2005 Toyota Highlander Other / unspecified Problems

I was driving home and a deer ran infront of me. I tried to put my seat belt on before but it locked, so I tried to get home to my 3yr old safely without it.

NHTSA ID

11442490

Incident

Dec 1, 2021

ON SATURDAY, MAY 30TH AT APPROXIMATELY 8:30 I WAS MOVING OUR 2005 HIGHLANDER FROM THE STREET INTO OUR RESERVED PARKING SPACE WITHIN OUR COMPLEX. AS I WAS STARTING MY RIGHT HAND TURN INTO THE COMPLEX THE CAR ACCELERATOR STUCK. I HIT THE CURB ON THE DRIVER'S/LEFT SIDE CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO VEER TO THE RIGHT. AS THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE I HIT A TREE AND KNOCKED OVER ONE OF THE COMMUNITY'S POSTED SIGNAGE. THE IMPACT MADE THE CAR BOUNCE BACKWARD PARTIALLY INTO THE DRIVE, DAMAGING THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE, DRIVE SHAFT BROKE, FRONT END PART FLEW ALL OVER AND A SMALL FIRE OCCURRED. POLICE WERE CALL AND REPORT TAKEN. THEY ESTIMATED THE SPEED AT 20-30 MILES PER HOUR. THE REPORT TAKEN WAS NOT FILED SINCE THE ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER STARTED THE VEHICLE TO GET IT ON THE TRUCK. HE HAD A DIFFICULT TIME FOR HE COULD NOT GET THE WHEELS TO TURN. ON TUESDAY, JUNE 2, WE WERE NOTIFIED BY OUR INSURANCE COMPANY THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. THERE WAS A RECALL REPAIR DONE ON MAY 21, 2011, AFTER WE WERE ADVISED THAT THE REPLACEMENT PARTS WERE AVAILABLE TO INSTALL THE FORWARD RETENTION CLIP USED TO SECURE THE DRIVER'S SIDE FLOOR CARPET COVER. WE WERE ADVISED THAT IF IT WAS NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY, THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARM. IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY TEMPORARILY BECOME STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION RATHER THAN RETURNING TO THE IDLE POSITION. AN ACCELERATOR PEDAL TEMPORARILY STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A FAILURE OF THE REPLACEMENT PART. *TR

NHTSA ID

10726359

Incident

May 30, 2015

Mileage

104,493 mi

I HAVE A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2005 .THE DRIV ERR S SIDE SUN VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP.IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD WE HOLE DRIVING.TOYOTA, THOUGH THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR MANY HIGHLAND ERR OWN ERR 3RD WILL NOT FIX OR REPLACE IT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10703688

Incident

Feb 1, 2009

DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY THE REAR PASSENGER WHEEL LOCKED UP. HAD TO CUT ACROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC TO THE SIDE. THE WHEEL STILL TOTALLY LOCKED WHEN IT HAD TO BE DRAGGED ONTO A FLAT BED. LUCKILY THERE WAS NO INJURIES. STILL NOT 100% SURE OR WHAT'S WRONG BUT GUESSING IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TRACTION/ABS CONTROL SYSTEM. THEY REALLY SHOULD LOOK INTO A RECALL BECAUSE THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10701712

Incident

Mar 19, 2015

Mileage

192,868 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE WHEELS BECAME ABNORMALLY BENT AND ALL FOUR WHEELS WERE CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN RECOMMENDED FOR THE WHEELS TO BE ROTATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,915.

NHTSA ID

10653461

Incident

Nov 7, 2014

Mileage

60,915 mi

BROUGHT MY CAR INTO TOYOTA FOR "FLOOR CARPET COVER AND RETENTION CLIPS" AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. I REPLACED THE FLOOR MATS MYSELF AT A COST OF $108.00 PLUS TAX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *TT

NHTSA ID

10445880

Incident

Apr 4, 2011

ALREADY HAVE A CASE NUMBER, REPORTED ON 1/22/2010. I HAD A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT IN MAY OF 2007 WHERE THE PEDAL BECAME STUCK AND THE CAR ACCELERATED AND I WAS UNABLE TO GET THE BRAKES TO WORK. I HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE. WHILE DRIVING BACKWARDS OUT OF A PARKING SPACE IN A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT. I HAVE HAD TO PAY EXTRA INSURANCE PREMIUMS EVERY SIX MONTHS AND HAVE THAT ACCIDENT ON MY RECORD. THE FL HWY PATROL OFFICER SAID THE ACCIDENT WAS DUE TO BRAKE FAILURE. ONE OF THE WITNESSES WAS AN OFF-DUTY LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICER SAID HE HEARD THE ACCELERATION AND COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE WAS ACCELERATING IN THE PARKING LOT OF A PUBLIX SUPERMARKET. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT TOYOTA IS GOING TO DO TO HELP CAR OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD ACCIDENTS TO CORRECT THEIR DRIVING RECORDS AND TO CONTACT INSURANCE COMPANIES TO HELP THE INSURED TO RECOUP EXTRA MONIES PAID BECAUSE THE CAR HAS BAD EQUIPMENT, WHICH TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE RECALLED LONG AGO.. *TR

NHTSA ID

10310502

Incident

May 18, 2007

Mileage

29,486 mi

MY 2005 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER V6 4WD, WHICH I PURCHASED NEW, HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING A HESITATION/SHIFTING PROBLEM FOR NEARLY AS LONG AS I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. WHILE THE PROBLEM DOES NOT ALWAYS OCCUR, IT IS QUITE PRONOUNCED WHEN IT DOES AND HAS RESULTED IN VERY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE DIRECT ATTENTION OF TOYOTA MOTOR SALES IN CALIFORNIA, AND THEIR RESPONSE HAS BEEN DISTURBINGLY POOR. THE TOYOTA DEALER THAT HAS BEEN SERVICING MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL, BUT APPARENTLY CANNOT TAKE ACTION TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM WITHOUT CORPORATE AUTHORIZATION. HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM: THE VEHICLE CANNOT ALWAYS DECIDE WHEN TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP - THERE HAVE BEEN MANY INSTANCES OF INITIAL HESITATION/LACK OF ADEQUATE POWER UPON APPLYING THE GAS PEDAL. FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE EXPERIENCED A DELAY OF A SECOND OR TWO WHEN APPLYING THE GAS PEDAL TO PROCEED. THIS HAS RESULTED IN SOME VERY CLOSE CALLS WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. ALSO, THERE ARE OCCURRENCES WHERE THE VEHICLE CANNOT SEEM TO DECIDE BETWEEN GEARS (IT WILL SOMETIMES JUMP UP/DOWN BETWEEN THE LOWER GEARS, SUCH AS 1ST TO 2ND GEAR AND/OR 2ND TO 3RD GEAR). FURTHERMORE, I HAVE NOTICED A GENERAL LACK OF ADEQUATE ACCELERATION/GAS PEDAL RESPONSE, ESPECIALLY DURING CITY DRIVING (IE. LOWER SPEEDS). MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER HAS RECORDS OF THE PROBLEM SINCE APPROXIMATELY 16,000 MILES (THE VEHICLE NOW HAS ABOUT 44,000 MILES). I BELIEVE THE ISSUE IS THE ECM, WHICH WAS REPROGRAMMED BUT THE PROBLEM RETURNED. BASED ON MY RESEARCH, I BELIEVE THE ECM MAY BE DEFECTIVE AND THAT REPLACING THE UNIT MAY SOLVE THE PROBLEM. TOYOTA WILL NOT REPLACE THE ECM. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, THE TOYOTA DEALER WAS ABLE TO VERIFY THE HESITATION PROBLEM DURING A SERVICE VISIT. HOWEVER, THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE IT LATER WITH THE SCAN TOOL ATTACHED - THEY HAD THE VEHICLE FOR TWO DAYS TRYING TO GET A SNAP SHOT BECAUSE THE TOYOTA FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN TOLD THEM "NO REPAIRS ARE TO BE MADE UNTIL THE PROBLEM OCCURS MORE OFTEN." TW*

NHTSA ID

10303083

Incident

Nov 23, 2009

ON NOVEMBER 26TH 2008 WHILE TRAVELING EAST ON INTERSTATE 70 FROM DENVER, 75 MILE AN HOUR, AND APROX TWENTY MILES EAST OF BENNET COLORADO, WE EXPERIENCED BOTH FRONT AND REAR PASSENGER TIRE BLOWOUTS AT THE SAME TIME. THE BACK PASSENGERS TIRE WAS DESTROYED. WE WERE ABLE TO CHANGE IT OUT WITH OUR SPARE. THE FRONT PASSENGERS TIRE WAS EXTREMELY LOW (1" OFF PAVEMENT) AND HAD A BUBBLE ON THE SIDE WALL OF THE TIRE. IT HAD NOT BROKEN THE AIR SEAL AROUND THE RIM, AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO RETURN VERY SLOW BACK APROX .25 MILES TO AN EXIT AND RETRIEVE AIR FOR THAT TIRE. AS THE SIDE WALL BUBBLE GREW IN SIZE WE STOPPED THE AIR AT ABOUT TWENTY POUNDS. WE THEN RETURNED APROX TWENTY MILE BACK TO DENVER, TO A DISCOUNT TIRE STORE. WE THEN REPLACED ALL OF THE TIRES ON OUR 2005 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. PRIOR TO DEPARTING ON THIS TRIP WE HAD ROTATED THE ORIGINAL TIRES AS WELL AS CHECKED AND CONFIRMED ALL AIR PRESSURES, (THE PRESSURE WAS CHECKED THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE LEAVING TOWN) WHEN CHECKING THE TIRES WE HAD HEARD A HISSING SOUND AT THE VALVE STEMS ON BOTH OF THE PASSENGER TIRES. THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST THE AIR HOSE, BUT NOW BELIEVE THAT THE VALVE STEMS WERE CRACKED AND LEAKING AIR. I HAVE DOCUMENTED THE TIRE CONDITION AND HAVE THE ORIGINAL VALVE STEMS FROM THE TIRE STORE. THESE TIRES WERE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MICHELIN TIRES WITH 28644 MILE ON THEM. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS CONDITION WAS A RESULT OF FAULTY VALVE STEMS, AND MAY BE A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN FOR OTHERS. MY TOYOTA DEALER SERVICE CENTER REFERS ME TO MICHELIN TIRE COMPANY, AND MICHELIN REFERS ME BACK TO THEM. TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY HAS DOCUMENTED A REPORT, BUT WILL NOT ADDRESS THE ISSUE AS A CONCERN. WE HAD THREE ADULTS - (500 POUNDS) AND THREE SUIT CASES - (150 POUNDS) AND THEREFORE DON'T BELIEVE THAT AT 750 - 800 POUND THAT WE WERE OVERLOADED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10250360

Incident

Nov 26, 2008

Mileage

28,644 mi

PURCHASED NEW TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2005 MODEL YEAR IN JULY 2005. VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY SINCE. VEHICLE ONLY HAS 23,000 MILES. CORROSSION DEVELOPED WITHIN 9 MONTHS OF PURCHASE IN THESE AREAS: BASE OF ANTENNA, ANTENNA MAST, WINDOW FRAMES, AND ALUMINUM OR ALLOY WHEELS SHOW BUBBLING IN THE SURFACE THAT ARE INCREASING IN SIZE AND DIAMETER.**AK DEALERSHIP AND TOYOTA WERE CONTACTED TO REMEDY PROBLEMS WITH WHEELS WITHOUT SUCCESS. DEALERSHIP REPAINTED CORRODED WINDOWS. DEALERSHIP AND TOYOTA CLAIM CORROSION IS DUE TO ENVIRONMENT - I HAVE HAD 2 OTHER VEHICLES PARKED IN THE SAME LOCATION WITHOUT VISIBLE SIGNS OF CORROSSION. I AM CONCERN THAT THE CONTINUED EXPANSION OF THE BUBBLES AND CORROSSION ON THE WHEELS WILL CREATE A SAFETY HAZARD IF IT WEAKENS THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE WHEES.

NHTSA ID

10185968

Incident

Mar 23, 2007

Mileage

9,000 mi

WE TOOK OUR 2005 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER TO THE TIRE SHOP FOR A TIRE ROTATION @ 10,000 MILES. WHEN THE WHEEL NUTS WERE HAND TORQUED TO 85PLI TWO WHEEL STUDS BROKE. THE EMPLOYEE TOLD US THAT THE METAL SEEMED SOFT. WE HAVE THE BROKEN STUDS IF YOU WANT US TO SEND THEM IN FOR TESTING. *AK

NHTSA ID

10113866

Incident

Mar 8, 2005

Mileage

10,000 mi