Toyota Highlander: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Toyota Highlander: 15 model years scored from 2,349 NHTSA owner complaints and 39 recall campaigns. Worst year 2020, best year 2016.
Toyota Highlander: which years to avoid
Across 11 scored model years the Toyota Highlander ranges from 37/100 in 2020 to 86/100 in 2016 — a 49-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Highlander at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Power Train (120 of them).
Avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2025 — 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 2018 to 2020 Highlander, which score 46, 40 and 37 on 261, 472 and 306 complaints, and treat the 2017 at 57 as a car that needs its drivetrain history documented. Buy a 2011 to 2016, where every year scores between 78 and 86 and none has more than 210 complaints. The split is the 2017 facelift: Power Train, which had 8 complaints on the 2014, becomes the top component at 71 on the 2017, 62 on the 2018, 188 on the 2019 and 120 on the 2020. The 2019 adds Fuel/Propulsion System at 86 and two safety-critical fuel pump campaigns, 20V012000 and 20V682000, covering 2017 to 2019. The 2020 is a new generation with the same Power Train pattern, an engine control unit campaign for the 3.5-litre V6 (20V162000) and two air bag campaigns. The 2021 to 2024 cars have no complaints on record, so no verdict is possible. Steering leads the 2011 to 2013 at 34, 47 and 46, but nothing on those years recurs.
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 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.
2011–2016
Mean score 82/100, about 14 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (179 complaints). 11 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2020
Mean score 44/100, about 46 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Power Train more than anything else (453 complaints). The record falls 38 points against the years before it. 11 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2016 (score 86). Worst: 2020 (score 37, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | BUY | $3,151 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | — | DATA PENDING | $3,120 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | $3,360 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | DATA PENDING | $3,600 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | DATA PENDING | $3,740 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 37 | AVOID | $4,849 | 306 | 4 |
| 2019 | 40 | AVOID | $5,628 | 482 | 3 |
| 2018 | 45 | AVOID | $5,192 | 266 | 5 |
| 2017 | 56 | CAUTION | $5,159 | 265 | 4 |
| 2016 | 86 | BUY | $4,796 | 109 | 3 |
| 2015 | 78 | BUY | $5,058 | 190 | 2 |
| 2014 | 79 | BUY | $5,084 | 135 | 5 |
| 2013 | 80 | BUY | $5,616 | 210 | 3 |
| 2012 | 85 | BUY | $5,708 | 191 | 2 |
| 2011 | 84 | BUY | $5,825 | 186 | 5 |
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.
Photographs and every generation of the Highlander, through the years →
Highlander sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Highlander on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Toyota Highlander
Across every Highlander 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.
- Power Train461 complaints across all Highlander years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Unknown Or Other363 complaints across all Highlander years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Electrical System306 complaints across all Highlander years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Engine223 complaints across all Highlander years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Service Brakes192 complaints across all Highlander years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Structure159 complaints across all Highlander 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 years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2018, 2019, 2020 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2020 is the weakest at 37/100, with its complaints concentrated in Power Train.
What are the best Toyota Highlander years to buy?
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2025 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2016 at 86/100, on 109 complaints and 3 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Toyota Highlander problem?
461 of the complaints filed against the Highlander across all its model years sit in the Power Train group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04