2013 Toyota Highlander problems
NHTSA has received 283 complaints about the 2013 Toyota Highlander, and 16% of them involve steering. After that come engine (12%) and cruise control (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 283 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 44 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 23 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 31,000 miles 226 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 | 94 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 40 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 32 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 25 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 226 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 30,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 54,000 miles (40 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 44 complaints mention a crash; 23 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Toyota Highlander with enough data (213 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
Vehicle was proceeding through an intersection under a green light. A vehicle traveling the cross road proceeded through their red light and impacted my vehicle at full speed. The result was a "t-bone" accident into the driver's side door. The force of the collision was such that my vehicle was turned 90 degrees. The driver's head impacted the driver's side window shattering that window. The side curtain air bag did not deploy. Air bags in the other vehicle did deploy.
The complaint has to do with computer systems on this vehicle. Some of the complaint is convenience, but worrisome because other systems seem to be involved as well. The computer screen has always been slow/hesitent, with various "glitches". Vehicle has GPS mapping screen which occassionally "disconnects" and resets to blank screen. The bluetooth and other systems have also "disconnected" and couldn't be reset until the vehicle was stopped and turned off.
When the lift gate of my toyota highlander was closing I heard a clunk and saw the lift arm detach from the body of the vehicle. I took it to the dealer and was told no warranty or extended warranty would cover the damage. I have 41,000 miles on the vehicle and the platinum extended warranty. I searched the internet and was shocked to see so many lawsuits and complaints against toyota for this design flaw.