2006 Toyota HIGHLANDER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2006 Toyota Highlander has received excellent crash test ratings with 5 stars for both the front and side crash ratings. Additionally, it has a respectable rollover rating of 4 out of 5. This model comes equipped with electronic stability control, which is a valuable safety feature that helps prevent skidding and loss of control. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of safety concerns, there have been 264 complaints reported, as well as 7 recalls. Despite the high number of complaints and recalls, the overall safety features and crash test ratings of the 2006 Toyota Highlander suggest that it is a safe vehicle for occupants.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

264

Recall Count

7

Investigation Count

2

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2006 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2006 Toyota Highlander 4-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2006 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2006 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2006 Toyota HIGHLANDER

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"over 2 year ago our 2006 highlander hybrid began making a series of noises when depressing the brake pedal when in park and in motion. dashboard screen are showing check abs, check vsc system, check brake system and brake malfunction, and errors. the noise would get louder and last longer and took longer distance to slow or stop. the shop asked for over $3000 that i don't have to fix so i drive it less and less. please help if possible."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2021-10-06
Complaint:
"the past couple months the brakes have been acting up. changed brakes and rotors to only find out that my brake pump or actuator are faulty and a known issue for highlanders yet my vehicle had no recalls"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-11-05
Complaint:
"the brake actuator on many toyota hybdrid and lexus hybrid models fails prematurely leading to a unsafe situation with virtually no braking. toyota extedend the warranty on the item however there are many cars which didn't qualify for the repalcement and are still failing. this should have been a recall rather a warranty extension. this brake actuator fails because of a design flaw, it has been since redesigned. the part istself is priced by toyota at about $2000 in addition to installation labor that can run in thouands depending on the toyota model."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-03-04
Complaint:
"when braking, apparently when the vehicle transitions from regenerative braking to hydraulic braking, there is a brief total loss of braking force and a noticeable sense of acceleration before the hydraulic brakes begin to grab and slow the vehicle resulting in an unanticipated increase in stopping distance and causing a near collision as my vehicle went several feet past the stop line into an active intersection due to this defect."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-02-04
Complaint:
"my electric brake computer thu a code c1256 & c1391, abs brake actuator failure. not regular maintenance item. no code ever thrown til this time. major people killer when it fails. my experience was during a rain storm, lost all brakes for maybe 1-2 seconds. felt like you were on ice. no control, no abs. then code and lights on dash lit up. i limped home worried i had no brakes or some brakes. scared me and my family completely. now car sits in driveway afraid to drive. i went to dealer, they read the codes and found 2 codes present. c1256 and c1391, abs brake actuator failure, needs to be replaced for safe operation of car. why isn’t this brake actuator under warranty? excessive mileage? how would you know it was bad if you never got the “code” as per toyota corporation."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-02-04
Complaint:
"brake actuator assembly is a known issue with several toyota models including my hylander hybrid. toyota tried to address these actuator issues by extending the warranty coverage for the brake actuator assembly on a limited basis, however; there is not an actual recall for this when there obviously should be. thousands of customers are left with unknowingly driving vehicles that are not safe and for those that have had their brakes fail (and survive) are left with $3,000-$4,500 in repair bills to resolve these issues. in april 2021, i noticed odd purging-like sounds while stopped at stop signs or red lights when the brakes were engaged. this concerned me so, i had our local toyota dealership check out our highlander but they said there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and we assumed they knew what they were talking about so we went about our business. unfortunately, some months later while driving hundreds of miles from our home, the check vsc light, abs, brake, and one other dash warning lights came on and the purging sound became much louder. lucky for us, the brakes still worked enough to stop the vehicle. an official recall would have facilitated our local toyota dealer service dept in alerting us about these issues before we were put in a dangerous situation. our hylander is currently being worked on at our local toyota dealership. a guy in the service department is how we found out about the toyota customer support program that outlines the brake actuator shortcomings/failures. the service dept. manager's exact words were "it's like a recall but it's not an official recall". here is a video i found on the toyota nation website where this gentleman's wife had her brakes fail and hit a car in a parking lot. thank god she was not injured! https://youtu.be/mn_xs6k8_h4 ultimately, all toyota models with these faulty brake components should be recalled!!"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-08-12
Complaint:
"i was driving the car then as i hit the brakes it felt like they were not engaging until i applied more pressure. then as i was almost home the abs and traction control lights came on. took it to a specialist and they said that the abs module would have to be replaced. there are tons of people apparently with my same year and model with the same concern"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2021-01-11
Complaint:
"abs control module. yes could be made available for review. a few years ago, a diagnostic showed the abs control module as bad (it started buzzing is what made us get it checked). toyota replaced it, but there was still buzzing after the service, from a new part!? i strongly expressed this to toyota since it still seemed like an issue to me, but they told me nothing could be done unless the computer said it was bad or if there was a recall. the buzzing continued to get worse and does it almost all the time now, and finally the abs light came on, sometimes it will make an alert noise, and the vehicle will not brake properly (with the brake pedal feeling very firm), so apparently now that the abs light is on, a diagnostic showed it bad again. i have researched to find many other people experiencing this same issue with this part going bad and continuing to quickly go bad even after replacing, and i have been advised the danger of this, for if it goes out while driving, you cannot brake like normal and cause an accident. if a brand new part was making the same buzzing noise when the previous part did not used to make that noise, then something seems very wrong! and this is very much a safety issue if your brakes suddenly stop working like they are supposed to! please help! i appreciate your time. thank you!"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-10-04
Complaint:
"3 accidents all rear end due to brakes ( brake pump/brake actuator failure) not safe."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-03-06
Complaint:
"have had brake actuator malfunction/failure for a very long time. started with noises and has progressed to warning lights and almost complete brake failure. have contacted lexus bc it a rx400h and not a highlander bit they respectfully decline to get involved. had called over a year ago. had catastrophic brake failure that almost caused an accident with other motorist and am now paying 3000 to have the brake actuator replaced that they have been told about for years and refused to fix and consistently remind me i don't service my vehicle at a dealership for normal maintenance. the previous owner never recieved notice or a warranty campaign and ultimately rid themselves of it because of the issue and price of the brake actuator to be fixed."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2015-01-01

Recalls for the 2006 Toyota HIGHLANDER

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"gulf states toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold between september 1, 2005 and june 2, 2008 without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels."
Consequence:
THIS DOES NOT MEET THE STANDARD REQUIREMENTS.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL MAIL TO CONSUMERS THE CORRECTED LABEL OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. DEALERS WILL ALSO CORRECT THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 27, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GULF STATES TOYOTA AT 713-580-3300.

Component(s) Involved: EQUIPMENT > OTHER > LABELS
Date of incident: 2010-02-03
Recall:
"southeast toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels."
Consequence:
A DRIVER MAY OVERLOAD A VEHICLE WHICH MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL MAIL TO CONSUMERS THE CORRECTED LABEL OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 27, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SOUTHEAST TOYOTA AT 1-800-301-6859.

Component(s) Involved: EQUIPMENT > OTHER > LABELS
Date of incident: 2010-02-03
Recall:
"toyota is recalling 27,080 model year 2005 through 2010 passenger cars built from september 1, 2005 to may 4, 2009. these vehicles were not equipped with load carrying capacity modification labels which fails to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims.""
Consequence:
INCORRECT LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY MODIFICATION LABELS COULD RESULT IN THE VEHICLE BEING OVERLOADED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:

TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH A NEW, ACCURATE LABEL TO BE INSTALLED OVER THE INACCURATE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-888-270-9371.

Component(s) Involved: EQUIPMENT > OTHER > LABELS
Date of incident: 2009-06-15

TOYOTA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

TOYOTA ranks 3 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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