We bought a 2001 Toyota Highlander from the auto auction for our daughter.. it has VVT issues?

Рет қаралды 16,783

3 жыл бұрын

In this episode we bought a 2001 Toyota Highlander for our daughter's very first car. We got it from the auto auction and it's in pretty good shape! 230k, AWD, V6, new tires and battery. The only problem is.. it has a VVT (Variable valve timing) check engine light.
Let's see if it's a quick fix, and also show her the car and see what she thinks as she takes it for a first drive!

Пікірлер: 56

@joshkelnhofer5454 2 жыл бұрын

Glad to see a kid that appreciates what her parents can get for her. So many these days just expect something new or over the top. She was genuinely happy. Good job dad

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Yeah she's a great kid! Very proud of her

@guidosegalla82 Жыл бұрын

Her father is a good man and it was nice to see his daughter grinning ear-to-ear nice little story.

@sunny6020 2 жыл бұрын

Hearty congratulations ! Happy and safe drive for many more years to come!!

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much 😀

@kevinguzman468 2 жыл бұрын

I still have my first gen highlander. Such a great suv. Moded it up to make it look off-road. Really underrated car. Glad she liked it 🤙💯

@theamerican7080 3 жыл бұрын

I just bought a 2002. Let us know how you make out with it! Take care of that thing with regular service, and it'll last another 200K miles! These things are actually very sought after because they are made in Japan- where real Toyotas are from.

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

Been having issues lately.. but working to resolve.. might be a future video! Thanks for watching

@nancyingram966 Жыл бұрын

I ended up having to take it to the Toyota Dealer and got THEIR knock sensors installed by them, as well as the wire harness. Toyota doesn't make after market parts to sell, but they have particular brands that they call their own. So, since the parts I had purchased and installed hadn't been in the car long, I wanted them back and I was able to return them and got my $257 returned to me from my parts store. (knock sensors, harness and the $80 metal gasket) That was back in March 2023, and so far so good..... all codes cleared and no warning lights on. (fingers crossed and knocking on wood) So.... From Nov '22 -Mar '23, I invested $5k into my Highlander that I bought for $4500 in Feb2020. Granted, $1200 of that was tires, alignment, and rotors and pads. Wheww....

@josevalera8929 Жыл бұрын

Great buy,this are tanks will last for a long time with little maintenance ,made in Japan ,I have two,best buys ever

@cadacabezaesunmundo6496 Жыл бұрын

There is good spirit in the appreciation for what her parents got for her. I have a Hilander and want to do the experiment to see for how long it can go with good maintenance. I have been learning to do basic maintenance including oil change every 5 000 miles, transmission fluid, brakes fluid, coolant, check tire pressure often.

@DragonDriver5 Жыл бұрын

Treat them right and they will last a LONG time!

@nancyingram966 Жыл бұрын

I bought a 2001 Highlander Limited three years ago. It was great the first 2.5 years. I've have so many issues with the check engine light and VSC lights coming on, ever since I got new tires, alignment, front rotors and brake pads done. Had the back valve cover gasket replaced, plugs and coils, timing belt kit installed, VVT solenoids (cause it started bucking), both knock sensors (after market, code was only for bank 2, but replaced both) and harness, water bypass hose (since it was accessible while doing the knock sensors) and a new battery. Check engine light and VSC lights always come back on within 20 miles after clearing. I'm a senior on a fixed income and this is breaking me. Code still says knock sensor. One shop says the VSC light tells him it needs the steering angle sensor- in the steering column- replaced. I love the car and I know I can't get my money back if I sell it. Suggestions? Please be kind.

@DragonDriver5 Жыл бұрын

For my situation the timing belt was off by a notch.. hope that helps!

@Q1776Q Жыл бұрын

I have replaced my knock sensors 3 times with genuine Toyota parts, replaced the wiring harness twice and replace the computer that controls it.... I still get the bank 2 code every time I drive. I just clear the code so it will shift into high gear and keep going.

@glitch-pr3nr Жыл бұрын

They do make mistakes when programming (I got a recall notice for my vehicle) like on my Scion. Look at the comment above that says they replaced everything and it comes down to a steering column issue. If it is working, and driving fine what is a code? Don't beat yourself up about an anomaly. Brakes and tires and wheels, and windshield wipers, are the most important things. Enjoy🎉and checking the oil and coolant and reservoirs.

@glitch-pr3nr Жыл бұрын

It could be worse my nephews first used vehicle came with a leak in the roof, and it was a nightmare. He tried caulk and everything but it would not stop leaking. It was a saturn. He finally got a nice used Toyota van. And then he got married and they got a new little car I think it is a Toyota. It is so cute. Chevrolet makes a cute economy car too.

@glitch-pr3nr Жыл бұрын

I think at some point it would teach a child about financing, and interest, and credit, and the importance of reading the fine print, on documents, and the law of consumer protection of financing if you purchase a newer vehicle. Just research and prepare, and ask questions, about the rules of purchasing, vs leasing a vehicle. It might be less costly than maintainence on a dinosaur. But if you don't go into debt for a vehicle, you could buy a home instead. You determine your priorities at the end of the day. Most auto loans, are moving to 10 year loans, because vehicles are so overpriced.

@TheGraduateApple 2 жыл бұрын

Hope you replaced the broken rear wiper, pet peeve of mine and probably for her [your daughter] too

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, it was replaced. I actually found the replacement in the back hatch! Someone bought it but apparently didn't know how to remove the old one or didn't get to it

@georgef1176 Жыл бұрын

My brother has 300k it’s 3.0 is still a ripper great cars

@jojofreelancer1210 2 жыл бұрын

How has worked out? I've heard knock sensor is an issue with this year. Im looking at a used 1 myself so doing sone research

@DragonDriver5 Жыл бұрын

Spoiler alert! It wasn't the knock sensor, the timing was off a notch, which set off all the codes..

@Tempsho Жыл бұрын

@@DragonDriver5 Did you fix the timing? What did that involve

@mackfrizzle5045 Жыл бұрын

I just got a 2004 Toyota Highlander with 140,000 I love it so far. Question, does she still have the Highlander and if so how does it run???

@DragonDriver5 2 ай бұрын

They are great cars for sure but this one was a little tricky.. be sure and see part 2 (and future part 3) on what happened to it

@FEETLE 2 жыл бұрын

Yea the lack if pep is definitely the knock sensor. It's retarding the timing to prevent Low octane gas from knocking on your engine. But I assume as read this I'm sure you accumulate information information from Toyota nation and Lexus club forums on how to do the hack, If you're not willing to take off the intake the intake manifold and retrieve and replace the knock sensors within the The Valley of that engine. It's a common problem for these these sensors and wire harness to go bad on high mileage.

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

I ended up replacing the sensors and the wiring harness to the plug, but it did not fix the issue. I believe the problem was actually that whoever replaced the timing belt did it incorrectly and it was off by a notch, which has a similar outcome putting the car into "limp mode". We sold the Highlander shortly after that, without resolving the issue. I appreciate the comment/suggestion, and I'll have the update video on it eventually :)

@tommyinla 2 жыл бұрын

@@DragonDriver5 I'm curious, did you buy genuine Toyota knock sensors? I replaced the 2 on my 2001 with genuine parts (that cost about 240 a piece) as well as the small harness and never had any issues after that.

@mikef.485 2 жыл бұрын

Oh no. Well, I hope you found something with less issues.

@duanekellen9427 9 ай бұрын

This late but great family 👍I’ve had 3 highlander over the years 😊

@champs591 2 жыл бұрын

Timing is cleary off. and I bet you have little or slow acceleration. Causing valve code.....change the timing belt and cam seal, crank shaft seals , tensioner pully, idler pully , water pump...and you'll be good to go..do the other 2 drive belts too while you are there. Trust me. I'm an ASE certified Master mechanic.

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the comment and great advice! I'm working on the follow up video which will go over that and more...

@champs591 2 жыл бұрын

@@DragonDriver5 do not sell that highlander. Those are the last of the true Japanese made highlanders...the new ones are made & assembled in the USA now and are not as reliable....easy to tell because your vin # starts with a J.... & probally JTE....I know that car like the back of my hand. You got a gem!

@mikef.485 2 жыл бұрын

Small world. I just picked up the same (2001 in gold). The VIN starts with JTE. I got it from an auction site too (went towards a veterans charity). Just need to clean it up some and figure out why the VSC light is on. I got the 3.0 with AWD, so hopefully it’s not an expensive fix. It’s has 200k miles. I’m hoping to get the 3.0 up to 400k-500k since I heard that engine is really reliable.

@josesucha7735 3 ай бұрын

@@champs591hey champ, i just got a highlander, its running good, only issue is code po330, knock sensor bank2. But the car seems fine to me, it gets high speeds, past 90m per hour, rpm stays around 3 to 4k rpm. Wouldnt that code suppouse to make it go limp mode?.

@safisafari2223 2 жыл бұрын

How is the car now 10 months later!

@DragonDriver5 2 жыл бұрын

Update video should be out pretty soon, I've been working on getting it uploaded! Thank you for following the progress :)

@safisafari2223 2 жыл бұрын

@@DragonDriver5 thanks I be waiting and am excited. .my 2003 Highlander V6 is in the shop for a major and most expensive repair...you guessed it, engine replacement, I have no idea and will remain a mystery, how the engine got so dirty that it would fail finally ( at 104000 miles and every 3000 miles Oil and " Filter" changes)despite a gasket cover gasket replacement to stop the recent oil leak. ..Thanks again!

@Jeremya74 11 ай бұрын

Especially for that cheap?...how much was it???

@DragonDriver5 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment, I actually showed the purchase price 11 seconds into the video which was $2100

@frankholtzclaw765 9 ай бұрын

38 seconds into video lack of information. I COULDN'T BELIEVE WE GOT IT THAT CHEAP. What was the price?

@DragonDriver5 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment, I actually showed the purchase price 11 seconds into the video which was $2100

@eboninecamilus9994 Жыл бұрын

Please What’s the name of the Auction site I want to get one

@DragonDriver5 Жыл бұрын

Post Falls Auto Auction

@dank1280 2 ай бұрын

@@DragonDriver5I knew I recognized that place! I’ve delivered Uber Eats to the staff there before!

@DragonDriver5 2 ай бұрын

That awesome, they are really nice people for sure! I do uber eats on occasion too but mainly in spikane Valley

@ukraineSpaceman Жыл бұрын

Молодці. Гарне авто. Вітаю.

@DragonDriver5 2 ай бұрын

Thank you :)

@agneswong1504 2 жыл бұрын

Me2

@billkirby3975 Жыл бұрын

A complete waste of time

@DragonDriver5 Жыл бұрын

What would have made it better? Serious question, I appreciate the feedback

@davey3710 Жыл бұрын

Yeah old toyatas are the bewt

@tcmarshall6725 6 ай бұрын

Absolutely useless video. Spent more time talking about nothing than actually working on the vehicle.

@DragonDriver5 2 ай бұрын

You will for sure like part 2 then, which is when I do work on it (and fail?). Part 1 was more about getting the car and surprising my daughter than working on it