Complaint 2190166

2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER • POWER TRAIN • incident Mar 7, 2026

Crash
No
Fire
No
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Complaint ID
2190166
Make
TOYOTA
Model
HIGHLANDER
Model Year
2017
Component
POWER TRAIN
Incident Date
Mar 7, 2026
Date Received
Mar 25, 2026
Data As Of
Sep 1, 2026

Complaint Summary

POWER TRAIN

Owner Narrative

March 5th purchased a battery from Autozone Z net Fit Match that caused cascading electrical and life -safety risk while traveling from hewitt, TX to Washington DC for our families spring break trip including 4 minor children. Component: 12-Volt Battery / Electrical System / Power Steering / Service Brakes Summary: Vehicle suffered catastrophic failure of Power Steering and Braking systems while in motion due to the installation of an incompatible lead-acid battery recommended by AutoZone’s 'Z-Net' catalog. Despite Toyota Technical Service Bulletin T-TT-0523-19 (Jan 2019) stating this VIN requires an Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB/AGM) for its Stop-Start system, the retailer’s database continues to misidentify standard batteries as compatible. This mismatch causes a voltage drop that disables critical safety modules ('Limp Mode'). I have video evidence of the catalog error. This is a systemic misrepresentation affecting 2017+ Toyota Highlander safety compliance.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.