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.
In July 2018, I was rear ended and had to have the Toyota of Greenville repair and repaint the rear of my car. Prior to that I had had no issues with chipping paint anywhere on my car. After that I began to have small bubbles of chipping paint on the front end of my car. I questioned the process and what may have caused it. I got nowhere with the Toyota of Greenville repair shop. I returned to Toyota of Greenville because that is where I bought my Highlander which is a 2012 and felt that service would be superior. That was in 2018 and as of today March 2, 2022 the front end of my Highlander has more chips and dings of paint. The rear end also had to be redone two times because of poor quality if the paint shop did not use adequate materials and protect the rest of my car the change in the temperature etc. could have aggravated the paint and caused it to chip and bubble. I requested that Toyota consider this a recall issue or service repair issue and repaint my Highlander. I purchased the Highlander because I was assured that it would maintain its exterior for many years. I have noted several recalls on paint colors that are metallic and my car has a metallic gray which could be an issue.
I have had at least 6 occasions that in shifting from reverse and backing up that the bakes did not work, fortunately I was going slow and stopped with emergency brake. I have it also after backing safely, then shifting into drive that the brakes went to the floor and wouldn-€™t stop the vehicle again, between the emergency brake and park I avoided disaster. Our car has only 27000 miles and we are very concerned that something bad could easily happen. The multiple occurrences have taken place in the last 1 - 2 years most recent today 12/12/2021.
The front driver window was making a clicking noise as if it were coming off the track. Eventually, the arm motor stopped all together and I had to replace the arm. Now the front passenger window is making the same noise and I'm afraid to open it. The leather interior is cracking badly on all seats. I rarely have passengers and condition the leather. I've had to use an adhesive to prevent additional cracking
The door ajar lights on the dash and "dinger" come on Aug 4, 2019, when I started the vehicle. I checked all doors, nothing was open. This has been a continuous problem ever since. These indicators come on when the doors are not ajar. They come on every day, the "dinging" noise as well as the little icons of the various doors. I have checked the doors repeatedly and they were not open. After researching, I have found out this is a Toyota problem with this vehicle. This problem can occur when the vehicle is in park and stationary and also when driving the vehicle. It is almost constant.and is ongoing. It has been happening to my Toyota Highlander for 7 weeks now. There was nothing that happened to cause this problem. One day it just started doing it. I hope Toyota can resolve this issue and send out a recall notice so owners can go and get the problem fixed. This is an important safety feature when hauling items and with children. Doors could actually be ajar. The little icon lights come on each day and the "dinging" noise is bothersome. I don't know if the doors are really ajar or not. Thank you.
- Green Isle, MN, USA
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While driving on the freeway at 75 mph I heard a very loud popping noise in the roof of the vehicle. When I pulled off on a side road at 45 mph, the sunroof exploded, sounding like a shotgun was fired over my head. The cover to the sunroof was open and tiny shards of glass fell into the car and I was picking them out of my hair all day. It was very distressing as I didn't know if someone was shooting at me so I kept driving until I was out of the area. When I felt safe, I stopped the car to inspect the damage and that's when I saw the sunroof glass protruding upwards. There were no other cars around me and nothing overhead. In the attached picture you can see the glass of the sunroof protruding upwards, which could not be the result of an impact from outside of the vehicle. When I took the car to the Toyota dealer, the service manager said he'd heard of it happening before and admitted it was a structural defect, yet Toyota would not cover it. He suggested I submit a claim to my insurance, which I did. This is a known issue that Toyota needs to rectify.
On March 19, 2019 around 9:30pm (dry road condition ' no rain), my husband and I heard a loud explosion outside while we were driving on highway (I-70) going approx. 70 mph. It sounded like a tire blew out or a gun shot. My husband didn't feel the car was wobbly so we assumed the tires on our car are ok. We were driving on left lane and there was a semi-truck next to us but we didn't see anything happened to the truck and it was moving normal too. However, after that loud explosion, we both noticed the noise coming from the top of the car (noise similar to when the car window is open). I then opened the cover (shade) of the sunroof and saw the sunroof was shattered so quickly closed the cover (shade) back up. Fortunately, the cover was closed when the sunroof shattered so we didn't get hurt from broken glasses. We have no idea how that happened as we didn't see any objects were flying towards us.
My vehicle was stationary and in park in a parking lot, with the engine still running. Suddenly, I heard an extremely loud bang, and the rear tailgate window had completely exploded into pieces. All that was left was the rear window wiper. Most of the glass exploded out, with only some glass landed in the back of the vehicle. Nothing was thrown at it, there was no damage to it, and all doors were closed.
While stopped on an incline with brake being pressed vehicle started rolling backwards and skid light came on. Put vehicle in 'park' and vehicle stopped. Placed vehicle in 'drive', accelerated and drove away without further incident. Took vehicle to dealership for inspection and was told no problem identified.
When locking the doors, even though the batteries have been changed the doors have to be locked manuel. The trunk opens on it own. I can be in the house and when I go outside the trunk is open.
Rear windshield blew out on the interstate. The car was warmed prior to driving and font and rear windshield were on defrost prior to the rear windshield exploding.
Power liftgate motor arm detached from the upper portion of the rear door. Upon repeated use and tightening it becomes stripped. Forums reports this is common for several model years - no recall. Hole to screw becomes stripped over time. No access to the back end to apply nut. Dealer recommends taking it to a body shop for door replacement at $3200 - $3900 dollars. Extremely bad design flaw. No solution found other than replacing the rear liftgate.
Bought the car certified preowned in 2014 and noticed a problem with the rear door. When trying to close automatically it would jerk to a stop, vibrate and go back up. The dealer agreed to fix it and took it in back for an hour. After that it worked on and off for two years. I started having problems again last year and now it wont close at all or open with the button- I can only open and close it manually. Took it to another dealer two weeks ago and they seemed dumbfounded despite a new notice from Toyota on the matter. I have read this is now a common problem and there is a class action against Toyota on this matter. The dealer has ordered a new motor and I go back next week - although I'm not sure that this will fix the problem. I have read accounts of owners going back 6-8 times and still having problems.
1. my car has only 30000 miles and yesterday brake malfunction showed up. My wife had hard time stopping this vehicle. 2. since I am reporting brake issue. It is important to share our speed gage is counting 2 -3 miles/hour higher than actual speed. We had a kind of sense for this. Now I purchased a very high efficacy gps. Which confirmed. When ever we are passing by speed detector on any given street. My speed meter is 2 -3 miles higher as compared shows on speeding detector on street. I do not want to pay to the dealer but I wanted to report for sure.
On February 2, 2017, my 2012 Highlander was placed in park and left in high school( dhs durango, co) round about with keys in car. I parked my car in front of a school round about, left the keys in ignition because I was returning. The vehicle shifted out of park, accelerated up a slight incline in the driveway and hit a parked truck. There was no one in the vehicle. Video from safety officer at high school shows the whole event. The vehicle was placed in park, lights turn off as I parked vehicle. The vehicle sits still in park for some time, then proceeds to move on its own and runs into vehicle ahead of it. The truck in front had damage to back left bumper and body....my vehicle has damage to front right bumper. Most alarmed by vehicle having changed gears and moved on its own with no one in vehicle. Several witness and video that I am unable to up load. Case has been initiated with Toyota and someone is coming from denver to do a edr on Tuesday, March 7th, 2017. I'm afraid all the stories I've read over the weekend on internet are very true...there is no other explanation to what happened. Concerned that Toyota rep will try to misread and mis-interpret findings or cause data to be tampered with...my main concern is safety and aside from this incident and a few unexplained pulling on the gas pump like a drag or acceleration, I thought my car was safe---someone could have been severely injured. Since I was not privy to what happened until video was provided fe. 23, I had no idea how to report to insurance my vehicle running into someone with no one in it!
Rear tailgate motor with power to open/lift and close the tailgate no longer works. Courtesy Toyota collision center provided estimate of $1,431.82 on 4-11-2016 to replace the motor. Problem started circa July 2015 after warranty expired not closing off and on until it finally stopped working. First checked by Toyota dealer in tallahassee, fl while on a trip to Mississippi before thanksgiving in 2015. Advised to have checked upon return to tampa area. The tailgate now rattles when the vehicle is in motion.
Lift gate handle literally fell off and broke as we were closing the door using the power button on the rear door. Screw just fell out of its attachment. Unable to use power lift gate function. Part of the rear door area where the hinge is attached is warped, possibly structural issues.
The electronic door lock (driver's side door) on my 2012 Toyota Highlander recently began to have problems; it worked intermittently for a short time, then ceased working at all. After a recent service trip, Toyota quoted me over $500 to replace the door actuator and labor. I realize this seems like a small issue. But I, and my family, have owned Toyota previously and have had the same issue, even with different models. I can't help but feel that Toyota is making a defective product and I, as a consumer, am footing the bill for their faulty part. Moreover, a simple internet search finds that this problem is ubiquitous; there are myriad forums dedicated to finding a solution. I feel that this may even justify a recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Simpsonville, SC, USA