2010 Toyota Highlander Electrical System

DRIVER DOOR LOCK QUICK WORKING. COULD ONLY UNLOCK WITH KEY OR BY CRAWLING OVER PASSENGER SEAT. TOOK TO DEALER AND WAS TOLD IT WAS ACTUATOR. THEY FIXED FOR ALMOST $600. LESS THAN MONTH LATER PASSENGER DOOR LOCK DID SAME THING. CALLED DEALER AND WAS TOLD I WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO GET IT FIXED. LET IT STAY THAT WAY UNTIL MAY 2015. LOCAL MECHANIC FIXED FOR LITTLE OVER $300. ABOUT 2 WEEKS LATER, DRIVER DOOR LOCK WILL NOT UNLOCK AT TIMES WHEN IT WILL NOT, THE KEY NOW WON'T WORK. HAVE TO CRAWL ACROSS PASSENGER SEAT TO UNLOCK I HAVE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON INTERNET ABOUT THIS ISSUE. ACTUATORS NEED RECALLING BB

INFORMATION CENTER IS FLASHING OVERHEADLIGHTS, AUDIBLE WARNING BELL, VISUAL WARNING LIGHTS FLASH ON DRIVERS DISPLAY, UNABLE TO LOCK VEHICLE. THIS IS ALLL DUE TO THE TAILGATE REGISTERING AS OPEN WHEN IN FACT IT IS CLOSED. IF YOU UNPLUG THE SENSOR, IT WILL NOT ALLOW ACCESS INTO OR OUT OF THE REAR DOOR. IT HAS NOW STARTED TO NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO BE LOCKED - SAYING THERE IS A DOOR OPEN (REAR). IF YOU GO AROUND AND INDEPENDENTLY SLAM DOORS ONE AT A TIME AND THEN TRY TO LOCK WITH THE REMOTE AFTER EACH, IT WILL EVENTUALLY ALLOW U TO LOCK AFTER SLAMMING PASS FT. DOOR. THE IS A NOTABLE PROBLEM FOR THIS SERIES AND IS BECOMING QUITE PREVALENT . DEALER SAYS DON'T KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING IT. INDEPENDANT MECHANIC SAY IT IS DOOR ACTUATOR - WHICH IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE.

IN JANUARY OF 2013, I TOOK MY HIGHLANDER INTO A DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO DIAGNOSE A PROBLEM WITH MY DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT AUTOMATIC LOCK, WHICH HAD COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING AT AROUND 46,000 MILES. THIS MEANS I HAD TO PHYSICALLY PRESS THE LOCK AS NOT EVEN THE KEY WOULD WORK. I HAD TO OPEN THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR, CRAWL ACROSS THE SEAT, & UNLOCK THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR IN ORDER TO GET IN MY CAR. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE PROBLEM WAS THE DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR, WHICH WENT OUT, & IT WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. RATHER THAN PAYING $575 AT THE DEALER, I FOUND A MECHANIC THAT ORDERED THE PART & REPLACED THE ACTUATOR FOR LESS THAN $400. LESS THAN THREE MONTHS LATER, AT JUST OVER 50,000 MILES & ONLY 2.5 YEARS OF OWNING THE CAR, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE ACTUATOR WENT OUT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I HAD SOME WORDS WITH THE DEALER, & THEY AGREED TO DO A ONE-TIME "COURTESY" FIX, REPLACING IT AT NO COST. OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BOTH OF THE REAR DOOR ACTUATORS WENT OUT. NOT WANTING TO SPEND $800+ TO REPLACE THE ACTUATORS, I DECIDED TO LIVE WITH RISK & ANNOYANCE THIS CAUSED, HOPING THERE'D SOON BE A RECALL. WELL, HERE WE ARE IN MARCH 2015, & AT 87,000 MILES, GUESS WHAT? THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE ACTUATOR IS GOING OUT AGAIN. SEARCHING THE WEB FOR THIS ISSUE, I FOUND HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER TOYOTA OWNERS, OVER A VARIETY OF MODELS & YEARS. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE & TOYOTA NEEDS TO RECALL ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES. I CAN COME UP WITH AT LEAST A DOZEN SCENARIOS WHERE THIS ISSUE COULD CAUSE SERIOUS HARM TO THE CAR'S OCCUPANTS. IF I CAN'T GET TO MY CHILD IN THE BACK SEAT BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN A WRECK & DOOR IS LOCKED; IF I AM CAR-JACKED B/C THE DOOR WOULDN'T LOCK; IF I HAVE TO ENTER THROUGH THE PASSENGER'S SIDE TO UNLOCK MY DOOR AND X/Y/Z HAPPENS... I'VE ALREADY LOCKED MYSELF OUT DUE TO THIS ISSUE (CAR THINKS DOORS ARE UNLOCKED & WON'T WARN ME MY KEYS ARE INSIDE)! HELP! *TR

2010 HIGHLANDER 4WD: SYSTEM CHECK PANEL INDICATES REAR WINDOW IS OPEN WHEN IT'S NOT. THIS HAPPENS WHEN I TAKE A LEFT TURN OR HIT A DIP IN THE ROAD. ALSO IF THE MOON ROOF IS OPEN AND CLOSED AND WHEN THE DRIVERS OR PASSENGER WINDOW IS OPEN AND CLOSED THE PANEL WILL LIGHT UP, CHIME AND INTERIOR LIGHTS WILL ALL COME ON. THE ONLY TIME THE WINDOWS AND MOON ROOF SEEM TO EFFECT IT IS WHEN I AM DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. OTHERWISE THE SMALLER SIDE ROADS EFFECT IF WITH NO RHYME OR REASON. PROBLEM HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY WORSE OVER TIME. MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM SINCE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME THE CAR IS RUNNING. *TR

DOOR AJAR CHIME GOES OFF AND SOMETIMES DOME LIGHTS FLASH ON WHEN MAKING A TURN, STOPPING, OR ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. THIS PRIMARILY HAPPENS WHEN THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE IS HOT (95+). ADDITIONALLY, THE RADIO DISPLAY WILL SHOW ILLEGIBLE INFORMATION OCCASIONALLY. I'VE HAD THE RADIO REPLACED, BUT THE ISSUE REMAINS. THIS WILL GO AWAY WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND BACK ON AND ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE EXTERNAL TEMPERATURE IS HOT (95+). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DOOR AJAR ALARM WOULD SOUND WHILE TURNING LEFT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

MULTIPLE BATTERY FAILURES REQUIRING JUMP STARTS: SEVEN (7) TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THIS SUV IN FEB 2011. THREE TIMES THERE WAS A POSSIBLE KNOWN CAUSE FOR THE BATTERY DRAIN: THE PASSENGER VANITY MIRROR LIGHT WAS LEFT ON FOR 15 MINUTES, 2 HOURS, AND AN UNKNOWN LENGTH OF TIME. NONE OF THESE THREE EPISODES WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO CAUSE A COMPLETELY DEAD BATTERY IN ONE THAT HAS BEEN EVALUATED AS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. I DRIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS ALL WINTER. GETTING STRANDED IN AN ISOLATED PLACE CAN BE DEADLY DUE TOO EXPOSURE, RISK OF COLLISION ON SINGLE LANE SNOW-OCCLUDED ROADS WITH 2-WAY TRAFFIC AND FAST SNOW PLOWS. OTHER TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID OWNERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. TWICE NOW THE DEALER HAS SAID THERE IS "NO PROBLEM" WITH THE BATTERY. I AM PURSUING CORRECTION THROUGH THE LOCAL TOYOTA CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGER AND WILL FOLLOW THROUGH WITH TOYOTA'S CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CENTER AND THE CALIFORNIA DISPUTE SETTLEMENT CENTER IF A PROMPT LOCAL SOLUTION IS NOT ACHIEVED. HTTP://ANSWERS.EDMUNDS.COM/QUESTION-WE-HAVE-A-2010-TOYOTA-HIGHLANDER-HYBRID-THE-BATTERY-IS-CONSTANTLY-DYING-ON-IT-EXAMPLE-LEAVE-DOOR-OPEN-10-MINUTES-AND-IT-S-DEAD-144840.ASPX *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BATTERY DIED PREMATURELY. THE DEALER MADE TWO ATTEMPTS TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE BY CHANGING THE BATTERY. ON THE THIRD OCCASION, THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER WHO ADVISE THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED TO BE DRIVEN AT LEAST 15 MILES PER DAY TO PREVENT THE BATTERY FROM GOING DEAD BECAUSE OF THE DESSERT-LIKE CLIMATE IN WHICH THE CONTACT RESIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT FURTHER REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 11,200 AND THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000. UPDATED 01/05/12*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED TOYOTA FINALLY INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THE BATTERY NEEDED TO BE RECHARGED.