There are 50 owner-reported visibility & wipers complaints for the 2002 Toyota Highlanderin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
SUN VISORS FALL DOWN WHILE DRIVING. AT ANY GIVEN TIME WHILE DRIVING BOTH SUNVISORS WILL FALL COMPLETELY DOWN OBSTRUCTING VIEW OF THE ROAD AHEAD. VERY DANGEROUS.TOYOTA WILL NOT RECALL.
THIS IS THE FOURTH SUN VISOR ON THE DRIVERS SIDE OF THIS CAR WHICH WILL NO LONGER STAY UP BLOCKING MY VISION WHILE DRIVING. THE FIRST WAS REPLACED 09/03 AT ABOUT 22,600 MILES UNDER WARRANTY WITH A HOME LINK INCLUDED AS WAS THE ORIGINAL. THE SECOND REPLACEMENT WAS 01/07 AT 65,300 MILES AND THE PASSENGER ONE WAS REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME. THESE DID NOT HAVE THE HOME LINK FEATURE AS IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE. THE PROBLEM RECURRED IN 3/10 AT 86,000 MILES AND WAS ONCE AGAIN REPLACED. IT IS NOW 3/16 WITH 115,000 MILES AND THE SAME PROBLEM AS BEFORE EXISTS. IT FALLS RIGHT AT EYE LEVEL WHICH IMPAIRS VISIBILITY. WITH THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS TOYOTA HAS RECEIVED ON THIS AND OTHER MODELS, A MANDATORY REPLACEMENT IS WARRANTED.
WHEN DRIVING THE 2002 HIGHLANDER, THE DRIVER SIDE VISOR DROPPED DOWN AND HIT THE DRIVER ON THE NOSE AND OBSTRUCTED VISION OF THE ROAD. TOYOTA REPLACED THE VISOR ONCE YEARS BEFORE, BUT WILL NOT DO SO AGAIN BECAUSE IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. NO REPAIR IS POSSIBLE, SO IT MUST BE REPLACED AT A COST OF MORE THAN $800.00 FOR THE VISOR (WITH GARAGE DOOR OPENER) PART ONLY. THE VISOR IS NOW FALLING DOWN DUE TO A POOR HINGE, AND IS A CONSTANT HAZARD. MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME TOYOTA REPORT THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
SUN VISOR KEEPS COMING DOWN AS IT AFFECTS MY VISION ON THE ROAD. *TR
SUBMISSION FROM CONSTITUENT RE DEFECTIVE VISOR/ SAFETY PROBLEMS 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER ( FULL DOCUMENT NOT IMAGED). *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED ABOUT FOUR MONTHS AGO, THE PASSENGER SIDE VISOR WOULD NOT REMAIN IN THE UP POSITION, AND APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS LATER, THE SAME THING HAPPENED ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVERS SIDE SUN VISOR WOULD CONTINUE TO FALL. THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE SUN VISOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS OVER ROAD BUMPS, THE SUN VISOR WOULD FALL, CAUSING THE DRIVER'S VISION OF THE ROADWAY TO BECOME OBSCURED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED BY A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WAS APPROXIMATELY 166,000. *TR...UPDATED 05/08/13 *BF
THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR WILL NOT STAY DOWN WHEN PUSHED INTO PLACE TO BLOCK BRIGHT SUN. INSTEAD, IT MOVES PARTIALLY BACK UP, THEREBY OBSCURING THE DRIVER'S VISION. THERE ARE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THE SAME PROBLEM IN OTHER 2002 AND 2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS. TOYOTA'S RESPONSE IS SIMPLY THAT THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND WE ARE WELCOME TO PAY $850 FOR A NEW VISOR (IT IS SO EXPENSIVE BECAUSE IT CONTAINS A GARAGE DOOR OPENER REMOTE CONTROL). THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. HERE IS MORE INFO FROM OTHERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T594661-HIGHLANDER_PROBLEM_SUN_VISOR. *TR
DRIVER/S SIDE SUN VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP. WHILE DRIVING, IT SUDDENLY DROPS OBSCURING MY VISION AND PUTTING THE DRIVER AT EXTREME RISK FOR AN ACCIDENT (IMPAIRED VISION OF THE ROAD). THERE IS NO APPARENT WAY TO FIX THIS PROBLEM SHORT OF REPLACING THE SUN VISOR (ESTIMATED COST OF APPROX. $700 PER BLOGS). THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN EXPERIENCED BY MANY OWNERS OF 2002 HIGHLANDERS AS EXEMPLIFIED VIA "COMPLAINT" POSTINGS. *TR
SUN VISOR ON DRIVER'S SIDE UNEXPECTEDLY FALLS DOWN. I HAVE ALMOST REAR ENDED A FEW VEHICLES ON THE HIGHWAY AND SURFACE STREETS DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM FOR ME AND IS GETTING MORE AND MORE SERIOUS. I SEE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE FOR THIS YEAR TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. HOW MANY COMPLAINTS DOES NHTSA/TOYOTA HAVE TO RECEIVE BEFORE THIS IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE? HOW MANY DEATHS? I WAS QUOTED $750 BY A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE VISOR REPLACED. *TR
I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND BOTH SUN VISORS WILL NOT STAY UP. THIS IS CREATING A SAFETY HAZARD WHEN THEY FALL DOWN AND BLOCKS MY VIEW WHILE I AM DRIVING. WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE - SOMEONE GETTING KILLED BEFORE TOYOTA WILL ADMIT THAT THE VISOR IS TOO HEAVY AND NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED. SEEMS WITH ALL THE NEGATIVE PUBLICITY THAT THEY HAVE RECEIVED LATELY THAT THEY WOULD DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND CORRECT THE PROBLEM ON ALL THEIR VEHICLES WITH THIS PROBLEM. I KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE COSTLY BUT IT IS THEIR PRODUCT AND THEY SHOULD BE WILLING TO DO THE RIGHT THING. *KB
OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS THE DRIVERS SIDE VISOR WOULD FALL WHEN I PRESS THE BREAKS. BLOCKING MY VISION. RECENTLY, THE VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP AT ALL, AND NEEDS TO BE TAPED UP TO PREVENT IT FROM FALLING WHILE I AM DRIVING. *KB
THE DRIVER SIDE VISOR DOES NOT STAY PROPPED UP IN THE FORWARD DIRECTION. IT DROPS DOWN TO A VERTICAL POSITION DOWNWARDS, WHERE IT BLOCKS THE DRIVER'S VIEW. *TR
SUN VISOR ON MY 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WILL FREQUENTLY FALL DOWN WITHOUT WARNING. THIS RESULTS IN MY VIEW OF THE ROAD BEING UNEXPECTEDLY HINDERED. THIS COULD EASILY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. THIS HAPPENS FREQUENTLY - I.E. ALMOST EVERY TIME I DRIVE MORE THAN 3 MILES. *TR
MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE SUN VISORS DROP DOWN WHILE DRIVING. RESEARCH OF THIS PROBLEM INDICATE OTHERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WHICH POTENTIALLY CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BY BLOCKING VISION OR DISTURBING THE DRIVER WHILE DRIVING. NOTIFIED TOYOTA OF THE PROBLEM AND GOT A VERY PROMPT STANDARD CUSTOMER SERVICE REPLY THAT THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED AND BASICALLY IT IS YOUR PROBLEM VERSUS A POTENTIAL DESIGN FLAW THAT MAY HAVE SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS AND THEY AT LEAST COULD OF PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM OTHER THAN A REPLACEMENT AT $660. EVEN AT THAT BASED ON THE INTERNET THAT IS NOT A PERMANENT REPAIR SINCE IT IS A DESIGN FLAW. APPARENTLY THIS IS ALSO A PROBLEM WITH OTHER TOYOTA MODELS.
SUN VISOR ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUDDENLY FALLS FROM ITS NORMAL POSITION DURING DRIVING BLOCKING THE DRIVER'S FIELD OF VISION. THAT MIGHT CASE AN ACCIDENT. *TR
DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR FALLING INTO DRIVER'S FIELD OF VISION WHEN VEHICLE IN OPERATION. 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER LIMITED. OCCURS CONSTANTLY AND BEGAN ABOUT THREE YEARS AFTER THE VISOR WAS REPLACED FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE SUN VISORS ON MY 2002 HIGHLANDER. THE VISORS SEEM OVERLY HEAVY AND DUE TO THE NORMAL VIBRATIONS IN THE CAR THEY FREQUENTLY FALL DOWN, WHICH IS QUITE DISCONCERTING WHEN DRIVING! I'VE TALKED TO TOYOTA BUT THEY MENTION THERE IS NO WAY TO ADJUST THE TENSION AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PAY 700.00 TO GET THEM FIXED. I'M CONCERNED AS IT LOOKS TO BE A DESIGN FAULT (I.E. BOTH VISORS ARE FALLING DOWN, DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF THE THINGS) AND I DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR NEW ONES TO BE IN EXACTLY THE SAME SITUATION IN 18 MONTHS TIME. I HAVE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AAND MANY PEOPLE ARE REPORTING THIS PROBLEM WITH TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS. *TT
2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER DRIVER SIDE SUN VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP. IT FLOPS DOWN INTO YOUR VIEW EVERYTIME YOU HIT A BUMP. TOYOTA DEALER WANTED $650 TO FIX/REPLACE HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS. CAR ONLY HAS 60,000 MILES, THIS SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM THAT IS SO EXPENSIVE TO FIX. *TR
THE DRIVERS SIDE SUN VISOR NO LONGER STAYS FULLY UP. IT STAYS 1/2 DOWN WHICH BLOCKS VISIBILITY. IT SUDDENLY FALLS DOWN FURTHER, BLOCKING MY VIEW EVEN MORE, ESPECIALLY WHEN I BRAKE (EVEN LIGHT BRAKING), CHANGE LANES OR CHANGE VEHICLE SPEEDS. AFTER SEVERAL TIMES OF GETTING SCARED WHEN THE VISOR SUDDENLY FLIPS DOWN, I NOW HAVE TO USE BUNGEE CORDS OR RUBBER BANDS TO HOLD THE VISOR UP SO THAT I CAN SEE. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT MEANS THAT I CANNOT EASILY FLIP IT DOWN TO BLOCK THE SUN, WHICH IS ITS PURPOSE, AND I LIVE IN "SUNNY CALIFORNIA!" I HAVE SEEN DOZENS OF OTHER PEOPLE COMPLAIN ONLINE FALLS ABOUT THIS SAFETY ISSUE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. MY RESEARCH A FEW YEARS AGO SHOWED THAT THE REPLACEMENT FOR THE VISOR WAS RIDICULOUSLY OVER $800 (I THINK BECAUSE IT HAS A LIGHTED MIRROR). MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT IT ONLY NEEDS A SPRING REPLACED AND TOYOTA SHOULD DO THIS TO PROTECT ITS CUSTOMERS. *TR
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026