1. Toyota Highlander
  2. Problems
  3. 2012
  4. Electrical System

2012 Toyota Highlander Electrical System Problems

19
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.

What owners report

  • door lock · 10 records
  • stopped working · 8 records
  • doors locked · 6 records
  • lock unlock · 6 records
  • door locks · 5 records
  • locks stopped · 5 records

Mileage in stored records

BandRecords
30–60k mi7
1–30k mi4
100–150k mi2
60–100k mi1

Complaint records

Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.

  • February 3, 2020 · 117,000 miles

    Electrical System · Engine

    Car has over 117,000 miles and is excessively consuming oil. There is no sign of leaks anywhere. I do not get any warning anywhere about low oil, all i see is a small message that sometimes blinks indicating 'oil pressure'. Oil is not lasting 1000 miles. I thought maybe the oil was not properly filled but after a second oil change, same happened, oil empty with less than 1000 miles after an oil change. Car has been…

    ODI 11307417

  • November 27, 2019 · 114,100 miles

    Electrical System

    Driving in a major city, with my wife and two small boys in the back seat, came up on a stop (police closed the road and traffic was stopped. We wait 10 minutes before i place the car into park and doors unlocked. Once traffic started moving only, we heard lock the locks engage but they actually did not engage thus leaving all doors unlocked. As traffic started moving a homeless man opened my door and assaulted me…

    ODI 11282939

  • July 14, 2019

    Electrical System

    The driver seat window is going off track. The glass does not go up correctly and has almost looked like it was going to fall out. This has happened while driving the vehicle and with the vehicle stationary.

    ODI 11232123

  • May 25, 2019 · 60,000 miles

    Electrical System

    The power door lock actuator went out on the rear passenger door if my 2012 toyota highlander. I only noticed the failure by chance. After my six year old son got out of the car one day, i tried the door handle and noticed it was unlocked. I hit the key fob lock button again, and the other three doors locked, but not that one. It turns out, the door had not been locking for months. I park in the driveway at home,…

    ODI 11210570

  • July 16, 2018

    Electrical System · Service Brakes · Unknown Or Other

    When locking the doors, even though the batteries have been changed the doors have to be locked manuel. The trunk opens on it own. I can be in the house and when i go outside the trunk is open.

    ODI 11112299

  • March 10, 2017 · 71,579 miles

    Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Steering

    While driving at highway speeds and exiting a highway, approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel locked up, dashboard flickered, and engine died. The red steering wheel warning light came on briefly, but the wheel could not be turned for several seconds. This happened 3 times in the period of a few minutes. Battery & alternator were tested - no malfunction.

    ODI 10960048

  • March 2, 2017

    Electrical System

    Purchased used 2012 highlander ltd from college park hyundai/honda, college park md 20720 in feb 2017. The front passenger automatic door actuator failed to unlock the vehicle. The failure recurred on three of the four doors. The door lock actuators were replaced by the dealer.. Vehicle had 48,000 miles.

    ODI 11113854

  • December 2, 2016 · 51,000 miles

    Electrical System

    The door locks on my 2012 toyota highlander stopped working. With only 51k on the car, all 4 doors wont close with the key fob, or on the door. They open but dont close, i have to manually close each door lock every time i want the doors locked. I've seen many posts about this! I think its time toyota fixes the problem with a recall! I was told by toyota dealer that it is malfunction of the actuator and that they…

    ODI 10950440

  • October 8, 2016

    Electrical System

    Door lock/unlock stopped working about 1 year ago. I was told by the dealer that i had to cover the diagnostic test. I got it done today and was told that the 3 defective doors have an issue and some part must be changed at a tune of $1700! If the car has an electrical issue, the manufacturer should cover it, especially because it involves 3 out of 4 doors. There was nothing i did or could have done to mess up the 3…

    ODI 10914882

  • June 1, 2016 · 39,000 miles

    Electrical System

    Rear tailgate no longer works.started not closing off and on in jun. 2016. Finally stopped working all together in aug 2016. Took to my local dealership to see why it was not working they diagnosed it as a broken motor.i would be responsible for the cost to fix it.since it is now out of warranty. They would not cover it under warranty even though there is a toyota service bulletin on it in 2012 and many class action…

    ODI 10895576

  • August 8, 2015

    Body · Electrical System

    Rear tailgate no longer works.started not closing off and on in jan. 2015. Finally stopped working all together in august 2015.took to my local dealership to see why it was not working they diagnosed it as a broken motor.i would be responsible for the cost to fix it.since it is now out of warranty. Contacted the toyota corporation they went over my complaint and said they would not cover it under warranty even…

    ODI 10789424

  • June 7, 2015 · 48,896 miles

    Electrical System

    The rear passenger door lock no longer works. It has to be manually locked and unlocked. I see that many other people have complained about the same type failure in their vehicles at approximately the same mileage-right around the time the warranty has expired or soon after. It seems that this is a common enough problem that it should be fixed at toyota's expense.

    ODI 10724124

  • April 22, 2015 · 17,400 miles

    Electrical System

    The door locks on my 2012 toyota highlander stopped working. With only 17500 on the car, all 4 doors wont close with the key fob, or on the door. They open but dont close, i have to manually close each door lock every time i want the doors locked. I am the only owner, i bought the car brand new, and as soon as it came out of warranty the door locks stopped working.

    ODI 10721143

  • April 13, 2015 · 17,300 miles

    Electrical System

    The door locks on my 2012 toyota highlander stopped working. With only 17300 on the car, all 4 doors wont close with the key fob, or on the door. They open but dont close, i have to manually close each door lock every time i want the doors locked. Am i the only owner?i bought the car brand new, and as soon as it came out of warranty the door locks stopped working. I disconnected the auto close when i put the car in…

    ODI 10744835

  • August 1, 2014 · 40,000 miles

    Electrical System

    2012 toyota highlander limited door lock actuators began to fail at about 40k miles. The initial failure began with rt front passenger door, but all four doors began to fail to lock or unlock intermittently by smart key remote or by driver side door controls (sometimes all the doors would fail to unlock). Emergency access to any of the passengers would be a concern. At 47k miles, two of the doors' actuators (rt…

    ODI 10702972

  • March 14, 2014 · 48,151 miles

    Electrical System · Latches/Locks/Linkages

    Right front door does not lock or unlock using the keyless remote have to manually lock and unlock the door. Took it to the dealer and had to have the actuator replaced on march 17th, 2014. Now on april 8th, 2014 driver side door does not lock or unlock using keyless remote again having to manually lock and unlock the door. Taken to the dealer again and has to have the actuator replaced. Two actuators needing to be…

    ODI 10578419

  • January 15, 2014 · 31,000 miles

    Electrical System · Latch

    At approximately 30,000 miles the driver's side rear door lock actuator had to be replaced, which was covered under warranty. Since that time, the driver's side front door failed at approximately 40,000 miles and was replaced outside of warranty and now the passenger side rear door has also failed. Three of the four door lock actuators have failed between 30,000 and 42,000 miles and only one was covered under…

    ODI 10671763

  • January 23, 2013 · 9,900 miles

    Electrical System · Engine

    While parked at a curbside, with engine idling, i spontaneously decided to adjust my tilt steering column (up/down) to see if there was a more comfortable position to drive. When i moved the column down for the first time (i had never tried to adjust the position previously, since i bought the car one year earlier), the car's engine immediately shut off. I could not re-start the engine and all i kept thinking was…

    ODI 10576724

  • August 3, 2012 · 1,000 miles

    Electrical System · Engine · Headlights · Visibility/Wiper

    Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota highlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph and steering to the right, the engine suddenly emitted an abnormal noise. The contact also stated that the headlights would not shut off intermittently when powering off the vehicle. In addition, the defroster for the rear window would not function properly, causing the windows to remain foggy for a long period…

    ODI 10489150