2021 Toyota Highlander: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 478 complaints about the 2021 Toyota Highlander and NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is power train, named in 194 of them.

478
Complaints
4
Recalls
16
Crash reports
3
Fire reports
18
Injuries
47.3
Severity index

Severity index 47.3 - Medium. 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: 47.3p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2021 Toyota Highlander sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 90 2021 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2021 Toyota Highlander ranks 53 of 90 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 41% of its model-year peers. See the full 2021 ranking.

What actually fails

Power TrainPower Train: 194 complaints (40.6%)194 41%Service BrakesService Brakes: 64 complaints (13.4%)64 13%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 58 complaints (12.1%)58 12%StructureStructure: 48 complaints (10.0%)48 10%EngineEngine: 44 complaints (9.2%)44 9%Air BagsAir Bags: 42 complaints (8.8%)42 9%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 30 complaints (6.3%)30 6%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 25 complaints (5.2%)25 5%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
POWER TRAIN19440.6%
SERVICE BRAKES6413.4%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER5812.1%
STRUCTURE4810.0%
ENGINE449.2%
AIR BAGS428.8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM306.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM255.2%

Complaints filed per year

0801602021: 482022: 362023: 412024: 852025: 1522026: 116 (partial year)212223242515226
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
202148
202236
202341
202485
2025152
2026 (year to date)116
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 3.3x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
23V72000026/10/2023STRUCTURE:BODY:BUMPERSToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Highlander & Highlander Hybrid vehicles. During normal vehicle operation, minor impact to the front lower bumper cover may result in the cover coming loose or detaching.
23V86500020/12/2023AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATIONToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H ve
24V45200018/06/2024TIRESSoutheast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander vehicles. The 20-inch accessory tires with an insufficient load rating for the vehicle's Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) were installed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requiremen
26V12800005/03/2026SEATS:MID/REAR ASSEMBLY:RECLINERToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The second-row seat backs may fail to lock into position during seat back adjustment.
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.