Toyota Highlander Complaints

958 consumer complaints on file.

#11496262December 6, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The front headlights (low beam) are aimed too high resulting in blinding of oncoming drivers. More than half of all oncoming cars flash their lights suggesting. This has occurred for a year and a half since the vehicle was purchased. While a small adjustment was made to the headlights by the vehicle owner, this type of adjust was denied from the Toyota service department, and should never have been needed in the first place.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495929December 3, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When I drive at night time, the opposite driver complains on low beams that looks like high beams. They are too bright.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495603December 1, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
This occurs occasionally when I brake. I have my foot softly on the brake and the brakes cut out. The car feels like it accelerates/surges forward rather than slowing down. I need to apply the brakes hard to then stop the vehicle. I never know when it will happen. When it occurs and a car is in front of me, I have had near miss accidents. I often transport my grandchildren to daycare so I'm not only concerned with my safety, but my passengers as well. I have shared with my dealer and have called to report this to the Toyota corporate office. My dealer has noted this problem on my scheduled service invoice. They have inspected and recalibrated the brakes, but it is still happening. The dealer has checked each service appointment for any recall or notification from Toyota. I have researched online and know there are other Toyota Highlander Hybrid owners who are experiencing this same malfunction. When I called the Toyota national number, they indicated they would give my situation a case number. No one from Toyota has admitted there is a problem, but from my online research many owners have reported this problem. I would assume there are owners that have not reported it. It's truly a safety issue. I love everything else about the vehicle and hope by submitting this malfunction, it will lead to a recall and repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495378November 29, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
We rented this vehicle from Avis at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Tuesday, 11/22/22 at approx. 7:50 pm. It was raining, cold and temperature was dropping. We drove approx. 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile from the facility. As we turned left on to a major roadway (Goddard) southbound, I turned on the rear defroster. Suddenly, the engine went into limp mode. I tried to make a U-turn to drive back to the facility. Engine lights flashed (low oil pressure, check engine, etc) and then the engine stopped. We barely had enough power to turn the vehicle out of the turn lane before we would have been struck by a bus. We sat in left northbound lane of Goddard for approx. 2 min without our hazard lights on. The vehicle would not start. I then pressed the defroster again and the engine fired up. We drove back to the facility and demanded a new vehicle. While we waited for a new vehicle to be prepared, I demonstrated to the manager what had happened. Again, after depressing the rear defroster button, the engine shut off and would not restart. Again, after turning off the defroster button, the engine started back up. This engine condition was replicated multiple times. I warned the Avis manager not to rent this vehicle as it was a death trap.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495231November 28, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Upon starting my 2021 Highlander Platinum with 10,700 miles on it several warning lights repeatedly came across my display including reduced engine power, brake system malfunction, pre collision system malfunction. See your dealer. No codes showed up on their scan but every time they cleared the screen the messages came back. They decided it was a bad knock sensor. Then I received a call that a critter had chewed wires and they might find further damage. I was surprised because I’ve been in my house for 45 years and I’ve never had a critter in my garage. The service manager said “Toyotas attract critters because of the covering they use on the wires.” I said, “Soy?” And he said, “Yes”. So, isn’t this a manufacturing defect? How many times a year is this going to happen? I’ve owned Toyotas for 27 years. I’ve never had a problem until this car. I’m also having problems with the navigation system, 2 visits to the dealership and 45 minutes on the phone with the Toyota Engagement Center.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493556November 14, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES
While driving at a constant speed of approximately 45 mph the vehicle suddenly skidded sideways and launched to the right, causing us to nearly hit a guardrail. I dropped speed to 30 mph and this continued to occur at random for the next 10 miles until destination was reached. Road conditions were patchy snow up to fully covered in snow. Other vehicles passed at 50+ mph with no issues. No warning lights/messages or traction control light turned on. Today the same issue occurred while driving 15mph that caused the vehicle to almost run into a parked car. This has occurred at random over the past two days. All instances occurred while driving at a constant speed, no brakes were being applied and while driving in a straight line. This isn’t the first time the vehicle has been driven in these road conditions but first time problem has occurred. This is a safety hazard for my wife and child due to the fact the driver looses control at random and vehicle veers off to the side. Putting them at risk of impacting objects near the road or veering into oncoming traffic, putting other drivers at risk. Car was brought to the Toyota dealer 11/14. They plugged it into their computer and no codes were active. No open recalls either. I went for a drive , was given 5 minutes of their time, with the shop manager and the problem didn’t present itself. They said there was nothing else they could do. There was a recall on the VSC, vehicle stability control, but that was fixed on this vehicle in July 2022. Vehicle acts like a sensor or module isn’t calibrated correctly and causes either/or braking and acceleration to be applied in a manor that will result in a crash. Vehicle is not safe to drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493383November 13, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
Vibrating driver side mirror in speeds 50-70 MPH on concrete or asphalt
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493170November 11, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving on the highway the entire dashboard warning system came on all the ADAS and messages saying braking failure to loss of control. This vehicle is not even three months old and is a platinum AWD vehicle fully loaded version. Toyota Dealership never mentions or stated this vehicle had any issues, even today they seem not to know what caused the vehicle to underperform. This is dangerous and this vehicle going at 65 MPH and unable to stop is a real danger to the occupants and others. They say its safe to drive, I disagree for the safety of all indivduals on the roadways.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492871November 9, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
I have noticed that if I hit a bump in the road while braking, the brakes release momentarily and I have to press harder to continue braking. I have confirmed that this happens consistently, and is more likely to happen when I am braking slowly (i.e. I'm not pushing very hard on the brake pedal, just slowing the car gradually). This indicates that it's the regenerative brakes that are disengaging when I hit a bump or pothole. It has happened 20+ times and continues to happen consistently under these circumstances.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491936November 2, 2022
TIRES:SIDEWALL
I was traveling at highway speed with five passengers, luggage, and bike rack with five bicycles and without warning the driver's side rear tire sidewall completely blew out. The vehicle fishtailed but I was able to move over to the right emergency lane to change the tire. We did not hit any debris. This was a Bridgestone Alenza A/S Sport 235/65R18 tire that was original equipment with my 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV. The tires were inflated to 38 lbs. I called Bridgestone and they told me to take the tire to a Bridgestone dealer in Charlotte, NC. They replaced the tire at no charge. I left the failed tire with them but took photos.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489082October 13, 2022
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH with a passenger in the rear passenger seat, she heard an abnormal popping sound and the sunroof exploded from the inside-out without warning or impact. The shattered pieces of glass were propelled outside the vehicle. The occupant in the rear passenger seat sustained a cut on the finger but did not seek medical assistance. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the sunroof glass panel needed to be replaced and it was confirmed that the failure was not due to an impact to the sunroof. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated that she was concerned about a potential reoccurrence of the failure. As a result, she traded the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 7,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11488669October 10, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While having the eco system on, with the active system present by firmly pressing the brake hard at a stoplight, the light turned green. while taking my foot off the brake and the engine turning back on, attempting to accelerate the transmission would not allow me to get through the intersection turning left. I pulled to the far left/slow lane to stay out of other traffic. The vehicle would not allow me to go past 40mph, and the rpm’s would rev between 2000-3000 at low speeds between 10-25 mph. I had my 1 1/2 year old with me in his car seat, and it would have been tragic should this happen on the freeway and this kind of situation happened. Attempting to take it to the dealership, the truck even had trouble going over some railroad tracks with a small mound present. The dealership checked out the vehicle and called it operator error, after inspecting the reported malfunctions and finding nothing. This will not be operator error when someone is seriously injured, or if it happens to be one of their family members driving a similar vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488021October 5, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Driver side mirror vibrates and gets worse on the interstate and windy days. It does not give clear, steady view. Night time all you see is shaking headlights. It’s highly distracting and discomforting to eyes and causes headaches. Taken it to dealership plenty of times. It was replaced one time and still same issue. Dealership contacted Toyota about the issue and still no solution.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487462October 1, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driver side window spontaneously shattered while driving down highway at 65 mph. It sounded like a pressure explosion. My wife was driving and glass flew from f9nrt to passenger side and to the rear of the vehicle. Luckily my wife was wearing sun glasses. My duaghyers were in the rear with my youngest daugthers eyes being protected by a book she was reading. Glass struck me on the passenger side on the left side of my face.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486821September 27, 2022
POWER TRAIN
Highlander with approximately 650 miles on it had a transmission failure while on interstate 69 north of Evansville Indiana. The car seemed to shift into passing gear a few times while the cruise was set and we bumped it off cruise and coasted to a stop . The car would not move after we stopped . There was transmission fluid all over the drivers side and rear of the car and a puddle under it . We called Toyota roadside assistance and had the car towed to the nearest dealer .
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486230September 24, 2022
POWER TRAIN
When I'm cruising about 35 mph, let off the gas and decelerate, then give a slight bit of gas, I feel a "bump" in the drive train. It's more like slop in the transmission....sounds like a metal To metal noise...this happens after car is driving more then 30 min or 45 min.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11484942September 17, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
driver side mirror vibrates above 20mph which makes it harder to focus on the image, can lead to accidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11483587September 8, 2022
SEAT BELTS
Rear passenger seatbelt has torn in multiple places. I believe something inside may be cutting it when it retracts. The buckle is now stuck in a tear and the seatbelt will not fully retract. Toyota refuses to fix it under warranty because it’s “not usual wear and tear” and there’s no recall. I believe this is a significant safety risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11483459September 8, 2022
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
1. The engine was on while the 'hold' feature was enabled. I've used this feature numerous times before. This time, the 'hold' feature was on for about 5+ minutes, I heard 3 consecutive beeps out of nowhere followed by the engine restarting on it's own as if the push start button was pressed. At that time, the vehicle lunged forward causing me to brake, missing the vehicle in front of me. This happened while waiting at the school drop off lane. Vehicle also lags during acceleration and stalls especially when getting up to speed on the freeway/highway. 2. My children and I could have rear ended the vehicle in front of us which in turn, could have caused a chain reaction with thr vehicles all in front of us (at least 15+ vehicles before mine). We could have been seriously injured, families / staff walking in and out of the parking lot could have been hurt. Regarding the acceleration lag and stalling, we could potentially be at risk of getting hit waiting for the vehicle to pick up speed. 3. My vehicle is at the dealership currently, waiting to hear back from them as there are other numerous reoccurring issues with this vehicle which the dealership I purchased from failed to fix three times prior. 4. The issues have only been 'looked' by the dealership only. The initial dealership failed to have the Regional Engineer come onsite to investigate. I was told my issues were non concerning. 5. Regarding the vehicle lunging, in that instance, the only warning were the three consecutive beeps, no error lights or errors were observed. Regarding acceleration problems, there are no errors or sounds indicating problems thus far when the issue takes place. I have a list documenting the various issues I have experienced thus far with the first problem starting after owning the vehicle for about 3 months.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481373August 26, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY, STRUCTURE:BODY:BUMPERS
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a whistling sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that suddenly the bumper detached from the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the front valance panel attached to the bumper and attached to the fender had detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the fender was also detached and dragged underneath the vehicle. The contact pulled over and placed the parts in the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 15,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Toyota Highlander