I own a 2011 Toyota Highlander that I bought new. At approximately 7-9 months of owning the vehicle, the pivot or link arm of the automatic lift gate detached from the body frame. I re-attached it as it looks it became loose. After a few other instances in which it got loose again at different intervals, I decided to bring the car to the Toyota dealer. I mentioned the issue to the services rep who informed that there was a service bulletin (sb) linked to the liftgate. He mentioned about the sb since it seems that the issue was as a consequence of the hinge doors problem that was being addressed through the sb. The job was made (replacing the hinge). I was asked to pay for it since the sb was due with the car 36 mo. /36K mi. Warranty. I initially objected to this but ended paying the repair because the car had 43,000 miles at the time. The issue was apparently corrected. Well, it was not. The screw nut at the end of the arm that attaches the arm to the car frame was stripped and also damaging the thread on the car frame. This arm was never changed by Toyota. Recently, I brought the car to another Toyota dealer that opened near my home and the service manager said it was the first time that he heard about or sees a car with this issue. Through different searches looking on how to repair this issue properly and after doing some investigation through the web, have noticed there have been quite a few complaints filed over this same issue.

- Santa Isabel, PR, USA