Problems with 2002 Toyota Highlander VISIBILITY

The driver side sun visor (w/ lighted mirror and homelink) on my 2002 toyota highlander will not stay up and drops down when driving which is a serious hazard. i understand that this is a very common problem with this vehicle and the cost for only the replacement part is over $700.00. it is obviously a design issue and serious hazard that toyota will not address. *tr

My 2002 highlander also had the floppy visor syndrome when out of warranty. cost to replace was $660 but north kingstown toyota did a courtesy replacement at no charge. all who have paid for this repair should consider a class action suit against toyota for ignoring another safety problem. *tr

2002 toyota highlander drivers side sun visor fell down when hitting a small pothole, obscuring driver vision...narrowly averting a collision with oncoming vehicle before i could get it pushed back up into place, whereupon it fell again and i had to swing it out of the way to drive home...no friction to hold it up out of the way....called dealership...sorry...600 dollar replacement w/ homelink..no other fix available...definite design, absolute safety flaw...went online to research and noted thousands of responses to this exact problem for 2002 vehicle. i truly believe a recall is warranted. *tr

Driver and passenger sun visors fall down into drivers and passenger view. safety issue was not recognized by vehicle manufacturer. *tr

02 toyota highlander drivers side sun visor drops down while driving $650 for a toyota replacement or $450 at the auto wreckers , many people have the same complaint. *tr

The temperature control know in our 2002 toyota highlander is not working correctly. the vents blow cold air when the dial is set to the hottest setting. it is very hard to keep the ice from forming on our windows when we don't have hot air blowing. the ice storms in missouri occur fairly frequently and hot air blowing in the defrost position usually keeps the windshield warm enough to keep it clear. however, without the hot air, the windshield ices up immediately and makes driving very dangerous. there are many people having this problem. this is one of the sites that describes the issue and all the people with the same problem http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/highlander/32217-heater-quit-sort-of/ *tr

While driving the driver side sun visor falls down after hitting mild bump in road. *tr

The sun visor on the driver side of our 2002 toyota highlander falls down when you are driving along. it is extremely dangerous since you never know when the visor will drop down and obstruct your view. there have been a few occasions when i have been driving along and reach to put the turn signal on. at that moment the visor drops down and before i can recover i am close to hitting a car from the rear. i have tried simple solutions but the dealer indicates that nothing is wrong and it will cost over $700 to fix. *tr

The hot/cold knob in my 2002 toyota highlander is not working properly. i researched and called toyota they said there are no recalls on it and they only issue them according to how many parts are sold to repair that vehicle. i looked online and alot of people that own the same year and model of my suv are complaining about the same issue. toyota quoted me $805 to repair it when i went in to the service department. he said they have had alot of complaints about the same issue and had already repaired a couple. when i went in to have it looked at i had heat, when i came out i didn't. they told me i had to fix it and there was nothing else i could do. i called the manager of this particular dealership and he told me to bring my car back in and they could set it to heat. why didn't they return my car in the same order it was in when i brought it to them in the first place. *tr

Both sun visors on my 2002 toyota highlander limited fall down by themselves. both have the lighted mirror and the river side includes the homelink control. there are no other items attached to the visors. it happens all the time, whether or not i hit a bump in the road. i've added velcro tape to the visors, but the weight of them is too much for the tape to stick to the ceiling, so after a while, the visors fall down again. *tr

I seem to be one of many that is having an issue with the sun visor on a 2002 toyota highlander. the driver side sun visor will no longer stay in place properly. this results in it falling down and blocking the vision of the driver. so far this has not caused a safety issue but the potential is definitely there. *tr

Toyota 2002 highlander limited driver's side sun visor flops down into driver's vision while driving. obscures view momentarily creating a crash danger. visor has lighted mirror and garage door opener built in. reported to dealer and visor was replaced under service plan. *tr

Sun visor on my driver side of my 2002 toyota highlander will stay in the up position (against the ceiling). any slight bump in the road causes it fall and block my vision. it's quite a hazard! *jb

I have a 2002 toyota highlander and the driver's side visor will not stay up. the visor constantly falls in my line of vision. i've had the problem over two years. *tr

I have a 2002 toyota highlander. the sun visors on the driver and passenger sides no longer stay up. this started nine months ago. if the sun visor does stay up, it drops down when the vehicle hits a mild bump. *tr

Driver's side sun visor on the 2002 toyota highlander will not stay up. it falls down on a regular basis ,and sometime falls down while driving, momentarily, obstructing my view of the road ahead. dealerships quoted me a cost upwards of $600, parts only, to replace it, and i didn't and have never used the homelink feature, which apparently was largely responsible for the relatively high cost of repair.*ak

Driver's side sun visor has been falling slightly from it's resting position on the headliner. on 4-20-07 the visor fell suddenly all the way downward and fully blocked my view of the road momentarily. i immediately went to my local toyota dealer for advise on this problem. he thought there had been a tsb on the visor but indicated that it was the lexus version that had the bulletin. i do not know this to be a fact. the new visor in my case is cost prohibitive at over 600.00. i am not a safety expert but this seems to be a slam dunk safety issue and not a "i want my visor replaced for free" issue. clearly a defect involving public safety. i suspect some accidents would get more attention-but why wait for one when this problem is so well documented? *jb

We have a 2002 toyota highlander which we purchased new in april 2002. the vehicle has about 39,000 miles. for the past 3 years the driver's side sun visor suddenly falls down and partially obstructs the driver's vision. it falls down at slow speed when the vehicle goes over bumps. it falls down on the interstate at highway speeds from vibrations - such as expansion joints in the road. it is usually just annoying but once in awhile it is very dangerous such as when your are passing on a two lane road it will suddenly drop down obstructing the driver's vision. i have looked on line and found this is a very common problem with the 2002 highlander. and it is very expensive to fix if you have the garage door remote built into the visor - as we do. about an $800 repair - with the majority of the cost being the part. i think this is a safety issue and these defective visors should be replaced by toyota. i don't know the exact date or mileage when this part started to fail so i estimated both. *tr

Drivers side sun visor fall down into drivers view without warning, blocking the drivers view and creating a serious safety issue. the drivers visor will not stay in place on my 2002 toyota highlander. there is no visible defect with the visor and no damage to the vehicle that caused this problem to start. judging from the web site "http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/highlander/47694-sun-visor-problem/" there are a lot of people with this problem. cost to replace the visor with home link garage door opener in it costs over $600, causing many people to try many different poor methods of fixing this safety problem. *jb

Sun visor, when flipped forward as far as it could go, would immediately drop down to a vertical position, thus blocking my view. i had to bend down to peek below the sun visor. *jb

Both driver and passenger front sun visors become unable to stay in a fixed vertical position. both have started to fall down, which blocks the driver's view. this is a very severe hazard and could cause a wreck. *nm

1. plastic tension coil holding up visor failed all of the sudden. 2. plastic tension coil holding up visor failed causing the visor to fall down obstructing my vision while driving. this occurs anytime i hit a bump in the road while driving. 3. i went to toyota to have it fixed and they told me it would cost a significant amount of money since there hadn't been any recall notices involving the described failure. *tr

2002 highlander driver side sun visor falls down unexpectedly while driving and at times will not remain in the up position, thus hindering view at times. *jb

2002 toyota highlander driver side sun visor continually falls down while driving. serious safety issue because when it happens it blocks the drivers view unexpectedly. *jb

The sun visor on my 2002 toyota highlander keeps falling down into my sight of vision. i believe toyota and your office should investigate this incident. it is becoming a safety hazard and it is very wide spread on many of toyota vehicles. you only have to search the internet to see how many other complaints they are . *jb

Sun visor problem ... my driver side sun visor will not stay up and has become an hazard. i've also notice the same thing starting to happen to my passenger sun visor, a seat in which is all most never occupied! *tr

Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the sun visor on both the driver and passenger side will not lock and falls down into the occupant's view limiting visibility. the dealer determined the rod within the visors were fractured and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not alerted. updated 9/13/2006 - the manufacturer has been contacted. the manufacture advised the consumer to contact the dealer. the dealer determined that there was no method to repair the visors and that they had to be replaced. *nm

Safety problem/accident potential: drivers side sun visor problem. visor does not stay in upright (against the roof) position. when driving, it causes a safety hazard by blocking my view of the road because it falls down into the vertical position. *jb

My 2002 toyota highlander driver's side sun visor continuously falls down and will not stay in place. the passenger side sun visor stays in place if the car isn't moving, but will suddenly fall down unexpectedly when the car is in motion. the dealer says it would cost $600 to replace each visor, but my question is, why should i or any consumer have to pay for a manufacturer default? i have resorted to placing a velcro strip on the ceiling to keep the sun visor in place, which of course prevents me from using the visor at all. *tr

Driver's side sun visor will not stay up. i had to tie the thing into place in order to see out the windshield and now cannot use it when the sun is at a bothersome angle. very annoying that a part like this should fail. *tr

Sunvisor on drivers side does not stay up. *tr

Driver-side sun visor keeps falling straight down, and causes nearly no visibility while driving. i have read numerous complaints about this same problem with the '02 highlanders. this should be a recall as it can cause a serious accident. *jb

Driver side sun visor will not stay up. drops down while driving blocking driver's view of the rode. per toyota dealer, new sun visor required at a cost of $600 plus labor. *nm

My highlander limited 2002 has a design flaw. the sun visor on the driver's side keeps falling down under road load obstructing field of vision. the sunglass holder does the same thing. toyota needs to make a recall on these items and fix them. *jb

The driver sun visor is very loose and often drops down while driving the vehicle. sometimes this is just a distraction but can easily cause an accident. *jb

Sun visor on both driver and passenger sides are defective. they keep falling down and nothing i've tried will keep them in place. this is a major hazard as it could really hurt somebody in an accident. this seems to be a very common problem. see following links: http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/highlander/47694-sun-visor-problem/ http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/highlander/47694-sun-visor-problem-2/ toyota charges over $600 for the driver's side, which we cannot afford. *nm

Driver side visor will not stay up, keeps falling down and distracting me. the problem is inside the visor, i rarely use the visor, but it does have the homelink garage door opener, which i use daily. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 toyota highlander. while driving 30 mph or greater, the sun visor dropped to a vertical position when the vehicle vibrated. the failure occurred without warning and made it difficult for the contact to see the road. the dealer stated that the sun visor clips were defective. as of september 4, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the failure mileage was 30,000 and current mileage was 40,000. the consumer stated the sun visor could drop on any vehicle movement such as bumps in the road, or applying the brakes. the sun visor in the vertical position blocks the drivers view of the road. updated 09/18/07. *jb

2002 toyota highlander - driver side sun visor will not stay in the up position and will not stay in the sun shade position. it falls half way and is right in the line of sight of the driver. this is an extremely unsafe condition. http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/highlander/47694-sun-visor-problem-2/ toyota claims that this is a warranty issue. there are many recorded cases of this problem and toyota is not admitting that there is a safety issue. *nm

Toyota 2002 highlander driver side sun visor keeps falling down and almost caused an accident while i was driving the car. *jb

Defective visor on 2002 toyota highlander that will not remain in "up" position. any bump will cause the visor to fall, and potentially block the driver's field of vision. dealer wants $667 to replace the visor - more than i paid for my first car! *tr

Driver's side sun visor will not stay in position. it will only hang straight down, blocking the view of the driver. visor has not been used in any unusual manner - the tension in the visor is simply gone. *jb

Drivers and passenger sun visors fall down obscuring vision when going over slightest bump in the road - there are numerous other complaints regarding this on the tundrasolutions.com website. *jb

The driver's sunvisor does not work. it won't stay in position or even up. the visor just falls down all the time, blocking the driver's view. there are complaints about the same issue with no solutions all over the internet. i tried talking to toyota - they just told me to buy a new $700 visor. but i have known others with this same year/model/make (2002 toyota highlander) of car and even after replacing the visor, they have the same issue. *tr

Toyota highlander 2002 driver side visor does remain in position. it falls to full downward position, blocking view to road. *nm

Shortly after the expiration of the manufacturer's warranty, my 2002 toyota highlander began experiencing the following problem. the sun visors on both the driver and passenger side has become loose and opens up when the vehicle travels over even the slightest bump on the road. the unexpected dropping of the sun visors in the driver's field of vision is at best distracting and at worst accident causing. local toyota dealership wants to charge $600 to replace just the driver's side sun visor. i believe that toyota should recall my vehicles and others with similar problems and replace the dangerously defective sun visors free of charge. *jb

Toyota highlander sun visor does not stay in place and suddenly drops down; impairing driver's vision. *nm

I purchased a 2001 highlander, which the dmv claims is 2002 (despite the fact that toyota sold it to me used as a 2001 highlander). its sun visor won't stay in place and keeps hanging down, impairing my visibility, mostly the traffic lights. it is extremely dangerous. it costs over $600 to replace the visor without warranty and it really should be done for free, given how many other people i know with the same problem. *jb

Ac/heat temperature control switch malfunction. this is a problem that toyota is aware of and chooses to disregard, since it tends to fail after the warranty on the new part and replacement parts expires before the problem. a small, soldered wire which connects the switch to a circuit board in the dash fails. should be an easy fix, but toyota dealers will only replace the entire panel for $800 - 1200. this has happened twice to me on this same vehicle. first time i paid $800, the second time i got a local guy to solder the wire on the old part and replaced myself. total cost about $10. shame on toyota. *tr

Sunvisor on 2002 toyota highlander constantly falls down into driver's field of vision. visor was replaced one time under warranty but problem has returned. cost to repair per toyota dealer is $650 for parts plus labor - the visor contains a lighted vanity mirror and a homelink remote control so it is an expensive part to repair. the visor cannot be used in a 'partially lowered' position to block sun or reflections as it constantly falls into the 'fully lowered' position which obstructs the driver's field of view. the only way to keep the visor from sagging into the driver's field of view is to use tape or velcro to attach it to the ceiling. this prevents the visor from being used in the intended manner to block sun or reflections. this is a safety hazard because the driver can't prevent sunlight and glare from diminishing visibility. this increases the chance for accidents or hitting objects or pedestrians in the road. *tr