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225 owner complaints and 2 active recall campaigns on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Repair exposure runs above average — only with money set aside and eyes open.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
The driver's side windshield wiper has a nut which repeatedly comes loose. This causes the windshield wiper to become loose and cease to function. The dealer says that the mechanism was designed to come loose so as to avoid damage to the underlying motor. He said to just…
I have a 2005 highlander that developed a transmission fluid leak at 62,000 miles. Toyota currently has a service bulletin out stating that the transmission seal on certain AWD highlanders and siennas are prone to premature failure. This can result in leak of transmission or…
Heater/ac functions intermittently then fails completely. Well know problem where placement of ribbon cable to potentiometer breaks loose, partially (intermittent failure), then completely (total failure). Quoted cost at any dealership $900-$1,000. I did repair myself in one…
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Toyota highlander. While entering a parking space, just before applying the brake, the vehicle accelerated into a concrete step. No one was injured during the crash but the vehicle suffered damage to the front end. He called the manufacturer and…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
This condition may interfere with the accelerator pedal returning to the idle position increasing the risk of a crash.
In some cases, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley which could result in a loss of power steering and a sudden increase in steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.0 out of 10 based on 225 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2005 Toyota Highlander is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2005 Toyota Highlander is a higher-risk ownership prospect. Repair exposure runs above average — only with money set aside and eyes open. The record behind that call: Cruise-control: 27 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 30,300–86,000 mi; Steering: 27 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 45,000–78,850 mi; Reliability score 7.0/10 — around the segment average; 2 recall campaigns on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is powertrain, with 46 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 53,223 miles. Average repair cost runs about $2,500 at an independent shop.
The powertrain is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $2,500 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 53,223 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 225 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $2,500, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.