5.1

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
19,304 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Toyota Highlander drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2009 Toyota Highlander Owner Comments

problem #4

Apr 042013

Highlander 6-cyl

  • 72,566 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

T-sb-0201-11 from Toyota states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes." This tsb affects Toyota and Lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This is a major issue, and I feel this should be handled as a recall instead of a tsb due to the severity of the issue if/when the pipe breaks. I recently elected to have my vehicle repaired on my own just so I wouldn't have to worry about this issue happening to me or my wife, and thus blowing up my Highlander's engine causing thousands of dollars in damages. Seems pretty bad that a recall can be issued for floor mats and accelerator issues, but no recall is issued for this issue which can drain the oil from your engine in a minute, blow up your engine, and then possibly wreck your vehicle. Consumer's engines are now being destroyed, and this is showing up in different online forums. I feel that the NHTSA needs to force Toyota to replace all of the defective engine oil cooler pipes with the newer metal ones that the tsb addresses. They should also be forced to reimburse all costs to those individuals that either needed to have the repair done, or decided to preventatively have the repair done on their own before those pipes burst on their own.

- Lexington, SC, USA

problem #3

Mar 282013

Highlander

  • miles
Toyota has issued a T-sb-0201-11 which states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes." This affects Toyota and Lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This should have been handled as a recall vs. A T-sb with a defined expiration date because consumers engines are being destroyed when this 'seep' occurs. This happens with a minute and all of the engine oil is left on the road and the engine is destroyed. Imagine a family who's driving along the highway, their engine stops working and an 18-wheeler rear ends them. That is why the NHTSA needs to force Toyota to replace all of the defective engine oil cooler pipes with the metal ones that the T-sb addressee.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #2

Nov 142012

Highlander

  • miles
The vehicle suddenly lost power on the highway. The car was still running, but there was no power to the wheels. The front differential had failed due to a leak in the front of the transfer case. This failure caused the transmission to fail as well.

- Odenton, MD, USA

problem #1

Jun 012009

Highlander

  • 4,648 miles
I purchased a 2009 Toyota Highlander, in February 2009. On June 1, 2009, I was northeast of rockville, Indiana on highway 47 in this Toyota Highlander. I approached a slow moving vehicle on a straight section of roadway and passed the vehicle. As I was passing I felt like the car was going faster than I was accelerating. When I pulled back into the right lane the car was going even faster and I realized that the car was accelerating on its own. Luckily, I was still on a long straight section of the road and had some time. I first tried to brake but the car kept going even faster. I put the car in neutral and started braking and luckily found a place to pull off the road. I was completely shocked that the engine was racing uncontrollably. I looked down at the accelerator and nothing was pushing or touching it. I then turned off the car, put the car in 'park', got out of the car and looked around the accelerator again to make sure that nothing was pushing on it, then waited for about a minute and restarted the car. The car started with the engine racing. I turned off the car and restarted the car two more times and each time the engine raced uncontrollably. I turned off the car, left a message for my husband on his cell phone and waited for five minutes with the car turned off as I waited for my husband to call back. He never did call so I decided to start the car one more time. When I did, the car started normally and the engine did not race. I tried to calm down emotionally and drove home not knowing when or if the accelerator would be a problem. I took the Highlander in for service to jordan automotive group, mishawaka, Indiana on 6/3/2009 and they insisted that the floor mats were the problem. I do not believe this because I had checked everything around the accelerator when the engine was racing and there was absolutely nothing touching the accelerator. The problem is electronic. I do not feel safe in this vehicle.

- Edwardsburg, MI, USA

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