I was at the beach which is 3 hours away from my house. Oil pressure light came on then I checked the oil and there was nothing on the dipstick. Had two add 4 quarts of oil and later found that it was shooting out from underneath somewhere. It wound up being the rubber hose on the oil cooler line. They can't just replace the hose so the whole unit had to be replaced which now includes metal hoses. It cost $500.00 to have the car towed home and $400 to fix the problem. It appears that there have been several complaints about the oil cooler hoses blowing but know recalls that I know of.

I have seen a post of someone who was able to get the dealer to fix this problem. Unfortunately, I did not find this until after the repair. I still cannot be sure a dealer close to me would have fixed it for free, so there was the risk of towing it to the dealer, possibly being on the hook for a diagnosis and then towing it back home for less expensive repair. I usually take my Highlander to the dealer for maintenance services, including oil changes. I am disappointed that nothing was ever mentioned about the potential oil leak.

I travel frequently and could have been in the middle of nowhere when the leak occurred (which is really not a leak). The oil came pouring out. My wife was driving in town when it happened. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to stop and get some oil when the light came on in order to drive it home. Of course, there is still oil all the way down the street, trailing into the driveway, and puddled where the car was parked.

I also have a Camry, but this experience essentially cancels the reason I was buying Toyota products in the first place. I am not saying they cannot make mistakes, but they did not own up to it and alert the customers. This is an engine killing problem. It has to be dealt with. If I wanted an oil leak or coolant leak at 100K, I could have bought any old, cheap vehicle. Sound the alarm. Tell your Highlander owning friends to put pressure on Toyota to solve this problem before they get stuck somewhere and possibly ruin the engine.

oil cooler lines leaking oil

The disappointment came when Toyota charged me for the repair. A technical bulletin was established July of 2014 and I was not notified. The bulletin's primary coverage was until Jan of 16 and secondary 150k miles or 10 years. When the oil cooler line not only leaked, but it burst and poured all of the oil in my car onto my driveway. This event could have been catastrophic, had it not coincidentally happened in my driveway, when I returned from a 10 mile trip with my daughter. I am disappointed with Toyota's integrity, for not checking on this bulletin when I routinely have had the vehicle in the shop for various preventative maintenance check-ups. I am forced to absorb the cost, when in fact every check-up at Toyota, nothing was ever noted. I am assuming that this particular problem starts with a leak. This will be my last Toyota, buyers beware.