What breaks most · 1997 to 2019 model years
Toyota Highlander problems by year
Owners have filed 2,806 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Toyota Highlander across model years 1997 to 2019. Three years stand out: 2008 for air bags complaints, 2002 for visibility complaints and 2004 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 1997, 1998 and 2016.
- Years to check closely: 2008, 2002, 2004
- Fewest complaints: 1997, 1998, 2016
- Complaints on file
- 28061997 to 2019, all trims
- Worst year
- 2008302 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 31040 fires · 232 injuries · 55 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 51kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 93Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (1) | |
| 136 | 19 | 3 | Visibility (23) | |
| 299 | 24 | 2 | Visibility (123) | |
| 251 | 31 | 2 | Engine and cooling (46) | |
| 280 | 30 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (58) | |
| 214 | 32 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (51) | |
| 211 | 25 | 7 | Speed control and throttle (40) | |
| 91 | 11 | 4 | Electrical system (17) | |
| 302 | 39 | 13 | Air bags (52) | |
| 94 | 4 | 9 | Electrical system (18) | |
| 170 | 15 | 10 | Electrical system (38) | |
| 137 | 9 | 5 | Wipers and visibility (25) | |
| 125 | 15 | 2 | Steering (31) | |
| 151 | 21 | 3 | Steering (34) | |
| 80 | 5 | 5 | Electrical system (21) | |
| 108 | 11 | 2 | Unknown or other (26) | |
| 48 | 7 | 3 | Unknown or other (10) | |
| 65 | 7 | 4 | Unknown or other (17) | |
| 37 | 4 | 5 | Unknown or other (15) | |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | Electrical system (2) |
What fails on the 2008 Toyota Highlander
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 17% |
52 | 11 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 13% |
40 | 21 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2008 Toyota Highlander |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 12% |
36 | 0 | Shop engine parts for the 2008 Toyota Highlander |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 11% |
32 | 3 | Shop steering parts for the 2008 Toyota Highlander |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 10% |
30 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2008 Toyota Highlander |
| Tires | 8% |
25 | 1 | — |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 6% |
18 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2008 Toyota Highlander |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 6% |
18 | 2 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Attempting to park car in a shopping center. Suddenly engine accelerated unintentionally. Hit curb & tree. Damage to car approximately $6000 to repair.
-
Driver and passenger sun visors fall down into drivers and passenger view. Safety issue was not recognized by vehicle manufacturer.
-
My 2004 toyota highlander v6 at time has very rough shifts. The transmissions seems to hesitate and lag when i try to accelerate during normal driving speeds. This has happened when i was going 20 to 60.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Toyota Highlander years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2008, 2002, 2004 carry the most filings on the Toyota Highlander. The 2008 alone has 302 complaints, led by air bags.
What is the most common Toyota Highlander problem?
On the 2008 model year, the most-reported component is air bags with 52 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Toyota Highlander problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Toyota Highlander complaints that include mileage is about 51,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.