2012 Toyota Highlander problems
NHTSA has received 230 complaints about the 2012 Toyota Highlander, and 20% of them involve steering. After that come electrical system (13%) and body & structure (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 230 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 20 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 48,000 miles 158 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 | 50 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 17 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 37 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 20 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 158 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 48,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 68,000 miles (39 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 20 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 13 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 17th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Toyota Highlander with enough data (129 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Takata recall - driver air bag did not inflate fully during the frontal accident on 05/26/2018. Passenger air bag did not inflate at all during the frontal accident on 05/26/2018. Side air bags did not inflate at all during the frontal accident on 05/26/2018. Vehicle was moving on highway. Vehicle was purchased new from dealer and on
Toyota highlander was crossing intersection with green light and was struck on the middle side by oncoming vehicle running a red light. Toyota highlander rolled 1.25 times. Toyota highlander had second row set up in bench configuration with center console unit stowed as manual indicated under center seat. Center console unit dislodged during impact and/or roll and flew through rear passenger area, striking two children on the head and causing head/brain injury (concussion and loss of consciousness).
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 toyota highlander. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, control of the vehicle was lost due to the road being wet. The vehcile began to spin hitting another vehicle causing the vehicle to land off the road into a ditch. The vehicle received damage to the front-end and the air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was towed and totaled. A police report was filed.
After pulling into a parking space, then braking, I backed up to realign the vehicle better. When I pulled in this time and brake, the vehicle did not stop. I continued to put my foot on the brake repeatedly, but the vehicle still did not stop. The engine then revved up and accelerated. At this same time the gear shift went into neutral and then back into drive. The vehicle finally came to a stop as it hit the building in front of me, causing damage to the building, and the front of my vehicle.
Steering shaft- after experiencing clunking and popping when turning the wheel at low speeds the vehicle was inspected and found that this is a known issue with the steering shaft assembly. This will cost approximately 1000 dollars to fix. This can cause major safety issues if not fixed!