general problems of the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Tl- the contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact discovered that the passenger side head light lens and high beam bulb had melted and the high beam light was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was due to excessive electrical power going to the head light assembly and the light assembly would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage 126,250.

The headlamp covers on my 2006 Toyota highland hybrid show significant melting exactly where the day lights shine through the plastic. This is definitely a defect in the materials, as the lights cannot be turned off by the driver. The vehicle has just 75000 milies, & the lens covers & bulbs are the original equipment. The dealer refused to correct this without approval from Toyota. Toyota refuses to acknowledge that this is a defect and will not replace the lamps and/or the lens covers. I believe this is a safety hazard, as others have reported fires started by the overheated lenscovers. Another hazard is that as the lenses further deteriorate, they will allow water and moisture to seep in, increasing the risk of an electrical short. Although the warranty has expired, I feel that Toyota should be admitting that this is a safety issue and a mfg defect, and replace the light units. Instead, Toyota representatives have repeatedly stated that they haven't heard of this problem before, and will not take any corrective action.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that the front headlamp covers were melting abnormally and causing the bulbs to blow. The dealer advised the contact to call the manufacturer but when contacted, the manufacturer offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

Lens is melting in front of day time running lite bulbs on both left & right sides of my 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Concerned this could cause fire as this is also the high beam lite. If left on accidently these could become very hot as the halogen bulbs will actually melt glass.

I own two Highlander Hybrids, 2006. One was purchased in September 2005, the other in September 2006. On the older of the two, in front of the daytime running lights I have exactly the same melted plastic shown in multiple pictures I found online. On the newer one, you can see imperfections forming on one side, and a smaller fully melted area in the other. I am in touch with Toyota and they are offering new lens parts and I must pay labor. I pushed back and told them I believe this is a manufacturers defect, and that it should be covered by both my original warranty and the nearly $2000 Toyota assurance extended warranty. This defect will ultimately obscure the light and make my vehicle harder to see on the road, which presents a safety hazard. As the problem progresses, a hole will form in the lens allowing children to touch the extremely hot halogen lights, potentially resulting in serious burns. It will also expose the headlamps to damage from rocks that would have been blocked by the melted part. From the two Highlander Hybrid 2006's I have, in central California's mediterranean climate it appears that the problem becomes apparent between 40,000 and 60,000 miles.

I own two Highlander Hybrids, 2006. One was purchased in September 2005, the other in September 2006. On the older of the two, in front of the daytime running lights I have exactly the same melted plastic shown in multiple pictures I found online. On the newer one, you can see imperfections forming on one side, and a smaller fully melted area in the other. I am in touch with Toyota and they are offering new lens parts and I must pay labor. I pushed back and told them I believe this is a manufacturers defect, and that it should be covered by both my original warranty and the nearly $2000 Toyota assurance extended warranty. This defect will ultimately obscure the light and make my vehicle harder to see on the road, which presents a safety hazard. As the problem progresses, a hole will form in the lens allowing children to touch the extremely hot halogen lights, potentially resulting in serious burns. It will also expose the headlamps to damage from rocks that would have been blocked by the melted part. From the two Highlander Hybrid 2006's I have, in central California's mediterranean climate it appears that the problem becomes apparent between 40,000 and 60,000 miles. Related odi numbers for my other 2006 highlander, which is a year older and has a more pronounced problem due to the additional time with the daytime running lights on: 10292093 multiple complaints for the same problem exist on the highlander 2005 model complaint filed 20070816, crownsville, MD (resulted in fire in headlamp) complaint filed 20060712, setauket, NY. Multiple complaints for the same problem exist on the highlander 2004 model complaint filed 20050409, medway MA complaint filed 20081222, quincy, wa complaint filed 20071203, sparks, MD.