2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 109 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (16 complaints · 14.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 14
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 11
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2015 →
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 SERVICE BRAKES appears in 16 of 109 owner complaints (14.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 16 complaints, 14.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 16 · 14.7% · 4 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 10 complaints, 9.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 · 9.2% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 8 complaints, 7.3% of reports ENGINE 8 · 7.3% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 8 complaints, 7.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8 · 7.3% VISIBILITY: 8 complaints, 7.3% of reports VISIBILITY 8 · 7.3% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 5.5% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 5.5% · 4 crash reports STEERING: 6 complaints, 5.5% of reports STEERING 6 · 5.5% STRUCTURE: 4 complaints, 3.7% of reports STRUCTURE 4 · 3.7% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 3.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 3.7% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 36 complaints, 33.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 · 33.0% · 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)
SERVICE BRAKES 16 14.7% 4 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 9.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 8 7.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8 7.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 8 7.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 5.5% 4 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 6 5.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 4 3.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 3.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 33.0% 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 Oct 2015; the first recall shown was reported in Jun 2016. 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Oct 2015 Jan 2026 Recall campaign 16V420000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V420000 Recall campaign 16V775000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V775000 Recall campaign 18E107000 ◆ Recall campaign 18E107000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 16V420000 was reported 164 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 3
2016-Q2 Owner reports 3
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 3
2017-Q1 Owner reports 5
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 5
2017-Q4 Owner reports 6
2018-Q1 Owner reports 5
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 5
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 7
2019-Q3 Owner reports 12
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 4
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 3
2020-Q4 Owner reports 3
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 3
2022-Q2 Owner reports 4
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 3
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 3
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 3
Recall campaign 1 16V420000
Recall campaign 1 16V775000
Recall campaign 1 18E107000
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V420000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    An incorrect label may lead an owner to overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    SET will notify owners, and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V775000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    If the brake fluid level is low and is not detected, the braking performance may be decreased, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, connect the wire harness to the sensor, free of charge. The recall began November 14, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this G03.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 18E107000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    The ECM damage may result in the engine stalling, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Wanda will notify owners, and service centers will replace the windshields, and inspect the ECM for damage, having it replaced, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2019. Owners may contact Wanda customer service at 1-864-281-2760.
    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 109 complaints · page 1 of 5

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