Problems · by component
2006 Toyota Highlander electrical system problems
26 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2006 Toyota Highlander cite electrical system, 9% of all 278 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
26
9% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“While normally driving on the highway and without no warning the vehicle the power steering stops working , it just dies with no power and dash lights warning start to flash and Check Hybrid System turns on. I am not a mechanic nor a technician . The mechanic disconnected the ground cable after waiting about 5 minutes and it resets the system. He told me that it has something that may be caused by some electrical problem . He thinks that it has to do with a recall about some soldering electrical part in the inverter control. This has happened in 3 more occasion and I've been lucky and i have time to let it go to side of the road and i disconnect the ground wire for 5 minutes and connect it back and it resets and then starts to work normal. Since the vehicle stalls completely i fear that this could cause an accident or lost of life due to other vehicles coming behind at high speeds . Please i need help!”
“Power window failure passenger window stopped working, back passenger window was always getting stuck either halfway down or all way down ( I had the POWER DISCONNECTED for the Bk passenger window). front driver window hesitates to work, can hear window rattling part way or all the way down - Yes car available for inspection. The safety for all persons in my vehicle are at risk I have not been in an accident yet, if I do I’m worried people won’t be able to escape through the windows if needed. Dealer looked at it- too expensive to fix. Obviously no warning light This has been going on since 2012. I complained to Toyota on 8/28/2012 my incident # 120828000209 asking them if they had complaints - NO complaints regarding window failure, 2 months later toyota had a recall due to power switch failure, sticky power window switch pretty much related to catching on fire-mine has not. This has to be investigated before people get hurt !!!! I have complained to you in the past, go to Toyotanation.com and look at all the vehicles with the same issues. The date below is incorrect disregard it”
“The dashboard on my Highlander Hybrid 2006 (AWD) had all its check lights on suddenly. I was not driving then. The car was in my parking lot for a few hours before which it had no signs on. The warning message said: Vehicle Stability Control (VSC). I took it to my nearest Toyota service center for diagnosing the issue. They reported that the ABS systems have started to fail. Specifically, the ABS actuator is losing pressure and should be replaced. They quoted a price of $2700 approx. which includes about $2000 for parts. Turns out that this same part had been replaced in 2016 during a recall - but they cannot attend to this again without charging the customer. What I was never told about was that a whirring sound - which has always been an issue with this car - was always from the ABS actuator. The same service center has checked and diagnosed this car multiple times - so I am surprised that they did not find the ABS actuator noise a problem on earlier occasions. I have been reading about this on this forum and Toyotanation and this seems to be a consistent issue with the older Toyota hybrid highlanders and other hybrids as well - with the same diagnosis and…”
“WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE ALL THE LIGHTS ON MY DASHBOARD ILLUMINATED. MY VEHICLE LOST POWER AND I HAD TO PULL OVER. IT DIED THERE. I WAS ON BELFIELD AVE AND GRATZ STREET IN PHILADELPHIA, PA . I SUBSEQUENTLY HAD IT TOWEDBACK TO MY RESIDENCE.”
“WHEN IS THERE GOING TO BE A RECALL FOR THE POWER WINDOWS??? THERE WAS A RECALL FOR 2007 HIGHLANDERS- IN 2012, 2 MONTHS BEFORE I COMPLAINED TO TOYOTA, THEY HAD NO COMPLAINTS !!THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD, THERE ARE SOOO MANY COMPLAINTS. I CURRENTLY HAVE 2 WINDOWS THAT DON'T WORK,THEY WERE STUCK IN THE DOWN POSITION, BOTH OF THE MOTORS HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED. THE 3RD WINDOW WORKS WHEN IT WANTS TO. MY CAR CURRENTLY HAS @ 88,000 MILES. THE VISORS DON'T STAY UP, ANOTHER SAFETY HAZARD !!! ALSO WAY TOO MANY COMPLAINTS.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TOYOTA OF CLEVELAND (3560 VILLAGE N BLVD, MCDONALD, TN 37353) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ABS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 259,294.”
Showing 6 of 26 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.