Wheel Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 1

I was driving on a 2-lane road early in the morning with light snowfall. There was about 1" of snow on the road, with the roads not yet plowed or treated as it was the beginning of the snowfall. About 15 minutes into my trip, I was on a relatively flat and straight stretch of the road and let up on the gas paddle to avoid going too fast -- was probably traveling ~35 mph. Although the road was straight and flat at that point, my car suddenly started fishtailing, slowly turned 180 degrees and sliding to the other side of the road, ending up on the opposite edge of the road. When it hit the edge of the road, it tipped over on its right side, as apparently the dirt at the edge of the road was not as slippery as the road, and the SUV having a high center of gravity. Since my car was an awd hybrid vehicle, I believe that the triggering event was the vehicle shutting down the gas engine and switching to ev mode when I started coasting (that usually happens when I'm driving <40 mph and the vehicle is sufficiently warm). But I did not look at the dashboard to see if the ev mode switched on at that point. In addition, while I did not sense any skidding prior to this event, it's possible that there may have been a slick spot right at that point in the road. But it seemed to me that when the power to the front wheels was reduced from the gas engine shutting down (as I believe was the case), the transition to electric motors taking over the front drive created some perceived traction issues which triggered the electric motors in the back to try to compensate for the perceived traction issues in the front. But the rear drive ended up creating a significant differential where the right rear wheel was driving much harder than the left rear wheel, creating the car spin and slide, which the traction control did not correct. I did not apply the brakes nor gas once the car started skidding. The car was 10 years old and was a total loss as a result of tipping on its side.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

On November 24, I took the vehicle into gene messer Toyota in lubbock, TX to have them diagnose a noise in the front end. They confirmed hearing the noise but assured me the vehicle was safe to drive. No repairs were performed. 10 days later, on December 10, the front driver wheel detached while my husband was driving at highway speed.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I am reporting a serious safety defect involving the rear brake system of my 2021 Toyota Highlander, purchased from penn Toyota (glen cove, NY). The dealership represented the vehicle as “Toyota certified” and indicated that it passed all safety inspections. On November 15, 2025, I discovered that the rear brake rotors and pads were in extremely unsafe condition, showing severe corrosion, deep pitting, uneven pad wear, and structural deterioration. This damage clearly developed over a long period of time and indicates that the vehicle could not have passed a legitimate safety inspection at the time of sale. The rear brakes had to be replaced immediately to prevent potential brake failure. After replacing the rear rotors and pads, the vehicle passed the new york state inspection on the same day, proving that the previous brake condition was unsafe and improperly inspected. This raises concerns brake safety failure improper or falsified dealership inspection risk of reduced stopping power potential loss of vehicle control I am submitting photos, the repair invoice, and the inspection result that confirmed the brakes were unsafe prior to repair.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

My car malfunctioned my tire locked up while I was driving on the high way causing me to spin out of control and skid all the way into a guard rail totalled my car out and not one air bag went off.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The fact that the dealership was able to sell this car with a recall on is crazy, yes I have blame for not looking as well but now we are having issues with the front bumper hitting the tires when you turn and making a grinding noise. We were told that there’s nothing they could do as of yet but as I see this recall has been open for a while now? this is a big concern to us what if they don’t find anything wrong or so they say and something happens? they need to speed up the process to find a solutions loosing a front bumper while your on the highway is a big risk.

Unknown.

3 wheel alignments in same vehicle needed in less than 30 months: <5,000, 30,000 and 35,000 odometer readings it’s not from pot holes; I have owned about 14 cars in family fleet and have never had 1 vehicle need more than 1 alignment during it’s time of ownership of over 1,000,000 miles driven something is wrong with vehicle design or mechanical components to go out of alignment so frequently.

Case #11497584, all 4 tires brigestone 235/55r20 102v cracked(dot 4919, thread 6/32-7/32). Numerous report of this tires exploding. Load index 102 is max load 1874 lb at 44 psi. Manufacturing label is 36 psi, gawp rr 3405. At 36 psi(load inflation table) tire capacity is 1620 lb which is show that gawp 3405/2=1702. 5 lb is already overload each rear tire by 82. 5 lb. If you add 5000 lb trailer(tongue load 10%=500 lb) then rear tire will be overloaded 82. 5+500/2=332. 5 lb. This is 332. 5/1874=17. 7% all Toyota Highlander 4th generation limited & platinum should be removed from the road an emergency.

See all problems of the 2020 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

No nothing has been inspected I didn’t even know it had a recall all my lights on my truck are on now.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

2017 Toyota Highlander VIN: 5tddzrfh8hs470309 I purchased my Highlander new in 2017 and I have had consistent electrical issues. The radio has consistently fluctuated between bass, treble, and off for no apparent reason. I have taken my vehicle to the dealer 4 times and still no change. I have replaced the battery 3 times although I only have 25,000 miles on 55,000mile tires, the tire treads are wearing quickly. I rarely go anywhere and when I do it is on smooth surfaced, well-maintained roads. All maintenance is completed at the dealership, including rotation and balancing. I really so annoyed and I see by the comments that I am not alone in these issues. I'm not even going to get into the plastic chrometek wheels. However, Toyota states there are no problems.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Toyota and other vehicle brands use wheel lug nuts that become "swollen" over time. This happens because a cosmetic cap (with no mechanical purpose) made from a different metal is bonded over the metal of the lug nut. The cosmetic cap deforms or swells, because of its different properties compared to the lug nut itself. On 12 August 2021 I was unable to change a flat tire because the lug nut wrench that came with the vehicle no longer would fit over the lug nuts in order to loosen them. The lug nut wrench would not fit any of the 20 lug nuts on the vehicle. There is not one single mention in the 636-page owner's manual about swollen lug nuts, only an advisory to use genuine Toyota wheel nuts and wrenches, which easily become incompatible. The genuine Toyota wrench no longer fit, I had no other means of loosening the lug nuts, and became stranded. I was fortunate that a friendly motorist with a set of different sockets and a breaker bar came along and was able to assist me. Such fortune is not always the case. Being stranded puts the personal safety of the motorist in jeopardy, as can be confirmed in numerous reported incidences. On 13 August 2021 I went to the dealer to repair / replace the flat tire. The dealer acknowledged that the swollen lug nuts were a known mechanical defect with many Toyota vehicles, but refused to install lug nuts on my vehicle without this defect. The only recourse offered was for me to buy new lug nuts of the same style, which would not have improved the situation. Because of the personal safety issues involved, intentionally selling vehicles with know mechanical defects to unsuspecting buyers should come with serious consequences for a manufacturer. Refusing to repair such defects when pointed out to the dealers should also carry consequences.

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Tl-the contact owns a 2013 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle wheels hydoplanned causing the contact to loss control and crash into a center concrete wall. No airbag deployed. The contact sustained injuries to the chest. The contact did go to the hospital couple of hours later to treat injuries to the ribs which were fractured. The contact did not stay overnight. No police report was made. No medical attention was contacted. The vehicle was still driveable the contact managed to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic lot where at this time the vehicle is sitting. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. No insurance company was contacted. No dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. Ck.

See all problems of the 2013 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Bought vehicle new in Nov 19 and in the first heavy downpour driving at more than the normal street crawl at 35mph, the vehicle hydroplaned severely while merging from a highway unto another. Had it not been for the awd system could have been bad. I have asked Toyota customer service for help and I have 2 cases open and yet to get anything back. The local dealer I purchased the vehicle from has not done anything including calling me back after the initial call. Left 2 voice mail messages. In short no one at Toyota seems concerned and it is very sad, since they do have an overall great product. These tires were put on the car by Toyota and they need to stand behind their choices. Tires are fine in the dry weather but worthless in the rain. This tire, the toyo a20 has terrible customer scores in various online independent sources (ie tire rack). The tires at the time had about 7000 miles on them with no signs of any wear issue and once again in dry weather they have been ok. Why would Toyota use an inferior tire on such a vehicle when they normally use brand name tires in tier 1? the date is an estimate in mid August on a Saturday morning after dropping off my son at work, it could have been that weekend or the one before.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

~tl-the contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the tires he bought with the vehicle new with were wearing at an alarming rate. When he has driven on a wet road the tires performed like driving on ice. The vehicle was taken an independnent tire dealer and they diagnosed the tires wear and quoted the tire wear at 7/32 nds when they should be replaced at 4/32 nds. The contact called the tire manufacturer and they said they don't provide warrenty coverage for the brigdestone dueler h/l 422 ecopia, p245/60/r18 tires. They only warrenty covered defects on the tire. The vehicle was taken to the bridgestone dealer who stated the tire must be a defect and suggested the tires be replaced eventhough they would charge for the service. The contact called back the manufacturer and told him what the dealer said, but the manufacturer still refused to help because they were original equipment with the vehicle . The vehicle manufacturer referred the contact to their dealer. Who said there was nothing wrong with the tires. The tires have currently not been replaced at this time. The failure mileage was 9,000. Tf.

On Thursday, September 5th I hit a piece of wood on the highway while driving about 72 mph. The wood was the size of a typical piece of firewood. My tire instantly went flat and I pulled over immediately. Upon inspection, I saw that the rim broke into two pieces. Essentially, while I was pulling over, I was driving on a 1/4" lip of broken wheel rim. I was shocked that this could even happen. This is remarkably dangerous and could have resulted in something much more harmful than a flat tire. I would like to know what material this rim is made of. Does Toyota believe it broke by design or that faulty materials were used? how many other instances like this have been reported?.

Purchased new tires goodyear aviva at walmart covington la on Aug 2019 the car pulled as soon as I purchased them and they said to get alignment. Well after 2 alignments at Toyota and a third at autoville repair shop they came to conclusion it was bad tires. These tires have only 2000 miles on them and walmart wont credit anything. They will kill people if you dont do anything about this problem . I am 70 years old and these are worst tires I ever owned please help people stay alive and recall them.

I got hit by a drunk driver while I was at an intersection stationary. I was waiting to make a left turn and an oncoming car going 35 mph crossed lanes and crashed into me. It was a bad accident, both cars involved totalled. I had 4 other passengers in the car, and no airbags went off. I received head injuries (a lot of dizziness), neck and back injuries. ## VIN passed ## Toyota Highlander 2013 ##.

Michelin tires defective traction. Toyota and michelin refuses to help with defective tires. Monro muffler deemed tires unsafe.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Car vibration at 40mph and up and brake vibration too .

I had this car 2017 brand new, after 10000 mile, I heard some noises for my front wheels, I did my oil and maintance service often by Toyota dealership,I told them all the time about brakes and front wheel make some noises, they always everythings looks fine, after 2 yrs I had engine check lights on, I went to Toyota dealership, and they sayed it s not covered I have pay my own money for fixed, they sayed engine misfire on cylinder, for new car only driving 2yrs, it s happened Feb/05/2019, after 6 months they found front passenger outer cv boot leaking and I have to pay my own packet too, and now I have again problem , when I am driving on freeway about 70 mgh I heard some noise on my car back seats down, when I looked under my car there is no crack or leaking, looks everything good, I dont know where is noices comming from my under car, I just went to maintence today again Toyota dealership they sayed everythings normal, I dont know now what should I do, I am not really happy with my new car and with Toyota.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. While driving 40 mph on ice, the power steering seized and the rear driver's side wheel locked up. As a result, the vehicle spun out and crashed into a snow mound. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 200,000.

See all problems of the 2003 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Goodyear fortera hl tires purchased at sams club in wv in November 2018. Tires are 245/65/r17 with dot code m71tja2r1918. Tires appeared to have some cracking on the sides of treads shortly after purchase and installation by sams club. By approximately 20k miles with even treadwear and proper maintenance tires became more cracked on the sides of the treads and small cuts began appearing on surfaces and in tread grooves. Tire would get small air leaks through some of these cuts. Sams would offer to patch the tires under road hazard and claimed glass on roadways would cause this. Some patches would tear larger and leak around the patches put in place. Attempting standard black plug patches would result in hole tearing larger than it began. Sams applied a flat seal/plug from inside the tire that also had tears form on the edge and had further leaks from same hole. Two tires had to be replaced by different supplier 9/15/19 and another tire of the two remaining have began leaking around plugs 9/19/19.

2016 Toyota Highlander with oem toyo 245/55r19 open country m&s 103t tires at about 70 mph on i95 south board near brunswick GA (exit 38?) , a loud bang was heard and then the bumping made it obvious a tire had failed so the vehicle was stopped well of the road near an exit. The local state highway assistance truck (champ) stopped after about 20 minutes and the Toyota response service truck showed up about 20 minutes later - the tire was changed and we proceeded on our way - many thanks to the "road ranger" and his truck and expertise! the tires had about 28,500 miles on them - estimate about 55%of original tread and are marked: dot 78hh cnd 1016. There appears to have been a hole in the sidewall that caused sudden loss of pressure.

Spare tire was found to be cracked and unusable when needed. It was never used before. Technician changing tire said it was unsafe.

See all problems of the 2014 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

My vehicle cannot be aligned. This is a very dangerous driving condition. Especially on wet roads. Toyota has had 5 plus attempts to correct this. Vehicle was driven by 2 Toyota headquarters specialist. They deemed the vehicle safe to drive. 48hrs after it was taken to another dealership. This dealership found the front driver side wheel toe out severely. They corrected the misalignment. At least on paper thats the way it looked until on my way home from the dealership this vehicle pulled me into on coming traffic.

Took my 2018 Highlander to have the 5000 mile service done. Upon entering the service department I spoke with one of the certified technicians. I told him my vehicles is pulling to the left. They then did a alignment and tire rotation. After leaving mike wood Toyota of uniontown I noticed that my vehicle was now pulling to the right. When I got home I examined the tires closely only to notice the tires were cupped and starting to feather out on the inner and outter edges. I then scheduled another appointment two days later showing the dealership service department my findings. The service tech got in and took a ride with me. He also drove my 18 Highlander. He observed my vehicle pulling and the cupling and feathering of my tires. He stated that the tires should not have done that in 5000 miles. I am waiting now to see if Toyota is going to replace my tires. Or if the tires are defective.

2014 Toyota Highlander. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle wheels locking up while driving. The consumer stated the transmission was defective. The transmission stops, pulls, then slams into gear. A warning message appears stating 'check all wheel drive track off'. The solenoid failed.

Rear wheel hubs. I replaced the right rear wheel hub at about 6500 miles and 92000 miles. I replaced the left rear wheel hub at about 85000 miles. Is there an issue with these items wearing out prematurely? I have been driving for over 50 year and have never had an issue like this.

See all problems of the 2010 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I purchased my Highlander new in 2017 and I have had consistent electrical issues. I the radio has consistently fluctuated between bass, treble, and off for no apparent reason. I have taken my vehicle to the dealer 4 times and still no change. I have replaced the battery 3 times although I only have 25,000 miles on 55,000mile tires, the tire treads are wearing quickly. I rarely go anywhere and when I do it is on smooth surfaced, well-maintained roads. All maintenance is completed at the dealership, including rotation and balancing. I really so annoyed and I see by the comments that I am not alone in these issues. I'm not even going to get into the plastic chrometek wheels. However, Toyota states there are no problems.

On November 27 2017 the right rear tire suffered a major blowout causing the vehicle to go out of control. I was able to stabilize the vehicle. Aaa placed the spare on the vehicle and we drove it to lakeland Toyota in lakeland florida. They gave us a rental vehicle and said they would replace the tire in a couple of days. We were on our way to port canaveral to go on a cruise. On Friday we returned to the dealership and was advised that they would not honor the warranty on the tire and charged us $327. 09 for a new tire. I requested. The old tire so I could have it examined and they said they had turned it over to waste disposal. I advised them that violated the spoilation doctrine in this state. The vehicle and tire had 6805 miles. At the time of the blowout the vehicle was in motion driving the speed limit of 70mph on interstate 4 on the way to port canaveral. I have the records of lakeland Toyota for your review. . . The tire was a bridgestone dueler hl 422 p245/55r19. I told the customer service representative that it was wrong for them to not honor the warranty especially in light of prior problems with bridgestone/firestone tires. . And they should report the matter to your agency.

We bought tires and found them to defective within a few days in which you have 30 days to get refunded or pay the difference for another tires . We did upgrade to michelin tires but not get the full reund fom the defective tires that goodyear wanted to have returned and investigated ,but the manager had them destroyed to cover up the evidence and we lost $321. 00 and now we will have sams also investigated by the national highway safety for selling defective tires from good year and covering it up. We definetly will not let this issue go because we feel these tires were a safety issue that sams and good year should of acknoleged.

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Highlander. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact t-boned another vehicle on the front driver's side. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained injuries to the right leg, which required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. Furthermore, while the vehicle was stationary and while driving various speeds, the anti-lock brakes failed on more than one occasion in October of 2018. The contact stated that the brakes and wheels seized on three occasions. An independent mechanic was made aware of all the failures, but could not determine the sources. A dealer was not made aware of the failures. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

I had my car brand new, when I start driving my front tires brakes sometimes make noises also when I turn around I heard my front tires make noise, I always do oil and maintance service by Toyota dealership, I told them all the time they sayed checked everythings normal, they always sayed, and engine check lights was on when I was driving after only 2 yrs, they sayed I have pay fee for service engine had something going on, it did not cover it, also now when I am driving on freeway about 70-80 miles I heard some wierd noise on my car bottom area, I did double check down, it does not and break leaking, I am not really happy with my, now only 4 yrs, still has more noises come out, also I told the dealer , they sayed everythings normal,.

Lug nuts are 2-piece: steel nuts with chromed covers crimped on. The nuts rust inside the chrome covers and swell so that the lug wrench that comes with the vehicle (nor sockets or typical 4-way lug wrenches) will not fit the nut. One can be stranded on the side of the road unable to remove a flat tire. Besides the wheel locks, all 16 of the remaining nuts were affected. I have ordered replacement nuts, on advice from my local tire shop, that are chrome plated and not 2-piece. I informed Toyota customer service of the problem and they acknowledged receipt butoffered no solution or compensation. The problem occurred when I needed to remove a tire, but thankfully it was still driveable. My local tire shop was able to hammer-on a socket to remove the swollen nuts, and I will have to return to them to have them install the replacement nuts. I am retaining the original nuts in case they are needed by NHTSA or Toyota for examination. There are many reports of this issue online, as well as mentions in product questions about replacement nuts on amazon. Com (eg, are these nuts one-piece or not, and reports of this exact problem with many vehicles). Interestingly, it turns out that tool manufacturer snap-on makes an 18. 5mm and 19. 5mm oversized sockets to remove these swollen nuts. The problem is common enough for specialized tools. Please act on this to prevent some poor individual from being stranded!.

I bought four goodyear assurance triple tred tires on Jan. 29, 2013. After about a year I started having problems with maintaining air pressure in the tires. I took the vehicle back to where I bought the tires and they would do maintenance such as remounting or replacing valve stems. I still would have air pressure issues. On Dec. 9, 2016 while driving on the highway I noticed a thumping noise. It got progressively louder and made the vehicle sway. I pulled to the emergency berm and saw that I had a flat tire. I took the tire back to conrad's tire express & total care which where I bought the tires from. The service technician put air in the tire and said that there were broken belts in the side wall. He laid the blame to a road hazard problem and laid the blame of losing air to defective Toyota rims, even though with the original tires on the vehicle I never experienced a problem of losing air from the tires. My opinion is that the tires must be defective since they can not maintain air pressure. This is a real concern since the possibility of someone being injured or killed because of a tire blow out.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Highlander 🔎.