Exterior Lighting Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 1

All at once the windows, moon roof, blinkers, reverse lights, running lights and brake lights stopped working - also the automatic headlight function stopped working and we must turn on and off the headlights or risk draining the battery. It's interesting to note that the flashers work, but the blinkers do not. The wipers, radio, cruise control, etc. Are all fine. It appears all fuses associated with these items are intact - I don't know how to check the viability of the relays, but have been told it could be a relay and or a ground wire. I've purchased a new multifunction blinker headlight replacement switch and a master window replacement switch to see if this will resolve the issue - but the fact that it happened all at the same time concerns me that it could be electrical or wiring. All the wires under the dash are intact.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

This is a widespread issue of these models leaving the factory with their headlights aimed too high which is leading other drivers to flash their brights thinking the bright lights in the Highlander are on. This needs to be sent to Toyota as a safety recall!!!! it is unsafe for oncoming traffic!!!!.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Since I got his vehicle I satated to the Toyota that having the breaks problem and dash is not working properly and blind spot is not working on time.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

All Toyota Highlanders with the led projector headlights come from the factory with the lights aimed far too high.

Ahb, which is part of Toyota's tss (total safety system) fails intermittently and because the system is run by a sensor, headlight may or may not be illuminated during periods of darkness. Given the intermittent nature of the failure, it seems like there should be something to indicate to the operator that the lights are either on or not on, but the green light indicator goes on and off without any warning, meaning lights are on or off, operator has no way to remedy the issue at highway speed, causing an extremely dangerous situation.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The headlamp socket is melted. This is the same issue as other Toyota vehicles. There was a recall of the Toyota tundra for the same problem in 2021.

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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not made aware of the issue. 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. I am very concerned that Toyota hasn’t taken this more seriously. I notice in the ntsb website it has injuries and fatalities listed to the left of the complains. Does someone have to be injured or killed before Toyota gets their act together??? thinking we may need to trade this for another safer, reliable vehicle. I have also had many people flash me due to the headlights being too high and in their face-another safety concern.

Driving along interstate 20 west in alabama to mississippi, the Highlander completely shut off - the dash & radio were blank. The steering wheel locked up. Luckily there was no vehicles behind or beside us when this happened. Within seconds, the truck came back on. 15 minutes prior, we were sitting in a parking lot to eat lunch & while in idle, the truck shuddered a few times, like the gas pedal was pressed.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The interior lights stopped working and the drive side sun visor won’t stay up and the beep never worked when I back up to something to close.

The low beams began to get dim after ~60k miles until it began to be difficult to see the right shoulder of the road. After a number of visits, the Toyota dealer said there was some kind of cloudiness on the internal surfaces of the low beam and that the only solution was to replace both headlight assemblies. By then I had also failed state inspection (because of the lights. ) I paid the ~$1400 for the replacements and the lights work now. But, I can see inside the sealed low beam portion a few areas with a bit of cloudiness. The dealer said they could not explain and Toyota engagement (the only way to contact the company), after I sent a long written explanation said, "contact an authorized Toyota service center. So. . . This is resolved but the car was not safe for a while and I have had to pay to fix a safety issue that I had nothing to do with (vehicle has mainly been garaged and not driven offroad etc).

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The rear tail gate seal for lamps on both the left and right side have failed and the lamp assemblies condense and fill with water. I have read other reports on your website of the same problem with the Highlander. In your other reports the a person was told Toyota will not warranty the lamps because of moisture in them because it is not a safety issue. While it is because the moisture blocks the light for the vehicle behind to see and thus rear end. I live in massachusetts and there is a yearly vehicle inspection and when I went to get it done I was told it would not pass safety inspection with moisture in the lamp so I had to get the left hand one replaced to pass. Now 6 months later my righthand tailgate lamp is full of moisture and will not pass my upcoming massachusetts safety inspection. The cost was $205. 44 now another of the same. It is definitely a safety issue in massachusetts and in my opinin should also be treated as such by the NHTSA for Toyota recall and reimbursement.

See all problems of the 2015 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at night and at approximately 35 mph the low beam lights appeared to shine directly into the eyes of drivers in the opposite lane. The contact stated that other drivers would turn their high beam lights off and on at him as if he had activated his high beams. The contact stated that he had checked at night by observing the low beam lights aiming point and he saw that they appeared to be aimed at a high angle. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not been diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

Headlamps become cloudy and burn out new, expensive bulbs in months. Internet search says Toyota is aware of problem, but prior to my search my dealership wanted to charge me hundreds of dollars to 'evaluate electrical system'.

See all problems of the 2010 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The headlights on the Toyota Highlander xle awd (2021) are set too high. They are constantly bothering vehicles in front of me, they believe I have the high lights and upcoming traffic are constantly putting on their highlights because they are annoyed. My Toyota dealership has not received any complaints but they are legit.

At night, drivers frequently flash their bright lights at my vehicle, "complaining that my high beams are on. " sometimes, they turn on their brights at me and leave them on until our vehicles pass. My high beams are not on. This is a safety hazard from my vehicle if the low beams are adjusted too high, an increased hazard when the driver of the approaching vehicle flashes their lights at me, and an even more serious issue when they leave their lights on. This is a constant problem that has existed from the moment I drove the new vehicle off the dealer's lot. The dealer refuses to adjust the headlights under warranty repair. If a vehicle is improperly assembled from the factory, that should be corrected under warranty repair.

Head lights are situated too high and are distracting upcoming vehicles, which may distort upcoming traffic.

The front headlights (low beam) are aimed too high resulting in blinding of oncoming drivers. More than half of all oncoming cars flash their lights suggesting. This has occurred for a year and a half since the vehicle was purchased. While a small adjustment was made to the headlights by the vehicle owner, this type of adjust was denied from the Toyota service department, and should never have been needed in the first place.

The headlights of the Toyota Highlander are too bright for other drivers. When driving at night, I am constantly flashed because the drivers think the highbeams are turned on when in fact, the lights are too bright for their visibility.

Water inside left taillight assembly as purchased used from dave edwards Toyota, as certified pre-owned.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Automatic high beam function shuts down erratically leaving car with no high beams. Necessary to turn off automatic function to use high beams. This happens while in motion @ 30-35 mph on a completely dark road and with no oncoming or leading trafiic to trigger function to shut down high beams.

Condensation and liquid/water in rear exterior lights. Lights or seals warp with contact to heat manufacturers defects.

Interior lights on and off; warnings e. G . Hood open when not; did not (light) alert cars along side or passing; module cracked by tapping to delete phone #s put into system by Toyota tech, navigation started on its own and it was incorrect!; maps incorrect to location; map showing north as south and east as west all when car in motion.

Rear tail lamps on lift gate both sides have failed seals that allow moisture to condense inside the lens. This occurs to the point the water collects inside the lens and obstructs the emission of light when the brake pedal is depressed. Several reports of this happening can be found with a simple online search for the issue. The manufacturer (Toyota) has to be aware of the defect in manufacturing process or design by the shear number of occurrences, yet they deny any responsibility in repair or replacement costs. The issue was first noticed at 4 years of age and around 45,000 miles. This need to be reviewed and addressed as a matter of maintaining basic safety.

When we are driving our Toyota 2010 Highlander if you hit a bump the door ajar light comes on even though the doors are not opem. We are not able to use the sunroof or open the windows because the door ajar light comes on and the interior light and the beeping for a door open. This is very disttacting when trying to drive. It is getting worse now every time we make a turn ot go over the slighest bump the light comes on and the dinging for the door starts Toyota really needs to fix this! it happens all the time when we drive our car'.

In the back of the car, the rear light covers stick out about 3 inches, the edges are as sharp as a keen knife (photos attached). When I unload stuff from the trunk, it often hurts me. I have tried to be very careful. I also reminded my teenage son with caution. However, it sticks out too much and is too sharp. It is hard to avoid. It keeps hurting. For example, three months ago, on an evening it was dark and raining, at a costco parking lot, when I uploaded groceries onto the car, my right arm and joint were suddenly hit by this sharp cutting edge of the rear light cover. The keen edge cut my arm, and the stick out part badly hurt my joint (photos attached). I could not raise my arm. Three months have passed; however, my joint is still paining. I went to jim coleman dealer and pointed out the danger part in the rear. I had their managers and staff to feel by putting their hands on the keen edge. They all admitted it is bad design and easy to injure people. But they said they could not do anything about it. I asked if they could report incidents/cases to manufacturers, and have it improved. They said they sell cars only. I randomly took photos of other made of cars (photos attached). None of them stick out a knife likes Highlander. It is a nightmare when using this Highlander daily.

The tail lights on the back tailgate hatch are leaking and have been leaking. The leaks are getting progressively worse and the lights are filling up with water. The vehicle has been garage kept, has low mileage, and has never been wrecked. I feel like this is a manufacturer defect.

In 2017 I had my passenger side rear inner light assembly replaced due to condensation and now 2019 I am having to replace the drivers side inner light assembly due to condensation to the cost of $235. Toyota bodywork should hold up better than that. This vehicle has never been wrecked.

Rear passenger tail light lift gate has water inside tail light housing, if this continues it will cause brake light to be burned off or malfunction and cause vehicle behind these cars unable to see the tail light and cause an accident. The problem has been seen all over Toyota forum and a quick google search will provide adequate evidence or recurring problem with this vehicle and similar vehicle with the same tail light manufacturer. Some people has brought their car to the dealerships under warranty for the same issue. I thought these will resolve itself but it has not. So I'm submitting request for recall to solve these problem since removing the housing is a difficult task and might cause more electrical problems.

Rear break lights keep going out with fuse blowing. No rear lights at all when this happens. I keep replacing the 10a fuse but can't find cause of failure. Vehicle is in motion on highway. Cause of lights suddenly going out is unknown.

Brakes have a slight vibration when traveling at high speeds in the city and someone is stopped on the freeway. My lights have dimmed dramatically since I first purchased new. The passenger side daytime running light is full of moisture. Most importantly, the temperature sensor and/or ac fan/motor is halfway functioning at 38k! by this, I mean that the ac in the front of the car kicks on and off in the middle of cooling and it blows 50% of what it did when I bought the car. Convenient Toyota?.

False back door ajar warning. Safety concern.

2010 Toyota Highlander rear latch was defective. Inside lights kept going on and chimed. Latch replacement cost $601.

While driving, interior lights turn on and door chime warning on dash sounds. All doors are properly closed.

See all problems of the 2011 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The rear passenger tail lens continues to fog up. I checked to see if there is a recall and there is not. I would like the lens replaced while still under warrant. But I don't want any issues from the local dealership. How do I resolve the issue, do you issue a work order to the dealership?.

When turn left the warning sistem for open doors is on andturn on interior lighs and soundwarning for secondsand go off. Afraid the doors is go be open.