If you’ve got a 2008, 2009, 2010 or 2011 Toyota Highlander or Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the alarm goes off for no apparent reason (usually when it’s sitting for a prolonged period of time), CARspec may have the solution for your unplanned nightly wake up. If your vehicle is a 2008-2010 with a VIN (17-digit vehicle identification number, found just ahead of the steering wheel at the base of the dash as seen through the window) that stars with 5TD, or a 2008-2011 Highlander Hybrid that starts with VIN JTE, the hood latch may be to blame.
Toyota Highlander
Toyota released an updated part number for the applicable vehicles specifically to combat this issue. As outlined in Toyota repair bulletin T-SB-0200-10, a new hood latch with switch is resolving the majority of these issues. Because the alarm goes off at random times and is difficult to diagnose as such, CARspec recommends the updated latch as the first step in repairing this issue on potentially affected vehicles withing the VIN ranges.
As Eden Prairie and Chanhassen’s Toyota and Lexus repair specialist we hope this help an owner fix an issue their normal auto mechanic may miss, and sleep easier at night without their Highlander waking them up!
