2021 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 498 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (190 complaints · 38.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 15
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 18
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2020 →
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 POWER TRAIN appears in 190 of 498 owner complaints (38.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 190 complaints, 38.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 190 · 38.2% · 3 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 45 complaints, 9.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 45 · 9.0% AIR BAGS: 41 complaints, 8.2% of reports AIR BAGS 41 · 8.2% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 40 complaints, 8.0% of reports STRUCTURE 40 · 8.0% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 27 complaints, 5.4% of reports ENGINE 27 · 5.4% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 5.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 27 · 5.4% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 15 complaints, 3.0% of reports VISIBILITY 15 · 3.0% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 12 complaints, 2.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 · 2.4% · 1 fire reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 9 complaints, 1.8% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 9 · 1.8% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 121 complaints, 24.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 121 · 24.3% · 6 crash reports 1 fire 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)
POWER TRAIN 190 38.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 45 9.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 41 8.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 40 8.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 27 5.4% 1 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 27 5.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 15 3.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 2.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 9 1.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 121 24.3% 6 crashes · 1 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 2020. 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2021-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2021-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2022-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2022-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2022-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2023-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2023-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2024-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2024-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2024-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2024-Q4: 38 owner reports 38 2025-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2025-Q2: 53 owner reports 53 2025-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2025-Q4: 36 owner reports 36 2026-Q1: 48 owner reports 48 2026-Q2: 57 owner reports 57 2026-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 Owner reports Oct 2020 Jul 2026 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 5
2021-Q2 Owner reports 19
2021-Q3 Owner reports 12
2021-Q4 Owner reports 10
2022-Q1 Owner reports 10
2022-Q2 Owner reports 11
2022-Q3 Owner reports 7
2022-Q4 Owner reports 8
2023-Q1 Owner reports 9
2023-Q2 Owner reports 17
2023-Q3 Owner reports 4
2023-Q4 Owner reports 8
2024-Q1 Owner reports 14
2024-Q2 Owner reports 15
2024-Q3 Owner reports 27
2024-Q4 Owner reports 38
2025-Q1 Owner reports 29
2025-Q2 Owner reports 53
2025-Q3 Owner reports 38
2025-Q4 Owner reports 36
2026-Q1 Owner reports 48
2026-Q2 Owner reports 57
2026-Q3 Owner reports 22
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 498 complaints · page 1 of 20

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 Aug 21, 2026
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