2011 Toyota Highlander
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 186 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 17th highest complaint count among 25 Highlander model years with reports.
Of the 2011 reports, 14 involved a crash. 8 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Seats, front assembly, seat heater/coolerJun 2, 2016
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.
If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.
Campaign 16V396000 on NHTSA.gov
Visibility, power window devices and controlsOct 22, 2015
Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, and 2009-2010 Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. During the manufacturing of the Power Window Master Switch (PWMS), grease lubricant may have been inconsistently applied to the sliding electrical contacts.
If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch assembly may overheat and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found. If abnormality is found, the PWMS circuit board will be replaced, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 20, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is C0M.
Campaign 15V689000 on NHTSA.gov
Seats, front assembly, seat heater/coolerNov 19, 2014
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.
Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.
SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.
Campaign 14V743000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment, other, labelsApr 9, 2013
Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.
Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Campaign 13V123000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontal, sensor/control module-inactiveJan 16, 2013
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Campaign 13V014000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: steering
34 reports, newest first. Show all
Steering, Electrical system, Sep 14, 2018
DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY WITH GENTLE TURNS AT 35MPH, POWER STEERING FAILED. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE STRAIGHT UNTIL THERE WERE NO CARS DIRECTLY BEHIND ME AND I COULD BRAKE TO A SAFE SPEED TO ATTEMPT TURNING. I WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO MANUALLY STEER THE CAR TO TURN INTO A DRIVEWAY USING A THREE POINT TURN.
Steering, Jan 25, 2018
EVERY TIME I TURN MY WHEEL I HAVE A THUMPING SOUND (WORSE WHEN I AM TURNING RIGHT)
Steering, Jan 24, 2018
I HAD A CLUNKING NOISE WHENEVER I TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL LEFT OR RIGHT AT SLOW SPEEDS. I CHECKED ON LINE AND FOUND THIS SITE WHICH NOTED FAULT TO BE THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT, AS THE ISSUE. I TOOK MY VEHICLE INTO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. THEY CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS THE ISSUE AND BECAUSE IT IS NOT CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE, NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED. TOYOTA WOULD NOT COVER ANY OF THE COST WHICH WAS $684. IT STARTED WHEN I HAD 80,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE AND I TOOK IT IN FOR REPAIR AT 94,000 MILES WHEN NOICE BECAME LOUDER.. DISAPPOINTED TOYOTA DID NOT HELP WITH THE REPAIR COST.
Steering, May 27, 2015
WHEN MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN THE STEERING SYSTEM HAS A SIGNIFICANT "BUMP" OF "THUMP". THIS APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH A PART OF THE STEERING SECTOR SHAFT THAT TOYOTA IS WELL AWARE OF BUT WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH DESIGN. TOYOTA WILL ONLY CORRECT PROBLEM IF CUSTOMER IS WILLING TO PAY COST OF APPROXIMATELY $1200. NOT SURE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF CORRECTION IS NOT MADE, BUT I BELIEVE IT COULD LEAD TO FAILURE OF THE STEERING SYSTEM TO FUNCTION APPROPRIATELY.
Steering, Aug 23, 2014
STARTED THE CAR. POWER STEERING WAS GONE!! IT HAD JUST GONE OUT!!! THANK GOD I WAS IN TOWN. I HAD JUST GONE OVER MOUNTAIN ROAD WHERE I COULD HAVE GONE OVER A CLIFF AND BEEN KILLED. I WAS ABLE TO TAKE THE CAR WITH HORRIBLE DIFFICULTY TO A MECHANIC ACROSS THE STREET AND THEY CALLED THE TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY TOLD THEM TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. THAT DIDN'T WORK. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALER WHEN THEY TOOK THE TOW IT SEEMED TO BE WORKING. THEY CHECKED IT AND WAS GIVEN AN "ALL SYSTEM OK" ON THE POWERTRAIN, CHASSIS, ELECTRICAL AND NETWORK SYSTEMS. THEY SAID IT WAS A "GLITCH" A GLITCH???? THIS IS A CAR I PAID $34,000 FOR AND I HAVE KEPT UP WITH ALL THE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. NOW I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE IT. IT WAS TERRIFYING. I HAVE TO DRIVE HOME FROM SAN LUIS OBISPO TO LANCASTER CA AND I'M SCARED TO DEATH. A GLITCH???? *TR
Steering, Sep 4, 2012
AT APPROXIMATELY 40-42 MPH ON A SLIGHT CURVE TO THE RIGHT, THE STEERING WOULD GET VERY TIGHT AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ROAD.( IT IS AS IF THE CAR WAS TURNING TO THE LEFT ON ITS OWN) THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AND THE DEALER AND TOYOTA INSPECTED THE CAR. THE CAR WAS UNDER CASE MANAGEMENT WITH TOYOTA THREE TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. CASE #'S [XXX], [XXX], AND CASE [XXX]. EACH TIME TOYOTA WOULD STATE THERE IS NO PROBLEM AND THE CAR WAS "FUNCTIONING AS DESIGNED. " TOYOTA'S EXCESSIVE USE OF ELECTRONICS IN AREAS SUCH AS STEERING HAVE CREATED UNSAFE VEHICLES. EVEN WORSE, MY OPINION IS TOYOTA KNOWS THEY HAVE ANOTHER SAFETY ISSUE AND ONCE AGAIN IS DENYING AND COVERING IT UP. TOYOTA CAN NO LONGER BE TRUSTED! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Steering, Power train, Wheels, Jun 5, 2012
I ONLY HAVE 7K MILES IN MY CAR I OWN THE CAR FOR ONLY 1 YEAR. I NOTICE THAT THE STEERING WHEEL IS NOT BALANCE AT ALL. AT LEAST 5-10 DEGREE TO THE RIGHT. I HAVE MY CAR SERVICE EVERY 6 MONTHS WITH TOYOTA IT SHOULD BE BALANCED AND DONE THE TIRE ROTATION??? ALSO THE TRANSMISSION OCCASIONALLY STALL ABOUT 1-2 SECOND WHEN I ACCELERATE TO 30-40 MPH. I AM AFRAID THAT THE TRANSMISSION WILL HAVE PROBLEM WITHIN THIS 2-3 YEARS. LIKE HONDA TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON ODYSSEY. *TR
Electrical system, Steering, Feb 16, 2012
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, I WAS UNABLE TO KEEP THE CAR IN THE LANE ON A SLIGHT CURVE TO THE RIGHT IN THE ROAD. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNING, BUT THE WHEELS WERE NOT RESPONDING. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS MUCH HARDER TO TURN. SUDDENLY THE STEERING WHEEL WAS EXTREMELY EASY TO TURN AND THE CAR VEERED HEAVILY TO THE RIGHT CAUSING ME TO RUN OFF THE ROAD. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AT OTHER SPEEDS. *TR THE CONSUMER HAS SINCE TRADED THE VEHICLE. UPDATED 09/13/12 THE CONSUMER STATED ELECTRONIC STEERING SYSTEMS WERE FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED. THE CONSUMER STATED HE WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER VEHICLE WITH ELECTRIC STEERING. UPDATED 10/22/12
Steering, Service brakes, Hydraulic, Nov 10, 2011
PURCHASED MY 2011 HIGHLANDER IN MARCH, & IT HAD 7000 MILES ON IT AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. I STARTED THE VEHICLE IN MY DRIVEWAY, PUT IT IN DRIVE, AND STARTED DOWN MY DRIVEWAY. PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, AND THERE WERE NO BRAKES AND SEEMED NOT TO HAVE POWER STEERING. THE LIGHTS IN THE DASH CAME ON, AND THE SCREEN SAID BRAKE MALFUNCTION CONTACT DEALER IMMEDIATELY. THERE WERE NO BRAKES, I FINALLY CAME TO A STOP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL, PUT THE CAR IN PARK, AND TURNED THE IGNITION OFF. WHEN I TURNED THE KEY, THE CAR STARTED, THE DASH LIGHTS WERE STILL LIT UP, AND I GUESS THE COMPUTER SEEMED TO "RESET". I PULLED BACK INTO MY DRIVEWAY & HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THE DEALER HAS HAD IT FOR OVER TWO WEEKS, AND THE INCIDENT HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY CANNOT FIND A SINGLE THING WRONG WITH IT. THEY CAN, HOWEVER, SEE THAT THERE WAS AN "INCIDENT" WITH THE BRAKES ON THAT DATE BY THE COMPUTER READING. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I AM GOING TO BE GETTING THIS CAR BACK, AND THAT IT IS FINE. EVERYONE SAY A PRAYER FOR MYSELF AND MY 3 KIDS THAT ARE IN IT, & HOPE THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN IN THESE MOUNTAINS THAT I LIVE! *TR