2012 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 189 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (44 complaints · 23.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 16
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 13
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2011 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 44 of 189 owner complaints (23.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 44 complaints, 23.3% of reports STEERING 44 · 23.3% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 10.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 · 10.6% STRUCTURE: 18 complaints, 9.5% of reports STRUCTURE 18 · 9.5% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 18 complaints, 9.5% of reports VISIBILITY 18 · 9.5% ENGINE: 12 complaints, 6.4% of reports ENGINE 12 · 6.4% · 2 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 11 complaints, 5.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 5.8% · 6 crash reports AIR BAGS: 8 complaints, 4.2% of reports AIR BAGS 8 · 4.2% · 5 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 4.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 4.2% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 5 complaints, 2.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 2.7% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 58 complaints, 30.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 58 · 30.7% · 1 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 44 23.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 10.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 18 9.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 18 9.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 12 6.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 5.8% 6 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 8 4.2% 5 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 4.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 5 2.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 58 30.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2012; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 2013. 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2015-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2017-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2012 Jan 2026 Recall campaign 13V014000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V014000 Recall campaign 13V123000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V123000 Investigation PE18005 ● Investigation PE18005 Investigation PE18005 ● Investigation PE18005 Investigation EA18006 ● Investigation EA18006 Investigation EA18006 ● Investigation EA18006 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 13V014000 was reported 282 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 13V123000 was reported 250 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 5
2012-Q3 Owner reports 5
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 5
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 2
2013-Q4 Owner reports 3
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 6
2014-Q3 Owner reports 4
2014-Q4 Owner reports 5
2015-Q1 Owner reports 6
2015-Q2 Owner reports 4
2015-Q3 Owner reports 6
2015-Q4 Owner reports 4
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 4
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 5
2017-Q1 Owner reports 8
2017-Q2 Owner reports 5
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 6
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 12
2019-Q1 Owner reports 7
2019-Q2 Owner reports 10
2019-Q3 Owner reports 5
2019-Q4 Owner reports 5
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 5
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 4
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 3
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 3
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 2
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 2
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 3
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 13V014000
Recall campaign 1 13V123000
Defect investigation 1 PE18005
Defect investigation 1 PE18005
Defect investigation 1 EA18006
Defect investigation 1 EA18006
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 13V014000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
    Remedy:
    Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 13V123000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.
    Remedy:
    Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 189 complaints · page 1 of 8

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources