2014 Toyota Highlander
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 136 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 19th highest complaint count among 25 Highlander model years with reports.
Of the 2014 reports, 5 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 6 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Electrical systemNov 27, 2018
Fujian Wanda Automobile Glass Industry (Wanda) is recalling certain aftermarket Replacement Windshields sold for use in 2014-2018 Toyota Highlander vehicles. The windshields have an attached wire harness that water may leak into, possibly causing damage to the vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM).
The ECM damage may result in the engine stalling, increasing the risk of a crash.
Wanda will notify owners, and service centers will replace the windshields, and inspect the ECM for damage, having it replaced, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2019. Owners may contact Wanda customer service at 1-864-281-2760.
Campaign 18E107000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsSep 19, 2014
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2014 Toyota Avalon, Camry, Sienna, and Highlander and model year 2015 Lexus RX350 vehicles. Fuel may leak from the one of the fuel delivery pipes in the engine compartment.
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace any of the suspect fuel delivery pipes free of charge. The recall began November 17, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Campaign 14V576000 on NHTSA.gov
Seats, mid/rear assemblyMay 22, 2014
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2014 Highlander vehicles manufactured April 23, 2014, through April 29, 2014. The affected vehicles may have a second row right-hand seat assembly that does not fully lock into the inboard seat track in the forward first, second and third adjusting positions. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems."
If the seat does not fully lock into the inboard seat track, the seat could move, increasing the risk of injury to an occupant in the event of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the second row right-hand seat, free of charge. The recall began in July 2014. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Campaign 14V274000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, softwareMay 22, 2014
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2014 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles may have improper software installed in the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) for the operation of the front passenger seat belt force limiter, and as a result, the force limiter may use the restraint setting designed for small occupants, such as those that weigh approximately 110 pounds, for all occupants regardless of their size. As such, some of these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
In the event of a crash, a larger front passenger seat occupant may not be properly restrained and be at an increased risk of injury.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a software update in the air bag electronic control unit, free of charge. The recall began on June 27, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Campaign 14V272000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, rear/otherFeb 7, 2014
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2014 Highlander vehicles manufactured November 20, 2013, through January 18, 2014. The third row middle seat belt assembly might not have been properly secured to the vehicle floor anchorage during vehicle assembly. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
A seat belt that is not properly secured to its anchorage could increase the risk of injury to an occupant in the event of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the third row middle seat belt anchor, and, if necessary, properly secure it to the vehicle floor anchorage, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Campaign 14V051000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
9 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Sep 28, 2026
Transmission failing beginning at 60,000 miles. Safety issue because car shudders and refuses to accelerate at seemingly random times. My mechanic said this is a known issue and recommended transmission flushing. We've been doing this for six years at lesser and lesser intervals before the problem reappears. Our local Toyota dealership said they've never heard of the problem but it is reported on numerous automotive forums.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Jun 17, 2020
SHARDS OF METAL INSIDE TRANSMISSION PAN AT 74K MILES. WHILE DRIVING AT DIFFERENT MPH, THE VEHICLES FEELS LIKE IT'S SLIPPING INTO NEUTRAL. *TR
Power train, Oct 15, 2019
WITHIN THE PAST MONTH OR SO THERE WERE A FEW SEPARATE/SPORADIC OCCASIONS WHEN THE TRANSMISSION OF MY 2014 HIGHLANDER WITH 82,344 GENTLE MILES ON IT SEEMED TO SLIP/NOT ENGAGE FOR A MOMENT WHEN FIRST STARTING TO TRAVEL AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED. WHEN THE TRANSMISSION DID ENGAGE DURING THESE EPISODES IT WAS ABRUPT AND NOTICEABLE CREATING AN AUDIBLE NOISE AND JERKED THE VEHICLE. THIS PAST WEEKEND THE SAME THING HAPPENED EXCEPT THAT THIS TIME THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE MESSAGES "TRAC OFF" AND "CHECK AWD SYSTEM" WERE DISPLAYED. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY TO THE DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT IT FROM AND THAT HAS PERFORMED ALL THE SERVICE AND AFTER THEY INSPECTED IT AND RAN THE CODES I WAS TOLD THAT ALTHOUGH IT'S, AND I QUOTE, "EXTREMELY RARE FOR A TOYOTA WITH SUCH LOW MILES TO NEED IT, THE TRANSMISSION IS BAD AND IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED." THIS FRUSTRATING NOT ONLY BECAUSE ALL RECOMMENDED SERVICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PERFORMED, AND THE CAR HAS BEEN WELL TAKEN CARE OF, BUT I HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT A VIBRATION AND RATTLING NOISE WHEN FIRST ACCELERATING FROM THE UNDER CARRIAGE WHILE THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT IDENTIFY WHERE THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM OR WHAT WAS MAKING THIS OCCUR WHEN IT WAS OBVIOUS IT WAS ORIGINATING FROM UNDER THE DRIVER/PASSENGER AREA AT THE FRONT OF THE TRANSMISSION.
Power train, Oct 1, 2019
TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN MOTION
Power train, Wheels, May 17, 2019
2014 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE WHEELS LOCKING UP WHILE DRIVING. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE. THE TRANSMISSION STOPS, PULLS, THEN SLAMS INTO GEAR. A WARNING MESSAGE APPEARS STATING 'CHECK ALL WHEEL DRIVE TRACK OFF'. THE SOLENOID FAILED. *JS
Power train, Vehicle speed control, May 15, 2017
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER MORE THAN ONCE BECAUSE IT HESITATED WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THIS WAS A SAFETY CONCERN WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY OR VARIOUS RATES OF SPEED. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE AND DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND THE CONTACT WAS WAITING TO DETERMINE IF THEY HAD A SERVICE CAMPAIGN OR SOLUTION TO REMEDY THE FAILURE. THE VIN AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE NOT AVAILABLE.
Steering, Power train, Electrical system, Jun 15, 2016
VEHICLE SHUT OFF DURING DRIVING, CAUSING ALL ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS TO FAIL INCLUDING THE ELECTRONIC STEERING, WHICH SINCE VEHICLE ALSO TURNED OFF, CAUSED THE STEERING COLUMN TO LOCK UP. SINCE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AT SPEED AND INFACT WHILE MAKING A TURN, A NEAR COLLISION OCCURED. THE PROBLEM OCCURED MULTIPLE TIMES IN SUCCESSION AND WAS ALSO INTERMITTENT WITH MUCH TIME ELAPSING BETWEEN EPISODES. TWO OTHER TYPES OF RELATED OCCURRENCES DURING THIS TIMEFRAME WERE THE (1) VEHICLE ALSO CYCLING OFF AND ON AND (2) WOULD ALSO TURN ON ITSELF IF THE KEY WAS IN THE VICINITY OF THE VEHICLE. TOYOTA OF SEATTLE EXPERIENCED THE ISSUES WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT IN AND DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE TO BE A LOOSE BOLTED CONNECTION OF THE NEGATIVE ELECTRICAL WIRE FROM THE BATTERY TO THE FRAME OF THE VEHICLE. THOUGH THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED SIMILAR ISSUES SINCE TIGHTENING OF THE NEGATIVE WIRE BOLTS. ONGOING ISSUES INCLUDE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CYCLING OFF AND ON WHILE DRIVING INCLUDING THE NAVIGATION AND FRONT CONSOLE DISPLAY. THE VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT IN SEPTEMBER 2014 AND HAD LESS THAN 25K MILES AS OF APRIL 2016. ON TWO PRIOR INSTANCES ELECTRICAL ISSUES WERE IDENTIFIED AND DOCUMENTED TO TOYOTA OF SEATTLE AND THE VEHICLE WAS KEPT FOR TESTING. THE FIRST ELECTRICAL ISSUE OCCURED WITH THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL FAILING AND THEREBY REQUIRING PASSENGER INTERVENTION TO AVOID COLLISION. THIS CRUISE CONTROL FAILURE FIRST SEEMED TO OCCUR IN DECEMBER 2015. TOYOTA OF SEATTLE DID NOT FIND ANY FAULT AND SENT ME AWAY. THE SECOND PRIOR ELECTRICAL ISSUE OF THE BATTERY PREMATURELY FAILING OCCURRED IN MARCH 2016. THE READINGS INDICATED SOME ODD DRAWS. TOYOTA OF SEATTLE REPLACED THE BATTERY AND SENT ME AWAY WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE ODD DRAWS. THE VEHICLE'S SAFETY REMAINS SUSPECT WITH ONGOING ELECTRICAL CYCLING OFF AND ON WHILE DRIVING.
Power train, Sep 15, 2015
THE TRANSMISSION HAS A FLUTTER WHEN TRYING TO SHIFT UP OR DOWN TO DIFFERENT GEARS. IT CAUSES A HESITANCY. IT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED BY THE CALDWELL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN CONWAY, AR USA AND I HAVE ALSO BEEN TOLD THAT IS IN OTHER HIGHLANDERS. I REQUEST A RECALL TO HAVE THIS FIXED. THANK YOU *TR
Power train, Jan 29, 2015
THIS COMPLAINT RELATES TO TRANSMISSION SHIFT SEQUENCES. WHEN STARTING OUT, THE TRANSMISSION IS IN FOURTH GEAR. IF YOU ARE AT SAY A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND ARE MAKING A LEFT TURN, AND THEN NEED TO MAKE A RAPID ACCELERATION, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS DOWN TO A LOWER GEAR, PROBABLY 1ST GEAR. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT TORQUE STEER THAT AN INEXPERIENCED DRIVER WOULD FIND VERY DISTURBING. ALSO, WHEN TRAVELING 60 - 70 MILES PER HOUR AND YOU SHIFT FROM "DRIVE" TO "S" POSITION, THE TRANSMISSION GOES INTO FOURTH GEAR WITH A RESULTANT SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN RPM'S. IT WOULD SEEM LOGICAL THAT WHEN YOU SHIFT FROM "DRIVE" TO "S", YOU SHOULD REFLECT THE SAME GEAR THAT "DRIVE" WAS IN. WHEN I TOOK IT IN FOR A 5,000 MILE CHECK UP, MY DEALER SAID THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO RELATED TO TRANSMISSION PROGRAMMING. SECOND ISSUE, SAME VEHICLE, REFERS TO THE INSTALLATION OF MUFFLER AND TAILPIPE, WHICH CAUSES TAILPIPE TO BE THE LOWEST ITEM UNDER VEHICLE RESULTING IN IT DRAGGING THE GROUND IN CERTAIN INSTANCES; I.E., GOING UP A STEEP DRIVEWAY. DEALER CONFIRMED THAT THEY COULD DO NOTHING TO RAISE MUFFLER/TAILPIPE. *TR