NHTSA Complaint #11546622 — 2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

1. Climate control system failure to defrost windows during cold weather/winter conditions caused all windows to fog resulting 0 visibility while driving. 2. Occupants including myself, spouse, adult child and toddler grandchild , surrounding vehicles and their occupants were for 5 to 10 minutes exposed to potential multi-car crash, injuries and loss of life. 3. Online research revealed this climate control failure has been experienced by other Toyota owners and the issue has been resolved however not been reported to NHTSA. Two days after the occurrence the vehicle was taken to Bud Clary Toyota, Moses Lake, WA for inspection and repair. Note-without the detailed information from my online research the issue/repair/resolution wasn't determined by the Toyota service shop. 4. There are no warnings when this failure occurs. It happens only when outside temperatures drop below 40 degrees and severity increases with quick drops in temperature. The first occurrence was during first winter of ownership, 2020/2021 and reported to the next servicing dealership, Peterson Toyota, Boise, ID. 5. The repairing dealership required customer pay and advised to follow up with Toyota customer service to report and request reimbursement. Follow up completed later in December 2022, Toyota denied warranty reimbursement however the customer service agent requested and obtained repair reimbursement and recommended reporting and requesting recall status to NHSTA.