The Toyota Highlander to avoid is the 2017 to 2020 car: 263 complaints on the 2017, 261 on the 2018, 472 on the 2019 and 306 on the 2020, with scores that fall from 57 to 37. The one to buy is a 2011 to 2016, where no year has more than 210 complaints and every year scores between 78 and 86. The gap is not subtle: measured per year on the road, the 2019 draws 67.4 complaints against 10.9 for the 2016, more than six times as many. The record covers 2,332 complaints and 39 recall campaigns across fifteen model years, and it splits cleanly in the middle.
The second-generation cars, 2011 to 2013
The 2011 to 2013 cars are the last of the second generation, and their record is the quietest of the lot. Steering is the top complaint component in all three years — 34 on the 2011, 47 on the 2012, 46 on the 2013 — and nothing else comes close to that count. Structure (27 and 22) and Electrical System (23, 30 and 25) fill out the rest, and the 2013 adds Engine and Vehicle Speed Control at 31 each. The recall campaigns on these years are distributor campaigns for seat heaters, labels and air bag sensor modules rather than anything specific to the Highlander; the one for the 2013 alone, 14V148000, is for a second-row seat that may not lock in position. Scores: 84, 85 and 80, all with high evidence.
2014 to 2016: the good third-generation years
The third generation arrived for 2014 and the first three years of it are the best Highlanders on record. The 2014 has 135 complaints, the 2015 has 190, and the 2016 has 109, the lowest count of any year with a full record. Per year on the road they run 11.2, 17.3 and 10.9. The complaint pattern shifts from Steering to Electrical System — 35 on the 2014, 52 on the 2015 — with Structure at 32 and 30, and Power Train appears only 8 times on the 2014.
The 2014 does carry four safety-critical recalls, more than any year before 2018: 14V051000 for a third-row seat belt anchorage, 14V272000 for air bag control unit software, 14V576000 for a fuel delivery pipe that may leak, and the aftermarket replacement windscreen campaign 18E107000 that covers 2014 to 2018. The 2015 has one Highlander-specific campaign, 15V144000 (13/03/2015), for the electric power steering control unit, and Steering is a top-five component that year at 25. The 2016 has 16V775000 for a brake fluid level sensor that may not be connected to its wiring. These are buyable cars: the recalls are specific, dated, and closed by a dealer visit.
2017 to 2019: the drivetrain years
The 2017 facelift changed the drivetrain, and the record changes with it. Power Train, which had 8 complaints on the 2014 and does not appear in the top five for the 2015 or 2016, is the top component in every year from 2017 onward: 71 on the 2017, 62 on the 2018, 188 on the 2019. Engine rises alongside it at 45, 33 and 69. Service Brakes reaches 58 on the 2018, which coincides with campaign 18V211000 (03/04/2018) for the brake vacuum pump. Then the 2019 adds a fuel problem: Fuel/Propulsion System is its second component at 86, and two safety-critical fuel pump campaigns cover it, 20V012000 (13/01/2020) and 20V682000 (04/11/2020), the second of which reaches back to the 2017 model year. The 2019's 472 complaints are more than double the 2018's 261, and its 67.4 complaints per year on the road is the highest of any Highlander. Scores: 57, 46 and 40.
2020: a new generation with the same problem
The fourth generation launched for 2020 and the complaint count fell to 306, but the score fell too, to 37, the worst on record. Power Train is still top at 120. Air Bags appears at 32, and there are two safety-critical air bag campaigns on this year: 20V633000 for seat trim covers that can block the side air bag, and 23V865000 for the occupant classification sensor. Campaign 20V162000 (19/03/2020) is the one to know about: it covers the 2020 Highlander with the 3.5-litre 2GR-FKS V6 for an engine control unit programming error that can leave the engine without fuel. Three of the 2020's four recalls are safety-critical. The 2021 to 2024 cars have no complaints on record at all — DATA PENDING, evidence none — so nothing can be said about whether the fourth generation improved. The 2025 scores 82 on 9 complaints, evidence low, which is a thin basis for a verdict.
Toyota Highlander: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | BUY | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 37 | AVOID | 306 | 4 |
| 2019 | 40 | AVOID | 482 | 3 |
| 2018 | 45 | AVOID | 266 | 5 |
| 2017 | 56 | CAUTION | 265 | 4 |
| 2016 | 86 | BUY | 109 | 3 |
| 2015 | 78 | BUY | 190 | 2 |
| 2014 | 79 | BUY | 135 | 5 |
| 2013 | 80 | BUY | 210 | 3 |
| 2012 | 85 | BUY | 191 | 2 |
| 2011 | 84 | BUY | 186 | 5 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Toyota Highlander model page.
The Highlander Hybrid
The Toyota Highlander Hybrid has 540 complaints and 12 recall campaigns, and its record is patchy. The 2011 and 2014 score 92 and 90 on zero complaints each, evidence low; the 2012 and 2013 have no record. Then three bad years: 2015 at 50 with 182 complaints, 2016 at 51 with 108, and 2017 at 47 with 224, the worst hybrid year. Look at the components and something odd appears. The 2015 hybrid's top five — Electrical System 48, Unknown Or Other 41, Structure 26, Steering 23, Service Brakes 15 — are almost the same as the petrol 2015's (52, 43, 30, 25 and 15), and the 2017 hybrid's Power Train 45, Engine 42 and Service Brakes 29 track the petrol 2017's numbers too. The two records in those years overlap rather than describing separate faults.
From 2018 the hybrid record goes quiet: 5, 6 and 9 complaints for 2018 to 2020, scores of 94, 93 and 83, all evidence low. The 2020 hybrid shares the two air bag campaigns with the petrol car and adds 22V239000 for the stability control software. The fuel economy story is clear at least: 28 mpg combined through 2019 and 36 from 2020 to 2024, against 22 to 23 for the petrol car over the same years.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 87 | BUY | 6 | 4 |
| 2021 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 83 | BUY | 9 | 4 |
| 2019 | 93 | BUY | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | 94 | BUY | 5 | 0 |
| 2017 | 47 | AVOID | 224 | 2 |
| 2016 | 51 | CAUTION | 108 | 0 |
| 2015 | 50 | CAUTION | 182 | 0 |
| 2014 | 90 | BUY | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 92 | BUY | 0 | 1 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Toyota Highlander Hybrid model page.
What to check before you buy
- On any 2017 to 2020 car, ask the dealer to confirm the fuel pump campaigns 20V012000 and 20V682000 have been completed against the VIN; on a 2020, add 20V162000, 20V633000 and 23V865000.
- Drive a 2017 to 2020 car from cold and in stop-and-go traffic. Power Train is the top component on all four years, and that is where the complaints concentrate.
- On a 2018, check that 18V211000 for the brake vacuum pump is closed; Service Brakes is 58 complaints on that year.
- On a 2015, confirm 15V144000 for the power steering control unit. On a 2016, 16V775000 for the brake fluid sensor wiring.
- On a 2014, confirm the third-row seat belt anchorage campaign 14V051000 and the fuel pipe campaign 14V576000.
- On a 2020 to 2023 car, look at the front lower bumper cover: 23V720000 covers it for coming loose after a minor impact.
- Treat any 2021 to 2024 car as unscored. The site has no record on it, and you should not assume one either way.
Summary
Buy a 2011 to 2016 Highlander; the 2016 is the best year at 86 and the 2012 and 2011 sit just behind at 85 and 84. Avoid the 2018 to 2020 cars, which score 46, 40 and 37, and treat the 2017 at 57 as a car that needs its drivetrain and fuel pump history documented before you pay for it. The Hybrid is worth having from 2018 on, though its record is thin, and its 2015 to 2017 years should be judged by the petrol car's numbers, which they mirror. Nothing on record supports a verdict on the 2021 to 2024 cars.