Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 01/21/2013 | 36400 | 1 | |
| While driving vehicle, a snap was heard from the rear. upon inspection, the rear passenger sway bar link (joining the sway bar to the strut) was snapped at the lower end. this link is approximately 10 mm in diameter, necking down to 8 mm with a 1 mm radius at transition of the diameters. it was observed the failure was not completely immediate as approximately half the diameter was rusted. the rust had two distinct zones; an approximate 3 mm lighter yellow-brown region at the outer side, and a 1 mm dark brown zone on the inner side suggesting the outer had been failing for some time, the inner propagating more recently. final failure of the remaining portion was sudden. upon inspection under magnification, the failure began with some type of crack initiating at the root of the fillet, propagating downwards at an approximate 30 degree angle. bending of the 8 mm section appears to have been caused by the sudden final failure of the section. no other damage under the vehicle was found ruling out the failure was not caused by any driver. toyota corporate in california was contacted (case # 1301222906) but they claimed no recall on this part or issues. the part appears to have insufficient fatigue strength or this specific link had a quality issue. the part is in my possession and available upon request should further investigation via sem/edx, or other is helpful. i also can provide pictures upon request. this failure concerns me as the part links rear suspension control and it failed shortly past warranty. *tr | |||
| 01/21/2013 | 36400 | ||
| While driving vehicle, a snap was heard from the rear. upon inspection, the rear passenger sway bar link (joining the sway bar to the strut) was snapped at the lower end. this link is approximately 10 mm in diameter, necking down to 8 mm with a 1 mm radius at transition of the diameters. it was observed the failure was not completely immediate as approximately half the diameter was rusted. the rust had two distinct zones; an approximate 3 mm lighter yellow-brown region at the outer side, and a 1 mm dark brown zone on the inner side suggesting the outer had been failing for some time, the inner propagating more recently. final failure of the remaining portion was sudden. upon inspection under magnification, the failure began with some type of crack initiating at the root of the fillet, propagating downwards at an approximate 30 degree angle. bending of the 8 mm section appears to have been caused by the sudden final failure of the section. no other damage under the vehicle was found ruling out the failure was not caused by any driver. toyota corporate in california was contacted (case # 1301222906) but they claimed no recall on this part or issues. the part appears to have insufficient fatigue strength or this specific link had a quality issue. the part is in my possession and available upon request should further investigation via sem/edx, or other is helpful. i also can provide pictures upon request. this failure concerns me as the part links rear suspension control and it failed shortly past warranty. | |||
| 05/12/2011 | 5600 | ||
| 2009 toyota highlander clearance between both rear shock base plate and both rear tires are too close. every time when you hit a bump, both rear tires are hitting the rear shock base plate. this will damage both rear tires and cause accident !! defective engineering design !! toyota should recall all highlanders with this defective design !!! you don't want to wait for an accident to happen then make a mandatory recall. thanks for reading my message and concern of safety for all highlander owners. | |||
| 09/11/2009 | 400 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2009 toyota highlander. the contact stated that the suspension on the vehicle is loose and the braking system does not work properly. the brakes will go all the way to the floor and the vehicle does not slow down. the contact stated that the seat will no longer move back. the driver seat is located right in front of the wheel and leaves no room for movement. the contact has taken the vehicle to four dealerships and has been told that the vehicle is running as it was designed. the failure mileage was 400 and the current mileage was 6500.rl | |||