Is Injector Failure Inevitable for Highlander?
3 Answers
Injector failure is not a common issue for the Highlander, and only occurs in individual vehicles. Below is more information about fuel injectors: The performance of fuel injectors plays a fundamental role in the power output of every engine. Poor fuel quality can lead to injector malfunction, causing severe carbon buildup in the cylinders, accelerated wear of cylinder liners and piston rings, resulting in unstable idling, increased fuel consumption, poor acceleration, difficulty starting, and excessive emissions. In severe cases, it can completely clog the injectors and damage the engine. Vehicle owners should regularly clean the fuel injectors. Both long-term neglect of cleaning and overly frequent cleaning can have adverse effects. The cleaning frequency should be determined based on the vehicle's condition and the quality of fuel used. Generally, most recommendations suggest cleaning every 20,000 to 30,000 kilometers. For vehicles in good condition using high-quality fuel, this interval can be extended to approximately 40,000 to 60,000 kilometers.
I've been driving my Highlander for over five years and have never encountered a fuel injector failure. The fuel injectors on this car are quite durable, and you can avoid issues by paying attention to two things: first, don't be tempted to buy cheap gas from small gas stations, as poor-quality fuel can easily clog the injectors with impurities; second, get a fuel system cleaning service every 30,000 kilometers. My friend's Highlander only had issues after seven or eight years because he often drove it on dusty construction sites. If you take care of these things in daily use, the injectors rarely fail, especially since the Highlander's powertrain is quite mature. If you notice symptoms like sluggish acceleration, a sudden spike in fuel consumption, or difficulty starting the engine when cold, getting it checked and fixed promptly usually costs around a thousand yuan.
Having repaired numerous Highlander fuel injectors, I must be honest—failures aren't inevitable but are quite common. The models prone to issues are pre-2015 versions with older fuel injection systems, especially those frequently driven in congested urban areas like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The stop-and-go traffic leads to carbon buildup and injector sticking. Newer models have significantly improved with self-cleaning coating technology. The key is using genuine gasoline filters and cleaning-type fuel additives. Otherwise, like last week's case where all injector holes got completely clogged, cleaning becomes impossible and requires full replacement. For vehicles over 150,000 km, annual atomization testing is recommended. Replacing all six injectors with labor costs around 4,000 yuan.
