Toyota Highlander reliability by year
50 recall campaigns and 4,699 owner complaints across 21 model years. Best year to buy: 2016. Year to avoid: 2008.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 8 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and others. Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 21 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 113, more than the 50 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Highlander aggregated across 21 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Toyota Highlander?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2016 Toyota Highlander scores 7.2/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2025 range. 109 complaints on file, 3 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Toyota Highlander year should I avoid?
The 2008 Toyota Highlander scores 4.4/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 403 owner complaints with NHTSA, 13 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2008 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Toyota Highlander should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2022 (avoid — the brakes — 1 fatality report and 2 crash-related complaints on the brakes); 2017 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 70 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 13,000–39,000 mi); 2008 (avoid — the engine — 1 fatality report and 6 fire-related complaints on the engine); 2006 (avoid — the cruise-control — 1 fatality report and 1 fire-related complaint on the cruise-control); 2019 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 50 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 4,200–52,000 mi); 2015 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 46 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 30,000–91,000 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2024, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2016. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Toyota Highlander are tracked?
21 model years (2005 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 50 distinct recall campaigns and 4,699 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 113 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Toyota Highlander?
powertrain is the most-reported category — 864 complaints across 19 model years. Average shop repair runs about $2,500.