WE WERE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY ON 5/16/20. WE WERE DRIVING AROUND 65 MPH STRAIGHT. WE WERE DRIVING ON BLACK ASPHALT AND THEN WHEN WE DROVE OVER A BRIDGE WITH WHITE/GRAYISH CONCRETE, THE CAR'S EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM ACTIVATED AND APPLIED SUDDEN BRAKING EVEN THOUGH WE WERE NORMALLY DRIVING. THE CAR JOLTED AND SLOWED DOWN AND ALL PASSENGERS WERE STOPPED BY AUTO-LOCKING SEATBELTS. *TR
2016 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Owners filed 6 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure › Body | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Steering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsBRAKE BOOSTER IS BAD. BRAKE IS SPONGY. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO TAKE TO DEALER LEAD TO NO ACTION AFTER COMPLAINING LOUDLY AND THE DEALER SAID MY WIFE JUST HAS HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE, MY HIGHLANDER HAS LOW BRAKE PRESSURE NOT "HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. TOYOTA DOES NOT SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DEFECT BY PRETENDING DEFECT DOESN'T EXIST AND NOT NOTIFYING DEALERS. CHECK PRIUS BOOSTER RECALL. SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO CHANGE.
I WAS STOPPED AND IN PARK WITH THE VEHICLE RUNNING WHEN THE "CHECK VSC SYSTEM," "CHECK ABS, BRAKE MALFUNCTION" WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. THEY HAVE SINCE GONE AWAY AND RETURNED INTERMITTENTLY. FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS NO FAILURE WHILE IN MOTION, BUT DEALER ESTIMATED $4600 FOR REPAIR. IF THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM FOR WHICH WARRANTY COVERAGE WAS EXTENDED FOR 2006-07 MODELS, THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ONGOING ISSUE.
STOPPED IN INTERSECTION WAITING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE ENGINE DID NOT START HYBRID WARNING STATED HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE STOP IMMEDIATELY. GLIDED TO A PARKING SPACE. ATTEMPTED TO RESTART ENGINE CONTINUE TO GET SAME WARNING. AFTER THREE ATTEMPTS CALLED AAA AND TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. I WAS URGED TO TOW THE VEHICLE. AFTER APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES, ATTEMPTED TO START AGAIN THE VEHICLE TURNED ON AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED. ALL WARNING LIGHTS AT THAT TIME WERE EXTINGUISHED. DEALERSHIP FOUND A GENERAL WARNING ON VEHICLE COMPUTER. DEALERSHIP COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE.
THE DOOR ON THE DRIVERS SIDE TOP CORNER STRUCK ME IN THE TEMPLE AND CAUSED BLEEDING AND A HEADACHE. THE DOOR HAS A SHARP ANGLE. IT WAS STATIONARY I CLOSED THE DOOR AND WAS EXITING THE VEHICLE TO GO IN A CROWDED RESTAURANT. IN A PRIVATE PARKING LOT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH USING THE FACTORY COMPACT SPARE TIRE, THE CONTACT LOST CONTROL OF THE STEERING WHEN DRIVING OVER GROOVED ROADS. THE CONTACT FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER, BUT THERE WAS NO RESOLUTION. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 28,000. *TT
6 of 6 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2006| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2024 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2023 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2022 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2021 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2020 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2017 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2016 — this page | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2014 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2011 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2010 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2009 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 197 | 8 | 4 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 110 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Routine |
| 2006 | 370 | 6 | 7 | 2 | Fatalities reported |
| 2005 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2004 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.