10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,285 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #20

Jul 222020

Highlander

  • 10,000 miles
While driving in a city warnings on instrument panel came on: "hybrid system failed", "all wheel drive failed", "take car to the dealer", and the car stopped. Had to have it towed to the dealer. Following day the dealer called me to say that everything in the car checked out ok and they couldn't duplicate the problem, I'm now very weary of taking the car on a trip because I don't know when it may quit again. The car just turned 10K miles.

- Poquoson, VA, USA

problem #19

Jan 172020

Highlander

  • 14,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the check engine and traction control warning lights illuminated with a message referring the contact to have the vehicle taken to the nearest dealer to be repaired. The vehicle was taken to kings Toyota (4700 fields ertel rd, cincinnati, oh 45249) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was different from the previous failure the vehicle had experienced in which the spark plugs were replaced. The technician removed the spark plugs and the coil packs and relocated another cylinder. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred three times and was taken to the same dealer and was informed that 20 percent of alcohol was found in the fuel instead of the recommended 10 percent in the fuel mixture. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 20V012000 (fuel system, gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #18

Jun 142020

Highlander

  • 41,000 miles
Twice my vehicle has died in traffic. Fortunately I was on surface streets and not a freeway. Both times I had to physically push it into a parking lot.

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #17

Mar 092020

Highlander 6-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
With 300miles on Highlander started to experience issues in driving and drop in performance. Performance was very significant especially noticeable in mpg. At scenarios when the car would not drive up the hill but rev to max and start rolling back with 'clicking' noise. Toyota was send to service many times after to multiple Toyota dealerships but they did not have any diagnosis. At 15K miles on the car driving on highway (70mph) the Highlander lost power and started loud noise. When pulled over found oil smell and smoke from engine. During examination found 3 cylinder went loose. During that time one of them came off the side and hit the transmission. Almost a full month the Highlander was rebuilt but no final word what had happened by Toyota Corp. The car is about 17K miles and started to act the same way. As a family we are afraid to drive the car especially my pregnant wife with children. I am afraid this may happen again and can lock up all wheels and can result in massive accident. Toyota is not taking this as serious and seems to me they do not care. As of right now the Highlander has problems with alignment, lane assist, and lack of power. Please see pictures.

- Kirkland, WA, USA

problem #16

Jan 072020

Highlander

  • 7,000 miles
I received a recall alert early in the year. There is not yet a fix for the low-pressure fuel pump. I have driven the car only a few miles since the notice and the description of the possible failure. I drive I-68 in Maryland, much of it with 3 lanes and all up and down mountains. A failure on this highway would be very serious, quite likely fatal. A failure would mean that the car would stall and not restart. Speed limit is 70mph--life-threatening if the car were to be in the center lane going uphill. The car would have to be drifted backward downhill to remove it from the roadway. This is the end of April. This is an unacceptably long time to be without safe use of the car. I expect monetary compensation as well as extended warranty for lost months of inconvenience, fear and lost usage of the vehicle. We were offered an alternate smaller car which would be inadequate for our needs. Accepting the substitute would require that we turn our car over to the dealer where it would sit on a lot exposed to the elements. This is unacceptable. If the dealer would provide a satisfactory substitute, our stipulation would be that the Toyota Highlander remain at our home where it is garaged.

- Hagerstown, MD, USA

problem #15

Apr 092020

Highlander

  • 1,000 miles
I own a 2019 Toyota Highlander, it has stalled several times during busy commute to or from work. I am so scared to drive this vehicle, that I refuse to drive it to any destination longer than 50 miles. I need this car replaced, I have three young children, and I paying for an unsafe, unreliable car. I would like for Toyota to replace this vehicle.

- Selma, NC, USA

problem #14

Jan 232020

Highlander

  • 4,200 miles
Vehicle intermittently chugs and stalls at low speeds. Which results in poor fuel mileage. Vehicle has also stalled 3 other occasions without chugging and not in motion, all 3 times was while at a stop light or while attempting to turn. Looses power without engine mil light dealership indicated the hybrid system has overheated 4 times with no ability to duplicate. Vehicle also has had the stereo flip through numerous screens without being touched. At one point when it stalled the vehicle stated ' hybrid system inactive, park safely', but it was in an intersection. Luckily it restarted and was able to move before an accident occurred.

- Peru, IN, USA

problem #13

Jan 172020

Highlander

  • 23,000 miles
My vehicle has been rumbling and the check engine light on. A dealer turned it off via reset, but the car is still acting up. We just got a notice from Toyota that the vehicle is at risk of stalling unexpectedly and with no remedy for over a month.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #12

Feb 172020

Highlander

  • 2,300 miles
When accelerating from a stop, the car abruptly lost power and it felt like the engine was going to stall out completely, but then the car started accelerating again. This happened three time today. In two cases I was needing to accelerate briskly as I was either crossing, or entering onto, a busy street with fast traffic. In two cases (in both cases I was making a right turn from a stop) the red exclamation point warning sign appeared briefly on the dash board upper screen. On the third occasion (I was accelerating straight ahead from a stop), a red written message appeared on the center dash board screen, but it disappeared before I could read it.

- Brownsburg, IN, USA

problem #11

Oct 092019

Highlander

  • 26,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V012000 (fuel system, gasoline) however, the parts to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact called the Toyota of North charlotte dealer (located at 13429 statesville rd, huntersville, nc 28078) and it was confirmed that the parts were not available. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while driving and that the fuel consumption had increased. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue but would not confirm when the parts were to become available. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #10

Dec 052019

Highlander

  • 18,000 miles
First incident occurred in Dec 2019 and then again in Jan 2020. While driving engine lost power and vehicle began lurching forward and back uncontrollably. After pulling over engine shut down. Thankfully we did not cause an accident. Check engine light came on, also said reduced engine power and traction control off. First time dealer said it was bad gas. Second time they tested fuel pump and it was producing 5 psi. Way below 50-60 psi norm. Now our vehicle is parked waiting for Toyota to develop a fix for their fuel pump. No idea how long that will take. Our car is part of the almost 700,000 Toyota recalled. Toyota used to mean quality, not sure any more.

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #9

Jan 142020

Highlander

  • 300 miles
My 2019 Highlander (SE V6 with only 490 miles) started having high idle RPM issues at about 300 miles. At stop signs/red lights you really have to keep your foot on the brake pedal. The vehicle lurches forward when releasing the brake pedal. Let off the brake, the vehicle takes off (same thing in reverse) making driving it unsafe and dangerous. Pulling into our garage is not fun. I should note that this high RPM issue happens whether the start stop is activated or not activated. To make matters worst, driving on snow covered roads is a real problem when braking at red lights, stop signs and slowing to make turns. Most of my driving is on city streets. I will be taking the SUV to my Toyota dealer in endicott, NY to get this dangerous issue resolved before I get into an accident. The Highlander was built 11/19 and I have owned it for a few weeks. I hope other Toyota Highlander owners don't have the problem because it makes the vehicles very unsafe and difficult to drive.

- Endicott, NY, USA

problem #8

Jan 162020

Highlander

  • 16,500 miles
Fuel pump stops working while driving on highway at high speeds, vehicle rides rough intermittently then shuts down. Vehicle will not start up again.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #7

Oct 172019

Highlander

  • 4,000 miles
The contact leases a 2019 Toyota Highlander. While driving, the engine stalled without warning and the steering wheel seized. The contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally; however, the failure recurred twice. The vehicle was taken to page Toyota (21262 telegraph rd, southfield, mi 48033, (248) 352-8580) where it was diagnosed, but the technician could not find a failure code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided case number: 1910282286. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.

- Canton, MI, USA

problem #6

Oct 292019

Highlander

  • 13,000 miles
Rear humming/buzzing sound when vehicle is turned off.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #5

Oct 202019

Highlander

  • 22,847 miles
Stopped at a stop light and when it turned green pushed on the gas pedal. The entire car jerked and didn't have any power to go through the intersection. The RPM gage began jumping as the car rolled. I rolled on through the intersection, was almost hit. Had no steering ability. Lights and alarms began going off. Message board said traction control turned off. Then check engine. Then visit dealer. Then the car died at the edge of the intersection and we pushed it off the highway onto a county road. It will not start at all. Acts like it isn't getting any gas. This is the 3 incident with this car doing this. We have towed it twice to the dealership. They replaced a valve in the engine. They said it was stuck. Apparently that wasn't what is wrong with it. Glad this wasn't on the interstate. We could have been killed.

- Marietta, OK, USA

problem #4

May 312019

Highlander

  • 5,000 miles
May 31 I was picking my passengers as diving to uber driver. I parked my vehicle step out to open back door to open my 3rd row seat but door didn't able to open and same minutes I heard voice beep coming out from front steering wheel. I turned around went to see what this voice is about.. before I touched anything my vehicle start to rolled backwards and I got so scared and I tried to hold the steering wheels from outside to stop vehicle somehow but it went so fast dragged me over 100 feets throws me on the street and went out on 2 homes property over the bushes and hit the railing guards on one home. I called police on the spot where they asked my passengers as well what was happened and they stated what I just wrote here. Ambulance came put bandages on my ripped left knee and told me to call them if I needed them later on. I had called Toyota company and they came took my vehicle to hackensack Toyota to took some information and after 4 weeks sent me letter saying nothing wrong with this vehicle at all.... I'm shocked after heard the vehicle had no problem so why it rolled in parking position ripped my knees put me into stress and police report my 4 witnesses all was a lie or Toyota playing some big games around me so they dont have to do biggest recall on brand new vehicles ? I'm trying to let you guys know this is something big going on so please help me out with this situation as soon as possible.

- Hackensack, NJ, USA

problem #3

Aug 142019

Highlander

  • 10,800 miles
While driving, the vehicle had a slight lag when I applied gas then started beeping and provided the warnings: Check engine, hybrid system malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, check AWD system. I turned the car off multiple times, the errors were still on the car the next morning when I started the car to take it to the service appt. When I got to the dealership I turned the car off to check it in, when I came back the error was gone. They checked out the car they said there was nothing wrong with it and thought it was just 'ambient conditions'. two weeks later, I was driving and I had the same lag in power then the same alarms and started driving toward the dealership (about 3 miles away) and the hybrid system and power steering shut down in the middle of the road leaving me with no power. I turned the vehicle off and back on and the errors were still there and it shut down again another half mile down the road. It is at the dealership again. The vehicle has 10,800 miles and should not be having these significant issues. I was driving in the city during all these events.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #2

Jul 192019

Highlander 6-cyl

  • 5,100 miles
2019 Highlander xle loses power, unable to accelerate, & jerks and stalls in traffic.bought at 200 miles, certified preowned. It is a nightmare vehicle. Accelerator has been touchy and jumpy at times, intermittently at slow speeds. First time it stalled it started to lose power put -put and chug like jerking and all dash and electrical on dash went out, unable to accelerate, then stalled out in road, unable to steer or control vehicle. This occurrence was after a longer period of driving. Second time it stalled out began to lose power, putter and chug, unable to accelerate applying gas pedal, getting no gas, vehicle dies out, unable to steer or control vehicle. This occurrence was after a longer period of driving. Third time was yesterday 8-8-19. Left work and about 5-7 minutes into my drive, started hesitating, losing all dash and electrical power and will not accelerate when gas pedal applied, then stalls out, unable to control the steering wheel again! almost got hit this time, man behind me coming fast and had to swerve into lane over to miss me. This car is going to kill me or someone by causing an accident if they do not get it fixed right. After the second stall it was towed into dealership and they were not sure but said fuel pressure was reading 22 and was supposed to be in the mid to high 50's. they replaced the fuel pump and it drove ok for a little while but I noticed the average fuel mileage going down from an approx in city 19.1--20 to 17.1-17.3. has never been so low so obviously the stalling and the replacing or the fuel pump are not the real issue. Fuel economy going down since replacement of the fuel pump and now another dangerous stalling issue. Car is at Toyota dealer now. They need to dive much deeper & resolve this very dangerous safety issue! I bought this car to feel safe and have reliable transportation and have neither. It really scares me.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #1

Jun 202019

Highlander

  • 3,300 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. When the contact pushed the ignition start button, the vehicle failed to start. The failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to oxmoor Toyota (located at 8003 shelbyville rd, louisville, ky 40222, (502) 565-0086) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,300.

- Louiseville, KY, USA