2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

THE VEHICLE'S SIDE MIRRORS ARE PLACED SO THAT THEY BLOCK VISIBILITY FOR A SHORT PERSON. I AM JUST UNDER 5'4" AND WHEN AT A FOUR WAY INTERSECTION, THE MIRRORS DIRECTLY BLOCK THE VIEW OF WHERE A CAR WOULD BE STOPPED TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT. I ACTUALLY WAS INVOLVED IN A MINOR COLLISION WHERE I DID NOT SEE THE OTHER CAR STOPPED AT THE STOP SIGN TO MY LEFT ALTHOUGH THEY CLAIMED TO BE. NOW I ALWAYS NEED TO MOVE MY HEAD TO GET A CLEAR VIEW OF THE ROAD AREA NEXT TO THE THE STOP SIGNS TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT.

WE RECENTLY TEST DROVE SEVERAL NEW CARS. AFTER BEING IN EACH OF THE CARS FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR, WE HAD VERY STRONG HEADACHES. AS A RULE, WE DON'T GET HEADACHES, SO THESE WERE VERY OBVIOUSLY THE RESULT OF BREATHING THE AIR IN THESE NEW CARS. CAR INTERIORS ARE MADE USING PLASTICS, ADHESIVES, FIRE-RETARDANTS AND OTHER MATERIALS, MANY OF WHICH OFF-GAS HIGHLY TOXIC FUMES. I FOUND NO AGENCY WHICH CURRENTLY TESTS VEHICLES FOR THE PRESENCE OF THESE TOXICS. WE TEST DROVE A USED TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND WE DID NOT GET A HEADACHE IN THAT VEHICLE, BUT WE COULD NOT FIND A USED ONE 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, EVERY DAY 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. ALTHOUGH I CAN STILL FEEL THE EFFECT OF THAT POLLUTED INTERIOR AIR, IT IS TOLERABLE AND IMPROVING WITH TIME. WE NOW KNOW THAT THIS OUT-GASSING PROCESS NEVER ENDS; IT ONLY LESSENS OVER TIME; AND, CONTRARY TO WHAT MANY STILL BELIEVE, IT IS ALSO KNOWN THAT LONG EXPOSURES TO EXTREMELY SMALL DOSES OF TOXIC MATERIALS CAN BE MORE DAMAGING TO HUMAN HEALTH THAN A LARGE, SHORT EXPOSURE. GIVEN THESE FACTS, I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT OUR GOVERNMENT ADD PASSENGER COMPARTMENT AIR QUALITY TO ITS SAFETY RATING PROTOCOL. THE AUTO MANUFACTURERS CERTAINLY AREN'T GOING TO DO THIS OF THEIR OWN ACCORD.

VEHICLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM REBOOTS TO DEFAULT SETTINGS APPROX 1 - 3 TIMES A WEEK REQUIRING DRIVER ATTENTION TO RESET. UNIT HAS BEEN REPLACED BY DEALER WITH NEW UNIT. NEW UNIT HAS THE SAME REBOOT FREQUENCY. THIS REBOOT TYPICALLY OCCURS AFTER "NORMAL" START, THEN WHILE UNDERWAY FULL REBOOT ABOUT 30 SECONDS TO A MINUTE LATER, WHILE IN MOTION, ON THE ROAD. NO RECOLLECTION OF A REBOOT WHILE SITTING STILL ..(WARMING THE ENGINE WAITING FOR PASSENGER ETC) THIS REBOOT MAY OCCUR EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT A CELLPHONE PRESENT IN THE VEHICLE.

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A CITY STRAIGHT GOING THROUGH A GREEN LIGHT WHEN A VEHICLE TRAVELING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION ATTEMPTED TO MAKE LEFT-HAND TURN AND STRUCK THE FRONT OF THE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2015. BOTH CARS WERE IN MOTION WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURRED. WHEN THE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2015 WAS BROUGHT TO THE BODY SHOP TO BE REPAIRED THE APPRAISER INDICATED THAT THE AIR BAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED AND THEY NEEDED TO BE INVESTIGATED FOR DEFECTS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE SUBFRAME FRACTURED DUE TO THE REAR BOLTS ON THE FRAME BEING TOO TIGHT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR BOLTS WERE NOT PROPERLY INSTALLED FROM THE FACTORY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TORQUE. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE SUBFRAME AND STATED THAT IT DID NOT NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE REAR HYBRID DRIVE MOTOR, REAR DIFFERENTIAL, THE ENTIRE EXHAUST SYSTEM FROM THE MOTOR TO THE MUFFLER, AND THE DRIVER SIDE SUSPENSION CONTROL ARM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SUBFRAME NEEDED TO BE FURTHER INSPECTED AND REPLACED. THE CONTACT ALSO WAITED LONGER THAN TWO WEEKS FOR THE PARTS TO RECEIVE THE REPAIRS DUE TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER DEALER WHO INSPECTED THE FRAME. THE SECOND DEALER, A MANUFACTURER'S TECHNICIAN, FURTHER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND STATED THAT THE SUBFRAME WAS CRACKED. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE CONTACT HAD THE OPTION OF RECEIVING A REPAIR OF THE FRAME BEING WELDED OR VARIOUS PARTS WOULD NEED TO BE REMOVED TO REPLACE THE SUBFRAME, WHICH WAS AN EXTENSIVE REPAIR. THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN OF THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION TO PERMANENTLY REPAIR THE CONDITION. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,562. UPDATED 06/14/16*LJ *TR

DRIVING FORWARD INTO PARKING SPACE. JUST ABOUT STOPPED. PRESSED BREAK. CAR LURCHED FORWARD AT HIGHT SPEED SUDDENLY, CAUSING CAR TO JUMP CURB AT TOP OF PARKING SPOT AND CAREEN DOWN HILL (ONTO SIDE WALK). CAR OUT OF CONTROL FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS. WAS ABLE TO BREAK IN HILL, WHICH PREVENTED ME FROM HITTING CAR PARKED PERPENDICULAR ON STREET BELOW. BOTTOM OF CAR SCRAPED CURB WHEN CAR JUMP CURB AND LURCHED FORWARD. BOTTOM FRONT BUMPER SCRAPED. THERE WAS AN ICY PATCH AT TOP OF PARKING SPACE. IT SEEMS LIKE WHEN WHEELS ROLLED ON TOP OF ICY PATCH, THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD. CAR MIGHT HAVE ACCIDENTALLY BEEN ON CRUISE CONTROL AT THE TIME.

WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET, THE STEERING BECAME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AS IF POWER STEERING SHUT DOWN. "EPS FAILURE, STEERING WHEEL HARDER TO TURN" WARNING APPEARED ON THE DASH CLUSTER. WE PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE, THEN TURNED IT BACK ON -- THE WARNING DISAPPEARED AND STEERING WAS NORMAL AGAIN. OUR HIGHLANDER WAS MANUFACTURED IN 3/15. MY VIN WAS NOT IN THE RECALL FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V144000. TOYOTA REPLACED THE STEERING COMPUTER UNDER WARRANTY, AT NO CHARGE. I'M WRITING TO SUGGEST THE EXTENT OF CONDITION NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL VEHICLES.

THE PRE COLLISION SYSTEM APPLIED BRAKES ON TWO OCCASIONS WHEN THERE WAS NO POSSIBILITY OF A COLLISION. I WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45-50 MPH APPROACHING A CONCRETE PAVED LOW BRIDGE/OVERPASS; THE EVENTS OCCURRED AT THE SAME SPOT AT TWO DIFFERENT TIMES. THE EVENTS WERE FRIGHTENING SINCE THE DASH FLASHED RED AND THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED VERY HARD FOR NO APPARENT REASON.

TAKATA RECALL-THIS PAST SUNDAY MY CAR HAD BEEN PARKED IN THE DRIVE WAY FOR A FEW DAYS AND WHEN I WENT TO DRIVE MY CAR AND THERE WAS A STRANGE NOISE UNDER THE HOOD, I BACKED OUT OF THE DRIVE WAY AND WHEN THE CAR SHIFTED FROM FIRST TO SECOND IT JURKED AND WAS NOT SMOOTH SO I PARKED THE CAR. I LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD AND THERE WERE MOUSE DROPPING ON THE ENGINE. I CALLED TOYOTA ON MONDAY MORNING AND THEY SAID TO HAVE IT TOWED SO I DID MONDAY NIGHT. TODAY WEDNESDAY THEY CALLED AND SAID THERE WERE A LOT OF WIRE DAMAGE AND SOMETHING ELSE BUT THEY STILL NOT ABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM. THEY SAID AT THIS POINT IT WAS GOING TO BE $500 MAYBE MORE. AND NOT UNDER MANUFACTURERS DEFECT WARRANTY. WHICH I THINK IF THEY ARE GOING TO PUT SOMETHING IN THE WIRE CASING THAT RODENTS LOVE THEN THEY SHOULD CORRECT ANY PROBLEMS AS A RESULTS OF THE PRODUCT USED AT NO COST TO THE CUSTOMER. MY CAR IS A $45,000 CAR AND I HAVE ONLY HAD IT A FEW MONTHS. THIS IS BULL.

WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN, THE POWER CUT OUT AND A MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASH STATING THAT THE BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR WERE BEING DEPRESSED SIMULTANEOUSLY -- BUT THEY WERE NOT. THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES IN A ROW. WE HAD THE VEHICLE TOWARD TO THE TOYOTA DEALER WHERE PURCHASED. THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG AND ATTRIBUTED THE PROBLEM TO "DRIVER ERROR." THE DEALER'S MECHANIC PRODUCED A REPORT INDICATING THAT SIMILAR MALFUNCTIONS HAD OCCURRED IN THE PRIOR TWO MONTHS WITH NO NOTICE TO THE DRIVER. TOYOTA COULD PROVIDE NO EXPLANATION FOR THIS. TOYOTA CLAIMS THAT NOTHING IS WRONG AND REFUSES TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE VEHICLE.