Recall Register

2009 Toyota Highlander: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 9 recall campaigns for the 2009 Toyota Highlander. The newest campaign is 16V396000. NHTSA received the report on 2 Jun 2016. The NHTSA record gives the component Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler. NHTSA has 24 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 16V396000, in the NHTSA record

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.

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

9 campaigns, newest first. 4,893,744 units in total.

  • 16V396000Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler
  • 15V689000Visibility / Power Window Devices and Controls
  • 14V743000Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler
  • 14V168000Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
  • 13V014000Seats
  • 10V036000Equipment / Other / Labels
  • 10V035000Equipment / Other / Labels
  • 10V023000Vehicle Speed Control / Accelerator Pedal
  • 09V223000Equipment / Other / Labels
  1. 16V396000Received . 7,749 units.

    Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    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.

    Report filed by Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC. Manufacturer campaign number SET16B. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 15V689000Received . 1,814,284 units.

    Visibility / Power Window Devices and Controls

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, and 2009-2010 Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. During the manufacturing of the Power Window Master Switch (PWMS), grease lubricant may have been inconsistently applied to the sliding electrical contacts.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch assembly may overheat and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found. If abnormality is found, the PWMS circuit board will be replaced, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 20, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is C0M.

    Report filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing. Manufacturer campaign number C0M. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  3. 14V743000Received . 3,233 units.

    Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    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.

    Report filed by Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 14V168000Received . 1,486,413 units.

    Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, 2008-2010 Highlander, and 2009-2010 Tacoma, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and General Motors Pontiac Vibe vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the steering column assembly contains electrical connections to the driver's airbag module housed in a spiral cable assembly, which includes a Flexible Flat Cable (FFC). Due to the shape and location of the FFC's retainer, the FFC could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If the FFC is damaged, connectivity to the driver's air bag module could be lost and the air bag deactivated. The failure of the driver's air bag to deploy in the event of a crash that typically necessitates deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota will notify the Toyota vehicle owners, and General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Toyota sent owners an interim notification letter in May 2014 to advise owners of the recall. Toyota will mail owners a second letter when remedy parts are available. General Motors sent Pontiac Vibe owners an Interim letter on June 20, 2014 notifying them that parts are currently unavailable. General Motors sent notices to the Pontiac Vibe owners on September 15, 2014, that a remedy is available. The recall began on October 27, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-762-2737.

    Report filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  5. 13V014000Received . 3,235 units.

    Seats

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

    Report filed by Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  6. 10V036000Received . 153,418 units.

    Equipment / Other / Labels

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    A driver may overload a vehicle which may increase the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    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.

    Report filed by SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  7. 10V035000Received . 271,417 units.

    Equipment / Other / Labels

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    This does not meet the standard requirements.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    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.

    Report filed by GULF STATES TOYOTA, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  8. 10V023000Received . 1,126,915 units.

    Vehicle Speed Control / Accelerator Pedal

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 highlander, model year 2009-2010 corolla, venza and matrix passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. This recall is an expansion of a campaign of 3.8 million other toyota vehicles announced in 2009 for the same issue (see 09v-388).
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota will modify or replace the accelerator pedals on the subject vehicles. Floor surface modifications are also being considered and will be included for any model for which it is deemed appropriate. Initially, dealers will be instructed on how to reshape the accelerator pedal for the repair. As replacement parts with the same shape as the modified pedal become available, they will be made available to the dealers for the repair. Customers who have had the pedal reshape remedy completed will have the opportunity to receive a new pedal if they desire, after replacement pedals become available. In addition, toyota will replace any toyota all-weather floor mat in a subject vehicle with a newly designed mat, free of charge. For those customers who have the previous design all-weather floor mat but do not need or want the newly designed all-weather floor mat, toyota will recover the previous design all-weather floor mat and reimburse its price. The safety recall began march 30, 2010. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

    Report filed by TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number 90L. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  9. 09V223000Received . 27,080 units.

    Equipment / Other / Labels

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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, in the NHTSA record
    Incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels could result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    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.

    Report filed by TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

24 complaints, 37 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

2009 Toyota Highlander: component mentions in complaints
ComponentMentions
Vehicle Speed Control11
Power Train4
Service Brakes, Hydraulic4
Electrical System3
Engine and Engine Cooling3
Tires2
Equipment2
Fuel System, Gasoline1
Exterior Lighting1
Air Bags1

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 15.

Complaints that report a crash
0
Complaints that report a fire
2
Injuries in the complaints
1
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
18 Oct 2010

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2009 Toyota Highlander, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2010, with 20 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2009 Toyota Highlander
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
EA18006Engineering analysisSteering Column SeparationSteering / Column16 Nov 20182 Apr 2024
PE18005Preliminary evaluationUpper Steering Column SeparationSteering / Column4 May 201820 Nov 2018

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2009 Toyota Highlander: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/toyota/highlander/2009/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2009 Toyota Highlander?
4,893,744 units in 9 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Toyota Highlander have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 51 recall campaigns for the Toyota Highlander, model years 1998 to 2025. 9 of them name the 2009 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2009 Toyota Highlander name most often?
Vehicle Speed Control: 11 of 37 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2009 Toyota Highlander open?
No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.