Toyota Highlander
Owners filed 5,796 complaints across 28 model years of the Toyota Highlander. The 2021 drew the most (535).
Which Toyota Highlander years should you avoid?
Going by 5,796 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Toyota Highlander years to avoid are 2021, 2008 and 2019.
- 2021535 complaints, 2.4× a typical Highlander year, most often about the transmission.
- 20082.4× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (14 fires, 44 crashes, 2 deaths).
- 2019508 complaints, 2.3× a typical Highlander year, most often about the transmission.
Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Toyota Highlander model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Too new | 4 | 0 | — | — | Back Over Prevention › Sensing System › Camera | Routine | |
| 2025Too new | 10 | 4 | — | 2 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2024 | 43 | 7 | — | 4 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2023 | 189 | 9 | — | 12 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2022 | 266 | 5 | 1 | 20 | Power Train | Fatalities reported | |
| 2021Avoid | 535 | 4 | 4 | 17 | Power Train | Above average | |
| 2020 | 322 | 4 | — | 16 | Power Train | Above average | |
| 2019Avoid | 508 | 3 | 1 | 22 | Power Train | Above average | |
| 2018 | 273 | 5 | 1 | 23 | Power Train | Above average | |
| 2017 | 271 | 4 | 2 | 18 | Power Train | Above average | |
| 2016 | 111 | 3 | 1 | 14 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2015 | 193 | 2 | 6 | 17 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2014 | 136 | 5 | 1 | 5 | Electrical System | Fatalities reported | |
| 2013 | 207 | 3 | — | 26 | Steering | Above average | |
| 2012 | 182 | 2 | 3 | 16 | Steering | Routine | |
| 2011 | 181 | 5 | — | 14 | Steering | Routine | |
| 2010 | 216 | 10 | 2 | 18 | Electrical System | Above average | |
| 2009 | 134 | 9 | 5 | 6 | Engine | Routine | |
| 2008Avoid | 405 | 13 | 14 | 44 | Service Brakes | Fatalities reported | |
| 2007 | 124 | 4 | 1 | 11 | Service Brakes | Routine | |
| 2006 | 278 | 7 | 4 | 29 | Service Brakes | Fatalities reported | |
| 2005 | 224 | 6 | 4 | 35 | Vehicle Speed Control | Above average | |
| 2004 | 286 | 5 | 3 | 32 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Fatalities reported | |
| 2003 | 258 | 2 | 1 | 33 | Engine | Above average | |
| 2002 | 301 | 2 | 6 | 24 | Visibility | Fatalities reported | |
| 2001 | 137 | 3 | 2 | 19 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Electrical System › Wiring | Routine | |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Visibility | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.