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.
I bought my car used. Only had it for 3years and already had to replace the battery twice. Once I was stopped at light turning left, yeild to oncoming traffic, since my foot was on brakes battery just dyed in middle of light, police had to come made sure I didn't get hit. 2nd time car cutt off at McDonald's drive thru and battery went dead again. Something is wrong with batteries that make them go bad, n it's unsafe bc I've got stranded twice in not.so good places..
Driving on I75 at 75mph, while trying to adjust the steering wheel, as soon I unlocked steering wheel lock and put the steering all the way to lowest position it just stalled on highway. Lucky enough I was alone and was able to pull over safely. There is seriously something wrong with steering wheel electrical or ignition system or something with else.
S.R.S malfunction error message due to open circuit in the left front door harness. Active DTC (S) B1697 code which is related to lost communication with side airbag sensor LH is present in the vehicle. Toyota is refusing to address the issue because it is not part of a covered warranty and there are no open recall on this issue. This is a safety issue in that in the event of an accident, the airbag will not deploy which could be catastrophic.
I have a power steering warning light. Steering is harder than normal. I believe this vehicle is having the same power steering problem that Toyota Tundra and sequoias are having. I want it to be recalled and paid for by the manafacturer. This is ridiculous a well maintained vehicle.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power after coming to a full stop at a traffic light. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the dealer; however, the mechanic and the dealer were unable to duplicate the failure. The contact related the failure to a faulty Auto Start/Stop feature. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
- Blythewood, SC, USA
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Car wouldnt start in garage, it shows error in the dash "Braking Power Low, STOP in a safe place". It looks like several people are having same issue around same time outside of warranty, and on cars not in the original recall.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated informing the driver that the AWD system and stability were disabled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they diagnosed the failure of the sub-assembly and the water temperature sensor needed to be replaced. The contact stated that he was informed that the onboard computer disabled the system due to the weather. The dealer informed the contact that the parts were on national backorder. The dealer performed a temporary repair by placing plastic on the grill to keep cold air out; however, the failure reoccurred several times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts were not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.
1.) Bluetooth connects without issue to iPhone (for both media and phone) however during a phone call (incoming/outgoing) the car system will drop the call after about 2 mins of talk time. The phone then disconnects from the car & will only re-pair once the system restarts. 2. ) The safety hazard is due to distracted, hands required operation of the phone due to Bluetooth system not working properly 3.) The issue has been under 'warranty' for nearly 2 years at my dealer. There is currently no resolution. Dealer admits the fault is due to a compatibility issue of various vendors supplying the head unit, bluetooth/radio unit, and software. 4.) At the instruction of the manufacturer, the dealer has refused to replace any hardware.
Unable to start vehicle twice. In both instances, foot was placed on the brake before pressing Start button and brake was extremely stiff. When Start button is pushed, electronics engage (control panel lights, A/C, etc.) but engine will not engage. In the first incident, car had been stopped to refuel and would not restart. Car had been started without incident and been running for approximately 20 minutes prior to stopping for refueling. Tried to restart the engine for 20-30 minutes unsuccessfully and had to have vehicle towed to authorized Toyota dealer. Dealer was unable to look at it for two days and was able to start engine on the first try two days later. Dealer could not replicate problem. In the second incident, car had been in a parking lot for two hours on a hot day. Again, brake was extremely stiff, electronics engaged but engine would not start. A message appeared Brake Power Low. We shut off A/C and were able to restart the vehicle. In both instances, the driver-side door was open to try and let hot air out - we don't know if this has any bearing on the issue.
Upon turning on the vehicle the brake peddle locked and the steering wheel. Message prompted "braking power low, stop in safe place". After that all electronic features failed and vehicle did not turn on at all. Vehicle wouldn't even lock. Mine and my families safety was at risk due to the fact that this could have happened while the vehicle was in motion and all steering and braking abilities are lost. The vehicle is scheduled to be seen. No warning signs/lampsor other symptoms where present prior to the incident.
Car is not properly wired to tow a trailer equipped with electric brakes. Toyota advertises the Highlander as having 5000 lb towing capacity. On the other hand, trailers weighing 3000 lb or more are required by law to be equipped with trailers brakes in most states. However, the Highlander's towing wire harness does not include the necessary wiring and 7-pin connector to power trailer brakes. Highlander OEM wiring harness only includes a 4-pin connector (which does not have output for a car-mounted brake controller nor 12V output to charge trailer's breakaway battery or power a trailer-mounted brake controller). Toyota's claim that the Highlander is capable of towing 5000 lb, but not equipping the car with essential safety equipment to do so is an unsafe condition (and false advertising). It could lead the car owners / operators to believe that it is acceptable to tow a 3000 lb or more trailer with the Highlander using the OEM 4-pin connector only, creating a serious safety hazard to themselves and other road users. Toyota should either equip the Highlander with proper wiring harness and 7-pin connector that allows the use of an on-board brake controller, or withdraw the towing capacity claim.
Starting battery is defective. My Toyota dealer stated the "this is a know issue with Toyota. They had a defective batch of batteries". the issue is that the replacement batteries are unavailable, rendering the car useless as it cannot be started. The battery does not hold a charge. This is covered under the new vehicle warranty.
My 2018 Toyota Highlander experienced 4 different episodes of spontaneous acceleration while on local highways, 3 being on resumption of speed while using cruise control and the 4th not while on cruise control.there are 10 other electronic types of malfunctions not involving safety issues. Per the lemon law of wa state, the matter was taken to arbitration. The arbitrater found in my favor and awarded me a new replacement Highlander. Toyota has asked for a jury trial. I therefore continue to drive a vehicle that could cause a dangerous, potentially fatal car. I can supply further documentation should you want it.
Phone system cuts out and doesn't download contacts. Being told Toyota is doing update. This has been told to me 6-8 times. I continually take the car in for service. I was never contacted about a fuel pump recall that can cause a crash. I found the recall myself. To this date I have not received notice of the recall. I forced Toyota to give me a rental car and not a Toyota. That was on March 16th. To this date there is no fix and my car is sitting in Florida. Toyota refused to allow me to leave it at the dealership even though I live in Delaware. I was also told when they do have a fix I would need to get the car into the dealership within 10 days, no matter what the state of the country is. They will cancel my rental if I don't. I do not feel safe in this car any longer since I continue to get lies from them about the phone issue and no information about a recall. How do I proceed with a complaint to you and is the lemon law viable?
Issues with hands-free device working intermittently. Phone being used is iphone 11 max and when connected it seems that radio and hands free will go off until they reboot themselves.
Problems with my 2018 Toyota Highlander ([xxx]) 1 ) lane depart indicator:sometimes doesn't work until I've driven 1 or 2 or 4 miles. Sometimes in every trip stops working as well as activates when maybe a foot from lane markers on both sides of the car 2) climate control: Usually does not retain memory of fan speed, control of passenger side temp, and air flow direction when restarting the car. When temp set on, e.g. 69 temp in car is ~76-80. When airflow shows the flow aimed at windshield & feet, most of the air flow comes to my torso with minimal flow to other 2 sites. 3) need coffee break message: Has come on twice when on a long trip, disappearing after ~ a minute, but several times came on after driving only 2-4 miles. 4) faulty resumption of speed: When the speed control was set at 50 mph (once) or 60 mph (once) and I toggled the control to resume set speed the car sped up well beyond what it was set at. I had to disengage the speed controller to stop the acceleration. Happened again ~3 weeks ago when speed set at 35, and when I toggled it resume speed it roared ahead until it reached 45 mph. 5) door handle locking mechanism; not as sensitive to locking when touched as it was when car was new. Unlocking when touching handle works fine. 6) motor turnoff when at stoplight: Seldom works. When it does it turns itself off after as little as 30 seconds even tho pressure on brake pedal is constant. 8) (non-electronic problem) the transparent plastic cover over the dash control settings is deteriorating - - can?T see thru it very well in certain ways the light hits it 9) speedometer reading problem: When cruise control is working, the digital readout for the speed is usually 1-2 mph lower than what the speedometer dial says it is. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Early today, 3/21/19, was alerted that my hatchback was open. The car had been locked for several hours, but when I came outside I was told by a friend that the hatch had just opened on it's own. About an hour later, I was driving after dark and received a blindside mirror alert--the closest car was at least two car lengths immediately behind me in the same lane. Shortly after, the caution light came on, beeped, the eco light came on, it beeped again and the eco light went off. About 40 minutes later, I had the bright headlights on with the auto dim enacted. The headlights went out, the dash lights went out, the radio stayed on, and the navigation screen got very bright. I had to return the light control on the signal switch away from the setting and then back to get the headlights and dash light to come back on. All events except hatch were when vehicle in motion. Hatch opened while parked and empty. All events were within approximately 2 hours of each other. 10000 mile service had just been completed 3/15/19 with no concerns noted.
Dear sir. Unit can not be changed. The unit can not be changed from F to ℃. I have been living in celsius temperature environment for more than 50 years and have recently emigrated to the United States. By the way, my car can not see the celsius temperature. So, I have to calculate the Fahrenheit temperature in degrees celsius for a short time each time to know the current celsius temperature. (calculated similarly to celsius temperature = (Fahrenheit - 30) / 2) I can not concentrate on driving while calculating the celsius temperature, and I have to concentrate on the calculation. (during the short time) I know that a car accident happens in a very short time. I was regularly checked at a Toyota dealership today. (5,000 miles free service) I can not change the unit to celsius temperature when I start regular inspection. I asked you to check. After completing the regular check, the service consultant answered me "I can not change to celsius." So, I asked again why not. A service consultant replied, "a car produced in the United States recently has no change in celsius." So, I am writing this article. The Toyota service consultant says that the 2018 Toyota Highlander, produced in the United States, is unchanged in units of celsius. Please make sure that new cars produced in the future can be changed in units of celsius temperature. (for reference, the units are changed from 'mile' to 'km'.) I would like to receive a reply by email thank you, sir.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lyman, SC, USA