2004 Toyota Highlander Airbags Problems

While driving on the highway, one of your car's tires locked up, causing you to lose control and skid into a guard rail. Your car was totaled in the crash, but none of the airbags deployed when they should have. This suggests a potential failure in both the wheel locking system and the airbag safety system.

Your passenger airbag occupancy sensor has stopped working and remains stuck in the "OFF" position, even when an adult is sitting in the passenger seat. This means the airbag won't deploy for a front-seat passenger in a crash. You didn't receive any warning light or error message about this failure, so you may not have known the system wasn't working. The dealership says the sensor needs to be replaced at a cost of around $1,300, and it cannot be permanently switched to "ON" as a workaround.

Your passenger-side airbag is malfunctioning, causing a buzzing sound from the dashboard that has been occurring for two days. The buzzing gets worse in humid conditions and can cause the side panel near the driver's left leg to vibrate while driving. A repair technician confirmed the airbag system needs service at a Toyota dealership to address the malfunction.

Your vehicle was involved in a serious rollover crash at 45 mph after hitting a curb, sidewalk, fence, and rolling onto its roof. The driver was wearing a seatbelt but lost consciousness due to a medical event before the crash occurred. Critically, none of the airbags deployed during this severe collision, and the driver sustained head trauma and other injuries. The airbag system may have failed to detect the crash or deploy as designed, and the system should be inspected by a technician to determine why airbags did not activate.

THE PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE NOBODY WAS EVEN IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, WHILE TRAVELING ON A CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY. A CHECK OF THE TOYOTA OWNER'S MANUAL STATED THAT THE ENTIRE AIRBAG SYSTEM WOULD NOT FUNCTION IF THIS LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON FOR NO REASON AT ALL. SINCE WE LIVE NO WHERE NEAR A DEALER, NEAREST DEALER IS 100 MILES AWAY, I LET IT STAY THAT WAY FOR AWHILE. THERE WAS ALSO A SAFETY PROBLEM WITH DEFECTIVE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS MODEL, WHERE THE ALWAYS ON DAYLAMPS MELT THE FRONT HEADLIGHTS AND LEAVE A VISIBLE MELTED BUBBLE, THAT THE DEALER REFUSES TO FIX BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T MANUFACTURE THE HEADLIGHTS AND THE VEHICLE YEAR AND MILEAGE IS OUT OF WARRANTY- BUT, WE STILL HAVE THE VEHICLE- THEY SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. THEN, MOST RECENTLY, A SHUFFLING SOUND FROM BEHIND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL/ BEZEL CLUSTER OCCURRED AND MAKES THE WEIRD SOUND FOR 3 OR SO MINUTES SOMETIMES WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED ON. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN EVERY TIME, ABOUT EVERY 2 TIMES NOW. THE SOUND USED TO MAKE A CLICKING SOUND FOR ONLY 1 MINUTE- SO, IT'S GETTING LOUDER, AND LONGER. WE WERE ALSO TOLD BY A MECHANIC THAT THE SUSPENSION/RODS/SHOCKS ARE BAD AND WILL NEED REPLACED- THAT IS AN EXPENSIVE FIX. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND SWERVED TO AVOID ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A LARGE PILLAR ON AN OVERPASS AND BOUNCED OFF OF IT INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE ALSO CRASHED INTO A SECOND PILLAR. THE DRIVER SUFFERED NO INJURIES. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY WITH THE MASSIVE IMPACT OF THE CRASH. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE AIR BAG SENSOR MUST BE STRUCK IN A SPECIFIC AREA FOR THE DEPLOYMENT TO OCCUR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,498.

2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AIRBAGS NOT WORKING. *TR

WAS T-BONED ON DRIVERS SIDE AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK

AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A NISSAN PATHFINDER CUT IN FRONT OF ME AND I CRASHED INTO HIM. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 50 MPH WHEN HE SUDDENLY VEERED INTO MY LAND. I TRIED TO BRAKE, BUT THERE WASN'T TIME AND I HIT THE BACK OF HIS PATHFINDER AND THEN SPUN AROUND AND HIT THE GUARDRAIL. THE SEAT BELTS EXPLODED, BUT THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, UPON EITHER IMPACT. THE FIREMEN JUST SHOOK THEIR HEADS IN DISBELIEF AND MY CAR'S DAMAGE (~$9000). MY HIGHLANDER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BACK TO ME IN 2-3 WEEKS, BUT IT HAS BEEN NINE WEEKS AND THE CAR STILL ISN'T FIXED DUE TO BACK ORDERS AT TOYOTA. THE NUISANCE OF THE TOYOTA BACKORDERS MAKES ME VERY UNSATISFIED WITH TOYOTA. THE FAILURE OF THE AIR BAG TO DEPLOY IS SCARY AND MAKES ME VERY LEERY OF THE HIGHLANDER AND DECREASES MY FAITH IN TOYOTA, ONCE I DO GET IT BACK. (AL