2011 Toyota HighlanderRecalls, problems, MPG & safety

“In the last 30 days, the steering has begun to feel "loose", as if I am driving on ice. At first it was barely perceptable. There has been more "play" in the steering. During the last 2 days, the car is now making a thud when I am steering right. I have an appointment for a mechanic to look at it. The car is a 2011 Highlander, AWD, with 89,000 miles on it. I feel the steering issue could be very dangerous at some point.”

“The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the sun visors on the driver’s and passenger’s sides were hanging down and would not stay in the upright position. The contact stated that the sun visors obstructed her vision while driving at various speeds. The contact called the dealer and was informed that there was a recall on the vehicle for the sun visors; however, the recall had expired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.”

“DRIVER SIDE SUN VISOR STUCK IN DOWN POSITION, AND WILL NOT MOVE UPWARD OUT OF THE WAY, OBSTRUCTING DRIVER'S VIEW. IT CAN BE MOVED TO THE SIDE WINDOW, BUT THEN THE SIDE VIEW IS OBSTRUCTED. I HESITATE TO TRY AND FORCE IT UP, BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE IT WOULD BREAK AND JUST FLOP AROUND. RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM, I HAVE LEARNED OF MANY OTHER OWNERS OF SIMILAR-VINTAGE TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. THE TOYOTA DEALER QUOTED OVER $300 TO REPLACE WITH A NEW PART. THIS IS SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED BY THE MANUFACTURER.”