Starter Solenoid Problems of Toyota Highlander

The electric door locks have failed again for the third time. I have had all 4 door locks replaced, some twice, at considerable expense. The driver's door lock and the driver's-side rear door lock are now broken again. The driver's door lock does not operate electrically at all again. This means I must pull the mechanical key out of the key fob to unlock the door. When the car is placed in drive, the driver's door remains unlocked, as does the driver's-side rear door - a serious safety issue since they are supposed to lock automatically, and they will not lock manually with the electric door lock switch located on the driver's door - I have to manually push the door lock lever mechanically. I am very disappointed in Toyota. The problem lies with the cheap solenoids/motors that are used to actuate the door locks - a device that costs less than $5 on amazon, but is difficult to install for us non-mechanics. I have heard of the same problem happening with other car manufacturers as well.

See all problems of the 2011 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

2010 Toyota Highlander caught on fire while parked in garage of residence, destroying the Highlander and the car parked adjacent to it, along with most of the house. Prior to the fire, there were no issues with the vehicle. The Highlander was stationary, with the ignition off and parked in the garage. A subsequent investigation including inspecting burn patterns and thermal damage indicated the fire originated at the front of the Toyota Highlander on the driver's side where the fuse panel, battery and starter/solenoid were located. All three sources of ignition remain energized with the ignition off. The upper portion of the plastic housing on the fuse panel and battery had melted exposing the receivers for the fuses and plates inside the battery. The ends of the receivers had alloying on the receivers, but no failures were noted on fuse panel or battery. Extreme thermal damage was observed on the connector end of the solenoid where most of the facing had melted or was consumed. Lines of demarcation from extreme heat was observed on the remaining section of the solenoid facing. The cable connecting the battery to the solenoid was not connected to the solenoid due to the extreme damaged to the solenoid. The terminal connector on the cable sustained arcing and/or melting of the metal terminal. The conclusions were that the fire was caused by a failed solenoid attached to the starter on the 2010 Toyota Highlander. Lab analysis of the starter/solenoid revealed failure at the connection end of the solenoid with beading and arcing on contacts inside the solenoid.

See all problems of the 2010 Toyota Highlander 🔎.