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.
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.
The seal coating on the roof paint clear coat is under current warrantee and the dealer wants not to cover it. Instead they want to not use the policy, but charge me $1000 for them to paint it.this I consumer fraud.
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.
Liftgate operates erratically, not staying open when button is pushed. Sometimes it opens all the way, only to close immediately. Most times it starts to open partially then closes. Twice it opened while driving. Most troubling is once it started to close down on me while I was getting things out of the trunk area. I would think, for safety reasons, there should be some type of sensor. Is that not the case with my Highlander? this has been happening periodically for about six months.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
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Rear lift gate opened as I was driving down the highway. Dangerous. Now the door does not work as it is supposed to. I was told directly by another owner that the door does not always lock when closed. What about grandchildren and pets. I cannot use my car as intended. It is a safety concern as I have no idea if or when it will repeat.
Power liftgate on 2012 Toyota Highlander fails to full close and latch. 4 years old now, problem began 2 years ago at 12,000 miles, and now 1 year past 3/36 warranty and 47,000 miles. Liftgate has been completely manual for last 1-1/2 years. Using buttons to close power liftgate results in left side where motor is to be close to closed, while right side has an inch gap to D-pillar. No other reason for me to go to dealership, so I haven't scheduled an appointment. Finally took it in June 6, 2016. Over past 2 years dealer service described solution as simple adjustment. Have asked at least twice "are there any recalls or service bulletins for my Highlander"" answer is always no, including day I took it for "simple adjustment". however recent research finds two recalls and multiple service bulletins for 2008-2012 Highlanders. If they have had issues with power liftgates since 2008, why is there no recall on this" potential cause is powerful motor pulls too hard and bends hinges. New design uses pair of power struts to pull evenly. Estimate approaches $600 for new hinges and other parts ($253+tax), paint, and labor. Already paid $100+tax to diagnose this issue, which took all of 15 minutes, leading me to believe they already knew about this issue, and lied about recalls and bulletins. My wife's 2014 rav4 had 1 of 2 struts replaced, and other issues reported on newer Highlanders. Would like Toyota to fix this known issue without further cost.
Rear liftgate arm detached from door. The bolt that attaches the liftgate arm to the door stripped. The pieces shot off from the vehicle wile the arm was attempting to close the gate.
Rear tailgate no longer works.started not closing off and on in Jan. 2015. Finally stopped working all together in August 2015.took to my local dealership to see why it was not working they diagnosed it as a broken motor.I would be responsible for the cost to fix it.since it is now out of warranty. Contacted the Toyota corporation they went over my complaint and said they would not cover it under warranty even though there is a Toyota service bulletin on it in 2012 and many class action law suits filed on it.
I opened the power rear door by depressing the switch next to the steering wheel and the door began to open, made a clunking noise, and closed itself. I exited the vehicle and manually opened the rear door at which time I noticed the liftgate arm (with the screw and washer still attached to the exposed end) had become detached from the door. Despite having 55K+ miles, my Highlander is just over 2 years old and there has not been excessive usage of the power door. I'll be taking it to the nearest dealer for assessment.
Over the course of a few weeks we noticed a significant smell in our car. We have rubber floormats, so did not notice that there was a drainage problem in our A/C condenser. The blockage caused drainage to back up into the body of our vehicle and mold started to grow all over the inside of the vehicle on the carpet underneath the rubber floormats. We later learned that the blockage was caused by a spider web in the A/C condenser drainage tube. I took the car to the dealer and they called Toyota and learned it would not be covered under my extended Toyota care warranty and any costs would have to be paid out of pocket. I just learned that similar model year Toyota vehicles, including the avalon and Camry, are under recall due to problems that result from spider webs blocking the A/C condenser drainage tube. This is clearly a design defect that covers more than just the avalon and Camry models, but the recall did not cover my Highlander. We have an infant son and the growth of mold could have severely impacted his health and breathing.
This event happened when my Toyota Highlander 2012 (SE V6 4WD) was parked and turned off. I pressed the remote control button to automatically open the car hatch door. The door was open and stay up. However, when I was putting some grocery bags inside the car, the door came down without any announcement and hitting my head. I had head ache for a couple of days. After this happened, the back door does not stay up. I brought the car to the dealer two days after the incident happened. I am still waiting for a decision from Toyota customer experience center and without my car (3 weeks and counting). I am claiming a car replacement from Toyota. This is the fifth incident with this car (five car repairs by the dealership under Toyota guaranty) during its first year of ownership (a brand new car). Really disappointed from Toyota car quality. I am afraid that next time would be a fatality or another serious injury with irreversible consequences.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Castle Rock, CO, USA