2009 Toyota Highlander Body Problems
- 11
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 11 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- rear door · 5 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 6 |
| 100–150k mi | 2 |
| 60–100k mi | 2 |
| 1–30k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Body
There has been a latching issue with the rear power hatch since we have owned the car. Toyota issued a repair recall in 2017 to fix the issue but it is broken once again. Either they are using defective parts or a design flaw, but it is very dangerous as we have had the rear door open while driving several times. They do not want to repair because they do not think it is a safety issue.
ODI 11218311
Body · Seats · Service Brakes
I was sold over internet by vandergrift toyota of arlington,tx a falsely advertised 2009 toyota highlander,that was delivered to me in san antonio, tx in enclimate weather and while i was in a full body brace, i had told them of weather, and was in down pour when they delivered, i was unable to examine car in my condition and weather till next morning. Car had been wrecked, had silt in rear tail lights, i tried to…
ODI 11119444
Body · Electrical System
Liftgate will not close or open when automatic button is pushed either on the dash or the button on the liftgate itself. Stays open and have to force the liftgate down manually. At times liftgate will open by itself while stationary or vehicle is moving. Closing or opening the liftgate automatically problem has be ongoing for about 6 months. Brought to dealership and they could not repair, but i could take to body…
ODI 10785917
Body
Rear door hatch made a loud popping noise when door was lowered. Door no longer opens or closes. Dealer states cost to repair $4,700 to $5,400. Toyota has a technical service bulletin covering this problem but denies responsibility if vehicle is beyond 36/36,000 warranty. Updated 9/15/15*cw
ODI 10746084
Body
The power back door/liftgate does not close properly. The read door of the highlander would come within an inch of closing when you operated the powered close function and stop, requiring a physical nudge to completely engage the lock and close. This went on for about a year until one day there was a loud crunching noise when it was closed and would not open. After searching the internet for solutions and finding…
ODI 10821332
Body · Electrical System
Lift gate and power door motor broke. The door stocked and could not be opened or locked. I was lucky that my toddler was not around. I am horrified what would happened if his hand stock in it and the door could not be open. We took it to molle toyota. They told me that beside the lift gate and motor the whole rear door and hinge has to be replace. They said that if i don't replace the doors i will have same problem…
ODI 10747561
Body · Electrical System
Liftgate does will not open. Schaumburg toyota reported the following on their service report the following: "found auto open & close motor seized. Need: to go to bodyshop - replace l/hinge, motor-door". Toyota schaumburg is speculating (pure speculation) that the car was bumped into and therefore the distances (which distances ?) are skewed. We (owners) believe that no such incidence happened. We e-mailed toyota…
ODI 10586256
Body
The rear hatch in my 2009 toyota highlander stopped working - without misuse or handling on my part. After pushing the automatic close button, there was a loud clunk sound. There was nothing obstructing the back area. The back door/hatch would not open, nor could i close it. I immediately drove it to the dealership - on a saturday. I was afraid my back door was going to fly open. They were able to close the hatch…
ODI 10578574
Body · Vehicle Speed Control
As my wife came how with my daughter, she proceeded to reverse the car into our driveway to park the car in our garage as she normally does everyday. In the driveway was also my car where it is parked everyday. As she was proceeding to go back, the car all of a sudden accelerated on its own and took off. She tried to press the brake but to no avail. She continued to press the brake, however the car would not stop.…
Crash reported
ODI 10534291
Body
The power arm broke off of the rear power lift gate when closing. The driver side hinge on the rear power liftgate is bowed. *tr
ODI 10486305
Body · Electrical System
Rear door/hatch electric motor and latch/lock assembly failed. Several incidences of the rear electric hatch failing to seat/close occurred prior to the failure. The door would start down but would not close/latch. Toyota service department (dothan, al) said the door needed to be adjusted and did so. About one month later the door closed with a loud noise and would not open afterwards. Upon outside inspection, i saw…
ODI 10542068