2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Highlander Hybrid years
- Far more complaints than other years 4th of 22 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 4 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 40 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. That ranks 4th out of 22 Highlander Hybrid model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is service brakes (17 complaints, 43%), typically at around 125,921 miles. Complaints mention 2 crashes, 1 injury. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.
- 40owner complaints
- 4safety recalls
- 3NHTSA investigations
- 2complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 17 | 43% | 125,921 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 7 | 18% | 8,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 5 | 13% | 5,600 | — | — |
| Engine | 4 | 10% | 92,521 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 3 | 8% | 103,600 | — | — |
| Hybrid Propulsion System | 3 | 8% | 40,138 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 2 | 5% | 53,069 | — | — |
| Tires | 2 | 5% | 27,233 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 2 | 5% | 135,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 5% | 54,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 1 | 3% | 4,300 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 3% | 10,500 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 3% | 12,000 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 3% | 12,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 1 | 3% | 60,200 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 3% | 12,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 1 | 3% | 96,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 3% | 10,500 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid recalls (4)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Visibility:power window devices and controls
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Hybrid propulsion system: inverter
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid vehicles manufactured February 16, 2005, through July 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured February 23, 2005, through December 2, 2008. The Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. If this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel.
Risk: The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.
Seats; air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: 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."
Risk: Incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels could result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds (DP22005) — opened Jan 27, 2023, closed Aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V063000.
- Steering Column Separation (EA18006) — opened Nov 16, 2018, closed Apr 2, 2024.
- Upper Steering Column Separation (PE18005) — opened May 4, 2018, closed Nov 20, 2018.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL AT 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, STEERING SYSTEM, AND BATTERY WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, "STOP VEHICLE IN A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY" APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE…
Brakes failed shortly after the abs warning light went off. Dealer diagnosed this as a break actuator assembly failure. It looks like toyota had a warranty enhancement program for vehicle years 2006-2007. However, my 2009 appears to be having exactly the same issue, yet it's not covered by the…
Once car was sitting in a lot and another time, running on highway. Abs, brake,traction control, vsc lights came on also message display said abs message and brake message. Codes from abs dtc,s are all a c-0371, 1271 through 1278, 1281, 1346, & 1391. Seems to be same issue as the '06-'07 highlander…
Takata recall- when fuiling from the pump, nuzzles keep shuting off itself like the tank is already full. Its been happening recently. At the same time, check break system by deler start appering. It takes 3 to 4 push to start the car after this error message. Sometimes it takes longer and…
The brake system completely went out of order suddenly, during the motion in the street. Although the brake system liquid was renewed in toyota center just few days ago, few days prior to required scheduled maintenance date. Now the price of the brake system repair is catastrophic. As i am asking…
Other Toyota Highlander Hybrid years
← 2008 Highlander Hybrid · 2010 Highlander Hybrid →
See all Toyota Highlander Hybrid problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
Owners most often report service brakes, service brakes, electric, service brakes, hydraulic problems. The top one, service brakes, accounts for 17 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Highlander Hybrid model years, the 2009 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.