NHTSA Complaint #10702118 — 2010 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

IN JANUARY OF 2013, I TOOK MY HIGHLANDER INTO A DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO DIAGNOSE A PROBLEM WITH MY DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT AUTOMATIC LOCK, WHICH HAD COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING AT AROUND 46,000 MILES. THIS MEANS I HAD TO PHYSICALLY PRESS THE LOCK AS NOT EVEN THE KEY WOULD WORK. I HAD TO OPEN THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR, CRAWL ACROSS THE SEAT, & UNLOCK THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR IN ORDER TO GET IN MY CAR. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE PROBLEM WAS THE DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR, WHICH WENT OUT, & IT WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. RATHER THAN PAYING $575 AT THE DEALER, I FOUND A MECHANIC THAT ORDERED THE PART & REPLACED THE ACTUATOR FOR LESS THAN $400. LESS THAN THREE MONTHS LATER, AT JUST OVER 50,000 MILES & ONLY 2.5 YEARS OF OWNING THE CAR, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE ACTUATOR WENT OUT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I HAD SOME WORDS WITH THE DEALER, & THEY AGREED TO DO A ONE-TIME "COURTESY" FIX, REPLACING IT AT NO COST. OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BOTH OF THE REAR DOOR ACTUATORS WENT OUT. NOT WANTING TO SPEND $800+ TO REPLACE THE ACTUATORS, I DECIDED TO LIVE WITH RISK & ANNOYANCE THIS CAUSED, HOPING THERE'D SOON BE A RECALL. WELL, HERE WE ARE IN MARCH 2015, & AT 87,000 MILES, GUESS WHAT? THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE ACTUATOR IS GOING OUT AGAIN. SEARCHING THE WEB FOR THIS ISSUE, I FOUND HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER TOYOTA OWNERS, OVER A VARIETY OF MODELS & YEARS. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE & TOYOTA NEEDS TO RECALL ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES. I CAN COME UP WITH AT LEAST A DOZEN SCENARIOS WHERE THIS ISSUE COULD CAUSE SERIOUS HARM TO THE CAR'S OCCUPANTS. IF I CAN'T GET TO MY CHILD IN THE BACK SEAT BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN A WRECK & DOOR IS LOCKED; IF I AM CAR-JACKED B/C THE DOOR WOULDN'T LOCK; IF I HAVE TO ENTER THROUGH THE PASSENGER'S SIDE TO UNLOCK MY DOOR AND X/Y/Z HAPPENS... I'VE ALREADY LOCKED MYSELF OUT DUE TO THIS ISSUE (CAR THINKS DOORS ARE UNLOCKED & WON'T WARN ME MY KEYS ARE INSIDE)! HELP! *TR