2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid problems
Owners have filed 481 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 29% of complaints. After that come electrical system (15%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 481 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 45 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 435 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 40 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 33 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 53 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 50 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 40 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 62 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 56 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 36 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 31 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 16 |
| 200k+ miles | 18 |
What the data shows
Among the 435 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 86,000 miles (126 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 45 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid with enough data (256 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact was driving approximately 30 MPH when the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning. The contact applied the brakes to stop the unintended acceleration but the vehicle would not respond. The contact then crashed into a tree. The driver received injuries to her ankle and the front passenger sustained a broken finger. The rear passenger who was pregnant was killed and another passenger sustained major internal bleeding.
Moving a toyota highlander 2006 had finished backing up and was preparing to move forward into a parking spot and the car continued backward and hit a pedestrian and another car. All observers agree that the car accelerated after my foot was off the pedal and I had no chance to put the car in drive before it happened. I hit a pedestrian who was hospitalized and received a large gash in her leg which required many stitches and physical therapy rehabilitation and another auto which was totaled due to the damage.
Driver started to back up a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid in a parking lot. It shot back at maximum acceleration jumping a curb and striking a pedestrian. By then, driver had brakes on and shifted into neutral. She put the car into drive and it again accelerated to the maximum striking her husband. At the time, we couldn't figure out what was wrong. We assumed, somehow the driver, who had an impeccable record, had done something wrong.
The sun visor in my 2006 toyota highlander hybrid droops down from the ceiling on the driver's side. Apparently this is a common problem and you have received numerous complaints about this, yet toyota has done nothing to remedy this problem.
My hh has about 160,000 miles on it. I had received recall notice and called my local toyota dealership 3 to 5 times, each time was put over to "recall center", which equals voice mail with no return call. Ever. Last week when I was driving on the highway, my vehicle suddenly stopped running and was flashing error messages on dashboard, including check hybrid system. It ended up at the dealer as closest mechanic did not have computer system to check it.