2021 Toyota Highlander: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 516 complaints
516
Total Complaints
15,000mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN
Top Issue
29
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

2,000 25th Percentile
15,000 Median Mileage
47,929 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN
139
SERVICE BRAKES
63
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
54
AIR BAGS
41
ENGINE
37
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
29
STRUCTURE:BODY
29
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
21
STRUCTURE
10
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
9

Severity Assessment

29
Crashes
3
Fires
30
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY 2021 HIGHLANDER HYBRID PLATINUM IS EXPERIENCING A FUEL FILLING ISSUE. OVER THE FIRST 2,000 MILES, THE VEHICLE WILL NOT TAKE MORE THAN 13.5 GALLONS AT FILL UP ' NO TOPPING OFF. THE CAR HAS A 17.1 GALLON TANK. THE CAR HAS GONE AS LOW AS 2 MILES TO EMPTY ACCORDING TO THE CAR ESTIMATE. AT EACH FI..."
"THE DTE INDICATOR ON THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING INCORRECTLY. I FILLED THE HIGHLANDER UP WITH 10 MILES DTE AND IT ONLY TOOK 13.2 GALLONS OF FUEL. THE DTE INDICATOR WAS 425 MILES AFTER FILL UP. TOYOTA ADVERTISES 600 MILES PER TANK. MY HIGHLANDER IS 175 MILES OFF OF THE MANUFACTURES ADVERTISED EXPECTATIO..."
"THE VEHICLE EV DOES NOT ENGAGE WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE FOR AT LEAST 10-15 MINUTES OF DRIVING. THIS DRASTICALLY ALTERS THE FUEL ECONOMY."

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