2014-2016 Toyota Highlander Door Panel Leather Creased on Arm Rest

[MG]

Some 2014 – 2016 model year Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles may exhibit a condition in
which the door handle material insert of the driver or passenger side door panels is creased,
wrinkly, or has started peeling. This condition can occur on either the front or rear door panels
and is NOT exclusive to any specific color code.

The Service Bulletin ONLY applies to the door handle material insert. Follow the procedure in bulletin 0167-16 to address this condition and replace the Front Door Panel Trim.

This repair is covered under the Toyota Basic Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 36 months
or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date.

 

[MerryO]

Thanks for posting this. Leather handles on both of my rear doors are coming loose and wrinkling.

 

[Maru Vidal]

This is exactly what is happening to my RAV4 2015 Limited. I took it to my dealer and they blame it to an "Outside influence" referring to my suntan lotion and/or hand sanitizer conveniently found in the cup holder. This also occurred right after a visit to the dealership. Another funny thing is that this is happening on the passenger panel I sit on lees frequently simply because I drive the car most of the time. If my "products" were the outside influence I would expect this to happen to the driver's side panel. Neither the dealership or Toyota Customer Service want to take responsibility. This is my third Toyota; after this experience, this will be my last. Any thoughts, recommendations?

 

[MG]

This is exactly what is happening to my RAV4 2015 Limited. I took it to my dealer and they blame it to an "Outside influence" referring to my suntan lotion and/or hand sanitizer conveniently found in the cup holder. This also occurred right after a visit to the dealership. Another funny thing is that this is happening on the passenger panel I sit on lees frequently simply because I drive the car most of the time. If my "products" were the outside influence I would expect this to happen to the driver's side panel. Neither the dealership or Toyota Customer Service want to take responsibility. This is my third Toyota; after this experience, this will be my last. Any thoughts, recommendations?

Try visiting another Toyota Dealer. Just have them look at it as if this was the first time you have this looked at. No need to mention the first dealers response.

 

[Maru Vidal]

Try visiting another Toyota Dealer. Just have them look at it as if this was the first time you have this looked at. No need to mention the first dealers response.

Thank you for your fast response. So, Toyota Customer Service already opened a case putting it back on the dealer. I am not sure what the other Dealer would be able to do. I'll try it.

 

[CPO HL 2014]

Some 2014 – 2016 model year Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles may exhibit a condition in
which the door handle material insert of the driver or passenger side door panels is creased,
wrinkly, or has started peeling. This condition can occur on either the front or rear door panels
and is NOT exclusive to any specific color code.

The Service Bulletin ONLY applies to the door handle material insert. Follow the procedure in bulletin 0167-16 to address this condition and replace the Front Door Panel Trim.

This repair is covered under the Toyota Basic Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 36 months
or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date.

How about a CPO HL 2014 with the Toyota Warranty?

 

[Jdawg01]

I have the same issue on my 2014 HL and the consensus is that CPO warranty does not cover any issues related to interior fabric or trim even if a TSB applies. I have complained about it to anyone at Toyota that would listen and they all say that the dealer that sold me the car should have replaced or repaired the defect prior to me purchasing the car.

I went back to the dealer and they said it passes their "standard" of inspection for the CPO program and if I do not like it then they will take the car back and refund my purchase price. I have decided to live with the issue since returning the car would require me to send it back to the state where I purchased it - way to difficult and expensive.

The moral here is that the Toyota Certified Program is a joke and that the dealers solely dictate what they will overlook during the inspection or reconditioning process and if you miss something they overlooked then it becomes a "sold as is" vehicle with no recourse for items not covered by the extended warranty. Read the warranty terms carefully, there are a large amount of exclusions - especially related to appearance flaws both for interior and exterior.

 

[josh]

This is exactly what is happening to my RAV4 2015 Limited. I took it to my dealer and they blame it to an "Outside influence" referring to my suntan lotion and/or hand sanitizer conveniently found in the cup holder. This also occurred right after a visit to the dealership. Another funny thing is that this is happening on the passenger panel I sit on lees frequently simply because I drive the car most of the time. If my "products" were the outside influence I would expect this to happen to the driver's side panel. Neither the dealership or Toyota Customer Service want to take responsibility. This is my third Toyota; after this experience, this will be my last. Any thoughts, recommendations?

Really, this is going to be your last toyota because of one simple problem? lol. You clearly are sheltered and live under a rock- if this is the biggest problem you have had consider yourself lucky and move on.