Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Toyota Highlander owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Major issue with Airbags July 2021. A warning appeared shortly after Passenger Sensor malfunction, that stated "Check SRS Airbag System. Have your vehicle checked by dealer immediately." Dealer did Diagnostic. Toyota Dealer has tried to fix airbags three times in three weeks but it fails within a day or so and warning comes back on. Toyota has issued a recall for 2012 Highlanders for seats and front airbag that describes the issue this vehicle has however Toyota Dealer said our Vin is not included. The recall is under Campaign no. 13V014000 Report Date Jan 16 2013 Component Seats.
This is the second Highlander Hybrid I've owned that has had the brake actuator and booster assembly fail affecting the functionality of the car's braking system. Replacing these two parts has an absurd price of over 3k at the dealership and other independent hybrid repair shops. My car only has 70k miles on it and I've read this issue applies to almost all other Toyota Hybrids. If most hybrid's brakes will fail eventually, putting at risk owners, why is there not a recall to fix this "not a matter of if, but when" possible life threatening issue?
The power door lock actuator went out on the rear passenger door if my 2012 Toyota Highlander. I only noticed the failure by chance. After my six year old son got out of the car one day, I tried the door handle and noticed it was unlocked. I hit the key fob lock button again, and the other three doors locked, but not that one. It turns out, the door had not been locking for months. I park in the driveway at home, and a remote surface lot at work, so essentially the contents of my vehicle have been wide open to theft for a long time. More seriously, the rear passenger door will not unlock when the transmission is put into park, or the unlock button depressed. My son, who is still in a car seat with a five-point seatbelt, is essentially trapped in the vehicle. Someone has to open the front passenger door, and reach past the headrest to manually unlock the rear door. …
Car has over 117,000 miles and is excessively consuming oil. There is no sign of leaks anywhere. I do not get any warning anywhere about low oil, all I see is a small message that sometimes blinks indicating 'oil pressure'. Oil is not lasting 1000 miles. I thought maybe the oil was not properly filled but after a second oil change, same happened, oil empty with less than 1000 miles after an oil change. Car has been always kept with all recommended maintenance and all oil changes have been done every 5,000 as recommended by Toyota. Have never been in any accident that could cause any engine problem, seems this is a factory defect. In the electrical part, power back door does not close/open, there is a recall for that but no dealers in my area will fix it because one of the parts that is inside that motor is not listed in the recall specs and dealers will not fix unless I pay. …
2012 Toyota Highlander limited door lock actuators began to fail at about 40K miles. The initial failure began with rt front passenger door, but all four doors began to fail to lock or unlock intermittently by Smart key remote or by driver side door controls (sometimes all the doors would fail to unlock). Emergency access to any of the passengers would be a concern. At 47K miles, two of the doors' actuators (rt front passenger & lt rear passenger) had totally failed, and are being replaced by dealership at owner's expense of $900 plus $125 diagnostic fee. Web research of multiple Toyota and automotive forums have revealed that similar door actuator failures have occurred with other Toyota models and years, many reporting failures that occur immediately following expiration of warranty at 3yrs/36K miles. …
Driving in a major city, with my wife and two small boys in the back seat, came up on a stop (police closed the road and traffic was stopped. We wait 10 minutes before I place the car into park and doors unlocked. Once traffic started moving only, we heard lock the locks engage but they actually did not engage thus leaving all doors unlocked. As traffic started moving a homeless man opened my door and assaulted me because my doors were not locked. I pushed back and pulled my door closed and manually switched the lock to engage. Then I did the same to my back doors where my kids were. Once we got home and put the car into park, the doors did not unlock. I pulled on the handle, pushed the lock out and the lock would not disengage. If there had been and emergency and I had to flee the car I would be unsuccessful and would be injured.
My 2012 Highlander currently has 110,000 miles on the vehicle. At this time none of the power doors locks work when the key fob or door button is depressed. It has been confirmed by my local Toyota dealership, that all four lock actuators are faulty. The estimate to fix this problem was presented to me at $2,000.00. I have owned multiple cars prior to this incident, most of them being toyotas and I have never heard of all four door locks being deficient at the same time. I, along with many others feel as though this type of failure is unacceptable and May be grounds for a mass recall due to its frequency rate.
The door locks on my 2012 Toyota Highlander stopped working. With only 51K on the car, all 4 doors wont close with the key fob, or on the door. They open but dont close, I have to manually close each door lock every time I want the doors locked. I've seen many posts about this! I think its time Toyota fixes the problem with a recall! I was told by Toyota dealer that it is malfunction of the actuator and that they see this all the time with this module... It would cost me $500-$600 to let them fix it!!why should the consumer have to pay for the manufacturers problems!! Can I hear recall! Recall! Recall!!
The door locks on my 2012 Toyota Highlander stopped working. With only 17300 on the car, all 4 doors wont close with the key fob, or on the door. They open but dont close, I have to manually close each door lock every time I want the doors locked. Am I the only owner?I bought the car brand new, and as soon as it came out of warranty the door locks stopped working. I disconnected the auto close when I put the car in drive, now the doors close once in a while from the key fob.
Rear tailgate no longer works.started not closing off and on in jun. 2016. Finally stopped working all together in aug 2016. Took to my local dealership to see why it was not working they diagnosed it as a broken motor.I would be responsible for the cost to fix it.since it is now out of warranty. They would not cover it under warranty even though there is a Toyota service bulletin on it in 2012 and many class action law suits filed on it.
Electrical complaints in other Highlander years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2012 Toyota Highlander?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the electrical system of the 2012 Toyota Highlander, 16% of the model year's 182 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Toyota Highlander electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2012 Toyota Highlander, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Toyota Highlander electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 48,000 miles, and 29% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.