2006 Toyota Highlander problems
NHTSA has received 349 complaints about the 2006 Toyota Highlander, and 29% of them involve brakes. After that come cruise control (13%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 349 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 38 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 37 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 249 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 | 48 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 23 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 43 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 22 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 16 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 18 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 8 |
| 200k+ miles | 16 |
What the data shows
Among the 249 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 69,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (59 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 38 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 37 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Toyota Highlander with enough data (161 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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.
Sudden acceleration of a 2006 toyota highlander while in reverse resulting in death. Updated 04/22/10 updated 07/12/10. Updated 9/27/2011
I was driving my car into an underground parking lot. I put on the brakes and they would not engage. I tried again. I eventually slammed into the wall at the end of the parking lot. My car caught on fire and I was hurt, taken to the hospital. The car was inspected and found to have no brake problems, so I was deemed at fault for the accident. This was before we found out about the floor mat and accelerator problems with toyotas. My incident was obviously one of a runaway car. It was a 2007 toyota highlander.
Dt: consumer was in a car accident on august 17, 2005 and side/curtain air bags did not deploy. It was side impact at 45 MPH. Had not contacted toyota at this point.
The contact's client owned a 2006 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while his client was driving at an unknown speed when the front passenger tire blowout and he crashed into a tree. The contact stated the front driver side air bag did deploy but the front passenger-side air bag failed to deploy causing the client's wife to have a fractured clavicle and spine, and internal injuries. The contact stated the wife was having a third surgery on 10/6/2021.
Vsc lights came on. Eventually lost all brakes. The ABS actuator assembly had failed. I was driving slow enough to be able to pull over safely. This has been reported so many times here by different people, where is the recall on this part?!?! Toyota had issued an extended warranty covering this part because they knew there were problems with it. Thank god there wasn't an accident, grateful no one was hurt. Sickened I wasted my money on this vehicle. Never buying another toyota.