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.
The front passenger door and driver door lock/actuator does not work. The passenger door first happened 1 to 1.5 years ago. I have not fixed it because of the outrageous cost. Now, the driver door actuator/door lock is exhibiting the same symptoms and will soon cease to work. Toyota has no warranty program or recall on this even though it is a known issue with this year and model. I think having your door locks not work is a safety issue and request that this be found to be an issue Toyota must cover as soon as possible.
Front passenger side door lock actuator does not work, making lock ineffective and not workable. Toyota claims this is not a safety issue. Unsure how ineffective locks are not a safety issue, especially on a car that is not that old.
The vehicle was parked in our driveway and has twice had rats chewing on the coolant temperature censor wiring. These are the only wires they've chewed on so far. I feel the soy based wiring that Toyota uses is to blame since my neighbors are not having problems with their vehicles that are parked outdoors. A claim with usaa has been filed.
The door locks stopped working and I was forced to pay to repair them after owning car for less than 6 months. The power windows fail to operate at random times. There was a similar problem with the 2010 Toyota yaris window panel. The car jumps or skips while accelerating.
Maintenance light is on at all times for the forward passenger seat, making airbags useless. Read it can potentially be a wire. It has been reported on other vehicles. Please investigate and recall as passengers will be unsafe and could have great bodily harm with this defect.
- Anchorage, AK, USA
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Our 2013 Toyota Highlander has had 3 of the 4 door actuators fail in a 26 month period. The first actuator failed in in March 2017 (car was only 3 years, 8 months old), the second actuator failed in February 2018 (car was 4 years, 7 months old) and the third actuator failed in May 2019 (car was only 5 years 10 months old). Because the door actuator failed, the door did not lock when placing the car in drive which increased the chances the door would open in the event of a crash; thereby, reducing the structural integrity of the vehicle in a crash. Since the actuators also failed to automatically unlock when the car was placed in park, the actuators would not automatically unlock the doors in the event of an airbag deployment; thereby, possibly impeding the ability to enter/exit the car in an emergency situation. A complaint was lodged with Toyota and a case number was established. However, Toyota indicated that there is not a recall related to door actuators at this time and there is nothing the could do about the problem.
Bought vehicle 'certified' on 04/20/17 and first oil change 06/30/17 corrosion on battery terminal notated. New battery purchased. 05/25/17, corrosion is again notated. Vehicle has been through 2 separate oil changes and no corrosion notated. Now dealer is stating verbally $5800 to fix terminals and cable due to battery acid and corrosion leading to electrical damage. Harness damage. Flaw of this vehicle is all components are interconnected. Rep will not put in writing, but is saying major hazard. Toyota will give only $2500 towards cost. Not driving car at this time.
Door locks replaced on passenger front door at Toyota dealership (yokem Toyota) less than 6 months later doing the same thing. Now passenger rear door doing the same thing. Very expensive repairs
Each of the four door lock actuators have malfunctioned such that the door cannot be unlocked/opened from either the inside or outside of the car. This has occurred during the past 18 months. It is a safety hazard in case of a wreck/fire where someone could not get out of the car emergently or security threat if the driver/passenger emergently needed to enter the car to avoid harm. I have receipts for all repairs at the local Toyota dealership. I was told by a Toyota dealer ship representative this is a recognized issue with the vehicle.
Power train failed while driving along a city street at 30mph- car had no power- check hybrid components and check brake system lights appeared on the center console- I believe it failed due to the hybrid electrical system and is identical to descriptions of earlier hybrid inverter failures in 2006-2010 models of Highlander and Lexus that were recalled by Toyota-
I have had to replace every automatic opener door locks on every door and some twice (early 2014 to present). They can't tell me why the keep failing. Now that the car is out of warranty I now have 2 more automatic door locks that have failed. I have another friend who owns a Highlander and he is having the automatic door openers fail. This must be a defect in the design of these locks.
The door locks are failing one by one. It seems to be bad actuators. First, one door wasn't locking automatically when pressing lock on the key fob. Now, I have 2 doors not locking automatically when I hit lock on the key fob. I feel this poses a safety hazard for myself and my belongings because if I ever needed to enter my car quickly with my 2 kids, I cannot. This occurs while vehicle is parked.
The complaint has to do with computer systems on this vehicle. Some of the complaint is convenience, but worrisome because other systems seem to be involved as well. The computer screen has always been slow/hesitent, with various "glitches". vehicle has gps mapping screen which occassionally "disconnects" and resets to blank screen. The bluetooth and other systems have also "disconnected" and couldn't be reset until the vehicle was stopped and turned off. The headlights sometimes do not shut off, day/night doesn't work properly. Have had occassional problems with door locks not working as they should. Never know when and which systems will be affected. I have also filed a complaint about intermitent non-acceleration issues, which maybe related.
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Highlander. While driving at approximately 45 mph, the power steering failed and the instrument panel displayed that the power steering needed assistance. The vehicle was driven to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the electronic computer that managed the steering needed to be replaced. The manufacture was notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 48,500.....updated 10-27-15
About a week ago my right rear passenger door lock started to fail. The door would not unlock. This is the door my 5 year old daughter uses. I took it too a dealer and was charged $638 total to replace the actuator. The service tech actually misquoted me, I would never pay this much to fix this part. Upon reading now I see that many, many people have this problem. My car is still under 3 years old. The actuators should not fail. I have never had this problem in any other car. This is a severe safety issue if the car is in an accident. These cars need to be recalled. I will be contacting Toyota too.
I purchased the 2013 Highlander new from a dealer in vienna, va in July 2013. The auto started a string of engine hesitancy to accelerate problems at around 5,000 miles which was reported to the dealer at the 5,000 mile check-up and again at the 7,500 mile checkup. The service department could not duplicate the problem and gave the engine a clean bill of health. We moved to mn in May 2014 and the hesitancy of the car to move (accelerate) from a stopped position for several seconds after engaging the gas petal continues and is increasing in frequency. The car has been taken in to the local Toyota dealer on three occasions with the same answer that there is no problem with the car. I have been in two near accidents while pulling out in traffic on to a high speed divided highway and consider this a very serious safety issue. It happens randomly, (three times this past week), but a pattern has developed - most incidents occur while idling at intersections for some time waiting for traffic to clear, traffic lights, etc, and then making a left hand turn onto the roadway. The car has exhibited this behavior only a couple times while making a right hand turn from a idling start. The sensation is that the engine stalled and no matter what is done with the gas petal nothing happens for anywhere up to 4-5 seconds. With traffic moving at 60 miles an hour and one is attempting to merge into traffic, a five second delay brings the on-coming traffic almost 450 feet closer to one before the car starts to move requiring more distance in traffic gaps to overcome a potential stall in the roadway. I have come across another local owner with the same problem and note at least 15 other complaints on the web of almost the exact circumstances. What does it take for Toyota to recognize this as a safety issue? updated 12/12/2017
Black shredded material blew out of the air vents upon starting the car. If I had not had the A/C on and, rather, chose to turn it on while driving, I might have been blinded by the large amount of shredded material that flew into my face and eyes. - that is a liability as far as I am concerned. Had I been driving, I can see that I would have had a very difficult time being able control something I could not see. I was told by the dealership that I may have a rodent issue - I have done some research on line and have learned that Toyota, among other car manufacturers, is constructing vehicle parts out of biodegradable products, including soy, cane husks, etc., making my car a tasty treat for nasty animals. Furthermore, there is nothing that prevents something from crawling from the outside into the cabin through the engine and I believe that to be a manufacturing defect. I am looking for Toyota to cover the cost of fixing this issue.
The door open alert and alert beeping came on as well as all of the interior lighting as I was driving. It shows glass door on the display. I checked all doors and none of the doors are open. It was very distracting and dangerous to be driving at night on the highway with all interior lights on. They keep going on and off and the alert keeps beeping. As far as I can find out, there is no way to turn off the interior lights. My car is out of warranty by 300 miles. I just had it in for the 35,000 mile service. I find numerous accounts of this known issue on several websites/discussion forums. I called Toyota and was informed there is no recall however I found there was a tsb? sent out on the back latches. I called jim norton Toyota in tulsa, ok and was informed they want a $110 diagnostic fee to see what the issue is. Seems like with all of the same issues that Toyota would look into this issue and resolve. Toyota said they could not waive the diagnostic fee. Hoping I can find a quick fix or someone willing to resolve this issue inexpensively or better yet, Toyota could step up and resolve the issue themselves as a customer service stand.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ewa Beach, HI, USA