Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2014 Toyota Highlander submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 36 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 36, in the owner's own words
The radio keeps freezing up all the time along with the back tail light area going in and out. I keep smelling like burnt wire smell. Engine sound really rough.
I noticed the smell of wires burning, a billow of smoke started emitting from the two levers used to heat the seats near the gear shift area. I was on the freeway and immediately pulled to the side of the road, turned off the car and called 911 before any flames were seen. There were no warning signs, lamps or other symptoms until the smell of burning wires and the smoke.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that a hybrid system warning alert was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the windshield wiring system had failed and that the windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic informed the contact that the windshield failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18E107000 (Electrical System, Visibility). The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The windshield manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000.
While driving car started singing and message came on dashboard about idling will cause the engine to turn off then the car turned off while I was driving it has happened multiple other times even after taking it to the dealership twice and then doing an update on it
Steering column locked on several occasions while driving. Electrical systems blink on and off. Exactly as described in NHTSA recall #15V144000 and as far I can tell the exact same part number.
The power rear hatch will not properly open or close. The safety of others are at risk due to several factors. For example, the door will not open properly causing hands, fingers, and other object to get jammed in the doorway when trying to close it manually or when the door closes automatically without warning. It also does not close properly when the hatch is not working properly which could potentially be an issue while traveling where objects could fall out of the vehicle and injure other drivers. There are several articles online reporting the issue and will only be fixed if the vehicle is under warranty. Many of these vehicles are out of warranty due to their age. There was no prior warning other than a beeping noise when the door would not close properly.
DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS NOT WORKING. CAN NO LONGER USE KEY FOB TO UNLOCK/LOCK DOORS. POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE.
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. *TR
ENTUNE RADIO/HEADUNIT (HU) REBOOT ITSELF WHILE IN A CALL. REBOOT OCCURS WHILE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AT ANY SPEED, DURING ANY DRIVING CONDITION. AS THE HU REBOOTS, DRIVER IS UNABLE TO USE REAR-VIEW CAMERA AND ANY OTHER FEATURE DISPLAYED IN HU. ROAD ATTENTION IS AFFECTED SINCE DRIVER IS DISTRACTED BY THE SCREEN GOING BLACK AND ON AGAIN. ALSO IF DRIVER IS IN A CALL HAS TO END CALL FROM THE PHONE AND CALL AGAIN USING THE PHONE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR POWER DOORS AND TRUNK MADE A BUZZING NOISE AND WERE INOPERATIVE. THE CONTACT REFERENCED SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER: SB0023-16 AND NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10134306 (STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). SPARKS TOYOTA (LOCATED AT 4855 HIGHWAY 501, MYRTLE BEACH, SC 29526, 888-847-7870) WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE DEALER. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.
WE ARE AFFECTED BY I AM LEARNING VERY COMMON ISSUE IN TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2014 AND LATER. POWER DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS ARE ALL FAILING AT AROUND 4-5 YEARS. I HAVE NOT ENCOUNTERED THIS ON ANY OTHER CARS I OWNED AND IT SEEMS SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THESE SINCE PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE I TALKED TO HAD ONE OR MORE FAIL IN TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY WHEN THIS HAPPENED, BUT IT IS SAFETY CONCERNS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT ONE OF THE DOOR WAS BEING LEFT UNLOCKED. THERE IS NO WARNING THAT IT FAILED TO LOCK.
THE REAR LIFT GATE WILL OFTEN NOT CLOSE CORRECTLY ON THE FIRST TRY. IT BEEPS AS IF SOMETHING IS IN ITS WAY AND MAKES A LOUD NOISE. RECENTLY IT GOT STUCK IN THE OPEN POSITION ANS IT HAD TO FORCIBLY BE CLOSED. NOW IT WILL NOT OPEN AT ALL. THE VEHICLE IS ALWAYS STATIONARY AND THE ISSUE HAS OCCURRED BOTH WHILE ON AND OFF.
VEHICLE IN MOTION: RADIO/ENTUNE/NAVIGATION SYSTEM FREEZES AND REBOOTS MULTIPLE TIMES. VEHICLE STATIONARY: INTERIOR CABIN LIGHT WHEN SET TO "DOOR" FADES ON AND OFF CONTINUOUSLY. KEYLESS FOB FAILS TO FUNCTION ONCE CAR HAS BEEN STARTED; WHEN MOTOR SHUT OFF AND DOOR IS OPEN, WARNING LIGHT INDICATES NO KEY DETECTED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO OPEN THE REAR LIFTGATE, IT OCCASIONALLY FAILED TO OPEN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LIFTGATE HAD TO BE CLOSED MANUALLY OCCASIONALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CHUCK PATTERSON TOYOTA (LOCATED AT 200 EAST AVE, CHICO, CA 95926) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE MULTI LIFTGATE CONNECTOR OR THE POWER UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO OPEN THE REAR GATE, IT STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE. THE CONTACT MANUALLY HAD TO PUSH IT UP. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GATE HAD BEEN MALFUNCTIONING FOR APPROXIMATELY EIGHT MONTHS. THE GATE WOULD SOMETIMES OPEN OR NOT OPEN, AND WOULD OCCASIONALLY BECAUSE GET STUCK IN THE PROCESS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO RONNIE WARD TOYOTA OF RUSTON (1001 NORTH SERVICE RD E, RUSTON, LA 71270), BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 136,000.
MY COMPLAINT CONCERNS THE SAFETY OF THE WELLBEING OF MYSELF AND PASSENGERS IN MY VEHICLE. THE REAR AUTOMATUC DOOR LOCK ON MY PASSENGER SIDE OF MY HIGHLANDER WENT OUT FIRST. THEN THE DRIVER DOOR AT ANY GIVEN TIME MAY OR MAY NOT OPEN. NOT EVEN WITH THE KEY. I HAVE TO GO TO THE PASSENGER SIDE AND CLIMB OVER AND UNLOCK THE DOOR AND GO BACK AROUND TO GET IN. MY CONCERN IS BEING IN A WRECK AND THE DOOR NOT OPENING. NOT BEING ABLE TO GET A CHILD OUT OF THE CARSEAT IN THE BACK BECAUSE THE DOOR WON'T OPEN. YES. IT MAY BE THE ACTUATORS AND I HAVE READ THE EXPENSIVE REVIEWS OF GETTING THOSE FIXED ONLY TO FIND IT HAPPENS AGAIN OVER AND OVER. MY OTHER COMPLAINT IS THE BLUETOOTH PHONE SYSTEM WILL FREEZE UP AND YOU HAVE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE CAR TO UNFREEZE IT. THE SYSTEM COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN CONTINUOUSLY. I HAVE READ REVIEWS ON THIS ALSO AND TOYOTA IS AWARE OF BOTH OF THESE COMPLAINTS BUT HAVE HAD NO RECALLS TO DATE. PLEASE HELP!
DOOR ACTUATOR - DRIVER SIDE DOOR DOES NOT ALWAYS LOCK OR UNLOCK WHEN USING THE KEY FOB OR BUTTON ON DOOR.
DOOR ACTUATORS FAILED IN ALL 4 DOORS 3 YEARS AFTER PURCHASE AND JUST AFTER WARRANTY WAS OVER.
TOYOTA ENTUNE SYSTEM , CONSTANTLY SHUT DOWN AND REBOOT WHILE DRIVING, LOSING BLUETOOTH CONNECTION, RADIO, NAVIGATION
BLUETOOTH STOPPED WORKING. WHEN MY PHONE WOULD BE PLUGGED IN, THE CAR WILL RANDOMLY DISCONNECT FROM ITSELF FROM THE PHONE. TOUCHSCREEN WOULD ZAP IN AND OUT UNTIL IT WOULD FINALLY SHUT OFF. GOT SUSPENDED FROM WORK FOR TWO WEEKS BECAUSE MY CAR WOULD NOT START (I HAD NO OTHER TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO WORK). TOOK CAR TO DEALER AND THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH BATTERY. IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING WITH THE SOFTWARE.
THE POWER LIFT GATE ACTUATORS ONLY WORKED INTERMITTENTLY AND CAUSED US TO CLOSE/OPEN BY HAND. THIS OCCURRED WHILE PARKED. THIS EVENTUALLY LEAD TO A LEAK IN THE DRIVER SIDE ACTUATOR. A REVIEW OF THE NHTSA WEBSITE SHOWED THAT OF THE 54 COMPLAINTS LISTED 14 CONCERNED THE POWER LIFT GATES. THAT IS ABOUT 25%. I HAD TO HAVE THE DEALER REPLACE BOTH AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOT A RECALL. THEY SUGGESTED I CALL TOYOTA DIRECTLY. TOYOTA REP SAID THEY COULD NOT REIMBURSE ME AFTER THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETE. NO SUGGESTION AS TO REPLACING MY CAR WHILE IT WAITED IN SHOP FOR ACTION FROM TOYOTA. HOWEVER TOYOTA DID PAY FOR HALF OF THE REPAIR ($1000) AND STATED THAT IF A RECALL OCCURRED AT A LATER DATE WE COULD REVISIT THE COST OF THE OTHER ACTUATOR. SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS RE THIS PROBLEM I HOPE THIS NOTIFICATION MIGHT LEAD TO OTHER DOCUMENTATION OF SIMILAR ISSUES AND MAYBE A RECALL. AT THIS TIME I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD MY COMPLAINT RE THE RADIO/ENTUNE SYSTEM GOING BLACK AND THEN TURNING BACK ON, THIS SEEMS TO BE THE MOST FREQUENT COMPLAINT.
THE REAR TRUNK DOOR OF MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER IS NOT FUNCTIONING AS EXPECTED. THE MOTORS THAT POWER THE ACTUATORS OF THE TRUNK DOOR ARE NOT WORKING AND WE HAVE TO MANUALLY OPEN AND CLOSE THE TRUNK DOOR. SOMETIMES WE DO NOT REALIZE IF THE TRUNK IS CLOSED OR NOT WHICH CREATES A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY CONCERN. TOYOTA WAS HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS IN THE 2008 TO 2013 HIGHLANDER MODELS BUT THE SAME ISSUE STILL PERSISTS IN THE 2014 MODELS ALSO. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AT IRVING, TX AND THEY ADVISED ME THAT THE MOTOR POWERING THE ACTUATORS WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED AND TOYOTA COVERS IT AS PART OF WARRANTY. SINCE THE VEHICLE'S FACTORY WARRANTY EXPIRED IN THIS YEAR THEY ADVISED ME THAT I WILL HAVE TO BEAR THE COST OF REPAIR AND PARTS.
WHILE DRIVING IN HOUSTON TX. USING THE NAV SYSTEM THE SCREEN WENT BLANK. IN HEAVY TRAFFIC DURING RUSH HOUR ABOUT 5 PM. I ACUTALLY MISSED MY TURN AND HAD TO PULL INTO A PARKING LOT. SHUT THE CAR OFF AND RE STARTED IT. SCREEN BLANKED OUT AGAIN WHILE PARKED. I HAD TO RESORT TO MY CELL PHONE. I"M NEW TO THE AREA. TOYOTA TELLS ME THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH ITS SOFTWEAR. I FEEL THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. IT WAS VERY DISTURBING WHILE LOOKING FOR DIRECTIONS AND THE SCREEN GOES BLANK.
THE DOOR ACTUATORS KEEP GOING OUT. THE FIRST TIME IT WAS THE TWO BACK AND PASSENGER FRONT. I HAD IT FIXED AND LESS THAN A YEAR LATER THE TWO BACK DOORS WENT OUT AGAIN. THE DEALERS SHIP WANTS APPROXIMATELY 400.00 PER DOOR TO CORRECT.
GPS/RADIO OFTEN TURNS OFF WHILE DRIVING. SCREEN COMPLETELY GOES BLANK AND KEEPS TRYING TO RESET ITSELF. VOICE COMMANDS OFTEN DON'T WORK WHILE DRIVING OR STATIONARY. BLUE TOOTH OFTEN DOESN'T CONNECT WHILE DRIVING OR STATIONARY. TAILGATE OFTEN DOESN'T CLOSE AND TAKES MULTIPLE TRIES TO GET TO WORKING AGAIN WHEN STATIONARY. SPONGY/BROKEN SPRING SOUND COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE CAR AS I DROVE OVER UNEVEN ROAD. REAR LEFT TAIL LIGHT ALWAYS FOGGY AND CONTAINS MOISTURE EVEN AFTER REPLACING IT. CHIRPING SOUND COMING FROM RIGHT SIDE OF CAR WHEN DRIVING ON HIGHWAY ON WINDY DAYS. WHEEL AND CAR SHAKING WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT SPEED OVER 60 MPH.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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