Air Bag Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 1

While driving down the road about 30mph on a paved road, heard a loud bang from the back. Stopped and inspected. The stability button shot off the door into the door jam, the door panel coming off, and the weather stripping separating from the door. The passenger rear airbag went off. Nothing visible on outside. Everything mechanically like it should be. 55,000 miles on car. Bought new from dealership. Done all maintenance and safety recalls. Vehicle is at dealership getting inspected.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Parked in sun and the srs system malfunctioned, after power reset the system reset ok, lta malfunction, headlight system malfunction pre-collision malfunction.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

A vehicle turned in front of me as I was going down the highway and I collided with the vehicle at 44 mph. The airbags of my car did not deploy but the airbags of the other vehicle did deploy.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

When right front pax sits in seat and fastens seatbelt, the airbag indicator correctly says "on. " but after a few minutes, the airbag turns "off" and the driver's dash gets an "unfastened seatbelt" warning and a "faulty airbag" warning. All of these occur while the front right pax has remain seated and buckled. If the pax unbuckles and exits the seat, these incorrect warnings all remain the same. The right front pax seat belt buckle has been replaced with no effect. The seat has been recalibrated (seat sensors) with no effect. The wires under the seat have been disconnected, cleaned, and re-connected with no effect. This is a safety issue in that the airbag on that front right side DE-activates when a passenger is in that seat. There is a Toyota recall campaign for this identical problem, but it does not include my model year (2015). Requesting NHTSA get Toyota to extend their recall to include 2015 models, please.

See all problems of the 2015 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Recall has been active since 2023. Delarship states there is no fix for issue at time time 2 years later.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Air bags did not deploy during accident black box did not record any incident occurred and vehicle was totaled vehicle black box data was downloaded by manufacturer representative accident report was submitted on October 28 2025 a deer ran in front of us and we hit it at approximately 55mph vehicle was determined to be totaled after insurance adjuster reviewed sheriff deputy and tow truck driver both said air bags should have deployed. Upon receiving the pdf file of black box raw data, it states that no incident happened. I asked a relative who works for a major airline manufacturer and the opinion of their analyst for data recorders is that the computer seems to have been defective. Toyota however states the accident did not meet the parameters to register an incident. I find this answer highly suspicious at best.

I was traveling on an interstate going home from work. My speed was approximately 65mph. I noticed traffic slowing up ahead. I began to drop my speed (cost down), as I was approaching the traffic the car in front of me was applying their brakes; I had already began to apply mine. I was applying more pressure to my brakes to slow down more as the person in front of me began to slow more quickly. The person in front of me then had to slam their brakes on and I was not able to stop in time to avoid collision with the car in front of me. That driver did not come in contact with any other vehicle. The impact was at approximately 50mph. I was then very quickly hit from behind by the car behind me. The vehicle behind me hit of center and more on the right back corner of my car. My vehicle sustained significant front-end damage; the hood was folded, the grill was gone, the radiator was pushed back. As I looked up after the impact and saw my hood folded I then noticed that my air bag had not gone off. How could the air bag have not gone off in an impact such as that. My safety was compromised by the possibility of hitting the steering wheel or worse such as impacting the windshield if the crash had been worse. I do not remember if my vehicle had side curtain air bags as well. No air bags deployed. Law enforcement was called by the driver of the car I rear ended as we agreed that she would. The driver of the vehicle that hit me I believe also called 911. Highway patrol responded along with state incident response vehicles to protect the scene. I have filed a claim with my insurance, and the vehicle was looked at and deemed a total loss. It is not available for inspection and was taken to a salvage yard per the insurance company. I did not notice any lights on on the dash after. I also did not encounter any issues before this. I had the vehicle just over a year.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

My vehive has 122,000 miles. . . I recently received an airbag mafuction warning on the dash info system and to contact dealer. The dealer states this driver side airbag is now defective and needs to be replaced at a cost of $1100. 00 the airbag has never been deployed. How is this noit covered under safety requirements on current vehicles? how do I know that the part was not defective when initally installed?.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Parked in sun and the srs system malfunctioned, after power reset the system reset ok,.

The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed low speed and in the process of merging into the highway, the vehicle was suddenly rear-ended in the rear quarter panel area, near the rear tire, causing the vehicle to face oncoming traffic. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags did not deploy. The message "park brake malfunction" was displayed. The contact transported his wife to an urgent care clinic the evening of the incident for a medical check-up because the contact's wife was pregnant and was starting to feel pain. The contact's wife sustained neck injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The insurance company was notified of the incident and towed the vehicle to copart to be inspected. The vehicle was totaled. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

Parked in sun and the srs system malfunctioned, after power reset the system reset ok. Front camera malfunction, rsa malfunction & pre-collision malfunction.

Vehicle: 2020 Toyota Highlander xle VIN: [xxx] mileage (approx): 78,000 problem description: my vehicle displays an srs airbag system malfunction warning and a seatbelt chime that activates whether the passenger seat is occupied or not, and whether the buckle is latched or not. The chime stops after about a minute, but the srs light remains on. This behavior matches a false passenger occupancy detection, which suggests the occupant classification system (OCS) sensor is still malfunctioning. My vehicle was included in Toyota recall 23ta15 (NHTSA 23v865), and the dealer (classic Toyota of hampton) marked the recall as completed on September 9, 2025. However, the current symptoms are identical to those described in the recall, which indicates the recall remedy may not have corrected the defect. Toyota now claims the issue is due to the passenger seat buckle, but a buckle alone would not cause the system to chime when the seat is empty. I believe this is a continued failure of the OCS system, which directly affects the airbag and seatbelt safety system. Safety concern: the ongoing fault may cause the passenger airbag to deploy incorrectly in a crash. I am concerned that the recall remedy was ineffective, leaving my vehicle unsafe. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2020 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Water leaking into airbag area. Known leak issue per NHTSA [xxx] ) from defective roof rack attachment clips. Per Toyota, not covered by Toyota unless car still under warranty. Leak issue is common issue with many Toyota (rav4, Highlander). I cannot tell if the potentially waterlogged airbag area is defective unless I get into an accident to test it. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that the parts were not yet available. The contact had been waiting for the parts for over a year. In addition, the contact was fearful of driving her kids around in the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure.

When the vehicle is parked in the sun for 30 minutes or more. After pushing the start button, the srs airbag system malfunction light came on. After restarting the vehicle, the airbag light was out.

Vehicle is parked in the sun for over 30 minutes and when the start button is pushed the air bag system malfunction light is on. After restarting the light goes away.

My wife was hit from the driver side, causing car to deviate and have a head on collision with a fire hydrant. No airbags deployed. Side or front.

Clog of evaporator box caused water intrusion into vehicle. Water leaked onto airbag ecu causing malfunction and requiring replacement of airbag ecu.

The airbags did not deploy when I was involved in an accident on the freeway July 2025. During the collision, there was a message on the driver dashboard that read "srs airbag system malfunction visit your dealer". When I took my Highlander into the collision autobody shop, they notified me that my car had an open recall and that I needed to get in touch with manufacturer or schedule an appointment with a local Toyota dealership to see if they could remedy the recall as soon as possible. When I called Toyota, they confirmed that there was a recall on the Highlander's that opened in 2023 and that there was supposed to be a remedy in 2024, but unfortunately there is still no remedy available. They let me know that I would not be able to bring the vehicle in for service and that the collision center would not be able to remedy the situation on Toyota's behalf. This safety issue put myself and my family that includes multiple children that were in the vehicle at the time of the accident, in a very unsettling situation. We were afraid to drive the car any further than 5 miles or on the freeway, wondering if the airbags would deploy at any minute. There was little to no information provided whether the airbags were in fact supposed to deploy upon impact compared to if it was just a sensor mishap. There were no prior warnings, message, symptoms or mailers sent out notifying us that there were any recalls on the car.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The component that failed is the roof rail clips that hold the roof rack to the vehicle (Toyota service bulletin t-sb-0040-24). The clips under the rail fail and cause water to leak into the headliner and down the a-pillars on both sides of the vehicle. It presents itself by causing water staining where the headliner meets the a-pillar cover. This issue presented itself in January of 2023, a few months after we bought the vehicle. Toyota bountiful (utah) tried to tell us that it is the sunroof drain lines that are clogged and required a $100 service to clear them which is an annual service. After some push back they found the problem with the roof rack clips. However, they only replaced the passenger side and neglected to repair both sides. April of 2025 the driverside failed and Toyota bountiful once again confirmed that the driverside clips failed. This creates a danger to the front occupants of the vehicle by allowing a possible mold issue within the cabin. Secondly, it allows water into the front curtain airbags of the vehicle.

Known recall and Toyota is not correcting it.

My SUV is having issues with the tires air and also the sensors are not working properly.

Driver side airbags (curtain and left seat) spontaneously deployed while I was parking the car. I did not hit anything. I was not injured but my safety was put at risk because I likely would have crashed if it had happened while I was driving. I contacted Toyota and they sent an investigator to inspect the car. He found no issues in the data he collected and could not give a reason for the airbags deployment. I received a letter saying they were not going to help in any way. There were no warnings lights or indicators that could have warned me of the airbags deploying prior to the incident.

See all problems of the 2013 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and a case was filed. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Currently having issues for my active recall with no remedy available.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v865000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Toyota continues to knowingly not remedy an airbag sensor issue. My vehicle has the light on indicating it is suffering from the same recall. I bought this car from them in 2024 and they sold it to me with the knowledge that there was a safety issue. I’ve tried to find a solution as this is a major safety issue. Toyota took my money in full for the car, yet can only offer me a loaner for 25 days. They said in CA, it most likely won’t get fixed until the end of 2026. I don’t have money. I have one car and I need a vehicle to transport to work and kids to school. This is not right and this is not safe. A remedy for people in CA that won’t be fixed for two more years that is an actual safety issue , is not right. This is to document the safety complaint as the dealership continues to ignore the issue, and the 1-800 Toyota line continues to ignore it. All bbb complaints shows I’m not the only one. I can’t take a rental because they won’t pay me back, it’s not guaranteed, and I’m out another $40,000. They put people in impossible situations. The manager at the service center it’s your fault if you walk out of here without taking a loaner. You’re choosing to put your family at risk. And I said no, you’re offering me a loaner and you can’t guarantee a vehicle that will fit my family. I don’t know what to do.

Vehicle transmission has a whining sound dealer stated needs new transmission parts not available continue driving local only would not state car is safe to drive and told not to take on long trips. No rental provided also there is a airbag recall for this model and have not been notified.

The contact owned a 2023 Toyota Highlander hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 mph on a heavy snow weather condition, the vehicle lost traction, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a tree, where the vehicle came to a stop. No warning lights were illuminated. No air bags deployed. The contact sustained injuries to his neck, chest, and shoulder. The contact sought medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed by the insurance provided for further investigation.   the local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Toyota sent a letter in mid-2024 that there was a safety recall for airbag issue with 2020 Toyota Highlander. The letter stated that a remedy would be available by the third quarter of 2024. As of January 21, 2025, they still have not provided a remedy for the serious safety issue. I would like to file a complaint against Toyota for failing to remedy the defect within a reasonable time.

A safety alert popped up on my dash regarding an airbag malfunction. This would be similar to other recalled models of my vehicle but for some reason my VIN is not on that recall. This is a huge safety concern for me and my family and looking to have our VIN added to the recall.