2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Only 5 defect reports have been filed with NHTSA about the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which is too few to compute mileage percentiles or a risk score. The reports reported other speed control problem.
When each failure gets reported
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other speed control problem | adas | 2 | 2 | — | 66k | — | 0.0 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 105k | — | 0.0 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 153k | — | 0.0 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 0.0 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other speed control problem
My highlander hybrid: pushed start button, and behaved normally. Upon being placed in gear, the vehicle attempted to accelerate as if the gas pedal was pushed to the floor. Only heavy brake pressure prevented a seriously dangerousness condition of full acceleration in a small parking lot. When placed in park, the throttle reduced to idle. I repeated the action of placing the car in gear (either reverse or drive), and again, the throttle advanced to a full acceleration mode. Again, only very heavy pressure on the brake prevented uncontrolled acceleration. I parked the vehicle, and called my local toyota dealer. After being placed on hold several times, I left a voice mail with the service department. I also went online to toyota to the customer hotline, and left a detailed email with VIN, problem description, and expressed a concern for a serious safety defect. *tr
Other brake problem
Break light warnings all came on. Brakes went out while in motion on a city street. Had to shove break pedal down with both feet to the floor going uphill to stop. Dealership told us it's the break actuator pump and will be $5000 to repair. This is a serious hardship on us. I'm a foster parent and need my vehicle in working order. Dealership said only they can do the repair due to sensor calibrations.
Recalls on the 2011 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, affecting an estimated 43,197 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover visibility:power window devices and controls. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
1,814,284 vehicles 2015-10-22- Defect
- 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
- 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
- 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.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
What the reports on file say
The complaints recorded against the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid are other speed control problem (2 reports, around 66k miles), other engine problem (1 report, around 105k miles) and other brake problem (1 report, around 153k miles). With a sample this size these are anecdotes rather than a pattern, and they are shown because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see them than nothing.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2021. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed