2011 Toyota HIGHLANDER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2011 Toyota Highlander SUV FWD has an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, indicating above-average safety features. It excels particularly in side crash tests, with a perfect 5-star rating for both the driver and passenger sides. This model also includes standard electronic stability control, enhancing its ability to maintain control in various driving conditions. However, it does not come equipped with forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the vehicle has received 181 complaints and 5 recalls. While the number of complaints is relatively high, the 5 recalls demonstrate that Toyota has taken action to address any safety concerns promptly. Overall, the 2011 Toyota Highlander SUV FWD provides good safety features and ratings, making it a reliable choice for drivers and passengers alike.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

181

Recall Count

5

Investigation Count

3

Safety Rating

4/5

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Safety Features

2011 Toyota Highlander SUV FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2011 Toyota Highlander SUV FWD

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

2011 Toyota Highlander SUV FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2011 Toyota Highlander SUV FWD 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 2011 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 4 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2011 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 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 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2011 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 5 5

Complaints for the 2011 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:
"clicking in steering column light comes on dash for power steering then hard to make turn then well go back off then able to make turns with ease again"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-01-11

Complaint:
"in the last 30 days, the steering has begun to feel "loose", as if i am driving on ice. at first it was barely perceptable. there has been more "play" in the steering. during the last 2 days, the car is now making a thud when i am steering right. i have an appointment for a mechanic to look at it. the car is a 2011 highlander, awd, with 89,000 miles on it. i feel the steering issue could be very dangerous at some point."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-01-11

Complaint:
"the power steering is clunky, locks in position when backing out of a parking spot, is clunky and unreliable at slow speeds. i can feel the steering column get far tighter feeling when turning at slow speed (3-10 mph)"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-03-12

Complaint:
"when you turn the steering wheel and then the turn is completed...the steering wheel does not go back into position. this occurs when you are in motion."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2018-01-04

Complaint:
"for several months, there's a thump when turning the steering wheel in either direction, no matter what road/street. we have less than 43,000 miles on it & do not drive on ruff terrain. we purchased the 2011 toyota highlander new, take it to the dealer every 6 mos for maint. & now told it needs a steering shaft replacement & 4 wheel alignment. ($657.33 total!) this is inconceivable to pass on to customers. and a road hazard to all on the roads."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2021-12-03

Complaint:
"clunking and clicking when turning the wheel. tsb from toyota calls for intermediate steering shaft replacement, but toyota will not warranty replacement of the faulty part. hundreds of complaints online with this same issue."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-10-02

Complaint:
"steering shaft u joint makes clunking noise. dealer advised immediate replacement as this is a safety concern."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-10-10

Complaint:
"i started experiencing a clunk in the steering wheel column when turning the wheel to the left for parking . it happened a couple of times so i took it to my regular toyota dealership for service. after test driving the car they told me it was the steering intermediate shaft that needed to be replaced. i felt i had no choice so had them do the work and it cost $782.30 for parts / labor plus $134.95 for alignment. total of $917.25. i found out that toyota had issued a technical service bulletin #t-sb-0034-13 on february 21,2013 sent to all toyota repair shops addressing this issue. they told the mechanics how to replace this equipment and that "a new intermediate shaft has been developed to address this condition". to me that means that in 2013 they knew it was a design flaw and corrected the problem by designing a new shaft. if they had notified the 2008-2013 toyota highlander customers then that this would be an issue, many would have still been under warranty and it would have been covered. but instead they waited until people had the problem, brought their cars in for repair and then charged them whatever the going rate is. in the technical service bulletin is clearly states that this would be covered under a basic warranty for toyota. i spoke to my service advisor and he referred me to toyota headquarters. i called there and spoke to two "senior customer advisors" and basically was told i was out of luck...no recall, no campaign and no customer remuneration. when i look online it's clear that my highlander is not the only one who has had to deal with this issue and spend hundreds of dollars for the repair. i think this is an issue that toyota should have to own up to !!"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-01-08

Complaint:
"at a stop or at low speed starts, turning the steering wheel results in a clunking or creaking noise. this does not happen at higher speeds. the noise happens whether turning it left or right. usually hear it coming out of a parking spot or moving from a stop. it has been doing this for a few years."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2016-01-01

Complaint:
"when turning or over bumps the steering column makes clunking noise. has become louder with time"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2019-08-11

Recalls for the 2011 Toyota HIGHLANDER

Component Recalls

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

Recall:
"southeast toyota distributors, llc (set) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4runner, highlander, sequoia, and sienna, 2005-2010 avalon and tundra, 2006-2008 camry solara, 2006-2010 highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 rav4 and tacoma, 2007-2010 fj cruiser, 2007-2011 camry hybrid, 2009-2010 venza, 2010-2012 prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. the electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed."
Consequence:
If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy:

SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.

Component(s) Involved: SEATS > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Date of incident: 2016-06-02

Recall:
"southeast toyota distributors, llc (set) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 prius and corolla, 2009-2011 venza, 2006-2010 avalon, 2007-2010 fj cruiser, 2005-2011 sienna and sequoia, 2006-2011 tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, camry, highlander, tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 rav4 and 4runner. the affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring."
Consequence:
Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.
Remedy:

SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.

Component(s) Involved: SEATS > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Date of incident: 2014-11-19

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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