2015 Toyota Highlander Visibility Problems

The side mirrors are too large and located in a position that when the driver is turning left the driver's side mirror blocks the ability to see the crosswalk and also the center divider of the lane they are turning into and has almost caused me to strike a center divider and not see a pothole on a freeway on ramp causing damage to the left side strut and alignment. There were other multiple times I almost hit the smaller center dividers in town and the glare in the mirror causes glare that you can't see where you are going. terrible design

NHTSA ID

11721079

Incident

Feb 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The check engine warning light and several other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after 45 minutes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and charged a fee for diagnostic testing. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18E107000 (Electrical System, Visibility); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 193,000.

NHTSA ID

11616600

Incident

Sep 20, 2024

Mileage

193,000 mi

While driving at highway speed of about 60 MPH, the moonroof burst and shattered in to thousands of pieces. There was no warning, no indication of stress or wear before the incident. Hundreds of others have had similar occurrences as discussed on internet forums.

NHTSA ID

11430159

Incident

Aug 21, 2021

Repeated cracking of the windshield from even trivial impact from highway rocks/stones. Windshield replaced once by the Dealer service station with OEM glass at a cost of 1600 dollars out of pocket expense by the owner. Cracked again with another small rock hitting the windshield, directly in the line of sight. Inspected by the same dealer service center, advised to replace again at owners expense as Toyota does not cover glass damage. Multiple Toyota Highlanders and Sienna minivans all across the USA have had this issue of windshield cracking in the last few years . Suspect there is a design/manufacturing/ Quality control issue. NHTSA needs to look into this as it affects the safe operation of the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11423424

Incident

Jan 21, 2021

REAR WINDOW EXPLODED INWARD WHILE DRIVING. VERY LOUD BANG SOUND. NOTHING HIT IT. TEMP WAS 66 DEGREES, CLEAR SKIES. I HAD THE FRONT DRIVER'S WINDOW PARTIALLY OPENED WHEN THIS HAPPENED.

NHTSA ID

11246348

Incident

Aug 24, 2019

Mileage

75,000 mi

BOTH DIVER AND PASSENGER VISORS DO NOT STAY SET. THEY MOVE UP WHEN NOT EXPECTED AND THE SUN IS IN YOUR EYES ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNINGS AND EVENINGS WHEN THE SUN RISES AND SETS!! EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!!! DEALER SAID IT WAS NORMAL. I HIGHLY DISAGREE.

NHTSA ID

11115249

Incident

May 4, 2018

Mileage

300,000 mi

THE VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP AND DROPS DOWN OBSTRUCTING THE DRIVERS VIEW OF THE ROAD COMPLETELY(IF TALLER THAN 5'9'). WHEN SWUNG TO THE SIDE IT OBSTRUCTS THE VIEW OUT THE LEFT WINDOW, AND DISTRACTS THE DRIVER BY SWINGING INTO THE LEFT SIDE OF THEIR FACE WHILE TURNING/CHANGING LANES WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH TOYOTA VEHICLES DUE TO A POOR DESIGN FRICTION MECHANISM THAT SHOULD HOLD THE VISOR AT ANY ANGLE OUT OF THE DRIVERS WAY. REPLACEMENT IS $300 DISCOURAGING PROPER REPLACEMENT AND CAUSING DRIVERS TO ENDURE THE SAFETY HAZARD. TOYOTA HAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED VISORS UNDER A TECHNICAL BULLETIN ON OLDER VEHICLES. DUE TO THE COST THERE ARE DOZENS OF REPAIR PROCEDURES AND REMOVAL PROCESSES RECORDED ON YOUTUBE TO ILLUSTRATE HOW WIDESPREAD 'TOYOTA VISOR WON'T STAY UP' JUST SEARCH ON YOUTUBE. REMOVED THE VISOR DOES NOT BLOCK THE DRIVERS VIEW BUT REMOVES SAFETY WARNINGS FOR THE AIRBAG AND SAFE OPERATION ROLLOVER WARNING. TOYOTA SHOULD ISSUE ANOTHER TECHNICAL BULLETIN FOR THIS SUPPOSEDLY IMPROVED VISOR MECHANISM AND REPAIR FOR OWNERS.

NHTSA ID

11097688

Incident

May 20, 2018

Mileage

36,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A FEEDER ROAD OF THE INTERSTATE ~50MPH. THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS AROUND ME AND THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. I PULLED OVER AND THE REMAINING GLASS WAS CLEARLY PUSHED OUTWARD, NOT INWARD.

NHTSA ID

11010893

Incident

Jul 26, 2017

Mileage

50,400 mi

BOUGHT THIS 2015 HIGHLANDER BRAND-NEW IN JANUARY 2015 FROM THE DEALER. IT HAD 476 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. WITHIN A FEW THOUSAND MILES, A STONE CHIPPED THE WINDSHIELD AND WITHIN DAYS THE WINDSHIELD WAS A SPIDER'S NEST OF SPREADING CRACKS ALL ACROSS UP AND DOWN THE WINDSHIELD. I HAD THIS SAME ISSUE WITH A BRAND NEW 2017 HIGHLANDER PURCHASED FROM THE SAME DEALER. I BELIEVE TOYOTA SLANTED THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE DOWN FOR BETTER AIRFLOW AND RESULTING MPG INCREASE AND IN SO DOING, ALL ROAD DEBRIS SUCH AS STONES, ARE PROPELLED UP RIGHT ONTO THE WINDSHIELD AND THE STONES SMASH THE WINDSHIELD. WHAT ARE THE RANDOM ODDS THAT A BRAND-NEW, DEALER-BOUGHT 2015 AND 2017 HIGHLANDER WOULD BOTH GET A STONE CHIP THAT DESTROYS THE WINDSHIELD WITHIN THE FIRST FEW THOUSAND MILES OF DRIVING? THESE WINDSHIELD AREN'T CHEAP TO REPLACE- ABOUT $1400. THE DATE OF OCCURRENCE AND MILEAGE I HAVE STATED FOR THIS COMPLAINT ARE TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION AS THIS ISSUE OCCURRED IN 2015 AND I DID NOT FILE THIS COMPLAINT UNTIL 6-9-2017 WHEN I HAD THE EXACT SAME ISSUE OCCUR ON THE BRAND NEW PURCHASED 2017 HIGHLANDER, WHICH I FILED COMPLAINT # 10994221 ON. THESE TWO COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE CROSS-REFERENCED. I BELIEVE THE 2015+ MODEL YEAR HIGHLANDERS WILL DEMONSTRATE A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT HIGHER RATE OF OCCURRENCE OF WINDSHIELD FAILURES OWING TO THEIR SLANTING THE HOOD ANGLE DOWN TOWARDS THE PAVEMENT TO ACHIEVE A LOWER WIND PROFILE AND HIGHER MPG. THE EFFECT OF THIS IS THAT ALL ROCKS AND DEBRIS FROM THE ROAD ARE THROWN UP ONTO THE WINDSHIELD VIOLENTLY RESULTING IN WINDSCREEN DAMAGE. I HAD A 2009 HIGHLANDER, ALSO PURCHASED BRAND NEW, THAT HAD NO SUCH ISSUES AS THE HOOD ANGLE WAS HIGHER AND MORE TRUCK LIKE.

NHTSA ID

10994224

Incident

Mar 16, 2015

Mileage

4,000 mi

IMPROPER APPLICATION OF REAR VIEW MIRROR MOUNTING PLATE TO WINDSHIELD INCOMPLETE (PARTIAL COVERAGE) OF EPOXY ADHESIVE APPLICATION TO THE WINDSHIELD MOUNTING PLATE. THE BLACK PLASTIC COVER AND MIRROR HOLDER EXPANDS IN HIGH INTENSITY SUN. THE EXPANSION INCREASES CONCENTRATED TENSILE FORCES BETWEEN THE MOUNTING PLATE AND WINDSHIELD, CAUSING THE MOUNTING PLATE TO TEAR FROM THE WINDSHIELD. THE RESULT IS A SIGNIFICANT REMOVAL OF GLASS FROM THE PASSENGER CABIN SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD, AND LOSS OF THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE WINDSHIELD. MIRRORS WITH INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS THEN SWING FROM THE ELECTRICAL WIRED, THE MIRROR OBSTRUCTING VISIBILITY, AND BECOMING A DETACHED HAZARD WITHIN THE PASSENGER CABIN. THE EVENT OCCURRED IN A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT, THE VEHICLE HAVING BEEN STATIONARY AND PARKED IN THE SUN (99.1 DEGREES AT THE TIME) FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR. TIME OF DAY: ABOUT 13:00 HRS. LOCATION: HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/MAPS/PLACE/1733+E+PALM+CANYON+DR,+PALM+SPRINGS,+CA+92264/@33.7999482,-116.5284111,17Z/DATA=!3M1!4B1!4M5!3M4!1S0X80DB1B6804F844BB:0X2C7726C52C54599D!8M2!3D33.7999482!4D-116.5262224

NHTSA ID

10871798

Incident

May 30, 2016

Mileage

10,823 mi

THE VEHICLE'S SIDE MIRRORS ARE PLACED SO THAT THEY BLOCK VISIBILITY FOR A SHORT PERSON. I AM JUST UNDER 5'4" AND WHEN AT A FOUR WAY INTERSECTION, THE MIRRORS DIRECTLY BLOCK THE VIEW OF WHERE A CAR WOULD BE STOPPED TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT. I ACTUALLY WAS INVOLVED IN A MINOR COLLISION WHERE I DID NOT SEE THE OTHER CAR STOPPED AT THE STOP SIGN TO MY LEFT ALTHOUGH THEY CLAIMED TO BE. NOW I ALWAYS NEED TO MOVE MY HEAD TO GET A CLEAR VIEW OF THE ROAD AREA NEXT TO THE THE STOP SIGNS TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT.

NHTSA ID

10863253

Incident

Mar 22, 2015

Mileage

4,000 mi

I PURCHASED THIS CAR 7-31-2015, BY 8-3-2015 I NOTICED THE WINDSHIELD AND PASSENGER SIDE WINDOWS LOOKED BADLY PITTED. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND ON 8-7-2015 TOOK IT IN. THEY SAID IT WAS PITCH FROM A TREE AND AGREED TO DETAIL IT TO REMOVE THE SAP. I PICKED IT UP THE SAME DAY. THAT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM AS THE WINDOWS ARE STILL SHOWING PRISMS WHEN LIGHT COMES THROUGH. WHEN I CAME BACK ABOUT IT AGAIN 8-28-25015 THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T SEE IT AT ALL BUT DID PULL ANOTHER HIGHLANDER OUT THAT WAS JUST TAKEN OFF THE TRUCK, IT TOO HAD THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE PITTING, THE DEALER HAS AGREED TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD BUT NOT THE PASSENGER WINDOWS. I'M NOT HAPPY THAT I WAS SOLD A CAR WITH DEFECTIVE WINDOWS. IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD FOR NIGHT DRIVING OR WHEN THE SUN IS LOW. WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS?

NHTSA ID

10760474

Incident

Aug 5, 2015

Mileage

150 mi

APRIL 24, 2015 [XXX] TO AN APPROPRIATE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION: IN NOVEMBER 2014, I PURCHASED A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER LIMITED MODEL ID# [XXX]:. DURING FREEZING WEATHER THIS WINTER I DISCOVERED A DANGEROUS DESIGN FAULT RELATING TO THE VEHICLE. MUCH OF THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAN BE ENTRAPPED AND EMBEDDED IN ICE, AND THE DEFROSTER DOES NOT MELT ICE IN THAT AREA. THE WIPERS ARE INCAPACITATED. THE DEFROSTER CLEARS THE WINDSHIELD BUT DOES NOTHING TO FREE THE WIPERS FROM ICE. THAT WAS THE CASE FOR ME DURING FOUR DAYS OF FREEZING WEATHER. THERE IS AN AUXILIARY FUNCTION IN THE VEHICLE THAT ADDRESSES THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS. BUT THAT ONLY "BUMPS" THE ICE, IT DOES NOTHING TO MELT THE ICE. APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR APPROPRIATELY ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

10713136

Incident

Feb 22, 2010