2003 Toyota Highlander consumer reviews

Great vehicle - ride is quiet and comfortable, good gas mileage, great horsepower, love the heated and leather seats

No wonder that Toyota Highlander is the best SUV in its class as stated in to Consumer Reports. A lot of space for whole family, great on the snow.

I have been trying to find an affordable, reliable used car to replace my Highlander for over a year. I am spoiled! I have a very bad back, and can ride in my Highlander Limited on extended road trips or city driving all day with no back pain. This is due to the highly adjustable driver's seat, the very comfortable flat bench back seat. I detest third row seats and bucket seats are excruciatingly painful to sit in for more than about 15 minutes. I do regular oil changes with synthetic oil, and apart from regular maintenance issues like replacing fuses and bulbs, battery and brakes, this car has performed like a dream machine. Has 209,200 miles. Engine and tranny going strong! I found out after purchasing the car from private party it had been t-boned and repaired, no frame damage, and didn't show up on carfax by the way, but I paid $13000 when it had 75k. It has been well worth it. I don't like what Toyota has done to the Highlander since then! They have ruined a perfectly fine car!

This car was very reliable. It is comfortable and handles snow and icy conditions well. It is also great on mountain passes in Colorado. We used it on many vacations and it was always reliable and had a lot of room to stow gear. We are the second owners and I believe it would be a great car for a family or to use for transportation to work.

I had a 2007 Toyota Highlander that I always regretted selling, but at the time I had to. I have now bought a used 2003 Highlander Limited with 93,000 miles on it. The previous owner babied this car and it's in absolutely pristine condition. It honestly looks like a brand new car inside, and I touched up some minor dings on the exterior to bring it to nearly pristine condition as well. I figure I can easily put another 200,000 on it. These are great, reliable cars. The V6 engine on these cars will never die on you with the basic, proper maintenance. I very much like the look and style of this model as opposed to the newer ones, which I am sure are great cars, but they kind of look like mini vans.

best vehicle I have EVER owned! i bought it when it had 92,000 miles on it and i now have 198,000 thousand miles on it and it hasnt givin me a lick of a problem ...best money ive spent on a car ever!!!

Wife was in a wreck with our last car so we bought this 2003 Highlander at a Toyota dealer near us and have not yet been disappointed. It's a very sturdy, reliable car. The original Highlander was built on the Camry wheelbase, so I wasn't expecting a heavy duty SUV experience; it's more of a cruiser/family sedan driving experience. But we have a baby on the way and this fits the bill perfectly. In my opinion, the look of the car is a little drab, but the late '90s/ early '00s featured a more utilitarian look from Toyota, so this isn't surprising. Obviously, the newer models are much more eye-catching. But the reliability and simplicity in function are still there. It's a great car.

I am a very satisfied customer. This car has to be one of the top five (5) smartest purchases of my life. After more than 195,000 miles this car just keeps on going. Sure, it's had its typical repairs: timing belts = twice, new brake pads = twice, A/C = twice, cleaning of the throttle body = twice, and new spark plugs ($600 for all, ouch) = once. But after 14 years it runs amazingly well. It is so smooth. It still has great get-up-and-go, and the gas mileage hasn't lost any of its frugality. And believe-you-me, I gave it some abuse. For example, I had to run almost a year before and oil change (life was too busy, in-between jobs, etc.). And I am embarrassed that I let the engine oil level fall to the last line on the stick. But I share these dumb events because I think it makes the car look more attractive because it runs like it is only a year old. So that's my story - I love my 2003 Highlander Limited.

The Highlander has more creature comforts than a 4runner that I had before. I sold my 4Runner with 281,000 miles on so if this does nearly as well, I'll be ahead of the game.

This is our third Toyota and before that we had Honda's. I wish the American auto makers could make a good used vehicle that was just as reliable as a Toyota. And one that we could afford to get into.