10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,785 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.

2016 Toyota Highlander electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Toyota Highlander Owner Comments

problem #11

Apr 172022

Highlander

  • miles

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

I had bought my vehicle 5 months ago in an authorized Toyota dealer, on Easter Day we got on the vehicle drove 15 minutes from home to the park, parked my vehicle, turn it off and went to the park are next to where my vehicle was parked, from where i was sitting i was able to see my vehicle and we wasn't that far, not even 5 minutes after that i walked near the vehicle and notice it was on fire. No light was on in the dashboard, everything was working fine, the vehicle just had an oil change at the begging March 2022 and now in April 2022 it caught fire. This was my dream vehicle and i worked hard to get it. Fire fighters arrived at the scene, police department as well, the police gave me a report number, also a fire department investigator was called to the scene where he certified it was a short circuit and gave me a report number as well.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #10

Jun 142021

Highlander

  • miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shut-off without warning. The contact would be able to restart the vehicle a few minutes after the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an unknown dealer. The dealer attempted to charge him a diagnostic fee and the contact refused. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and they sided with the dealer and insisted that he pay a diagnostic fee to have the vehicle serviced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Toby Hanna, PA, USA

problem #9

May 092020

Highlander 6-cyl

  • miles
The iphone 11 is not compatible which causes you not to be able to drive hands free. Every time I turn on my car and context my phone my car audio disconnects. I confirmed on the Toyota website that the iphone 11 is not compatible with Toyota cars which makes it impossible to drive hands free.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #8

Jan 232020

Highlander

  • miles

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

The liftgate hit my 73 year old mother in the head knocking her backwards without any safety feature stopping or reversing the door as it closed.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #7

Jan 102020

Highlander

  • 8,000 miles
Interior lights on and off; warnings e.g.hood open when not; did not (light) alert cars along side or passing; module cracked by tapping to delete phone #S put into system by Toyota tech, navigation started on its own and it was incorrect!; maps incorrect to location; map showing North as South and East as West all when car in motion

- Waterford, NY, USA

problem #6

May 072019

Highlander

  • 47,000 miles
Parking sensors and park assist randomly turns itself off. Will notice the sensors not detecting while backing up and notice dash light is not illuminated. Not functioning when backing and parking.

- Redlands, CA, USA

problem #5

Mar 022018

Highlander

  • 25,000 miles

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

Two separate issues: 1. rain sensing wipers activate randomly on clear days, sun shining. Wipers will wipe on time while driving randomly. A severe distraction. 2. cruise control display activating randomly while driving with no vehicles nearby in front (active cruise control vehicle). Display will be normal and then go back and forth the the set display screen. Distracting while driving on freeway.

- Redlands, CA, USA

problem #4

Apr 102018

Highlander

  • 25,000 miles
Vehicle pre-collision system activating randomly with no other vehicles nearby. Dash display lights up with warning accompanied with rapid beeping while driving. Multiple times noted on video from dash-cam. Has come on while changing lanes and can cause an accident by the distraction. Has happened on freeway as well as city driving. While coasting and accelerating. Date listed below is approximate.

- Redlands, CA, USA

problem #3

Aug 202018

Highlander

  • miles
Car's AWD started not working, check engine light came on. Took it to the dealer and they stated the main wiring harness was "chewed" up by rodents. They stated they seen it before due to a organic based oil on the harness wires.

- Middletown, PA, USA

problem #2

Oct 012017

Highlander

  • 35,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Highlander. While the vehicle was parked in the driveway, it automatically turned on without warning. The contact had to push the ignition switch to stop the vehicle. The contact also stated that there was a loud noise when the ignition switch was turned on. The contact turned off and turned on the vehicle, and the loud noise stopped. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.

- Downsville, LA, USA

problem #1

Dec 222016

Highlander

  • 640 miles
My car engine started on its own after being turned off. I went shopping at walmart and parked my 2016 Toyota Highlander xle in the parking lot. I put the car in park and pushed the engine start/stop button to turn off the car. My family and I exited the car and I used the keyless entry pad to lock the doors. We shopped for approximately 45 min. When we returned to the car, I used the keyless entry pad to unlock the doors so I could put our purchases in the trunk. As I got close to the vehicle I heard an engine running, but thought it was the car next to us. I bent down and listened under the front end of my Highlander and to my surprise, I realized my car engine was running. When I opened the driver side door and looked at the dashboard, I noticed a small triangular yellow caution light was flashing but I don't remember what the message said other than caution. If my car randomly starts on its own while its in a garage, it could cause toxic fumes to fill my garage if left on long enough, and could cause harm or death to someone who breathes it in. After reading about the brake/hydraulic recall on some 2015-2016 Highlanders, coupled with the recent issue I had at walmart, I am nervous about driving my car. I wish I had read about these issue before buying my car 30 days ago. I thought I had done my homework and read several websites before buying the car, but I will read recall reports before buying a car from now on.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

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