2002 Toyota Highlander: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 335 complaints
335
Total Complaints
70,000mi
Median Mileage
VISIBILITY
Top Issue
27
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

45,000 25th Percentile
70,000 Median Mileage
101,507 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VISIBILITY
108
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
29
STRUCTURE
23
VISIBILITY/WIPER
16
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
10
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
10
AIR BAGS
9
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
9

Severity Assessment

27
Crashes
8
Fires
26
Injuries
4
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"EXTREME AIR PRESSURE WHEN DRIVING ABOVE 35 MPH, AND EITHER REAR WINDOWS ARE OPEN. IT FEELS AS THOUGH RIDING IN AN AIRPLANE. IT MAKES EARS FEEL FUNNY.*AK"
"WHILE DRIVING A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER, THAT WE LEASED ON 01/08/2002, WE NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS A PROBLEM: WHEN THE WINDOWS ON THE REAR DOORS ARE LOWERED, THE VEHICLE MAKES A VERY LOUD TURBULANCE NOISE AND VIBRATION OCCURS, THAT MAKES THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO STEER. ON 01/12/2002, ACCOMPANIED BY MY..."
"THIS IS A 4-DOOR MODEL. WHEN FRONT WINDOWS ARE CLOSED AND REAR DOOR WINDOWS ARE LOWERED IT SOUNDS LIKE AN AIRPLANE FLEW OVER THE BACK SEAT; NOISE CREATED IS HORRENDOUS. YOU CANNOT CONTINUE DRIVING WITH THE NOISE. ROLLING DOWN "A" FRONT WINDOW ELIMINATES THE PROBLEM. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE CONSEQUENCES ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28