There are 13 stored owner reports matching the brakes leading-label group for the 2016 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 13 of 13 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)The contact owned a 2016 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed low speeds on a decline, the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard. As a result, the vehicle rolled downhill into a busy intersection and was struck by another vehicle on the passenger side door. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed at total lose by the contacts insurance provider. A police report was filed with no injuries reported. The manufacturer was notified of the failure; a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 62,000.
BRAKES DID NOT WORK AND CAR WENT THROUGH A 4 WAY STOP SIGN. DATES WENT OUT: SEPTEMBER 2019, OCTOBER 2019. BRAKES FAILED ON A NORMAL DAY DRIVING UNDER 30 MPH IN RESIDENTIAL AREA.
I'VE HAD TWO SERIOUS INCIDENTS INVOLVING THE CAR'S AUTO BRAKING SYSTEM WE BOUGHT AS PART OF A SAFETY PACKAGE. BOTH WERE IDENTICAL. EACH TIME I WAS DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND THE CAR DETECTED A POTENTIAL SIDE IMPACT CRASH. BOTH TIMES, I SAW THE HAZARD IN TIME AND GIVEN THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF TRAFFIC BEHIND BE AND THE HIGH RATE OF TRAFFIC FLOW SPEED I DETERMINED MY BEST CHANCE AT AVOIDING THE CRASH WAS TO ACCELERATE PAST THE SIDE IMPACT HAZARD. THE CAR DISAGREED AND SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES. THIS CAUSED ME TO ALMOST LOSE CONTROL OF THE CAR BECAUSE MY SPEED BOTH TIMES WAS >70 MPH. AND IT WOULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS MULTI-CAR COLLISION FROM BEHIND. THE FIRST TIME IT OCCURRED I WENT STRAIGHT TO A TOYOTA DEALER AND ASKED HOW TO 'TURN OFF' THE SYSTEM. THEY SAID THEY CAN'T WITHOUT DISMANTLING EVERY ASPECT OF THE CAR'S SAFETY FEATURES. AFTER WATCHING ANOTHER TOYOTA GO THROUGH WHAT I BELIEVE WAS A SIMILAR INCIDENT WHILE DRIVING THROUGH A TUNNEL RECENTLY, I AGAIN VISITED A TOYOTA. THEY SEEMED INTERESTED IN THE COMPLAINT BUT HAD NO IDEAS FOR ME AS TO WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. SAID THEY'D RECEIVED NO OTHER COMPLAINTS, WHICH I FIND DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD METAL RUBBING ON THE FRONT BRAKES. THE FRONT BRAKE PADS, ROTORS, AND CALIPERS WERE REPAIRED BY ORLAND TOYOTA (8505 W 159TH ST, TINLEY PARK, IL 60487), BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ELMHURST TOYOTA (440 W LAKE ST, ELMHURST, IL 60126) WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE BRAKE PADS WERE FINE; HOWEVER, THE ROTORS WERE NOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000.
2 years ago I pulled my car, that was backed into the driveway out to turn it around to face in to the garage. As I pulled forward going very slowly I pressed on the brakes and the rubber pad on the pedal came off and caused my foot to come off of the pedal. I hit my wife's car and caused some slight damage to my car and to hers. I contacted Toyota and they had my car inspected and gave me a report that the brakes worked fine. I have not replaced the rubber pad, because I am afraid the cover will come off again in a similar matter. I explained this to Toyota but they closed the case of my complaint. I believe this is a danger that can cause an accident.
STARTED COMPLAINING ABOUT BRAKES AT 10,000 MILES. THE DEALER TURNED REAR ROTORS AT 28,000 AND INSTALLED NEW PADS. NOW AT 37,000, THE FRONT ROTORS ARE WARPED ALSO. CANNOT BE TURNED DOWN.NO COVERAGE FROM THE DEALER. DEFECTIVE ROTORS ARE MY COMPLAINT. TOYOTA FORUMS COMPLAIN ABOUT THESES ROTORS ALL THE TIME.THE VEHICLE SHUTTERS AS BRAKES ARE APPLIED.
WHEN I AM ON REGULAR SPEED AND PUSH THE BREAK PADDLE THEN STARING IS SHACKING AND IT'S HAVE JUST 10000 MILES ON IT
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (PRIORITY TOYOTA SPRINGFIELD, 7601 LOISDALE RD, SPRINGFIELD, VA 22150, (703) 269-1400) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT NO FAILURE WAS FOUND. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.
WHILE PARKING IN A PUBLIC PARKING LOT, AT IDLE SPEED, THE BRAKES DID NOT STOP FORWARD PROGRESS. CAR STRUCK THE CURBING, CLIMBED ONTO THE DIVIDER, CROSSED THE DIVIDER AND BUMPED A PARKED CAR ON THE OTHER SIDE. WHILE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION, I PUMPED THE BRAKES, AND PUSHED THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER INTO THE PARK POSITION. AFTER VEHICLE STOPPED, I REVERSED CAREFULLY, WHEN THE VEHICLE CAME OFF THE DIVIDER, I SET THE FOOT BRAKE. AFTER TURNING OFF THE ENGINE, I OPENED THE HOOD AND MY SON AND I CHECKED THE BRAKE FLUID IN THE MASTER CYLINDER. IT WAS FULL. RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND HAD MY SON CHECK THE DISTANCE OF THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR OF THE VEHICLE. IT WAS ALMOST ON THE FLOOR. I CALLED AAA AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA AND FILED A CLAIM WITH TOYOTA.
DRIVING DOWNHILL OR AT SPEEDS OVER 70 MPH, THE BRAKES WERE NOT EFFECTIVE TO STOP THE VEHICLE SAFELY. THE VEHICLE VIBRATES AND WAS DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER WITH CONFIDENCE. THE VEHICLE HAD DONE ONLY 25,000 MILES AND UNDER MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY. THE DEALER SIMPLY MACHINED THE ROTORS AND PUT THEM BACK. HOPING IT WILL FIX THE PROBLEM AND NOT DUE TO DEFECTIVE ROTORS. SHOULDN'T TOYOTA LOOK INTO THIS MORE AND PERHAPS SUGGEST REPLACING THE ROTORS INSTEAD OF INSTALLING THE SAME ROTORS?
WHEN THE CAR IS FULLY LOADED, THE PARKING BRAKE FAILS TO KEEP THE CAR FROM MOVING WHEN ON A HILL.
AT LOW SPEEDS SUCH AS SLOWING FOR A STOP SIGN VEHICLE RANDOMLY BRAKES BY ITSELF WITH SUDDEN STOPPING OF VEHICLE. OCCUPANTS AND ITEMS IN VEHICLE ARE THROWN FORWARD. NORMAL BRAKE PRESSURE APPLIED. HAS HAPPENED TO BOTH MYSELF AND MY WIFE WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO SHOP MULTIPLE TIMES INCLUDING 1 REPLACEMENT OF 12V BATTERY AS A SOLUTION, HOWEVER VEHICLE CONTINUES TO HAVE ISSUES. LISTED DATE IS APPROXIMATE OF ORIGINAL OCCURRENCE. SOME INSTANCES CAPTURED ON DASH-CAM VIDEO.
RECALL VEHICLE SOLD TO ME AS NEW CAR WIHOUT REMEDY. MANUFACTURER RECALL ISSUED NHTSA #16V775 RECALL #G03 SAFETY (NONCOMPLIANCE) RECALL G03 - REMEDY NOTICE, CERTAIN 2016 MODEL YEAR HIGHLANDER, BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR SENSOR CONNECTOR
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.