My 2010 Toyota Highlander shows "door ajar" light and chime intermittently when driving. Door is closed and latch, but the "door ajar" light and chime come on anyway, especially if I go over even the slightest bump in the road or when I turn the vehicle to the left. To make it worse, the interior cabin overhead light will often turn on and off at the same time.

I first notice the chime shortly after buying the car, when it was still under warranty. When I asked about it at my Toyota dealer, I was told that the chime can occur when the temperature outside changes, and that it was normal. Unfortunately, I believed this. Over time, the symptoms became worse and and much more frequent. 6 months ago I took back to the dealership and they diagnosed a faulty sensor on the rear hatch door latch assemble and told me it would cost $980 to replace the latch assembly. When I suggested that this should be covered by Toyota an inherent safety issue with the car and that I had read many similar complaints online with this particular make and model Highlander, there response was that there was no recall in this issue and that since the car was now out of warranty, the repair would be at my expense (in spite of the fact that I had pointed out the problem back when the car was still under warranty.

This issue is a very serious one in that intermittent chimes, "door ajar" dash lights and cabin lights blinking on and off are a major distraction when driving and take the drivers attention and eyes off the road.

I have seen 41 similar complaints about this issue on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations website (carcomplaints.com), so it most certainly is fault in the manufacturing of the vehicle.

Given the this widespread occurrence of the problem and the fact that is most definitely poises a safety hazard to the the driver and passengers in an effected vehicle, Toyota should cover the cost of fixing this problem regardless of the vehicles' warranty status.

Rear liftgate door ajar warning keeps going off when I turn, accelerating, or hit a bump. It started off by singing every so often and now it keeps singing and the interior light comes on like a door is open. So now with this going on I do not know if a door is open and risk my children falling out of the vehicle while driving. Seen this problem is a very common issue with this vehicle all over the internet and do not know why there has not been a safety recall on this issue. I assume it will only become an issue when there is a death from the problem. You would think Toyota would not want that kind of bad press.

Just after the warranty expired, the door open alarm first started going off then the dome light started flashing...it was midnight on a trip and it seemed right out of the twilight zone.....It only happened in cooler weather, but now, it happens all of the time. I got out and closed all doors again, but it didn't help. After months of this happening, mostly at night,I finally thought to turn off the interior lights to stop the strobe effect at night. The Dealership couldn't detect the problem during a routine service appointment that took nearly 4 hours :( and they wanted the car for another whole day.....but I have to work and use it in my work.....the alarms go off every day now, 5-6 times, randomly and it's getting worse. I seriously think about trading in the car....but it's paid for and I can't afford another one. I wish they would figure this out and recall these. The noise is dangerously distracting.

2010 Highlander SE 4wd. After 70k miles, the system panel shows the real door is open when I make a sharp left turn, or go uphill. I am sure the door is closed. It becomes worse the outdoor temperature goes beyond 85F, then it chimes continuously for all the time.

I have been dealer a couple times, and they cannot fix it by adjusting the backdoor. I saw several complains almost same as mine for 2010 highlander. I am sure it is Toyota's parts problem. But it will cost me over $1200 to replace the latch (parts plus labor).