2009 Toyota Highlander Vehicle speed control Problems
- Complaints
- 14about this part
- Share
- 10%of 134 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 3,574miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 14 complaints about the vehicle speed control of the 2009 Toyota Highlander, 10% of the 134 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 3,574 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“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. She proceeded to hit my car and damaged both cars from front to back. Her car on the passenger side, and mine on the driver side. …”
NHTSA complaint #10534291, filed 2013-08, 30,352 miles“Accelerator stuck all the way to floor on 2009 Toyota Highlander while vacationing in tennessee on i40. Had to weave thru traffic to shoulder while traveling towards 100 MPH, mashing full force to the floor all the time during incident. Very frightening. Car is presently returned to dealership, but no action has been taken & they can't find anything wrong. I am afraid to drive the vehicle now. This was a life threatening event, but I don't feel Toyota is treating as such. I am trying to find some help as to what to do. …”
NHTSA complaint #10292349, filed 2009-11, 7,000 miles“I purchased a 2009 Toyota Highlander, in february 2009. On june 1, 2009, I was northeast of rockville, indiana on highway 47 in this Toyota Highlander. I approached a slow moving vehicle on a straight section of roadway and passed the vehicle. As I was passing I felt like the car was going faster than I was accelerating. When I pulled back into the right lane the car was going even faster and I realized that the car was accelerating on its own. Luckily, I was still on a long straight section of the road and had some time. I first tried to brake but the car kept going even faster. …”
NHTSA complaint #10303030, filed 2010-01, 4,648 miles“The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle began to accelerate independently. The contact applied an immense amount of pressure to the pedal but the vehicle did not stop. After some time, the contact was able to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was awaiting diagnosis of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 46,132.”
NHTSA complaint #10521080, filed 2013-06, 46,132 miles“The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Highlander. Whenever the vehicle is sitting idle and the contact would attempt to accelerate, the two front wheels would begin to spin out without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 2,500.”
NHTSA complaint #10318052, filed 2010-03, 2,500 milesRelated recalls
- 10V023000Jan 27, 2010Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 highlander, model year 2009-2010 corolla, venza and matrix passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get…Covers: Toyota Highlander 2008–2010, Corolla 2009–2010, Matrix 2009–2010 +1 more
Related service bulletins
- 10244113Aug 17, 2023TSB: Replacement certification labels (the vinyl label installed on the driver door or door post) and VIN plates (the metal plate riveted to dashboard) (see Figure 1) for most…
Vehicle speed control: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 30% |
| 2024 | 1 | 2% |
| 2023 | 9 | 5% |
| 2022 | 8 | 3% |
| 2021 | 9 | 2% |
| 2020 | 10 | 3% |
| 2019 | 13 | 3% |
| 2018 | 9 | 3% |
| 2017 | 13 | 5% |
| 2016 | 4 | 4% |
| 2015 | 11 | 6% |
| 2014 | 5 | 4% |
| 2013 | 31 | 15% |
| 2012 | 14 | 8% |
| 2011 | 12 | 7% |
| 2010 | 22 | 10% |
| 2009 | 14 | 10% |
| 2008 | 45 | 11% |
| 2007 | 16 | 13% |
| 2006 | 43 | 15% |
| 2005 | 39 | 17% |
| 2004 | 40 | 14% |
| 2003 | 28 | 11% |
| 2002 | 31 | 10% |
| 2001 | 15 | 11% |
Other parts of the 2009 Toyota Highlander
26 complaintsEngine
23 complaintsElectrical system
20 complaintsBody and structure
15 complaintsSteering
11 complaintsAir bags
8 complaintsOther or unknown
7 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
7 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
7 complaintsTires
6 complaintsEngine cooling
5 complaintsSuspension
5 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2009 Toyota Highlander
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology