Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Toyota Highlander owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I purchased a new 2002 Toyota Highlander from sierra Toyota of lancaster, ca. I have experienced no problems with this vehicle until 25 jan. 2011 when the engine overheated while driving 40mph on city street. I took my vehicle to my mechanic and he informed me of a problem with the 2.4l 4cyl Toyota engines in which some of the head bolts become loose/stripped where they attach at the engine block. I called sierra Toyota of lancaster and they denied any knowledge of this problem. On further investigation, I discovered that sierra Toyota had a specialist servicing one of their vehicles by placing inserts into the stripped holes the very next day. Sierra Toyota refused to give me any monetary assistance in repairing my vehicle. …
May 17, 2002, I was in a car accident with my 3 month old 2002 Toyota Highlander. I was traveling in the right hand lane on highway 80 west bound between davis, ca and san francisco ca at 8:30 am. According to the police report from eye witnesses, my vehicle left the roadway without any brake lights, went through a cyclone fence, continued .10 miles and down into a ravine. Brake lights never came on and the car never slowed. I was life flighted to the john muir medical center trauma unit. I arrested in the helicopter. I suffered a significant traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, including a shattered jaw and a paralyzed vocal chord. No other vehicle was involved in the incident.
2004, my Highlander was serviced for gel in the valve seals. On April 2, my car was brought to leith Toyota because the car made a loud noise after being cranked and the oil light was on. As I drove a couple of miles, all computer lights came on and the car cut off. I was told testing was done and I had oil although it was not being pumped to the engine for some reason. (I have oil changed every 3,000 miles). The next day, I went to check on the progress and the service manager told me they drove the car around and it never cut off and he really did not know what was wrong with it. I decided to take it to another mechanic to find out and 10 miles away, the engine blew up. Now, I have no car to drive and I am a single mom that has to work. I feel that the service manager should have been honest with me regarding Toyota's past engine defects and to drive my car would be fatal. …
Some earlier models of Toyota's 2az-fe 4 cylinder engine are susceptible to sudden failure and are dangerous. The engine is widely used in Toyota's popular camry, Highlander, rav4 and Scion tc models. Toyota needs to accept responsibility and investigate the engine. On 9/11/2010, 2002 Toyota Highlander's 2az-fe engine failed and left occupants stranded. Event took place immediately after exiting the highway. The vehicle's engine sputtered and ceased to function. The vehicle had about 75,000 miles on it. The vehicle was towed to a Toyota dealership which reported the following: - oil and coolant leaking from the back of the engine head - hydrocarbon in the coolant - oil severely burnt due to overheating the estimate to open up and repair the engine could run anywhere from $2,000 to $7,500 depending on whether the engine block needed to be replaced. …
I drove vehicle crown Toyota for a minor service and mentioned that there was dripping of coolant noticed on the garage floor. Requested 'check and advise' on this. After approximately 3.0 hours, I went to the service desk for information regarding leak. I was taken to the service advisor [redacted] and he told me that they could not repair the leak because that situation is due to the head bolts pulling out of the block. The estimate for such repair was $6,780.28 plus tax and would involve replacing the short block. He mentioned this problem was known to occur with vehicles having the 2az-fe engines such as the above Highlander and that I could research same. Since I was buying only Toyota cars since 1972 and have owned 4 such cars and one Lexus based on my experience and conclusion that reliability is number one with Toyota. I can only say I was in shock. …
My 2002 Toyota Highlander v6 broke down on the side of the road. I had it towed to the Toyota dealership where they informed me that oil sludge has clogged my engine and I would have to have it replaced to the tune of $6000. I was shocked because I always got my oil changed well before the suggested 7500 mile mark. I did some research online and found out my car was part of a recall and class action suit. They never sent a recall notice. We purchased the car when it was 2 years old. I contacted Toyota USA and they confirmed that it was oil sludge but since a was a couple months beyond the class action suit of 8 years. I argued that they never sent us a recall notice. They pretty much said tough luck. I was lucky I was able to get my car to the side of the road safely ( my 5 year old daughter was in the back). …
I noticed coolant leaking from underneath the plastic into intake manifold in the rear of the engine. I brought it in for repair and the mechanic said he noticed a large piece of foam rubber between the intake manifold and the engine block and head.the leak was behind the foam piece. The only option to discover the source of this leak was to remove the plastic intake manifold, which the mechanic did. After this was removed, it became obvious that coolant had been leaking a minor amount for quite some time due to build up between the cylinder head and block. The only option left is to remove the head, which requires an extensive disassembly (r and r cylinder head). After loosening the bolts in sequence, he noticed three of the head bolts in the back of the engine were loose. …
My 2002 Toyota Highlander's check engine light seems to come on every 10,000 miles. This has been happening since 2004, at about 43000 miles, when I first took it to a local dealer mechanic. It is now 2009, 111000 miles later, and again the check engine light comes on queue. Originally, the dealer mechanics told me they had corrected it prior to my warranty expiring. When my warranty expired, they told me that I needed to get an overhaul on my catalytic/exhaust system, which was quoted to cost about $5000 to fix! I believe my car was worth no more than $7000 at the time. An independent mechanic told me that there was nothing wrong with my catalytic system and that there May be a problem with the detection system. I've been shown how to reset the check engine light by the Toyota dealer personnel, I suspect, because it is happening to other Highlander owners. …
Driving on I-26 east bound with kids near exit 110 in columbia, sc. Car veered violently 3 lanes and took a turn facing the traffic. Lost complete control of the steering, brakes and the engine shut down abruptly. Pictures and videos with tire marks are available for analysis along with the police contact report. Engine started after several trials at which time the car was pulled away form the main lanes. All 4 tires are replaced 6-8 weeks ago with brand new tires. Front drivers side tire shows the stress of the sudden impact. A pastor couple is the eye witness to the whole event. Luckily rear traffic stopped avoiding a major accident. Our sincere wish is to prevent this happening to other families by understanding the root cause of the problem. …
Last Saturday 4/13/13 the check engine light came on and the car started shaking and making a weird noise. I haven't driven it since then when I parked it in the driveway. I didn't even trust it to park it in the garage because it smelled hot. White smoke and the smell of exhaust has been coming out of the exhaust. Today was the soonest I could get it looked at (by a trusted local repair shop) and I was just told it's an internal engine problem. I see this has been a problem with this engine and because of a class action suit Toyota has had to replace the engine in cars 8 years and newer, I don't qualify. I was never notified by Toyota of this problem....and I am the original owner. I have replaced 3 oxygen sensors and the air conditioning compressor.
Engine complaints in other Highlander years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2002 Toyota Highlander?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2002 Toyota Highlander, 10% of the model year's 301 complaints. The component named most often is engine (11 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Toyota Highlander engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2002 Toyota Highlander, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Toyota Highlander engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles, and 17% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.