"How reliable is the 2010 Toyota Highlander?"

"Based on 271 NHTSA complaints, the 2010 Toyota Highlander has a median complaint mileage of 52000 miles. The most common issue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM."

"What are common problems with the 2010 Toyota Highlander?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2010 Toyota Highlander is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, accounting for a significant portion of the 271 total complaints filed."

2010 Toyota Highlander: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 271 complaints

271

Total Complaints

52,000mi

Median Mileage

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

22,100 25th Percentile

52,000 Median Mileage

83,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VISIBILITY/WIPER

SERVICE BRAKES

STEERING

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

AIR BAGS

ENGINE

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

STRUCTURE:BODY

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASING OUR CAR, WE NOTICED THAT THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WAS DEFECTIVE. IT HAS WAVES, CAUSING VISION DISTORTION AND HEADACHES. WE HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA AND ALSO HAD A TOYOTA CORP REP LOOK AT IT, WITHOUT US BEING PRESENT, AND THEY SIMPLY DENY THIS PROBLEM EXISTS. WE HAVE COMPARED IT..."

"WE HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA ABOUT OUR 2010 HIGHLANDER & ITS DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELD WHICH, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH REPAIR SHOPS AND TOYOTA EMPLOYEES, IS LIKELY CAUSED BY THE PLASTIC FILM PRESSED BETWEEN THE GLASS. THIS DEFECT CAUSES VISUAL DISTORTION AND IS INCREDIBLY DISTRACTIVE WHILE DRIVI..."

"TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN HE TURNED THE HEADLIGHTS ON, HE COULD NOT SEE OBJECTS ON THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND VARIOUS SPEEDS IF HE HIT A DIP OR CURVE IN THE ROAD, THE VISIBILITY WOULD DROP TO LESS THAN 2 FEET IN FR..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 50 complaints

25th: 46,000 mi Median: 66,000 mi 75th: 90,000 mi

VISIBILITY/WIPER 31 complaints

25th: 40,750 mi Median: 50,000 mi 75th: 57,750 mi

SERVICE BRAKES 25 complaints

25th: 40,500 mi Median: 69,300 mi 75th: 151,000 mi

STEERING 21 complaints

25th: 38,450 mi Median: 81,000 mi 75th: 100,075 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 complaints

25th: 2,325 mi Median: 5,100 mi 75th: 42,700 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 41 VA: 18 GA: 16 NC: 14 MD: 14 TX: 14 NY: 14 CO: 13 AZ: 11 IL: 11

Who Files Complaints?

2.6%

Original Owners

97.4%

Second+ Owners

Toyota Highlander — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2001	158	53,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	28
2002	335	70,000	VISIBILITY	27
2003	316	94,000	ENGINE	43
2004	335	55,675	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	42
2005	289	52,991	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	50
2006	344	68,483	SERVICE BRAKES	38
2007	159	60,500	SERVICE BRAKES	15
2008	502	77,900	SERVICE BRAKES	59
2009	177	58,000	ENGINE	7
2011	228	52,355	STEERING	16
2012	228	48,000	STEERING	20
2013	279	30,500	STEERING	44
2014	155	38,500	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	8
2015	242	30,800	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	19
2016	137	24,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	22
2017	348	20,380	POWER TRAIN	32
2018	328	15,163	SERVICE BRAKES	38
2019	576	10,000	POWER TRAIN	38
2020	318	12,995	POWER TRAIN	19
2021	516	15,000	POWER TRAIN	29
2022	252	17,781	SERVICE BRAKES	22
2023	194	28,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	14
2024	42	-	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	9

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