Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Toyota Highlander submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
On multiple (3-5), but not all, occasions at the same location my pre collision warning and automatic breaking appear to have been triggered as I approached an expansion plate at the edge of a bridge. The pre collision warning sounded, then the brakes were automatically applied. After a few seconds the braking stopped and my car proceeded normally. If a car had been following closely I may have been struck in the rear.
I have had problems with the brakes since I bought the vehicle new in 2016. I have the brakes checked every year and when I had problems but they never found the problem why the brakes do not work. The worse accident was on November 19, 2022 when my wife was using the car. She was in the car alone. She went to brake and the brakes did not engage, she slammed on the brakes 4 times and the car did not even slow down and she rear-ended the car in front of her. The air bags did not engage and she was injured. The brakes do not always work, I have gone through stop signs and red lights but the dealership says there is no problem.
brakes did not work in January 13, 2023 when backing out of driveway. Have had numerous dealership look at it multiple times in last 4 years.
WHEN DRIVING, PERIODICALLY, UNDER NO PARTICULAR ROAD OR WEATHER CONDITION, THE "CHECK AWD SYSTEM," "ABS," "BRAKE" AND "STABILITY CONTROL" WARNING LIGHTS LIGHT UP. WHEN WARNING LIGHTS ARE ON, ONLY THE FRONT WHEELS WILL DRIVE AND STABILITY CONTROL IS INACTIVE. REAL WHEELS ARE NOT ACTIVE. THIS CONDITION MAY LAST FIVE TO TEN MINUTES, THEN RETURN TO NORMAL. THIS HAS OCCURRED 10 TO 15 TIMES IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ACTIVATES RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING ON SMOOTH ROADWAY, DRY ROADS. DRIVING DOWN ROAD AND TCS LIGHT FLASHES IN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER.
COMPLAINT FILES 3/18/2019 COMPLAINT # 11189699 ALL WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM FAILS IN WET WEATHER. SNOW OR SLUSH OR HEAVY RAIN. FAILURE 7 TIMES. RESETS ITSELF WHEN WEATHER DRY. SENSOR IS CRACKED OR FAULTY. DEALER SAYS OWNER COST. IT SEEMS A TOYOTA FACTORY DEFECT AND SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE. HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING IN SEVERE WEATHER AND MOUNTAIN PASSES IN COLORADO. PLEASE ADVISE
TWICE THE AWD SYSTEM HAS FAILED. 12/28/2016 AND MARCH 17/ 2019. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON THE THE 4WD SHUTS DOWN ALONG WITH THE TRAC AND VEHICLE STABILITY SYSTEM. UNDER BOTH TIMES THE CAR WAS BEING OPERATED IN EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS OF DEEP HEAVY SNOW, SLUSH, ICE AND MUD. THE VEHICLE WILL NOT ALLOW THE WHEELS TO SPINS ENABLING ME TO KEEP MOVING IN THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS. I NEEDED TO SHIFT BETWEEN 1, 2 AND 3 GEARS TO ENGAGE THE HIGHER REVS TO SPINS THE TIRE TO KEEP THE CAR FROM GETTING STUCK OR SLIDING OFF THE ROAD. IN BOTH INSTANCES I WAS IN REMOTE, ISOLATED AREAS WITH NO HELP AND NO CELL SERVICE. THE DECEMBER 2016 INSTANCES WAS REPAIRED BY A TOYOTA DEALER IN OMAHA. DEALER COULD NOT READILY UNDERSTAND HOW THE PROBLEM INITIATED.
I WAS IN A PARKING LOT TRYING TO PARK MY CAR I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BREAK TO STOP THE CAR AND PUT INTO REVERSE AND THE CAR ACCELERATED INSTEAD OF STOPPING. THE HARDER I PUSHED THE BREAKS THE FASTER IT ACCELERATED AND HIT THE CAR PARKED IN FRONT OF ME.
WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE IS ON A DECLINE THE CRUISE CONTROL DOES NOT MAINTAIN THE SET SPEED. I NOTICED THIS SEVERAL TIMES WHILE ON THE INTERSTATE TRAVELING BETWEEN 65-75 MPH. EACH TIME THERE WAS A CAR AHEAD OF ME AND I NARROWLY AVOIDED WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN TRAGIC ACCIDENTS. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I THOUGHT IT WAS A FLUKE SO I CONTINUED TO USE THE CRUISE CONTROL AS I WOULD NORMALLY DO. AFTER IT HAPPENED AGAIN I DECIDED NOT TO USE THE CRUISE CONTROL AT ALL WHICH WAS VERY FRUSTRATING CONSIDERING THE VEHICLE WAS LESS THAN 2 WEEKS OLD AND I PURCHASED IT JUST FOR LONG FAMILY TRIPS. THERE IS ALSO A WIND WHISTLING NOISE COMING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. I TOOK IT TO DEALERSHIP FOR THE NOISE ISSUE AND I WAITED THERE FOR 5 HOURS ONLY FOR THEM TO TELL ME THAT IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE AND THERE IS NO FIX FOR IT. THIS HAS TURNED OUT THE BE THE WORST CAR EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD.
MY WIFE WAS DRIVING WITH OUR TWO DAUGHTERS (AGES 12 AND 14). IT HAD JUST STARTED TO SNOW AND MY WIFE SAID THE ROAD WAS SLIPPERY SHE PUT THE CAR INTO LOW GEAR AND TRAVELED SLOWLY. SHE WAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FROM OUR HOUSE WHEN SHE COULD NO LONGER CONTROL THE VEHICLE. SHE HIT A TREE, A FENCE, AND THEN TWO MORE TREES, TRAVELING MORE THAN 600 FEET. EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS TRAVELING DOWNHILL SHE SAID THE BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE THE ABS AND THEN TOWARD THE END OF THE CRASH, BEFORE HITTING THE THIRD TREE THE CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. UPON HITTING THE THIRD TREE ALL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AND FIRE, POLICE, AND AMBULANCE ARRIVED AT THE SCENE AND TOOK THEM ALL TO THE HOSPITAL. THEY HAD X-RAYS AND THERE WERE NO BROKEN BONES. OUR YOUNGER DAUGHTER WAS VERY TRAUMATIZED AND EVERYONE HAD BRUISES AND SMALL CUTS FROM SEAT BELTS BUT ALL WERE GENERALLY OKAY. THE STRANGE THING ABOUT THIS ACCIDENT IS HOW FAR THE CAR TRAVELED DESPITE MY WIFE'S EFFORTS TO STOP THE CAR. SHE HAD ALREADY PLACED THE CAR IN LOW GEAR YET THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK AND SHE SAYS THE CAR INCREASED SPEED (NOT JUST DUE TO THE SLOPE DOWNWARD). OUR FAMILY HAS LIVED IN THIS AREA FOR YEARS AND DRIVEN THROUGH COUNTLESS SNOW STORMS. THIS WAS NOT EVEN A STORM BUT JUST SOME LIGHT SNOW. IT WAS SLIPPERY ACCORDING TO MY WIFE BUT THE FACT THAT SHE COULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE OVER SUCH A LONG DISTANCE DOES NOT MAKE SENSE AND SHE FEELS THAT THE CAR FAILED IN MULTIPLE WAYS. PLEASE SEE ATTACHED CRASH REPORT. THANK YOU. UPDATED 03/07/17*LJ *CN
OCCASIONALLY, AT A STOP SIGN/INTERSECTION OR ENTERING A HIGHWAY IF I HAVE COME TO A FULL STOP BEFORE PROCEEDING THE CAR WILL STALL. I PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR AND NOTHING HAPPENS. MY WIFE AND I HAVE FOUND OURSELVES IN THIS PREDICAMENT SEVERAL TIMES NOW AND IT IS ONLY GETTING WORSE. THIS SCENARIO IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR SEVERAL REASONS, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS THAT MY FAMILY HAS BEEN INSIDE THE CAR WHEN THIS HAS HAPPENED. WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL SCARES NOW, BECAUSE THE CAR STALLED ON US AS WE WERE ENTERING THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE DEALER ABOUT THIS OVER THE PHONE AND BOTH TIMES THAT THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED. AFTER THEY TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE, I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS NORMAL BEHAVIOR DUE TO A DELAY BETWEEN THE COMPUTER AND THE ACCELERATOR THROTTLE. ADDITIONALLY, I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS, BUT HAS NOT ADDRESSED THE PROBLEM. THIS IS EXTREMELY UPSETTING BECAUSE MY FAMILY IS NOW AT RISK DUE TO A COMPUTER MALFUNCTION. I URGE THE NHTSA TO PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS MATTER AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE BASED ON INTERNET SEARCHES ARE DEALING WITH THIS SAME ISSUE. I OWN A 2005 HIGHLANDER WITH 105000 MILES AND THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED. YOU WOULD THINK THAT A 2016 MODEL WITH ALL OF ITS SAFETY FEATURES AND ENHANCEMENTS WOULD BE A PLEASANT DRIVING EXPERIENCE? BUT, NOW THAT I OWNED THE CAR FOR ALMOST 8 MONTHS I AM SECOND GUESSING MYSELF WHETHER THIS WAS THE RIGHT PURCHASE. ONCE, AGAIN I URGE THE NHTSA TO LOOK INTO THIS AND TO ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE THAT IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE, PLEASE SPEAK UP SO THAT BOTH TOYOTA AND THE NHTSA ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *TR
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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