There are 12 stored owner reports matching the air bags & restraints leading-label group for the 2001 Toyota Highlander in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 12 of 12 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE SPIRAL CABLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000.
ANOTHER VEHICLE CROSSED THE LINE AND I SWERVED TO AVOID A HEAD ON COLLISION. HOWEVER POINT OF IMPACT WAS DRIVERS SIDE DOOR AND SIDE TO REAR. NO AIRBAG DEPLOYED. *TR
ANYTIME CAR IS KEPT OUTSIDE IN TEMPERATURE BELOW FREEZING, THE AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES AND STAYS ON AFTER CAR IS STARTED. IT CONTINUES TO STAY ON UNTIL TEMPERATURE WARMS UP AND CAR IS SUBSEQUENTLY RESTARTED. THERE ARE REPORTS OF A TSB ON THIS KNOWN PROBLEM STATING THE AIRBAG IS NON-OPERABLE WHILE LIGHT FLASHES, BUT TOYOTA HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL OR IS WILLING TO REPAIR UNDER WARRANTY. NOTE: THIS IS A SAFETY DRIVE ABILITY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE TREATED AS A RECALL. *TR
WHEN 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER IS STARTED WHEN COLD, BELOW 30 DEGREES F, AIR BAG LIGHT BLINKS UNTIL 1) CAR WARMS UP 2) CAR IS RESTARTED. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DEALER THAT WHEN LIGHT IS BLINKING, AIR BAGS ARE INOPERABLE. ORDINARILY THIS CAR IS KEPT IN A GARAGE SO IT IS NOT VERY OFTEN STARTED WHEN BELOW 30 F. I BELIEVE THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN WITH THE CAR SINCE NEW. I BELIEVE THIS PROBLEM IS ON MANY OTHER TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS OF THIS ERA BECAUSE A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR "TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AIR BAG LIGHT BLINKS COLD WEATHER" BRINGS UP DISCUSSIONS OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR THE FIRST GENERATION HIGHLANDERS 2001 - 2007. *TR
THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT IS FRAYING BECAUSE IT RUBS AGAINST THE SLOT IN THE LATCH. MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ON THE INTERNET. I'VE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN IN ANY OTHER VEHICLE I'VE OWNED OVER THE 50 YEARS I'VE DRIVEN. I HAVE A 1992 CAMRY WITH ALMOST 200,000 MILES ON IT, AND THERE IS NO WEAR AT ALL ON THE SEAT BELT. WE NEED A RECALL! *TR
I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN AUGUST 2010 IN MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY ON IMPACT EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOING 45-50 MPH. MY SEAT BELT DID NOT RESTRAIN ME FROM HITTING MY STEERING WHEEL WAS A HARD IMPACT TO MY CHEST. I SENT PICS TO TOYOTA AND SPOKE TO THEM SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT MY COMPLAINT OF THE FAILING AIRBAGS AND SEATBELT. THEY SAID THAT THE CAR DID WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO ON IMPACT AND THEREFORE I HAD NO COMPLAINT. MY CAR WAS TOTALED IN THE COLLISION. *TR
THE FRONT DRIVER-SIDE AND PASSENGER SEATBELTS NO LONGER RETRACT WHEN UNBUCKLED AND FREQUENTLY THE CAR DOOR IS CLOSED ONTO THEM WHILE THEY HANG INTO THE DOOR JAM AREA. CAUSING DENTS TO INSIDE OF THE DOOR FRAME AS WELL. *TR
SHIRENE DUHANEY JUNE 13, 2008 ATTN: RECALLS/COMPLAINTS & INVESTIGATIONS DEAR SIR/MADAM: I AM WRITING BECAUSE I NEED ASSISTANCE WITH A DANGEROUS MATTER. MY VEHICLE IS A 2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. I HAVE CONTACTED & VISITED THE DEALER. I HAVE HAD AN ATTORNEY WRITE TOYOTA MOTOR SALES USA, INC. AND NO RESOLVE. I HAVE PICTURES IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THEM. FOR DETAILS PLEASE SEE BELOW: I WANT THEM TO BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO PLAZA AUTO MALL ON 3/22/07. I SPOKE WITH ADVISOR LONNIE. THE REASON I BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO HAVE THEIR TECHNICIANS CHECK OUT MY VEHICLE BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT A LUMP IN MY STEERING WHEEL. IN ADDITION I WAS HAVING A RECALL TAKEN CARE OF. ACCORDING TO THE ADVISOR LONNIE 'HE SAID IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM AND IT WAS OK. HOWEVER, THE PRINT OUT THAT HE WANTED ME TO SIGN SAID 'LUMP IN STEERING WHEEL 'TECH FOUND AIR BAG DISTORTED 'NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. CUSTOMER DECLINED REPAIR.' THAT WAS NOT TRUE I WAS NEVER TOLD IT NEEDED REPAIR. I REFUSED TO SIGN THAT AND NOTED THAT ON THEIR COPY . THAT WAS UNSETTLING TO ME I RETURNED SHORTLY TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 4/5/07 AND DEALT WITH YET ANOTHER ADVISOR. HE RE-EXAMINED MY VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THAT IT WAS OK. HE GAVE ME A NEW FORM THAT SAID THAT THE CAR WAS OK. (ATTACHED ARE 2 COPIES OF TOYOTA PRINT OUTS BOTH OF WHICH SHOW A DISCREPANCY IN THE INFORMATION.) HOWEVER, IT IS STILL NOT SITTING WELL WITH ME. TOYOTA AS A CORPORATION NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF THIS. THIS MAY BE A DEFECT IN THEIR VEHICLE. THIS VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW AND THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY RECALLS. THIS MAY ALSO BE A RECALL THAT THE CORPORATION IS NOT AWARE OF. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS LOOKED INTO BY THE CORPORATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MY AIR BAG IS NOT MALFUNCTIONING. I NEED TO HAVE THIS FIXED. ASAP THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION! SINCERELY, SHIRENE DUHANEY *TR
DRIVER WAS HIT ON LEFT FRONT SIDE OF VEHICLE BY ONCOMING CAR IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLY.*AK
WHILE AT A STOP ANOTHER VEHICLE TRAVELING ABOUT 45 MPH, HIT CONSUMER'S VEHICLE IN THE REAR. IMPACT FORCED CONSUMER INTO A DITCH. VEHICLE WAS TOTALLED. UPON IMPACT, AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, AND DRIVER SUSTAINED SOME INJURIES.*AK
SEAT BELTS IN REAR OF VEHICLE LOCK WHEN INSTALLING A CAR SEAT. CONTACTED DEALER. *AK
CONSUMER STATES WHILE TRAVELING 10 MPH REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE, AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 29, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.