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.
Some doors do not lock when the electric lock switch is pressed on the FOB or using the button on the door. Sometimes the doors that did lock don-??t the next time. This is a security issue while driving the vehicle and another security issue when parking. It-??s also a safety issue for the same reasons. The door-??s electrical locking system fails and needs to be fixed.
rear tailgate door non-functioning. auto door button does not work and door cannot be opened manually. serious safety issue if car in accident and side doors won't open. checked by dealer in dec. 2020, and they knew about problem and not covered under warrranty. toyota knew about problem in march 2016 and issued service bulletin T-SB-0023-16 which clearly states problem and how to fix in 8 pages.; and only covers 2014/2015 highlanders under warranty. no warning lights; tailgate failed in dec. 2020. vehicle only inspected by toyota dealer in roseville, CA. if Toyota is willing to fix some highlanders, why would they exclude others out of warranty? This makes the vehicle unuseable for a family that hikes, camps, plays sports, etc. and I feel is a clear safety issue if one exit out of vehicle does not operate!
The power back door is inoperative or stops during operation when the weather is cold. I moved to Oregon from Southern California in the spring of 2019. The problem started in the winter of 2020 & again in 2021. I looked it up and found a cars.com article that stated it was a problem and to call the dealer. I called Toyota and they didn't have it as a recall.I called the dealer in 2020 and they said they had never heard of the problem. I didn't take the vehicle to the dealer during Covid. I just went through another winter of dealing with a back door that would not operate properly.
The rear door locks do not lock all the time making it possible for the kids in the back seat to open the doors while driving down the road on my 2014 Highlander. It also makes it pretty easy for people to steal stuff from your car. This is a huge safety issue. It is a know issue and the internet forums are full of people with the same issue with zero help from the dealer. New lock mechanisms are 300 dollars. I have already had to replace one at 75K miles, . now I have to do the other. The vehicle now has 100K.
- Olympia, WA, USA
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The rear hatch beeps and does not open or close. I tried the factory resetting it with no luck. Saw online that this is a known issue, but Toyota is stating its not despite numerous complaints online by owners and also site showing Toyota will fix and replace the rear struts
Issues with the front and back doors not unlocking. The issues have ranged from all doors unlocked, but sticking and not disengaging. I just had the door lock actuator replaced in the driver's side back door this week. The next day the passenger side front door would not disengage. This has been going on off and on for the past 3-4 years.
Rear lift gate malfunctioned when trying to load groceries. Long beep and wouldn't work. Unable to make it work again even after resetting and turning off and on via button in glovebox. Not covered by warranty anymore. Paid $1000 for Toyota authorized service center to diagnose and repair. Brought home and it worked for a few days then started doing the same issue again.
Power rear liftgate inoperable. Power rear lift gate travels a couple inches, either opening or closing, and freezes. No longer responds with the power button and has to be closed manually. Disengaging the power button and using only as manual open and close, the door is extremely difficult to open or close.
Lift gate get stuck in the open position. I live in the virgin islands, so it's not due to cold temps. Sometime it take 10 tried to close the gate. It has been happening more time lately, so I try not to use the gate. Putting it in a turning off the switch in the glove compartment does not help.
I was T boned on passenger side, side impact air bag did not deploy. I was pushed into oncoming traffic, front airbags did not deploy in head on collision. Seat belt did not tighten- I initially hit drivers side window, when T-boned, then with front impact hit steering wheel, roof and center console.
Lift gate will not open or close in cold temperatures. We have taken it to our local dealer in battle creek, Michigan several times but the issue has not been resolved. Each time the problem has occurred the vehicle was parked. We do not wish to injure ourselves trying to open our back door. This vehicle is used in our delivery business and it is necessary to frequently use our back door.
Chrome grill is bubbling and looks like it's getting ready to peel. My car has always been garaged and taken care of since I bought it brand new.. this is a defect that will definitely lower the value of my car. My husband noticed this issue just recently when I was pulling into the garage.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the liftgate system failed. The contact was unable to unlock or close the liftgate automatically. The contact had to open the liftgate manually and hold the liftgate open manually. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The liftgate was not repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000.
After numerous electric issues with my 2014 Highlander now the rear electric lift gate cylinders are bad. Took it to my local Toyota dealer this am and for $1550 they will replace them with a technical service bulletin updated part number and cylinder. As I have read I'm not the only person having this problem and if they have an updated new cylinder why don't they the right thing and replace the bad design....uhgg I want my old Chevrolet back....
The rear power door, first was sporatic, would open half way then stop, then you have to push the door open against the motors, then, sometimes it will close, but most time in the rain, you have to jump up and pull down the door, again against the motors, they resist quite alot, now the door, opens 2 inchs and stops and I can't get it to open more, told Toyota, well, we have one guy that works on that, and it has to do it in front of him, shouldn't a complaint about a door not opening be safety related, its a door, it won't open and pushing against motors is very unwanted for a disabled person, the last 2 weeks, every time I go to store it won't work, and I have my hands full with grocery's, I have had to use side doors, to get things out when it won't open, took it back for the third time to Toyota and dealership person said, I was rude, saying bs the door wouldn't open, so far, it does not open and Toyota has not offered a fix, and I need to go on a trip, looks like a car rental, rather than take a chance my door won't open in the rain.......its a back door to a car, it should open at all times, and no motor should be stoping it, and I was told they know about it, but again, the one person in building has to see it........wow, biggest car company in the world and I have to post this, 4 vechiles with them and rethinking it now, the horrible jbl stereo, is another post.....but shouldn't a door open at all times, it does not at the moment of writing this, last night it did not close all the way, and the wind caused the alarm to go off this morning...the very motors, that should close it did not work, again, it was 1/2 inch, open this time....and it was raining all night.
Rear door hatch stalls upon opening and closing. Frequently reported problem on Toyota websites. When door switch is activated either at the door, remote fob or dash switch, the door opens a few inches then stops. Pressing again moves it back then stops. You must manually open or close the door. Not certain the door locks completely when closing. Ongoing issue since July 2014
When driving on the fwy, intermittently depending on the wind or how the door was shut for the rubber seal to make a solid connection, there is significant wind noise that breaches the seal and makes excessive noise. This is most noticeable in the drivers side and is where I measured for sound levels. The closer I bring the meter to the window by the side mirror then more noise is recorded. Sometimes it doesn't happen at all, even at 70mph. Other times, and often it there is a wind noise coming into the cabin. With Toyota's claim for it being such a quiet cabin, this noise is not right. I test drove with the tech manager at my dealer and he too noted the problem. He ordered a new door seal. There is nothing wrong with the door seal, and I didn't have it installed. However there was a window frame black plastic panel that wasn't properly seated, and this was replaced. Not sure if it fixed the problem, as its too early to tell. There is a large number of report from other owners online with this issue. So far I know of one owner who returned the car due to this excessive wind noise.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dearborn , MI, USA