Other engine problem on the 2004 Toyota Highlander
1 crash 1 of the 14 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
Only 7 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When other engine problem gets reported
There are 14 reports of other engine problem on the 2004 Toyota Highlander, 7 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 8th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 78,000 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 22 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2013, at a median of 2,300 miles, and latest on the 2011 at 120,000 miles.
By volume the 2008 carries the most reports, with 46; the 2004 has 14. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
My 2004 toyota highlander hesitates for a couple of seconds when I accelerate from about 40 to 50 MPH such as getting onto a freeway. I have never experienced this in any other vehicle. I find this hesitation to be very disconcerting and makes me worry about merging into traffic. *jb
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota highlander. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact noticed that the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the cylinder behind the intake manifold was leaking and that she would need to replace the engine. The dealer advised the contact that since the vehicle was no longer under warranty they would not be able to provide her with any assistance. The manufacturer was notified and the contact was waiting for a response. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The current and failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota highlander. The contact stated that she noticed a leak from under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis who stated that the leaking fluid was antifreeze. The contact was also advised that the cylinder head bolts and threads would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no assistance. The failure and the current mileage was 103,000. The consumer stated there is a safety issue with the vehicle, due to poor manufacturing and cheap material of the head bolts under the engine. Coolant was leaking and caused the engine to seize. Updated 11/29/12 updated 11/27/12 *cn the consumer stated this malfunction of the vehicle could have caused the engine to seize and over heat resulting in a person being stranded. Updated 12/10/2012 *js
Also reported on the 2004 Toyota Highlander
Other powertrain problem
Other speed control problem
Other visibility problem
Other steering problem
Other electrical problem
Other brake problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 14 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 14 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2004 Toyota Highlander?
Across 7 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2004 Toyota Highlander?
14 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed