Toyota Highlander Hybrid: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 15 model years scored from 540 NHTSA owner complaints and 12 recall campaigns. Worst year 2017, best year 2022.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid: which years to avoid
Across 9 scored model years the Toyota Highlander Hybrid ranges from 47/100 in 2017 to 94/100 in 2018 — a 47-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Highlander Hybrid at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Unknown Or Other (46 of them).
Avoid: 2017 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2017 Highlander Hybrid, which scores 47 on 224 complaints, and treat the 2015 and 2016 as CAUTION years at 50 and 51 on 182 and 108. Buy a 2018 to 2020, which score 94, 93 and 83 on 5, 6 and 9 complaints, or a 2022 at 87, all with low evidence. The hybrid's 540 complaints sit almost entirely in 2015 to 2017, and in those years its component pattern is nearly identical to the petrol Highlander's: Electrical System 48 and Unknown Or Other 41 on the 2015 against 52 and 43 for the petrol car, and Power Train 45, Engine 42 and Service Brakes 29 on the 2017 against the petrol car's 71, 45 and 29. Read those three years as the petrol car's record rather than a separate hybrid fault. The 2015 to 2017 hybrids carry no safety-critical recalls; the 2020 shares the petrol car's air bag campaigns 20V633000 and 23V865000. Fuel economy is 28 mpg combined through 2019 and 36 from 2020.
Read the guide
Used Toyota Highlander: the years to avoid and the years to buy — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Highlander Hybrid changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2015–2017
Mean score 49/100, about 17 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Unknown Or Other more than anything else (108 complaints).
2018–2020
Mean score 90/100, about 1 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Unknown Or Other more than anything else (4 complaints). The record improves by 41 points against the years before it. 2 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2022 (score 87). Worst: 2017 (score 47, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,280 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,370 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,510 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 87 | BUY | $2,678 | 6 | 4 |
| 2021 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,790 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 83 | BUY | $2,958 | 9 | 4 |
| 2019 | 93 | BUY | $3,586 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | 94 | BUY | $3,722 | 5 | 0 |
| 2017 | 47 | AVOID | $4,322 | 224 | 2 |
| 2016 | 51 | CAUTION | $4,194 | 108 | 0 |
| 2015 | 50 | CAUTION | $4,444 | 182 | 0 |
| 2014 | 90 | BUY | $4,270 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | — | DATA PENDING | $4,410 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | — | DATA PENDING | $4,550 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 92 | BUY | $4,690 | 0 | 1 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Highlander Hybrid sub-models & family
What goes wrong on the Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Across every Highlander Hybrid model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Unknown Or Other112 complaints across all Highlander Hybrid years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Electrical System109 complaints across all Highlander Hybrid years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Service Brakes71 complaints across all Highlander Hybrid years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Engine55 complaints across all Highlander Hybrid years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Power Train45 complaints across all Highlander Hybrid years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Structure29 complaints across all Highlander Hybrid years · typical job: Body, subframe or corrosion repair$1,070–$2,920
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Toyota Highlander Hybrid years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2017 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2017 is the weakest at 47/100, with its complaints concentrated in Unknown Or Other.
What are the best Toyota Highlander Hybrid years to buy?
2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2018 at 94/100, on 5 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Toyota Highlander Hybrid problem?
112 of the complaints filed against the Highlander Hybrid across all its model years sit in the Unknown Or Other group — more than any other component.
Compare with
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04