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.
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Highlander. When the contact moved the steering wheel, it made a loud abnormal popping noise. The noise grew louder when the vehicle was being driven at different speeds. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Clunking or tapping noise when turning left or right that can be felt in the steering wheel. Diagnosed by Toyota as "steering intermediate shaft binding." This is a known issue with the 2008-2013 Highlander. Advised by Toyota mechanic that it doesn't need to be fixed unless I prefer it not to knock or clunk when turning.
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Highlander. While driving at low speeds or going over a bump in the road, there was an abnormal noise coming from the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to steve landers Toyota (10825 colonel glenn rd, little rock, ar 72204, (501) 568-5800) where it was diagnosed that the intermediate shaft in the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 102,396.
Ruidos O golpes en la caa del guia de direccion cuando giro a la izquierda O derecha. Mi vehiculo comenzo con estos ruidos a un poco mas de las 3600 millas de garantia Y Toyota no tomo ninguna accion. Vivo en puerto rico Y mi direccion ES P. O. box 1909, barceloneta puerto rico 00617, muchas gracias...
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Highlander. While driving unknown speeds, there was an abnormal knocking and popping noise when turning the steering wheel left and right. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact called the local dealer (five star Toyota of milledgeville, 2816 N columbia St, milledgeville, ga 31061, (478) 387-2112) and was informed to schedule a service appointment. The contact stated that the failure was similar to NHTSA action number: PE18005 (steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 156,000.
- Milledgeville, GA, USA
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Driving on a highway with gentle turns at 35mph, power steering failed. I was able to drive straight until there were no cars directly behind me and I could brake to a safe speed to attempt turning. I was eventually able to manually steer the car to turn into a driveway using a three point turn.
I had a clunking noise whenever I turned the steering wheel left or right at slow speeds. I checked on line and found this site which noted fault to be the intermediate steering shaft, as the issue. I took my vehicle into a Toyota dealership for repair. They confirmed that this was the issue and because it is not considered a safety issue, no recall has been issued. Toyota would not cover any of the cost which was $684. It started when I had 80,000 miles on the vehicle and I took it in for repair at 94,000 miles when noice became louder.. disappointed Toyota did not help with the repair cost.
When making a right hand turn the steering system has a significant "bump" of "thump". this appears to be a problem with a part of the steering sector shaft that Toyota is well aware of but will not acknowledge there is a problem with design. Toyota will only correct problem if customer is willing to pay cost of approximately $1200. Not sure what will happen if correction is not made, but I believe it could lead to failure of the steering system to function appropriately.
Started the car. Power steering was gone!! it had just gone out!!! thank god I was in town. I had just gone over mountain road where I could have gone over a cliff and been killed. I was able to take the car with horrible difficulty to a mechanic across the street and they called the Toyota dealer and they told them to disconnect the battery. That didn't work. I had the car towed to the Toyota dealer when they took the tow it seemed to be working. They checked it and was given an "all system ok" on the powertrain, chassis, electrical and network systems. They said it was a "glitch" a glitch"??? this is a car I paid $34,000 for and I have kept up with all the scheduled maintenance. Now I'm afraid to drive it. It was terrifying. I have to drive home from san luis obispo to lancaster ca and I'm scared to death. A glitch???"
At approximately 40-42 mph on a slight curve to the right, the steering would get very tight and the steering wheel was extremely difficult to turn in the direction of the road.( it is as if the car was turning to the left on its own) this has happened several times and the dealer and Toyota inspected the car. The car was under case management with Toyota three times for the same problem. Case #'s [xxx], [xxx], and case [xxx]. each time Toyota would state there is no problem and the car was "functioning as designed. " Toyota's excessive use of electronics in areas such as steering have created unsafe vehicles. Even worse, my opinion is Toyota knows they have another safety issue and once again is denying and covering it up. Toyota can no longer be trusted! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I only have 7K miles in my car I own the car for only 1 year. I notice that the steering wheel is not balance at all. At least 5-10 degree to the right. I have my car service every 6 months with Toyota it should be balanced and done the tire rotation"?" also the transmission occasionally stall about 1-2 second when I accelerate to 30-40 mph. I am afraid that the transmission will have problem within this 2-3 years. Like Honda transmission failure on Odyssey.
Purchased my 2011 Highlander in March, & it had 7000 miles on it at the time of the incident. I started the vehicle in my driveway, put it in drive, and started down my driveway. Pressed the brake pedal, and there were no brakes and seemed not to have power steering. The lights in the dash came on, and the screen said brake malfunction contact dealer immediately. There were no brakes, I finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, put the car in park, and turned the ignition off. When I turned the key, the car started, the dash lights were still lit up, and I guess the computer seemed to "reset". I pulled back into my driveway & had the car towed to the dealer the next day. The dealer has had it for over two weeks, and the incident has not happened again, and they said that they cannot find a single thing wrong with it. They can, however, see that there was an "incident" with the brakes on that date by the computer reading. I have been told that I am going to be getting this car back, and that it is fine. Everyone say a prayer for myself and my 3 kids that are in it, & hope that it doesn't happen again in these mountains that I live!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Granada Hills, CA, USA