2011 Toyota Highlander Toyota Highlander 2011

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2011 Toyota Highlander repairs by problem area

Engine (11%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (3%)

Brakes and Traction Control (7%)

Suspension and Steering (15%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (24%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (22%)

Other (17%)

Chart based on 87 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2011 Toyota Highlander.

2011 Toyota Highlander repair cost distribution

$2500+ (5%)

$1000 - $2499 (7%)

$500 - $999 (9%)

$100 - $499 (29%)

< $100 (49%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 75 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2011 Toyota Highlander 4dr SUV

270-horsepower 3.5L V6 5-speed shiftable automatic FWD

Toyota Highlander in Florida, United States
Jun 2014 - Jul 2018
Nov 2015

38000 mi
Left tailgate hinge bent by automatic lift. Apparently well known, but ignored defect by Toyota. 
Dec 2015

38000 mi
Dealer replaced two bent hinges[at my expense] Then said it was the motor. Cost of motor $1200 plus labor. Opted to go to manual operation. Well known Toyota problem that should be a recall item. Toyota no help. 
Feb 2017

50000 mi
Entire rear tailgate and motor replaced. Dealer did repair after persistence. 
Toyota Highlander in California, United States
Feb 2012 - Jun 2018
Jul 2012

39000 mi

US $250
Moulding coming loose around driver's door and rear hatch windows. 
Apr 2015

75300 mi

US $1
Battery had gotten super weak, would require jumpstarting after leaving lights on for <1 min. 
Toyota Highlander in Ohio, United States
Nov 2015 - Sep 2018
Sep 2018

84000 mi

US $1
Muffler heat shield rotted out by bolt holes. Repaired by adding larger washer to secure shield in place. 
Toyota Highlander in Kentucky, United States
Apr 2014 - Jun 2022
Jun 2020

99000 mi

US $200
Battery was corroding 
Jun 2021

102000 mi
Oil cooler pipe burst 
Toyota Highlander in Texas, United States
Sep 2013 - Apr 2022
Sep 2021

168000 mi

US $720
Replaced the worn springs and struts with KYB StrutPlus Complete Assembly at all four corners. 
Toyota Highlander in New York, United States
Dec 2010 - Apr 2012
Mar 2012

16000 mi
Clunking noise with sharp turn 
Toyota Highlander in Texas, United States
Aug 2012 - Jan 2022
Dec 2015

90000 mi
Liftgate piston was squealing and not lifting rear gate to 100%. Replaced piston. 
Jul 2016

101000 mi
Clicking noise coming from the steering system when turning. Thought it might be CV joints, but Toyota replaced the intermediate steering shaft and problem was fixed. Hinges for rear liftgate have been slightly bent such that a feeler gauge between the hinge and body exceeds 0.005'. Hinges were replaced per Toyota TSB. 
Jan 2018

121000 mi

US $100
Replaced TPMS sensors in wheels. 
Toyota Highlander in Texas, United States
Feb 2011 - Jun 2018
Oct 2016

34000 mi
Driver side visor hinge mechanism broke, will not flip up 
Toyota Highlander in Texas, United States
Dec 2010 - Jul 2018
Jul 2012

44200 mi

US $500
driver side locking mechanism/electrical motor quit working. Was covered under warranty. 
Jul 2018

176000 mi
Door lock actuators replaced. Toyota Corp agreed to pay for repair. This was the fifth time they have gone out. 

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2011 Toyota Highlander 4dr SUV

270-horsepower 3.5L V6 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Toyota Highlander in New Jersey, United States
Aug 2015 - Jun 2018
Jun 2016

74000 mi

US $130
Alarm system -- would go off by itself. Dealer disabled the alarm (cost to repair the system would have been much higher). 
Jan 2018

90000 mi
Routine oil change/tire rotation Car would not start once. Started the next morning - took into dealer, who said battery and systems were fine. No charge for the visit and no problem since. 
Toyota Highlander in New York, United States
Aug 2014 - Oct 2019
Apr 2017

82000 mi

US $800
Pads and rotors replaced 
Apr 2018

87000 mi

US $25
Loose heat shield 
Toyota Highlander in Maryland, United States
Sep 2014 - Sep 2023
Jul 2015

30000 mi
Worn bearing replaced 
Dec 2021

123000 mi

US $2000
New shocks/struts installed. 
Dec 2022

139000 mi

US $100
Looking for issue with decreased fuel economy. Exact problem area unknown. 
Toyota Highlander in Massachusetts, United States
Aug 2011 - Jul 2022
Feb 2013

63400 mi

US $669
Vehicle made a 'whump whump whump' sound that paced the speed the vehicle was at, started at 30mph and continued through highway speeds. Drivers side wheel bearing hub assembly was replaced. 
Jun 2014

101000 mi
Drivers side window was opening at an angle and not closing correctly. Bolt holding the window clamp had come loose and vibrated out inside the door. New coat of loc-tite and 20 minutes of work fixed the issue. 
Nov 2015

127600 mi

US $115
Replaced the battery, had a couple of rough starts, had battery tested and was showing ready to replace 
Aug 2017

162000 mi

US $474
Vehicle wouldnt start, just heard a click and then nothing. Started was replaced. 
Feb 2018

176000 mi

US $740
Vehicle was making a loud noise when driving above 35 MPH. Shop replaced the passenger side rear wheel hub. 
Jul 2022

246000 mi

US $80
headlight replacement - driver side out 
Toyota Highlander in Connecticut, United States
Jan 2015 - Jun 2022
Dec 2015

65000 mi

US $200
Check engine light and traction control lights were on. Mechanics trouble shot the evap system for leaks and determined that the problem must exist in a very difficult and expensive to reach area in the exhaust system. We elected not to fix. 
Jun 2022

135000 mi

US $400
Rubber oil cooler line burst while driving. 
Toyota Highlander in Quebec, Canada
Dec 2010 - Mar 2016
Jul 2014

37820 mi
some paint bubble up and some rust. 
Toyota Highlander in Maryland, United States
Jul 2012 - Jun 2022
Sep 2021

208000 mi

US $100
Oil drip 
Toyota Highlander in Maryland, United States
Feb 2016 - Feb 2022
Jan 2019

86000 mi

US $70
The sun visor on the driver side broke. You could not lift it up or pull it down. Husband bought a new one offline and replaced it. 
Jun 2020

86000 mi

US $40
The arm that controls the power liftgate snapped. Husband bought a new part from the dealer and repaired it. 
Sep 2021

87000 mi

US $60
A part inside the door panel broke, and the window would not roll up. Husband bought the part online. He had to take the panel off the door. He took out the broken part, installed the new, and the window works fine. 
Jan 2022

88000 mi
The arm that connects the power liftgate broke again, about a year after it was repaired the first time. This time we need other parts, as the part we replaced is stripped and the part needs to be welded on this time. 
Toyota Highlander in California, United States
Dec 2014 - Apr 2017
Dec 2016

29000 mi

US $300
car alarm keeps going off once/ twice a week; could not identify problem nor knew about issue, by the way this model is a 2011 highlander AWD 
Toyota Highlander in Colorado, United States
Jul 2017 - Jan 2022
May 2018

70000 mi

US $130
Battery Replaced $129.95 
Toyota Highlander in Ontario, Canada
Mar 2014 - Oct 2016
Aug 2014

47560 mi

C $3500
front end, rack and pinion, intermediate steering shaft 
Jan 2016

68200 mi

C $4200
rack and pinion , intermediate shaft 
Sep 2016

76260 mi

C $2600
2nd time problems with the transfer case. This time seals, and transmission seal 
Toyota Highlander in New York, United States
Mar 2011 - Dec 2012
Jul 2012

23500 mi
bolt which holds drivers side window track fell out 
Toyota Highlander in Alaska, United States
Sep 2012 - Jun 2018
Feb 2013

13400 mi
rubber molding that forms part of the rain gutter system blew out, again. 
Dec 2015

38000 mi

US $100
One lift strut for rear hatch has developed some sort of defect. Unsuccessful attempt to repair it. Repairable only by replacing the strut, a cost of over $500 with part and labor. Not worth this. 
Jul 2016

41000 mi

US $180
Drivers side window glass became separated from mounting and fell into door cavity. Dealer stated bolts had fallen out of mechanism. 
Sep 2016

49000 mi

US $300
Power lift strut for rear hatch failed 
Feb 2018

67000 mi
Entire rear hatch replaced under some kind of unpublicized recall. 
Toyota Highlander in New Jersey, United States
Jun 2011 - Jun 2013
Jan 2013

26700 mi
Headlight failure 
May 2013

31400 mi
Rear hatch automatic opener/closer failed & dislodged from mounting point resulting in part replacement & body work 
Toyota Highlander in Massachusetts, United States
Jun 2011 - Oct 2011
Oct 2011

2000 mi
Loud clicking noise in left front wheel area when shifting from park to reverse and accelerating. Was told that because of the torque, the calipers may shift a little and that it is common in the newer highlanders and tacomas. 
Toyota Highlander in Ontario, Canada
Feb 2011 - Dec 2015
Apr 2015

35320 mi

C $200
Rear wiper motor, linkage and rear window struts have failed. Despite low mileage and extended warranty only motor will be covered.Dealer has patched as best he could while we wait for parts. Dealer went to bat for me with Toyota to have them honour my warranty on rear wiper. Dealer was helpful but Toyota had an adversarial approach from the start. Powered rear hatch strut came away from car body. 
Toyota Highlander in Wisconsin, United States
Dec 2010 - Mar 2013
Oct 2012

25000 mi
Driver's side window had developed a rattling noise at speed, so I took it in to get it diagnosed and fixed. 
Nov 2012

25700 mi
Rattle was still occurring in driver's side window. Took the car back to the dealer, took them with me on a test drive so they could hear the noise for themselves, and then had them fix it. Had a weird metal-on-metal scraping sound at times when braking quickly. Took the car to the dealer, reproduced the noise for them on a test drive, and then had them diagnose and fix it. 
Toyota Highlander in Massachusetts, United States
Mar 2013 - Jul 2015
Apr 2013

14000 mi
Rubber roof molding strip came loose 
Toyota Highlander in Massachusetts, United States
Dec 2010 - Sep 2011
Aug 2011

12700 mi
Alarm system goes off by itself. Dealer said that was due to the sensor on the hood latch. 
Toyota Highlander in Colorado, United States
Mar 2011 - Sep 2015
Sep 2013

20000 mi
Seal for rear window replaced due to shrinking of original 

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2011 Toyota Highlander 4dr SUV

245-horsepower 3.5L V6 Hybrid CVT AWD

Toyota Highlander in Quebec, Canada
Dec 2010 - Jul 2018
Jan 2014 Driver side window not closing. 
Mar 2014

59520 mi
Driver side window previous problem was fixed 
Aug 2015

85800 mi

C $90
Check engine light diagnosis. Exhaust part required for repair was not available. Light went off by itself after 2 days. Rust on the tailgate. Car is less than 5 years but more than 100000 km dealer said nothing can be done. 
Jul 2016

104460 mi

C $1600
Rear left wheel bearing Some steering rod part was noisy. 
Aug 2016

105400 mi

C $25
Right headlight replaced 
Dec 2016

109740 mi

C $25
Left headlight replaced 
Feb 2017

111600 mi

C $1200
Right Front & Right rear wheel bearings replaced Since leaving dealer shop ABS, AWD Traction Control lights come on and off. 
Sep 2017

120590 mi

C $2500
EGR VALVE ASSY CHANGE THE EGR VALVE REPLACED EGR VALVE CLEANED PIPES CLEARED CODES CHANGE THE FRONT RIGHT SPEED SENSOR REPLACED RIGHT FRONT ABS SPEED SENSOR CLEARED CODE NEW RIGHT FRONT SPEED SENSOR FAULY OPEN CIRCUIT AT TIMES ABS LIGHT ON PART ON ORDER ABS ACTUATOR ASSY REPLACED SKID CONTROL ECU AND REPROGRAMED ALL ABS SYSTEM 
Mar 2018

130200 mi

C $300
Paint over 3 big spots of rust on tailgate. Rust came again. Replaced Windshield Wiper Transmission Linkage 
May 2018

132060 mi

C $200
REPLACE LICENCE PLATE BULBS AND SOCKET SEIZED [parking brake] CABLE WAS REPLACED 
Toyota Highlander in New York, United States
Mar 2015 - Jan 2022
May 2016

48500 mi

US $550
12V Battery died. Unable to jumpstart due to Hybrid system. Special Toyota Hybrid 12V battery resulted in $500+ repair 

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2011 Toyota Highlander 4dr SUV

187-horsepower 2.7L I4 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD

Toyota Highlander in Quebec, Canada
Oct 2011 - Oct 2021
May 2015

48360 mi

C $46
Driver's window not descending properly, sometimes a portion of the window not in the door completely. 
Apr 2016

61460 mi

C $120
Driver Sunvisor broke. Later Toyota issued a recall, apparently wide spread sunvisor problem. 
Sep 2016

68200 mi

C $160
change back sway bar bushings. Rubber deteriorates probably because antirust treatment (oil) and bad roads. 
May 2018

91760 mi

C $130
Right side sunvisor replaced (noise, trepidation, very loose) 
Oct 2021

106640 mi

C $2000
Torque converter to be changed, shaky transmission and shuddering. Estimate CAD $2,000. Didn't do it, added a bottle of additive and traded at the same dealer i bought it from for a new Camry. 
Toyota Highlander in Illinois, United States
Dec 2010 - Jun 2015
Mar 2013

26000 mi
Loose roof trim. Long piece of rubber trim under passenger of roof. Under the roof-rack 
Apr 2013

26500 mi
Loose roof trim. Long piece of rubber trim under passenger of roof. Under the roof-rack 

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See TrueDelta's information for all Toyota models.

2011 Toyota Highlander Repair Histories

See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how frequently 2011 Toyota Highlander problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.