry is, even with the V-6, a car with very uninspired performance. Even Car and Driver rated the V-6 Camry dead last in a comparison of the Accord, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata, and noted that it has basically become the official car of the AARP crowd. It, like the Corolla, has pretty much become a car that is identified with the elderly. It is dependable, but boring and slow in comparison to all the competitors, both foreign and domestic. As for the hybrid, if one tries to achieve any sort of performance at all, the fuel mileage drops to the same dismal level as a conventional V-8 powered car, and the highly toxic and very expensive battery packs that must be replaced every couple of years make it much more expensive to own in the long run than a conventional- engined car.

As for the Highlander, it is an incredibly slow and poor handling vehicle with poor interior quality and questionable reliability. Having driven a number of both foreign and domestic SUV's, including the Highlander V-6, I'd have to rank the Highlander dead last in just about every category. There again, for an elderly person it might be a good choice, but to one looking for spirited performance and good handling it falls terribly short. Having never owned one I can't speak on the reliability of it, but judging from the number of problems our friends have encountered with their Camrys I'd suspect there would be a number of problem areas.

The Toyota Highlander is one if the best engineered SUV's on the road with 100% reliability rating and its manufacturered in the US. Beats the junk GM come up with there's no comparison.

I have a 2005 2.4L 4Cyl and this one performs very well, I hate the track control, but that was created for stupid learning drivers (your security) the car performs well and have enough power for a 2.4L, I love the gas mileage, I'm being driving very aggressive and I can't lower it under 22 miles per gal which is great with the gas prices.

I was making 15 mpg on a jeep wrangler 2.4L very well tuned. I do love my Highlander.

We just purchased a new Highlander (07) 4x2 and are very pleased; of course time will tell, but after test driving it, including merging on the interstates around Wash. D.C., the 2.4 - 4 cyl with it's variable valve timing - with intelligence (vvt-i) was very adequately powered. Not 'neck-snapping' power of course. However we needed to be at least a little eco-friendly after deciding to get a bigger vehicle.

The gas mileage should be at least 15 percent better than the 6 cyl. Consider the 6-cyl if you'll drive in hilly terrain or off road.

Also, all Highlanders are fully assembled in Japan; no plant in the U.S.

15:53 who would want a loaded GM SUV more features and a 100,000 mile warranty?...Trailblazer, Suburban if they could have this? I guess we would and bought GM in 2007.

I own a 2004 Toyota Highlander V6 (3.3 liter, front drive).

I have no complaints about engine performance except that it lost some compression and there is an audible knock when engine is cold (camshaft bearings).

The a/c makes the sounds of a tractor at idle and will probably fail soon. The rear windows broke a long time ago.

Handling-wise, this car pulls left -- by design.

I still gave it a lazer alignment -- which couldn't be done due to the strut tower defect (all over internet).

The suspension was better and actually quite stiff when new, but now it softened considerably and the car dances in various directions on the highway.

The straight line handling is abysmal and the driving position is bad -- with pedals being too close and steering wheel being too far and too low.

This car understeers in the winter and it makes for a scary winter ride, even though it has good ground clearance.

Yes, the car is powerful and passes just about anything off a traffic light, but it has more to do with the gearing.

My Highlander is made in Japan, but it's no different from a US made 1999 Toyota Camry I previosly owned.

I would rate the overall quality in 3 years of ownership at grade C+.

After a test drive in a V-6 Highlander in 2003, we ran as fast as we could to a GM dealership. I've never seen a more outright scary vehicle than the Highlander. We were afraid we wouldn't make it back to the dealership alive. Interior trim was falling off (literally), the brakes caused the car to swerve wildly each time they were applied, and the car was slower than a 4-cylinder Ford Escape we drove. We love our GM, and it has never had a single problem in the 60,000+ miles we've driven it.