2008-2013 Toyota Highlander Warranty Coverage for the Power Back Door ZG4

Lewis

Lewis

Moderator
Staff member


Warranty Enhancement Letter ZG4
​
Subject: 2008 – 2013 Model Year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid Vehicles
Extension of Warranty Coverage for the Power Back Door

In our continuing efforts to ensure the best in customer satisfaction, Toyota is announcing a Warranty Enhancement Program to extend the warranty coverage for the Power Back Door on certain 2008 – 2013 model year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles.

Background:
2008 – 2013 model year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles may exhibit a condition where the Power Back Door does not close properly. In some cases, the Power Back Door may reach the fully closed position and then reverse to the open position. In other cases, the Power Back Door closes, but produces a pop or clunk noise.

Although the Power Back Door is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever occurs first), we at Toyota care about the customers’ ownership experience. Toyota is now extending the warranty coverage for repairs related to when the Power Back Door does not close properly as described above.

See Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 0191-17 for details

Warranty Enhancement Program Details:
This Warranty Enhancement Program provides enhanced coverage to the vehicles “New Vehicle Limited Warranty” as it applies to the Power Back Door. The specific condition covered by this program is when the Power Back Door does not close properly as described above. If the condition is verified, the vehicle will be repaired with a new Power Back Door under the terms of this Warranty Enhancement Program.

 The Primary Coverage offers warranty enhancement until October 25, 2018, regardless of mileage.

 After the Primary Coverage, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 8 years or 150,000 miles from the vehicle’s date of first use, whichever occurs first.

This coverage is for warranty work performed at an authorized Toyota dealer only. It is subject to the same terms and conditions set forth in the New Vehicle Limited Warranty Section of the Owner’s Warranty Information booklet. For example, damage from abuse, an accident, theft and/or vandalism is not covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty or this warranty enhancement.

Covered Vehicles:
Approximately 402,500 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles are covered by this Warranty Enhancement Program. Approximately 3,500 vehicles involved in this Warranty Enhancement Program were distributed to Puerto Rico.

Owner Letter Mailing Date:
Toyota will begin to notify owners in March 2017, and owner letters will be mailed over several months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the condition?
Certain 2008 – 2013 model year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles may exhibit a condition where the Power Back Door does not close properly. In some cases, the Power Back Door may reach the fully closed position and then reverse to the open position. In other cases, the Power Back Door closes, but produces a pop or clunk noise.

Although the Power Back Door is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever occurs first), we at Toyota care about the customers’ ownership experience. Toyota is now extending the warranty coverage for repairs related to when the Power Back Door does not close properly as described above.

What is Toyota going to do?
Toyota will send (in phases consistent with parts availability and repair capacity) starting in March 2017, an owner notification by first class mail advising owners of this Warranty Enhancement Program. If the owner experiences the condition described above, he/she should contact a local authorized Toyota dealership for diagnosis.

If the condition is verified, the dealer will replace the Power Back Door with a new one at NO CHARGE to the customer.

Which part(s) are covered by this Warranty Enhancement Program?
The following specific parts are covered by this Warranty Enhancement Program:
Power Back Door Panel
Power Back Door Stays
Power Back Door Weather-strip
Power Back Door Motor
Power Back Door Hinges

What should an owner do if experiencing this condition?
If an owner thinks that the condition described in this Warranty Enhancement Program is present, he/she should contact a local Toyota dealer for appropriate diagnosis and repair. If the condition is verified as being in accordance with the terms of the warranty extension, the repair will be performed at NO CHARGE.

What if I have additional questions or concerns?
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1- 888-270-9371 Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Saturday 7:00 am to 4:30 pm Central Time.
 
G

GB12 Highlander

Guest
I own a 2012 Highlander Limited with just over 50,000 miles. This winter, the back hatch started to intermittently not close with the remote on my key fob, with the interior button by the steering wheel or the button on the hatch itself. It continued to happen more frequently and now the hatch will not open with any of the remote buttons either. It will only open and close manually.

I brought it to my local dealership the other day thinking it was part of the extended warranty that I received a letter about. They have told me it is a different problem and will not fall under the warranty and to just look at it, it will cost me $110. Has anyone else had this problem and do you think it should fall under the extended warranty?
 
L

Lorenzo

Guest
Sound silly, but...did you check the button inside the glove compartment? It turns on/off the power feature on the door.
 
A

AshSF

Guest
I have a 2012 and the trunk had problems closing for months. It was clunking and the motor was spinning, but eventually, it worked. Then it suddenly broke while trying to close. I took it to Toyota this morning along with the notice I got and they're charging me $185 just to LOOK at it?!
 
P

Prasad

Guest
I have 2011 Highlander . Back door latch came off when I tried close in May 2017 and near by Toyota dealer fixed it at free of cost. Again it failed in the last week and contacted same Dealer today, parts to be ordered and dealer is taking care of without any cost to me.
It seems our near by dealer is handling it nice
 
K

kiwiyoda

Guest
The rear hatch is under warranty extention. We just had ours replaced for free.
 
H

HonestAbe

Guest
On July 16, 2019, a Toyota dealership told me that there is only 4 months left to make a claim for the lift gate defect under the warranty extension. Also, the dealership told me that my 2012 Toyota Highlander Limited was not covered under the lift gate warranty extension because my lift gate's motor was broken, but a metal component was not bent. They used that as justification for refusing to replace the lift gate, even though the lift gate is clearly defective, broken and will not close with the use of the remote, lift gate button, or button my the steering column. Rather, the lift gate can be closed only manually. By the way, the manufacturer's fix for the defect is to replace the entire rear lift gate door and all internal components, including the lift gate motor.
 
S

Sue

Guest
I have a 2008 Toyota Highlander that just starting having the issue with the lift gate. I understand that the warranty period is over but since I only have 145,000 miles on the SUV thought maybe Toyota Customer Service would offer at least some partial assistance since they are more than aware that it is a problem with the vehicle. The first person I talked to at least had empathy but the person I had to be transferred to pretty much was a sucks to be you person with her response. Needless to say I was disappointed with the treatment.
 
R

Richard Wagner

Guest
GB12 Highlander said:
I own a 2012 Highlander Limited with just over 50,000 miles. This winter, the back hatch started to intermittently not close with the remote on my key fob, with the interior button by the steering wheel or the button on the hatch itself. It continued to happen more frequently and now the hatch will not open with any of the remote buttons either. It will only open and close manually.

I brought it to my local dealership the other day thinking it was part of the extended warranty that I received a letter about. They have told me it is a different problem and will not fall under the warranty and to just look at it, it will cost me $110. Has anyone else had this problem and do you think it should fall under the extended warranty?
Click to expand...
Just took my 2012 highlander in for same reason got the same response and was told it was a bad motor. I could replace it for $1800 I was not charged for the diagnosis
 
T

Tami

Guest
I just had the same issue $2000 to fix. Im contemplating buying an aftermarket motor and having a motorhead friend fix it.
 
H

Hoa

Guest
Same issue here as the dealership charged me $100 to tell me my motor was bad and would cost $1800 to fix.
 
D

David Lord

Guest
I think the explanation of the warranty is bad, I think they should be saying that it is the door latch mechanism which is faulty. I thought (like others) it meant that the drive motor which moved the door, as well as the latch mechanism was the problem. But reading the comments, the dealership is saying that the door opening/closing motor is not covered under this extended warranty.
What is hard to understand is if it is the door latching mechanism is not locking the door in the closed position, why do they replace the whole door and not just the latching mechanism which would be a lot cheaper. The question is, does the latching mechanism damage the door and so they replace it or is that mechanism that badly designed they have designed a new one and it will not fit in the existing door. In this case most of our Highlanders are at real risk of failing at some time, or did they get the latching mechanisms made at a different factories and that is the problem because one of them used bad parts?
 
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