2016 Toyota Highlander Problems

What owners report

Complaints on this model year concentrate on brakes — mainly shudder, vibration and premature rotor wear, with a smaller group describing pedal or stopping complaints. Owners also report glass that cracked or shattered without impact (sunroof and rear window) and intermittent electrical behavior, including false warnings and steering assist warnings. Many reports arrive at low to moderate mileage, and a number of owners say dealers could not reproduce or declined to cover the condition.

1. 1
   Brakes

   Brake shudder, vibration and premature rotor wear

   • 13 complaints (12%)
   • median 28,000 mi at 3.0 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2017–2024

   Owners describe vibration and shudder through the pedal and body when braking, often from highway speeds or downhill, and some say rotors and pads wore or warped well before they expected. Several report that dealers machined or turned the rotors, replaced pads, or replaced pads, rotors and calipers, and that the symptom later returned. Others describe the pedal feeling ineffective or brakes not stopping the vehicle as expected at low speed or in a parking situation. Mostly reported between about 10,000 and 45,000 miles, with a few at higher mileage.

   Recall 16V7750005 related service bulletins

   What to check: Drive the vehicle and brake firmly from highway speed to feel for pedal pulsation or body shudder, and ask for brake service records. A service bulletin describes a repair for front brake vibration on 2014-2019 Highlander, so ask whether it was applied. The wiring recall concerns the brake fluid level sensor connection, so confirm that recall was completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Brakes have a slight vibration when traveling at high speeds in the city and someone is stopped on the freeway. My lights have dimmed dramatically since I first purchased new. The passenger side daytime running light is full of moisture. Most importantly, the temperature sensor and/or AC fan/motor is halfway functioning at 38k! By this, I mean that the AC in the front of the car kicks on and off in the middle of cooling and it blows 50% of what it did when I bought the car. Convenient Toyota?”

   NHTSA complaint #11151645, filed 2018-11, 35,000 miles

   “While parking in a public parking lot, at idle speed, the brakes did not stop forward progress. Car struck the curbing, climbed onto the divider, crossed the divider and bumped a parked car on the other side. While the car was in motion, I pumped the brakes, and pushed the gear shift lever into the park position. After vehicle stopped, I reversed carefully, when the vehicle came off the divider, I set the foot brake. After turning off the engine, I opened the hood and my son and I checked the brake fluid in the master cylinder. It was full. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11124494, filed 2018-09, 28,000 miles
2. 2
   Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)

   Sunroof or rear glass shattering without impact

   • 11 complaints (10%)
   • median 30,000 mi at 3.3 yrs old (8 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2017–2022

   Owners report the panoramic sunroof or the rear window breaking with a loud bang while driving or shortly after starting the vehicle, leaving glass in the cabin. Most say nothing struck the vehicle and that weather was clear, and some describe the glass breaking around the defroster area on cold mornings. According to the complaints, some dealers attributed the breakage to a road hazard or declined warranty repair, while others replaced the glass. Reported from very low mileage up to roughly 65,000 miles, in both warm and cold weather.

   What to check: Inspect the sunroof panel and rear glass closely for chips, prior repairs or mismatched replacement glass, and ask whether any glass has been replaced. Note that no recall or bulletin in this file covers glass breakage.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My SUV s sunroof shattered while driving on a suburban street with two kids in car seats behind me . It sounded like an explosion . Glass is all over the car , it has to be towed and I need a rental car and I have to file a claim for my insurance now.”

   NHTSA complaint #11359935, filed 2020-09, 1 miles

   “Headed to work at 5:35 am on wednesday, january 15, 2020, at 55 MPH on my daily commute in my 2016 Toyota Highlander, westbound on I-70 between the central park and 270 exits, and my sunroof exploded. 22 degrees, clear day, moderate traffic with steady flow, no turns or frequent braking, no objects that could have played a role in site, and no warning signs of what was to come. Sound reminiscent of a gunshot occurred, and as I looked around I realized that shards of glass were falling onto me from my panoramic sunroof. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11299458, filed 2020-01, 67,784 miles
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Intermittent warnings, sensors and driver-assist behavior

   • 19 complaints (17%)
   • median 25,000 mi at 2.5 yrs old (15 state mileage)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2016–2026

   Owners describe warning lights and driver-assist features behaving unpredictably: pre-collision alerts or automatic braking with no vehicle nearby, parking sensors switching off, rain-sensing wipers running on clear days, and cruise control display changing on its own. Some report the vehicle turning on by itself or interior lights and warnings toggling, and a few mention infotainment and navigation glitches. Complaints say dealers often could not duplicate the condition or offered no repair. Spread across the range, mostly under about 50,000 miles.

   7 related service bulletins

   What to check: During a test drive, check that parking sensors, pre-collision warnings, adaptive cruise and wipers behave normally, and ask whether the Entune audio software updates described in service bulletins were applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When the cruise control is engaged and the vehicle is on a decline the cruise control does not maintain the set speed. I noticed this several times while on the interstate traveling between 65-75 MPH. Each time there was a car ahead of me and I narrowly avoided what could have been tragic accidents. The first time it happened I thought it was a fluke so I continued to use the cruise control as I would normally do. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10960097, filed 2017-03, 205 miles

   “I've had two serious incidents involving the car's auto braking system we bought as part of a safety package. Both were identical. Each time I was driving on a major highway and the car detected a potential side impact crash. Both times, I saw the hazard in time and given the close proximity of traffic behind be and the high rate of traffic flow speed I determined my best chance at avoiding the crash was to accelerate past the side impact hazard. The car disagreed and slammed on the brakes. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11277025, filed 2019-10, 65,000 miles

Buying note. Brake vibration and rotor wear are the most common themes, so a highway-speed brake test and service records matter more than cosmetics. Also check for replaced glass and ask about any history of warning lights, since several reported issues are intermittent and hard to confirm after the fact.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.