Toyota Highlander: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Toyota Highlander model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 190 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 97.9 High | STEERING |
| 2013 | 210 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 95.2 Medium | STEERING |
| 2014 | 134 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 85.1 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2015 | 188 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 123.4 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2016 | 109 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 130.3 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2017 | 261 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 111.9 High | POWER TRAIN |
| 2018 | 256 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 110.2 High | POWER TRAIN |
| 2019 | 467 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 51.0 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2020 | 299 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 54.8 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2021 | 478 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 47.3 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2022 | 227 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 69.6 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2023 | 166 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 86.7 Medium | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2024 | 39 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 143.6 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
Across 13 model years, the 2024 Toyota Highlander carries the highest severity index (143.6, driven by unknown or other), while the 2021 is the cleanest at 47.3.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.