2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

ON JULY 15, 2015, MY WIFE AND I BOUGHT A NEW 2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER XLE FWD FROM A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. WE SPECIAL-ORDERED THE EXACT CAR WE WANTED. WE HAVE NOW OWNED THE CAR FOR 2 YEARS AND PUT ABOUT 12,000 MILES ON IT. BEFORE BUYING, WE TEST DROVE A HONDA ODYSSEY, A HONDA PILOT, A TOYOTA SIENNA, A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER, A NISSAN PATHFINDER AND A JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. AFTER TEST DRIVING EACH OF THE CARS NOTED ABOVE FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR I HAD A VERY STRONG HEADACHE. AS A RULE, I DON'T GET HEADACHES, SO THESE WERE OBVIOUSLY THE RESULT OF MY BREATHING THE AIR IN THESE NEW CARS. CAR INTERIORS ARE MADE USING PLASTICS, ADHESIVES, FIRE-RETARDANTS AND A LONG LIST OF OTHER MATERIALS, MANY OF WHICH OFF-GAS HIGHLY TOXIC CHEMICALS. SO WE FIRST TRIED TO FIND A USED HIGHLANDER, BUT COULD NOT FIND A RECENT MODEL YEAR THAT WAS EQUIPPED THE WAY WE WANTED. SO WE ORDERED A NEW ONE. AFTER WE TOOK POSSESSION OF THE CAR, I DROVE IT HOME, WITH ALL THE WINDOWS DOWN, THE MOON ROOF OPEN AND THE VENTILATION FAN RUNNING AT FULL SPEED. I THEN PARKED THE CAR IN OUR DRIVEWAY AND LEFT IT IN THE SUN ALL DAY, EVERYDAY FOR A MONTH. I HAD THE WINDOWS DOWN JUST SLIGHTLY AND A SMALL FAN IN THE CAR WHICH STIRRED THE AIR. I ALSO PUT A LARGE TRAY OF ACTIVATED CARBON IN THE CAR, CHANGING THAT MATERIAL EVERY FEW DAYS. AT NIGHT, I MOVED THE CAR INTO OUR GARAGE, ROLLED DOWN ALL THE WINDOWS AND HAD AN EXHAUST FAN RUNNING, WHICH CHANGED THE AIR IN THE GARAGE SEVERAL TIMES AN HOUR. AFTER A MONTH OF THAT ROUTINE I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT GETTING A HEADACHE, THOUGH AFTER TWO YEARS, I CAN STILL FEEL THE EFFECT OF THAT POLLUTED INTERIOR AIR. OUR GRANDDAUGHTERS ARE VISITING US THIS SUMMER AND, THOUGH I NEVER MENTIONED MY EXPERIENCE TO THEM, THEY BOTH HOLD THEIR NOSES WHEN THEY GET IN THE CAR, UNTIL THEY CAN ROLL DOWN A WINDOW. PLEASE ADD INTERIOR AIR QUALITY TO YOUR SAFETY RATINGS.

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A FEEDER ROAD OF THE INTERSTATE ~50MPH. THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS AROUND ME AND THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. I PULLED OVER AND THE REMAINING GLASS WAS CLEARLY PUSHED OUTWARD, NOT INWARD.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER DOORS FAILED TO UNLOCK. THE FAILURE RECURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (ATLANTA TOYOTA LOCATED AT 2345 PLEASANT HILL RD, DULUTH, GA 30096; (770) 872-0087) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ACTUATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 9,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE REAR HATCH MALFUNCTIONED AND WOULD NOT LIFT UP WHEN PROMPTED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT HEARD A CONSTANT BEEPING NOISE COMING FROM THE DRIVER'S SIDE PANEL. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 17,000.

WHILE DRIVING THE NAVIGATION/RADIO WILL FREEZE AND BECOME UNRESPONSIVE. THE RADIO WILL THEN REBOOT AND RESET ALL SETTINGS BACK TO DEFAULT. THIS IS VERY DISTRACTING FOR THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER IN THE AUTOMOBILE AND COULD LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON VARIOUS FORUMS. I ASKED TOYOTA FIX THIS ISSUE AND THEY OFFERED TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE FOR $70. THIS IS NOT A PART THAT BROKE OR DEGRADED FROM WARE, THIS RADIO DOESNT WORK AND TOYOTA IS TRYING TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF THIS. I CONTACTED ENTUNE TO SEE IF I COULD GET THE FILE TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE MYSELF AND WAS TOLD NO. I WAS TOLD IF I HAD LESS THAN 36000 MILES I COULD GET THIS FIXED FOR FREE AS IT WOULD BE UNDER WARRANTY. THIS ISNT A MAP UPDATE, THIS IS A FUNCTION THAT DOESNT WORK. I PAID FOR THIS PREMIUM AUDIO PACKAGE THAT DOESNT WORK. WHY WOULD MY MILEAGE PLAY ANY PART TO MY RADIO NOT WORKING?

BOUGHT THIS 2015 HIGHLANDER BRAND-NEW IN JANUARY 2015 FROM THE DEALER. IT HAD 476 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. WITHIN A FEW THOUSAND MILES, A STONE CHIPPED THE WINDSHIELD AND WITHIN DAYS THE WINDSHIELD WAS A SPIDER'S NEST OF SPREADING CRACKS ALL ACROSS UP AND DOWN THE WINDSHIELD. I HAD THIS SAME ISSUE WITH A BRAND NEW 2017 HIGHLANDER PURCHASED FROM THE SAME DEALER. I BELIEVE TOYOTA SLANTED THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE DOWN FOR BETTER AIRFLOW AND RESULTING MPG INCREASE AND IN SO DOING, ALL ROAD DEBRIS SUCH AS STONES, ARE PROPELLED UP RIGHT ONTO THE WINDSHIELD AND THE STONES SMASH THE WINDSHIELD. WHAT ARE THE RANDOM ODDS THAT A BRAND-NEW, DEALER-BOUGHT 2015 AND 2017 HIGHLANDER WOULD BOTH GET A STONE CHIP THAT DESTROYS THE WINDSHIELD WITHIN THE FIRST FEW THOUSAND MILES OF DRIVING? THESE WINDSHIELD AREN'T CHEAP TO REPLACE- ABOUT $1400. THE DATE OF OCCURRENCE AND MILEAGE I HAVE STATED FOR THIS COMPLAINT ARE TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION AS THIS ISSUE OCCURRED IN 2015 AND I DID NOT FILE THIS COMPLAINT UNTIL 6-9-2017 WHEN I HAD THE EXACT SAME ISSUE OCCUR ON THE BRAND NEW PURCHASED 2017 HIGHLANDER, WHICH I FILED COMPLAINT # 10994221 ON. THESE TWO COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE CROSS-REFERENCED. I BELIEVE THE 2015+ MODEL YEAR HIGHLANDERS WILL DEMONSTRATE A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT HIGHER RATE OF OCCURRENCE OF WINDSHIELD FAILURES OWING TO THEIR SLANTING THE HOOD ANGLE DOWN TOWARDS THE PAVEMENT TO ACHIEVE A LOWER WIND PROFILE AND HIGHER MPG. THE EFFECT OF THIS IS THAT ALL ROCKS AND DEBRIS FROM THE ROAD ARE THROWN UP ONTO THE WINDSHIELD VIOLENTLY RESULTING IN WINDSCREEN DAMAGE. I HAD A 2009 HIGHLANDER, ALSO PURCHASED BRAND NEW, THAT HAD NO SUCH ISSUES AS THE HOOD ANGLE WAS HIGHER AND MORE TRUCK LIKE.

THE FRONT MAIN CONSOLE OF THE GPS, RADIO, AND ENTIRE RADIO HEAD WILL SUDDENLY GETS FROZEN AND/ REQUIRING REBOOT. THE VOICE ACTIVATION/RECOGNITION HAS HARD TIME RECOGNIZING VOICE, COMMANDS, AND 90% OF THE TIME IT IS A USELESS DEVICE, WHICH DRIVERS MUST USE THE PHONE MANUALLY INSTEAD. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN FOR A DRIVER SINCE WE ARE RELYING ON THE MODERN DEVICES. A CONSUMER LIKE ME IS EXPECTING >$36,000 TO HAVE HANDS FREE AND EFFICIENT VOICE RECOGNITION AS PART OF SAFETY FEATURES .

THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM SHUTS DOWN AND REBOOTS. THE FRONT USB PLUG WORKS INCONSISTENTLY. THE DOOR LOCKS WORK INCONSISTENTLY. I TOOK IT TO TOYOTA IN SLIDELL, LA AND THEY CHARGED ME $600 AND SAID IT WAS MY BATTERY. MY CAR IS STILL DOING THE ABOVE AND I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN TOYOTA. :-(

I WAS DRIVING 80 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND A "CHECK AWD" DISPLAY APPEARED. AT THAT SAME MOMENT I LOST THE ABILITY TO STEER AND TO ACCELERATE. I MANAGED TO GET THE CAR OFF OF THE INTERSTATE. THE CAR CAME TO A STOP. I DID NOT SEE ANY SMOKE, OR SMELL ANYTHING AND THE ENGINE TEMP GAUGE SHOWED MID COOL SO I DECIDED TO START THE CAR AGAIN. WHEN I TRIED TO START THE CAR, THE ENGINE LIGHT AND THE "CHECK AWD" DISPLAY CAME ON AGAIN, AND THEN SECONDS LATER A TEMPERATURE LIGHT CAME ON WITH A LOUD ALARM. SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT OF THE FRONT LEFT HOOD. I SHOUTED FOR MY DAUGHTER AND HER FRIEND TO GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. I GRABBED MY PHONE AND RAN TO HER DOOR TO HELP HER AND HER FRIEND GET OUT. BY THE TIME WE WERE RUNNING AWAY, FLAMES WERE COMING OUT OF THE HOOD. WITHIN MINUTES MY CAR WAS COMPLETELY ENGULFED IN FLAMES.

THE ENTERTAINMENT/NAVIGATION SYSTEM FREEZES AND TURNS OFF RANDOMLY. CONSTANT DAILY ISSUE. OBVIOUS WIDE SPREAD ISSUE AS READ ON A COMPLAINT PAGE FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.LANDERFAN.COM/ARCHIVES/COMPLAINTS-ABOUT-THE-TOYOTA-HIGHLANDER-NAVIGATION-SYSTEM/