2012 Toyota Highlander: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 2012 Toyota Highlander. The newest campaign is 13V123000. NHTSA received the report on 9 Apr 2013. The NHTSA record gives the component Equipment / Other / Labels. NHTSA has 182 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, 13V123000, in the NHTSA record
Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
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
Recall campaigns
2 campaigns, newest first. 10,760 units in total.
13V123000Received . 7,525 units.
Equipment / Other / Labels
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 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: .
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: .
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
182 complaints, 230 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2012 Toyota Highlander
- All 2012 vehicles
| Component | 2012 Highlander | All 2012 vehicles | Highlander, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering | 200 | 97.9 | 50.6 | 46 |
| Electrical System | 126.1 | 130.1 | 87.2 | 29 |
| Unknown or Other | 100 | 69.3 | 85.5 | 23 |
| Structure | 87 | 40 | 62.4 | 20 |
| Engine | 73.9 | 144.2 | 73.6 | 17 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 60.9 | 34 | 61.6 | 14 |
| Visibility/Wiper | 60.9 | 17.3 | 29.1 | 14 |
| Service Brakes | 52.2 | 56.2 | 80.3 | 12 |
| Air Bags | 47.8 | 97.4 | 49.4 | 11 |
| Power Train | 30.4 | 108.9 | 142.6 | 7 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 24.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 16
- Complaints that report a fire
- 3
- Injuries in the complaints
- 13
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 21 Aug 2026
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.
Investigations
| Number | Type | Subject | Component | Opened | Closed | Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EA18006 | Engineering analysis | Steering Column Separation | Steering / Column | 16 Nov 2018 | 2 Apr 2024 | |
| PE18005 | Preliminary evaluation | Upper Steering Column Separation | Steering / Column | 4 May 2018 | 20 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
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2012 Toyota HighlanderThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2012 Toyota Highlander: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/toyota/highlander/2012/. 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
- 30 Sep 2026
- 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 2012 Toyota Highlander?
- 10,760 units in 2 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 1997 to 2026. 2 of them name the 2012 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2012 Toyota Highlander name most often?
- Steering: 46 of 230 component mentions, or 200 per 1,000. For all 2012 vehicles the figure is 97.9 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2012 Toyota Highlander open?
- No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.