2018 Toyota Highlander: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 256 complaints about the 2018 Toyota Highlander and NHTSA has issued 5 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is power train, named in 59 of them.

256
Complaints
5
Recalls
21
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
24
Injuries
110.2
Severity index

Severity index 110.2 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 110.2p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2018 Toyota Highlander sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 121 2018 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2018 Toyota Highlander ranks 17 of 121 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 86% of its model-year peers. See the full 2018 ranking.

What actually fails

Power TrainPower Train: 59 complaints (23.0%)59 23%Service BrakesService Brakes: 58 complaints (22.7%)58 23%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 41 complaints (16.0%)41 16%EngineEngine: 33 complaints (12.9%)33 13%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 24 complaints (9.4%)24 9%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 22 complaints (8.6%)22 9%Air BagsAir Bags: 19 complaints (7.4%)19 7%Fuel SystemFuel System: 14 complaints (5.5%)14 5%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
POWER TRAIN5923.0%
SERVICE BRAKES5822.7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4116.0%
ENGINE3312.9%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM249.4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM228.6%
AIR BAGS197.4%
FUEL SYSTEM145.5%

Complaints filed per year

023462018: 212019: 312020: 462021: 262022: 232023: 252024: 282025: 242026: 32 (partial year)18192046212223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
201821
201931
202046
202126
202223
202325
202428
202524
2026 (year to date)32
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
20V68200004/11/2020FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 4Runner, 2019-2020 Avalon, 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2017-2019 Highlander, 2018-2020 Camry, 2020 Corolla, 2018-2019 Land Cruiser, 2017-2020 Tacoma, 2019-2020 RAV4, 2019-2020 Sequoia, 2017-2020 Sienna,
20V01200013/01/2020FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) recalled certain 2018-2019 4Runner, Highlander, Camry, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra, and Lexus RC 300, RC 350, GS 350, GX 460, IS 300, LC 500, LS 500, LX 570, RX 350L, and 2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla, and ce
18E10700027/11/2018ELECTRICAL SYSTEMFujian Wanda Automobile Glass Industry (Wanda) is recalling certain aftermarket Replacement Windshields sold for use in 2014-2018 Toyota Highlander vehicles. The windshields have an attached wire harness that water may leak into, possibly causing damage to the vehicle's Engine C
17V83100020/12/2017EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELSToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Toyota 4Runner and Tundra, 2018 Toyota Highlander, RAV4 and Lexus GX460 and 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles. These vehicles may have incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels. As
18V21100003/04/2018SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUMToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018 Toyota Camry and Highlander vehicles, 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles and 2017 Lexus RX350 vehicles. During the manufacturing process, the oil galley in the rotor for the brake booster vacuum pump
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.