2016 Toyota Highlander Electrical Problems
14 owner-reported electrical complaints from NHTSA data
Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.
Electrical Recalls (2)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Fujian Wanda Automobile Glass Industry (Wanda) is recalling certain aftermarket Replacement Windshields sold for use in 2014-2018 Toyota Highlander vehicles. The windshields have an attached wire harness that water may leak into, possibly causing damage to the vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM).
Fix: Wanda will notify owners, and service centers will replace the windshields, and inspect the ECM for damage, having it replaced, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2019. Owners may contact Wanda customer service at 1-864-281-2760.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Highlander vehicles manufactured May 26, 2016, to September 16, 2016. The brake fluid level sensor may not be connected to the wire harness, preventing the sensor from detecting the brake fluid level. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, connect the wire harness to the sensor, free of charge. The recall began November 14, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this G03.
Owner Complaints (14)
Your engine is shutting off while driving, and your instrument panel and electronic displays flicker or go completely dark at the same time. This causes your steering wheel to lock up and vibrate, and you may not be able to unlock the doors with your key fob or open the liftgate. The vehicle sometimes won't start and requires multiple attempts to get it running. The dealer reproduced the problem and replaced the battery, but the issue persists. This creates a serious safety hazard, especially when driving on highways where sudden engine shutdown could cause a collision.
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Your trunk power switch isn't working reliably — when you press the button to unlock the trunk, it sometimes won't open and the door stays stuck. The problem has happened on and off even after the battery was replaced at an independent mechanic. The fix will likely involve diagnosing the electrical circuit to the trunk latch mechanism, which may require replacing the trunk latch motor, switch, or related wiring.
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Your fuel pump continues to run for extended periods after you turn off the engine, sometimes running for 10 minutes to over an hour. This can happen several times during the night or when the car sits for a few hours, and you may hear it humming in a quiet garage. The problem occurs randomly regardless of how much fuel is in your tank. The issue likely involves a faulty fuel pump relay or pressure regulator that isn't shutting off properly when the engine is off.
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I had bought my vehicle 5 months ago in an authorized Toyota dealer, on Easter Day we got on the vehicle drove 15 minutes from home to the park, parked my vehicle, turn it off and went to the park are next to where my vehicle was parked, from where i was sitting i was able to see my vehicle and we wasn't that far, not even 5 minutes after that i walked near the vehicle and notice it was on fire. No light was on in the dashboard, everything was working fine, the vehicle just had an oil change at the begging March 2022 and now in April 2022 it caught fire. This was my dream vehicle and i worked hard to get it. Fire fighters arrived at the scene, police department as well, the police gave me a report number, also a fire department investigator was called to the scene where he certified it was a short circuit and gave me a report number as well.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shut-off without warning. The contact would be able to restart the vehicle a few minutes after the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an unknown dealer. The dealer attempted to charge him a diagnostic fee and the contact refused. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and they sided with the dealer and insisted that he pay a diagnostic fee to have the vehicle serviced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
THE IPHONE 11 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WHICH CAUSES YOU NOT TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE HANDS FREE. EVERY TIME I TURN ON MY CAR AND CONTEXT MY PHONE MY CAR AUDIO DISCONNECTS. I CONFIRMED ON THE TOYOTA WEBSITE THAT THE IPHONE 11 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH TOYOTA CARS WHICH MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DRIVE HANDS FREE. *TR
THE LIFTGATE HIT MY 73 YEAR OLD MOTHER IN THE HEAD KNOCKING HER BACKWARDS WITHOUT ANY SAFETY FEATURE STOPPING OR REVERSING THE DOOR AS IT CLOSED.
INTERIOR LIGHTS ON AND OFF; WARNINGS E.G .HOOD OPEN WHEN NOT; DID NOT (LIGHT) ALERT CARS ALONG SIDE OR PASSING; MODULE CRACKED BY TAPPING TO DELETE PHONE #S PUT INTO SYSTEM BY TOYOTA TECH, NAVIGATION STARTED ON ITS OWN AND IT WAS INCORRECT!; MAPS INCORRECT TO LOCATION; MAP SHOWING NORTH AS SOUTH AND EAST AS WEST ALL WHEN CAR IN MOTION
VEHICLE PRE-COLLISION SYSTEM ACTIVATING RANDOMLY WITH NO OTHER VEHICLES NEARBY. DASH DISPLAY LIGHTS UP WITH WARNING ACCOMPANIED WITH RAPID BEEPING WHILE DRIVING. MULTIPLE TIMES NOTED ON VIDEO FROM DASH-CAM. HAS COME ON WHILE CHANGING LANES AND CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BY THE DISTRACTION. HAS HAPPENED ON FREEWAY AS WELL AS CITY DRIVING. WHILE COASTING AND ACCELERATING. DATE LISTED BELOW IS APPROXIMATE.
TWO SEPARATE ISSUES: 1. RAIN SENSING WIPERS ACTIVATE RANDOMLY ON CLEAR DAYS, SUN SHINING. WIPERS WILL WIPE ON TIME WHILE DRIVING RANDOMLY. A SEVERE DISTRACTION. 2. CRUISE CONTROL DISPLAY ACTIVATING RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING WITH NO VEHICLES NEARBY IN FRONT (ACTIVE CRUISE CONTROL VEHICLE). DISPLAY WILL BE NORMAL AND THEN GO BACK AND FORTH THE THE SET DISPLAY SCREEN. DISTRACTING WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY.
PARKING SENSORS AND PARK ASSIST RANDOMLY TURNS ITSELF OFF. WILL NOTICE THE SENSORS NOT DETECTING WHILE BACKING UP AND NOTICE DASH LIGHT IS NOT ILLUMINATED. NOT FUNCTIONING WHEN BACKING AND PARKING.
CAR'S AWD STARTED NOT WORKING, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS WAS "CHEWED" UP BY RODENTS. THEY STATED THEY SEEN IT BEFORE DUE TO A ORGANIC BASED OIL ON THE HARNESS WIRES.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY, IT AUTOMATICALLY TURNED ON WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT HAD TO PUSH THE IGNITION SWITCH TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS TURNED ON. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF AND TURNED ON THE VEHICLE, AND THE LOUD NOISE STOPPED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.
MY CAR ENGINE STARTED ON ITS OWN AFTER BEING TURNED OFF. I WENT SHOPPING AT WALMART AND PARKED MY 2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER XLE IN THE PARKING LOT. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND PUSHED THE ENGINE START/STOP BUTTON TO TURN OFF THE CAR. MY FAMILY AND I EXITED THE CAR AND I USED THE KEYLESS ENTRY PAD TO LOCK THE DOORS. WE SHOPPED FOR APPROXIMATELY 45 MIN. WHEN WE RETURNED TO THE CAR, I USED THE KEYLESS ENTRY PAD TO UNLOCK THE DOORS SO I COULD PUT OUR PURCHASES IN THE TRUNK. AS I GOT CLOSE TO THE VEHICLE I HEARD AN ENGINE RUNNING, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS THE CAR NEXT TO US. I BENT DOWN AND LISTENED UNDER THE FRONT END OF MY HIGHLANDER AND TO MY SURPRISE, I REALIZED MY CAR ENGINE WAS RUNNING. WHEN I OPENED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR AND LOOKED AT THE DASHBOARD, I NOTICED A SMALL TRIANGULAR YELLOW CAUTION LIGHT WAS FLASHING BUT I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE MESSAGE SAID OTHER THAN CAUTION. IF MY CAR RANDOMLY STARTS ON ITS OWN WHILE ITS IN A GARAGE, IT COULD CAUSE TOXIC FUMES TO FILL MY GARAGE IF LEFT ON LONG ENOUGH, AND COULD CAUSE HARM OR DEATH TO SOMEONE WHO BREATHES IT IN. AFTER READING ABOUT THE BRAKE/HYDRAULIC RECALL ON SOME 2015-2016 HIGHLANDERS, COUPLED WITH THE RECENT ISSUE I HAD AT WALMART, I AM NERVOUS ABOUT DRIVING MY CAR. I WISH I HAD READ ABOUT THESE ISSUE BEFORE BUYING MY CAR 30 DAYS AGO. I THOUGHT I HAD DONE MY HOMEWORK AND READ SEVERAL WEBSITES BEFORE BUYING THE CAR, BUT I WILL READ RECALL REPORTS BEFORE BUYING A CAR FROM NOW ON.