Toyota Highlander seat belt problems

Filed Oct 1, 2026 · Seat belts · MA · 1 injury

The component involved was the vehicle's seat belt/restraint system. While my daughter was wearing the seat belt, it became stuck around her waist/abdomen and became extremely tight. The belt continued to tighten and would not loosen or release normally. The seat belt had to be cut in an emergency to free my daughter. My daughter was sitting in the second row to the right. The seat belt became stuck and extremely tight around her waist/abdomen. After she moved the shoulder portion of the seat belt behind her shoulder and then unbuckled the seat belt. Even after she unbuckled it, the belt did not loosen or release. Instead, belt continued retracting/tightening and pulled her body upward toward the seat-belt anchor point. It pulled her upward until her stomach/abdomen was near the point where the seat belt comes out of the vehicle. Her neck/head became pressed against the vehicle roof, her feet remained on the seat, leaving her body hanging from the belt. She was screaming that she could not breathe. We had to cut the seat belt off to free her then took her to ER Due to visible bruises. The problem has NOT been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. I contacted IRA Toyota dealer @ Danvers Mass and specifically requested that they inspect the seat belt, but they refused. I also contacted Toyota Corporate and requested an inspection, but they refused because the vehicle is outside of its warranty period. The vehicle/component has NOT been inspected by the manufacturer, dealer, police, or insurance company, to my knowledge. Toyota Corporate and the dealer were notified of the incident but did not inspect the seat belt. There were no warning messages that I noticed before the incident. The first symptom was when the seat belt became stuck and began tightening around my daughter's waist/abdomen. The belt continued to tighten and could not be released normally. UNKNOWN as to what caused the seat belt to malfunction.

Filed Jun 21, 2026 · Seat belts · IL

The third row seat belts in the 2024 Highlander are very difficult to latch. I had to bring my Highlander to the dealership twice over the seatbelt buckles in the third row. The buckle part does not lift up high enough to grab the buckle to latch it. Anytime a child old enough to be in the third row sits back there an adult has to Buckle them because they can’t get the seat belt to latch to the buckle. It’s supposed to be a family friendly vehicle but if a 7 year old can’t buckle themselves, that is an extremely unsafe design. It often takes me 10-15 minutes to get kids buckled in my third row because of how challenging it is to get the seat belts to latch as an adult. I have had to use a butter knife to get them to latch. This safety issue , I did not have in my 2021Highlander. I don’t feel children are safe in the third row of my vehicle. This time the dealership said it had a debris in the buckle and that’s why it wouldn’t latch. However even when they do all latch they are very difficult to latch. These should be replaced with safe buckles that latch the first attempts

Filed Mar 27, 2026 · Seat belts · 21,000 miles · MO

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, and driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt alarm chimed while the seat belts were properly buckled. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and released and fastened the seat belt securely however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer a third time; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

Filed Dec 9, 2025 · Airbags, Electrical · MD

When right front pax sits in seat and fastens seatbelt, the airbag indicator correctly says "ON." But after a few minutes, the airbag turns "OFF" and the driver's dash gets an "unfastened seatbelt" warning and a "faulty airbag" warning. All of these occur while the front right pax has remain seated and buckled. If the pax unbuckles and exits the seat, these incorrect warnings all remain the same. The right front pax seat belt buckle has been replaced with no effect. The seat has been recalibrated (seat sensors) with no effect. The wires under the seat have been disconnected, cleaned, and re-connected with no effect. This is a safety issue in that the airbag on that front right side de-activates when a passenger is in that seat. There is a Toyota Recall Campaign for this identical problem, but it does not include my model year (2015). Requesting the federal safety agency get Toyota to extend their recall to include 2015 models, please.

Filed Dec 18, 2023 · Seat belts · AZ

The 3rd row seat belt buckle is imbedded too deep in the seat. This makes it very difficult for a child to buckle themselves and in several attempts the parent or another adult was required to insert the seat belt into the locking device. What is more concerning is the difficulty a child has when trying to release the seat belt. While this may be an annoyance that requires adult intervention it is of particular concern when a child, in an emergency is required to release the seat belt.

Filed Aug 17, 2023 · Seat belts · MA

Seat belt refused to retract and was pressing on our son's belly 911 was called and notified of the issue, Policeman had to cut off the seat belt for my son's safety Insurance was notified and we were informed that insurance will cover the repair cost but we have a $ 500 deductible Toyota gave us a quote for $ 470.12 plus sales tax 19.29 for a total of $545.73

Filed May 3, 2023 · Seat belts · CA

I took delivery of the new vehicle without testing all the seatbelts. The third row passenger side seat belt is fully retracted as it should be, but it's locked in that position. It came from the dealer that way, and it cannot be used. If I hadn't noticed while testing out the seats, I might incorrectly assume that it is functioning while inviting 6 passengers into my vehicle. This could lead to somebody taking a ride without a seatbelt. Third rows of these mid-size SUV's aren't commonly used, so I imagine it could be a long time (years) before somebody notices that their seat belt doesn't work, unless they happened to check them all. I have a service appointment in 2 days at my local dealer to have the seatbelt inspected and fixed or replaced.

Filed Feb 1, 2023 · Seat belts · MO

Unable to buckle 3rd row passenger side seat belt buckle. Safety of my children were put at risk as I didn’t realize this until recently since our family grew. No warning indicating lights are on.

Filed Dec 17, 2022 · Seat belts · TN

Driver's seatbelt doesn't latch well and when latched it is very difficult to unlatch making you feel trapped in vehicle.

Filed Sep 8, 2022 · Seat belts · WA

Rear passenger seatbelt has torn in multiple places. I believe something inside may be cutting it when it retracts. The buckle is now stuck in a tear and the seatbelt will not fully retract. Toyota refuses to fix it under warranty because it’s “not usual wear and tear” and there’s no recall. I believe this is a significant safety risk.