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2011 Toyota Highlander Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 181 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Toyota Highlander, most often about the visibility and wipers (19% of complaints, typically around 50,000 miles). It is 18th of 26 Highlander model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2011 Toyota Highlander problems
Visibility and wipers
35 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles.
Drivers side sun visor will not stay in upright position or in correct sun blocking position. It is constantly in the partial down position and does not allow for proper visibility.
Drivers side visor is broken & will not stay up! Only remedy from Toyota dealership is to pay for another (probably defective) visor (parts & installation). This is definitely a safety hazard & Toyota needs to be professional enough to fix this problem (without charging their customers)! I'm extremely disappointed in…
Steering
34 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system.
The steering in my Highlander has started making a popping and knocking sound when turning the vechicle. This seems to be a known design defect with this vechicle by Toyota and they should issue a safety recall. The noise is mostly noticeable at lower speeds when parking but it also occurs when the vehicle is in…
At around 90,000 miles I noticed a distinct clunk in the steering as the wheel unwound from sharp turns at slow speed. The clunk also showed up while driving straight on rough roads and under firm braking. This is apparently a known issue https://static.NHTSA.gov/odi/tsbs/2013/sb-10075792-2280.pdf. I have had the part…
Body and structure
27 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 44,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members, interior panels.
Rear liftgate will not stay open and has fallen on my wife. Toyota has issued a service bulletin but will not fix there problem est. Cost to repair $3000. Vehicle has never been in accident. Problem started about 10 months ago with 46000 miles vehicle now has 56000.
The power function lift arm broke off from where it connects into the rea door on my 2011 Highlander. Toyota didn't mentioned about the door hinges related issues and I had to pay for the repair/replacement of the hinges. This, of course didn't prevented nor resolved the issue with the power function lift arm that now…
Electrical
23 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 42,500 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, starter assembly, instrument panel.
Sensor for "open door" comes on when hitting a bump or sudden turns. More prominent when turning left even at low speeds. Have problems with locking the vehicle at times due to this. Have taken this to the dealership and they stated it has to be a rubber in the rear window that causes this issue. When driving around…
There are two issues with my 2011 Highlander. I purchased this vehicle 1 year ago and am quite upset about the issues and the money that I need to put into it. I am actually looking into trading this vehicle as, after spending 26k on it, I shouldn't be dealing with or paying for these issues. Toyota has been…
Engine
21 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system.
My 2011 Toyota Highlander v6 AWD suffered a sudden oil cooler pipe failure/rupture leading to catastrophic engine failure/damage at approximately 85,000 miles. This is a known defect with certain 2008-2011 highlanders and was the subject of a service bulletin and eventually a warranty enhancement (ze2) starting in…
T-sb-0201-11 from Toyota states "some vehicles equipped with 2gr-fe/fxe towing package engines may exhibit an oil seep from the engine oil cooler pipes." this tsb affects Toyota and lexus vehicles going back to at least 2008-present. This is a major issue, and I feel this should be handled as a recall instead of a tsb…
Transmission
16 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 17,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Vehicle makes a very noticeable, irritating whine or whistle noise when accelerating at 40mph. Stops when gas pedal is released. Very constant and annoying. Did not happen when car was first purchased. Have been told by Toyota that it was the transfer case, which they replaced. Did not fix the problem. Now they tell…
When making a left or right hand turn from a stop or barely moving and applying the gas pedal slowly, the car acts like it going to stall. I say "acts" because if the engine stalls, it would be difficult to brake or steer. The engine has not stopped in these cases; it seems like the transmission is trying to shift up…
Brakes
15 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 44,500 miles.
While going into a parking space, I attempted to engage the brakes, the brake pedal depressed entirely to the floor, and the brakes did not engage. As the result, my vehicle dropped approximately 15 feet over a retaining wall to a lower parking lot landing nose first onto the pavement of the parking area below. The…
I was driving about 40 MPH and approaching a left turn. I tried to brake the car to slow down and the brake did not work. My foot pushed all the way down and since I had 2 kids in the car I was really concerned that I could not stop the vehicle. I tried to bring the car to a stop and hit the side walk. This was not…
Other or unspecified
14 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles.
The sun visor popped when I was pulling it down to sheild my eyes and now it will not return to original position. Concern as it gets in my way when driving. This is the drivers side visor which I tend to hit my head on and have to move my seat lower in order to see properly. I took it to my dealership and they told…
My driver side visor lost all tension. I had to either hold it up or tie it out of the way. I had it replaced at lowe Toyota in warner robins, ga for $199.87. I would not expect a visor to tear up even for a 2011 model. It was a safety issue that needed to be fixed. I think there should be a recall on these visors and…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2011 Toyota Highlander recalls
Seats: seat heater/cooler
Risk: If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Visibility and wipers: power window devices and controls
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Seats: seat heater/cooler
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Equipment: labels
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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."
Seats
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Steering column separation
Summary
On november 16, 2018, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened an engineering analysis (ea18-006) as an upgrade to a preliminary evaluation (pe18-005).â the investigation focused on allegations of steering wheel separation from the lower steering column after using the tilt and/or telescoping mechanism. Given the separation occurring when operating the tilt and/or telescoping function and failure of both shear capsules to maintain the lower steering column mounting position, potential for shear capsule damage in the known failures due to collisions, the overall low rate of occurrence, and the updated manufacturer documentation, this investigation is closed.â the closing of this inves
Upper steering column separation
Summary
On may 4, 2018, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe18-005 to investigate three allegations of steering column separation for model year (my) 2008 through 2013 toyota highlander vehicles. Two (2) of the 3 complaints were received by odi in april 2018 and occurred while the vehicle was in motion. Since opening pe18-005, one (1) additional voq involving steering column separation has been received. This incident occurred while the vehicle was stationary.as part of pe18-005, odi examined the field data, warranty data, and relevant technical information submitted by toyota in response to the pe18-005 information request letter. Ten (10) additional incidents
Questions about the 2011 Toyota Highlander
- What are the most common problems with the 2011 Toyota Highlander?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: visibility and wipers (35 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); steering (34 complaints, typically around 85,000 miles); body and structure (27 complaints, typically around 44,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2011 Toyota Highlander have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 2, 2016 (seats). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2011 a bad year for the Toyota Highlander?
- It is 18th of 26 Highlander model years by number of complaints, with 181 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.