2023 Toyota Highlander Complaint Log

Engine intermittently has no power on take off and causes an unsafe condition to turning into traffic where car will just not go until after flooring it and a 3-5 second delay!! Engine also looses power and bucks or misses while accelerating through gears. This has caused multiple near miss incidents when turning into or across traffic. Also have issues with the steering assist that it yanks the wheel intermittantly. This cause me to loose control on the wet interstate in a turn when it yanked the wheel to the right while banking left at 65mph. I panicked and pulled the wheel back which cause a skid. The system has been turned off since. Toyota is not doing anything to repair anything and keep giving me the car back saying its fine.

My 2023 Toyota Highlander has had an issue where the steering wheel and brake pedal vibrate when braking at around 25 mph and higher. The car will also vibrate. This happens on the highway mainly but also on 25+ speed zones in residential areas. I have taken my car for regular maintenance and the brakes have always checked out fine. There has never been a service report stating anything is wrong with the rotors. I have purchased new tires and have had them aligned and balanced and the issues still persist. When I reported this to Toyota Service I was told that my brakes were good. The problem still persists.

The right side blind spot warning does not always show a vehicle is in blind spot. The forward collision will alert will start and keep beeping for up to 3 minutes when nothing is in the area. I pulled into driveway and the vehicle started to beep a warning but no warning message showed up on dash. It continued for 30 minutes even after I turned off car. Then started it and drove it a mile and parked it again. I get on the overhead view a generalized warring. But doesn’t say what it is then goes away. This has happened a couple of times when driving. All doors shut, all seat belts locked if someone is in seat, it starts after driving for some time. No apparent reason it starts and stops but is a hazard if trying to drive and figure out why it’s beeping like something is wrong. I also have paint chipping off back bumper on the top for no apparent reason. The back liftgate doesn’t always close even when nothing is in the way. It doesn’t always open when you push the button the first time. The crossbars for luggage installed by Toyota does not keep end cap on on drivers side front and I had to pay to get new ones. The problem is the rail does not hold the cap tight.

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Notice something hanging when looking at the vehicle from the front took vehicle into Toyota dealership for inspection. Informed at that time there was an open recall on the vehicle was told by service director no remedy available to bring vehicle back in once remedy available. Explained there was visible damage to the vehicle. Vehicle in their possession since November 2023 no updated information on remedy available. Have had 3 loaner vehicles some do some don’t accommodate needs and family size. This is my primary vehicle for work as I travel 100% of the time for my job is financially inconvenient. Informed I will be responsible for rental vehicle if loaners become unavailable. Purchased the car new January 2024. Recall listed below. 10/26/2023 Manufacturer Safety recall issued NHTSA: #23V720 Recall: #23TB12 SAFETY RECALL 23TA12 (INTERIM NOTICE 23TB12) - CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2020- 2023 HIGHLANDER AND HIGHLANDER HV- FRONT LOWER BUMPER COVER ASSEMBLY MAY DETACH WHILE DRIVING Status: Remedy Not Available

While driving in rain, I noticed drops of water coming into the car near the sunroof. I immediately drove to Jim Norton Toyota. The service technician told me that sunroofs are not waterproof. I went to Bob Howard Toyota for another inspection/more details. They informed me that it was a new design flaw. The sunroof sealant and gasket to do not align with the sunroof perfectly as older models do. Small drops of water will occur when it is raining. The "drip pain" underneath the back part of the sunroof will catch the water and the drain tubes will remove those from the car. They said drain tube cleanings are needed to not damage car from leaks. I had a 2009 Highlander Hybrid - same car, different year. It NEVER leaked or had water droplets anywhere. The seal and gasket met tightly against the car. I have never had any car that leaked. I would not have purchased a vehicle that purposely leaks water into a car.

Still they have yet to come up with a fix to the problem they sent out for their safety recall. 23TA12 (Interim notice 23TB12) Certain model years 2020-2023 Highlander-Highlander HV-Front Lower Bumper Cover Assembly May Detach While Driving. This is something that has caused severe damage to vehicles lowering the value of their vehicles and causing harm to passengers and pedestrians at times. This is something that they should have done by now. This is a cause for concern and extreme anxiety every time I drive my car and I already deal with anxiety issue as does my husband.

23 Toyota Highlander was in for a routine 10K Mile Oil Change and additional key programming. When I was notified the vehicle was done and taking delivery the vehicle came into the delivery area with the drivers mirror folded away from the car damaged. I asked the delivery driver about it and she immediately called over a manager. Mike Moffitt, Service Quality Control Specialist, came out and greeted me. He acknowledged the damage and documented the damage and said he would arrange a fix for in the next few days. The damage done causes my mirror to shake and vibrate while driving down the road. It makes it impossible to see out of the mirror while driving down the freeway or on moderately bumpy roads. The dealership tried to repair the mirror by first replacing the mirror and then having a Toyota Specialist. The response has been "we compared to like vehicle, condition was similar in like vehicle, technician then contacted Toyota Technical Assistance and they stated it is a design characteristic of the Driver Side Power Folding Mirror and do not advise any further inspections or repairs. Toyota's Field Technical Specialist reviewed the case and advised no further action at this time."

My new Highlander has had issues that I can describe as "power surging" when accelerating from a stop. The car frequently does not respond to accelerator being pushed down for a second or two and then surges from a stop to accelerating with very inconsistent results. The acceleration is not consistent and unreliable. When crossing traffic from a stop I need to think twice and do not have confidence the car will do what I want.

Vehicle hesitates when accelerating. Very noticable when accelerating from stop. Also when passing a vehicle and accelerating to pass there is hesitation and the vehicle stutters at times also.

Sudden engine coolant temperature high warning comes on. Temperature jumps from normal to maximum on gage. Needle hunts from normal to high. Sometimes needle stays at high. Outside air temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Similar incident happened on 7/5/2023 when temperature was in the 90s.. Toyota dealer could find nothing wrong with the vehicle. This time I took a picture of the panel with the warning showing.

I purchased a 2023 Toyota Highlander 2.5 turbo in June of 2023. This car was bought for my wife so I had not noticed a operation issue until I had a opportunity to drive it, at about 1,500 miles on the odometer. Upon accelerating from a stop, the car slightly hesitates then surges followed by slight bucking. My wife acknowledged the issue when I mentioned it. I have to state that the problem does not exist from every acceleration from a stop. I took the car to the dealer where I bought the car to investigate the issue. They said the mechanic did not experience the issue. I've read of many like minded comments from owners on toyotanation.com. I do believe this issue if not resolved may eventually lead to a accident.

When driving the vehicle will hesitate and pause when trying to accelerate. This normally occurs when trying to make a turn. The delay is a safety concern since the lack of acceleration frequently causes near accident with oncoming traffic. The dealership recreated once but said there is nothing they can find/ do about it.

Vehicle is sluggish and will not accelerate from a dead stop for several seconds. The gas pedal often has to be pushed much farther down than usual so then when the vehicle actually starts moving it lurches. It often seem like it can't find the proper gear so it will buck and stutter while driving. The shifting is not smooth at all and you never know how the vehicle will respond making for a very unpredictable driving experience. This all started shortly after reaching the 2000 mile mark. The cruise control has issues reaching and maintaining the speed that is set. I found the Toyota service bulletin, T-SB-0087-23 and have made an appointment with my local dealer to hopefully fix the issue.

2023 Toyota Highlander XLE with 2.4 Turbo hesitates for an unacceptable period of time when accelerating from a stop. This could pose a huge safety risk when merging into traffic from a stop sign. The lag / hesitation is present on all eco / normal / sport drive modes. The issue has been occurring since the vehicle was purchased at 70 miles and currently has about 5200 miles. Toyota needs to look into this issue and address it as soon as possible.

Pulled out of intersection and vehicle hesitated and surged upon acceleration causing bear miss from oncoming traffic vehicle consistently hesitates and surges from stop to 35-40 mph

I've had the car for 6 months. After a few months we noticed a "bucking" during acceleration and a "hesitation" when pressing the accelerator. Under medium to hard acceleration the car will exhibit these traits almost consistantly and now after 3500 miles it has become so noticeable that it is dangerous! The hesitation is "off the line" from a dead stop. There is at least a couple second delay sometimes when leaving a stop. And then as the car climbs in RPM's you can feel the engine struggling almost like a car with bad spark plug wires. It tends to "spit and buck" as it is accelerating. We have tried different fuels, fuel cleaners, different octanes, and nothing seems to curb the problem. We took the car to our local dealer and they confirm the problem but have stated that there is nothing they can do as it appears to be a software issue with the car. I have requested from Toyota using their "Brand engagement center" to provide an engineer to evaluate the car and so far have not heard back from them in almost a week.

There is a significant hesitation / stuttering when the gas pedal is pressed (i.e. the vehicle doesn't move properly when the gas pedal is pressed). This is especially dangerous when pulling out into traffic, making turns, etc. This appears to be a known problem with this model and Toyota is working on a TSB (supposedly). Doing a Google search for this problem shows that a number of consumers are having a similar issue. A few people have documented the issue here: https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/2023-highlander-2-4-turbo-surging-and-bucking-under-acceleration.1751952/ This is an ongoing problem. It hasn't resulted in an accident yet, but the lag / stutter in accelerating is putting consumers at risk. I just picked one random date below, but it has been ongoing since the vehicle was purchased new and appears to be happening to numerous other people as well as is evidenced by an internet search.

The vehicle hesitates when accelerating from a stop. Dealership Technician says he noticed the hesitation when accelerating, but since there are no DTC’s and No Data found saying that there is a malfunction

When I hit the gas the car doesn’t go anywhere and almost got into an accident. Turbo lag maybe or something really really wrong. This is going to cause a huge accident

At about 3500 miles the car has started lagging really bad. I have almost been hit in stop and go traffic and have almost hit the car in front of me because I never know if when I put my foot on the gas if I’m going to go or not. When pulling out into on coming traffic I have to make sure the cars are really far away because again I never know if the car is going to actually get up and go. It lags, shakes like of it has no power. Once you get going it ok but to actually get going it’s awful. I’m really nervous the almost getting hit or hitting someone is actually going to happen because you have to floor it to get it to actually go and randomly sometimes it actually does get power that when it does take off it’s to much. There is no smooth to this car. Dealership says nothing wrong.

Unknown

While driving from Detroit to Chicago I was in a single lane traffic due to construction. I started getting message "Engine coolant temperature high, pull over when safe to do and contact dealer". The coolant temperature needle will jump to high then go back to normal. I stopped 5 different times before I could get the car to the dealer. Only once during this ordeal the gage temperature stayed at high for couple of minutes. The Toyota dealer ran all the tests and couldn't find anything wrong other than the coolant level was a little below full. The outside temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, Air conditioning was on high and speed was between 40 and 60 MPH. This Hybrid car had just gone past the 5000 miles mark when this started happening.

Upon acceleration, car hesitates then surges. Started after approximately 2000 miles. Occurs most frequently from a dead start. However, continues upon acceleration up to 50 mph. Took to Toyota Dealer, but they were unable to diagnose. Others report similar problems on Toyota Nation Form. Concerned about pulling out into traffic safely

The "turbo lag" as the dealership calls it is horrendous. Vehicle has extremely poor acceleration from a stop. It is very dangerous when pulling out into traffic as acceleration falls flat for a second or two until it eventually responds and accelerates. I try to be very cognizant of the poor performance of the vehicle, but I feel it is a matter of time until something bad happens. I took the vehicle to the dealership and was told the vehicle drives as designed. Since there are no faults, the dealership has washed their hands. Contacted Toyota HQ and open a case but was told "sorry we do not have anything to offer". The complaints are all over the internet from a simple Google search and I believe Toyota will eventually release updated software as this really negatively impacts the performance of a 50K vehicle. Right now they seem to be in a state of denial and I am really disappointed.

Car seats and booster seats for infants and children with the age and weight requirement for seats in a vehicle do not meet safety requirements. The second row and the third row you literally have to pick the car seat up to buckle the seatbelt in appropriately. I have asked on numerous occasions if there is a seatbelt extension that can be purchased and I was told no. My concern is for safety of children/infants. We should not have to pick a car seat or booster seat up after a child is placed in the car seat to be able to buckle the car seat in appropriately or the booster seat appropriately. In the third row, my son literally has to stand behind the hatchback to get the seatbelt for the booster seat in the third row Locked in place. This is a safety concern. I brought it up to two dealerships and Toyota’s customer complaint who actually gave me this website.

The car lags, stutters, and hesitates on acceleration and in consistent speed situations. Sometimes doesn't respond quickly to gas pedal and sometimes it does. It is very unpredictable and unsafe. I never know which response I will get. Has also almost completely died after putting the car in park.

There are two problems with our 2023 Toyota Highlander. 1) We only have 25k miles on our vehicle and the brake rotors became warped, to the point of causing severe chatter while downhill braking. Toyota stated that the warranty does not cover brakes. My argument was that the brake rotors should not be failing at 25k miles! They then stated that they would inspect the rotors and resurface them, if necessary. They did find that they needed to resurface the rotors. My contention is that this will be a recurring issue, especially since there is even less metal on the rotors now. I believe the original rotors are faulty to have failed prematurely. 2) We had a receiver hitch installed by a third party, which caused the kick sensor for the back hatch to be inoperable. This is expected and no big deal to us. However, when we put the bike rack in the receiver hitch, the backup warning sensors engage the brakes and cause the vehicle to not back up. The only way to back up with the bike rack on is to disable the backup sensors! Now we have lost that backup safety feature! The backup sensors see the bike rack and engage the brakes. Additionally, this issue also caused all other sensors to malfunction by stating that the sensors were dirty and needed cleaning, with the backup sensor engaged. Toyota inspected the vehicle multiple times and finally reached the conclusion that there is no fix for the sensors to allow our bike rack to be installed. Toyota sells this vehicle with the option of having a hitch and bike rack installed, yet their safety sensors don’t allow this to happen. Now, we are unable to use the bike rack, unless we disable the sensors. The safety features we paid for are now useless!

I bought toyota 2023 highlander in january. But I found water damage on roof of interior. so I went to dealership service center ( Midland toyota ). and they told to me . sun roof glass angle had wrong angle. and fixed it. ater 3 monthes same problem was appeared in this morning. so I went to Jim hudson toyota to fix it. but Jim hudson toyota PIC told to me. reason is that I parked my car angled location. I asked to him again Is that reason? he told to me. yes !!! you should go. I don't believe this. I think that toyota must explain that toyota car can't be parked on angled location

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH and hitting concrete, the lower front bumper cover mounting tabs detached and created holes on the lower front bumper. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the parts were ordered; however, the dealer declined to repair the vehicle because they were not an auto body shop. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where the lower front bumper and mounting tabs were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure), which he related to the failure. The manufacturer was contacted for reimbursement and advised the contact to fax the required documents. The contact stated that the documents were faxed; however, the manufacturer informed the contact that reimbursement could only be provided once the recall remedy was available. The failure mileage was approximately 1,500.

Picked up my Toyota Highlander in April 2023 I have had to return it to the dealer on two occasions for check engine light and secondary Break failure I'm at the fourth check engine light and secondary brake failure report now it has been inspected by the dealer and tried to remedy it too times already currently getting ready to return to the dealer with the third check engine light secondary brake failure message

Vehicle unpredictably hesitates during light to moderate acceleration in all driving modes (Sport, Normal, and Eco). This is especially dangerous when crossing in front of oncoming traffic from a stop or slow speed. Had a certified mechanic drive the car and verify the problem, but the car's systems don't report that there is a problem, so he had no answers.

When 87 fuel is put into the vehicle, the 2023 highlander is jerky/has hesitation, RPMs jump around. Trying to slow down to a yield then go again it jerks and almost feels like engine is cutting out. Seems worse when car is being driven on warm day with a/c on or under a “load”. Very dangerous in intersections. Current fix is to put 93 octane in the vehicle to remedy the issue. Putting 93 octane fuel in the vehicle does help. All of these issues pose a risk to the car jumping from a start to cause a rear-end accident. I've complained to the dealer and they've stated everything is normal when they test drive and no codes are showing even explaining a TSB was issued they refuse to fix. Started at 500 miles on odometer, still happening at over 13,000 miles.

Car tire burst on interstate at normal operating speeds. Bursts throughout tire wall with large blow out on inside. No damage to tread and no other signs of damage. Tire began smoking while finding safe pull off spot. A Goodyear inspector suggested a vertical slash in tire was culprit, but slash was not on tire prior prior to being unmounted by inspector. In addition, area with slash was pinned underneath the rim while waiting on roadside assistance, as seen in attached photos. No warning (TPMS or otherwise) prior to blow out. Tire was discarded by Goodyear. Car is AWD, or a more serious wreck could have happened P235/55R20

T-SB-0059-23 should cover 2023 Highlander hybrid vehicles as the same issue exists. My 2023 Highlander Hybrid seems to totally ignore braking during the transition from regenerative braking to friction braking causing me to have to suddenly push the pedal harder to compensate. The mentioned TSB only covers up to 2022 models and only for 36 months or 36,000 miles, which is a disservice to owners. Moreover this should be a recall rather than a TSB as dealers will likely not be able to readily reproduce; reproducing is a requirement for addressing the TSB. An issue with braking is a safety issue!

I took delivery of the new vehicle without testing all the seatbelts. The third row passenger side seat belt is fully retracted as it should be, but it's locked in that position. It came from the dealer that way, and it cannot be used. If I hadn't noticed while testing out the seats, I might incorrectly assume that it is functioning while inviting 6 passengers into my vehicle. This could lead to somebody taking a ride without a seatbelt. Third rows of these mid-size SUV's aren't commonly used, so I imagine it could be a long time (years) before somebody notices that their seat belt doesn't work, unless they happened to check them all. I have a service appointment in 2 days at my local dealer to have the seatbelt inspected and fixed or replaced.

Almost since purchase this vehicle has emitted a shudder when driving. The loss of power has affected ability to evade when making turns, acceleration on highways, and has caused safety concerns while driving with children in the vehicle-this is a brand new vehicle purchased with approximately 7 miles on the odometer. Vehicle has been in the shop at least 3 times, 4 with today's visit. ToyotaNation forum shows that there are MANY vehicles with this issue and that Toyota Master Technicians are aware of the issues.

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This car when I’m driving it has a loud wind noise I went to dealer couple time but they told me that they can’t hear any noise but I have evidence and video about the noise when I’m driving 45 mph. It is still loud noise.

The vehicle hesitates and stutters upon light to moderate acceleration. This can happen either from a dead stop or while moving in traffic. The concern was present when vehicle was purchased new in Feb 2023. Initially the dealership thought the symptoms were related to the transmission learning algorithm, but this was later determined not to be the case and the dealership was able to reproduce the drivability concern. The dealership was also advised that running 91 octane fuel eliminated the symptoms, however the engine is designed to run on 87 octane. Subsequently, the dealership was advised by Toyota to replace several parts associated with the VVT (variable valve timing) on the exhaust camshaft which did not resolve the concern. Toyota subsequently agreed to replace the vehicle after filing a lemon law complaint with NCDS. This drivability concern is a safety concern as the hesitation and stutter could occur during a traffic maneuver and cause an accident due to the engine not properly responding to driver input. No check engine or other warning lamps present when this occurs, which is most of the time though more pronounced when ambient temperatures are above 75F degrees.

Toyota gave me one FOB Key when I purchased the vehicle. I should be receiving 2 FOB keys. The dealer told me TOYOTA will send me a letter when the second key will be available. I called the TOYOTA Hot Line last Feb. 2024. I was told it will be available June 2024. I called last June 2024. I was told it will be available July 202. I called last July 2024. I was told it will be available August 2024. On Sept 9, 2024, I ordered a FOB key from Burien, Washington Toyota dealer. I paid a total of $400.20. This expense would have been avoided if Toyota sent me the FOB key as promised.

The vehicle brakes stop working suddenly requiring lift the pedal and slam the brakes to make it work correctly. I almost have a bad accident for this problem. I did my research and learned this is a problem that Toyota need to fix. The situation was very scary.

My 2023 highlander limited hesitates and lags when pulling out into the roads and highways! I almost have gotten hit several times. It has so called been inspected three times and they all tell me it doesn’t show on our computer so it’s fine ! No messages or warnings ever come up. This is so very dangerous and I could be killed along with others

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated and the engine misfired. The secondary collision, braking system malfunction, brake ligation malfunction, and throttle control system advanced warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was sludge in the engine. The oil was changed, and the warning lights reset. Additionally, the contact was informed that the DTC exhaust cam shaft sensor and oil pan assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

There’s a noticeable lag in the engine, especially when starting or turning. Sometimes, it’s almost a full second, which is quite alarming. When I asked the mechanics at a few dealerships about this, they all said it’s normal for these new “Green” type engines with four cylinders and a turbo. However, I feel that the turbo is functioning poorly as the mileage increases. I’ve owned the car for almost three years and it only has 20k miles! Another issue is the wind noise. At speeds exceeding 40 mph on the highway, the wind noise can become quite annoying. I’ve addressed this issue at two different dealerships, and both acknowledged the problem and admitted it. However, they both claimed that it’s inherent in the car’s design and advised me to wait for a potential recall from the manufacturer.