2022 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

What owners reported to NHTSA, ranked by how often and how seriously.

This is complaint data, not a random sample.

It only includes owners who chose to file a federal complaint, so it over-represents dramatic and safety-related problems and under-represents minor issues an owner just had fixed without reporting. Read this as what NHTSA complainants report most, not as this vehicle's true failure rate. Full methodology.

Component ranking

  1. #1

    transmission automatic

    3 stranded, 31 unsafe, 2 broken, 3 annoyance

    39
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended and made an unusual whining sound. No warning lights were illuminat…"~71,000 mi, complaint #2161071
  2. #2

    other

    21 unsafe, 8 annoyance

    29
    incidents

    Commonly reported, insufficient mileage data - n=13, median 33,000 mi, no reliable range below 25 reports.

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amo…"~9,206 mi, complaint #1959355
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander equipped with a Kuat Transfer V2 Bike Rack. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the contact noticed that the bicycle was lowering from the rear windshield. The contact inspected the bike rack…"~15,000 mi, complaint #2013680
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the mounting pad on the driver's side front bumper had detached and fallen off the vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The…"~50,000 mi, complaint #2103608
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving in inclement weather, water was leaking from the overhead console on the driver's side, where the sunglasses holder was located. Additionally, water stains were on the headliner…"~56,000 mi, complaint #2198616
  3. #3

    airbag system

    19 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    20
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact's vehicle was involved in a crash. The contact stated that the other vehicle that crashed into the contact stated the vehicle's speed was abo…"~70,765 mi, complaint #2002321
  4. #4

    brake hydraulics

    15 unsafe

    15
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When I am slowing down to a stop usually when im going down hill the brakes will fail and the car lunges forward. It will fell like I am stepping on air. I have taken ot to the dealership but they have been unable to duplicate the issue so I dont know what els…"complaint #1905616
    • "While driving on the highway at an average speed of 40-60 mph and applying the brakes, I experience a noticeable shaking in the whole car and can also feel the tires shaking. I took my car to the Toyota dealer, and they confirmed that the rotors and brake pads…"complaint #1908018
    • "Unexpected brake failure; While driving at a slow 20 to 30 mph speed lightly braking anticipating a stop at a stop sign my car will unexpectedly surge and jolt the car forward while I'm applying maximum brake force to the peddle. I took it to the local Toyo…"complaint #1926838
    • "Occasionally when slowing to a stop, the brakes feel like they slip and i begin to speed up suddenly. Pressing hard on the brakes stops the car again. This is a safety issue if for example you were braking for someone in a crosswalk or a car in front of you. T…"complaint #1952334
    • "Brakes vibrate at highway speeds above 60 mph. Car does stop but steering wheel and seat noticeably shake. Car only 1 year old and started during winter. Seems to be related to TSB-0072-18 but does not cover my vehicle year. "complaint #1966667
  5. #5

    glass and windshield

    12 unsafe

    12
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=3)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the sunroof glass exploded unexpectedly. There was no impact on the sunroof that could have caused it to shatter. The contact and her daughter did not sus…"~2,050 mi, complaint #1802163
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that there was an obscuring and milky pattern on the windshield while driving under certain weather conditions; significantly reducing the visibility of the roadway while driving. The dealer was not…"~3,000 mi, complaint #1956711
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, an acorn fell from a tree impacting the front glass windshield causing the glass windshield to become cracked. The manufacturer and local dealer were notifie…"~10,000 mi, complaint #1832454
  6. #6

    mirror

    11 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    12
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When cruising on a highway at around 70MPH my driver side mirror started shaking. The visibility through that mirror is getting worse. The left side mirror is fine no issue with vibration."complaint #1816837
    • "I'm reporting this problem as follows. Drivers side mirror (glass) at speed exceeding 20 miles an hour vibrates causing issues with me seeing traffic coming up beside me on the drivers side. This problem with vibration only gets worse at highway speeds. This i…"complaint #1833928
    • "Drivers side mirror shakes causing visibility to be blurred. The shaking makes me dizzy when trying to change lanes. Toyota has this same issue on their RAV4 model and there is actually a fix. They need to make the car safe and not have mirrors that shake whil…"complaint #1834126
    • "driver side mirror vibrates above 20mph which makes it harder to focus on the image, can lead to accidents."complaint #1841400
    • "Vibrating driver side mirror in speeds 50-70 MPH on concrete or asphalt"complaint #1853487
  7. #7

    trunk or liftgate

    1 stranded, 7 unsafe, 2 broken

    10
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while using the rear liftgate with the key fob or the actuator on the liftgate door, the liftgate failed to raise properly and failed to close properly. The contact stated that the liftgate mad…"~48,000 mi, complaint #2187197
    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the trunk was opened, and the contact was storing items in the trunk space and the trunk lid fell on the contact's back. The contact stated that the failure occurr…"~70,732 mi, complaint #1967826
  8. #8

    lighting exterior

    5 unsafe, 2 annoyance

    7
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When I drive at night time, the opposite driver complains on low beams that looks like high beams. They are too bright. "complaint #1857201
    • "At night, drivers frequently flash their bright lights at my vehicle, "complaining that my high beams are on." Sometimes, they turn on their brights at me and leave them on until our vehicles pass. My high beams are NOT on. This is a safety hazard from my v…"complaint #1968655
    • "All Toyota Highlanders with the LED projector headlights come from the factory with the lights aimed far too high."complaint #2055604
    • "This is a widespread issue of these models leaving the factory with their headlights aimed too high which is leading other drivers to flash their brights thinking the bright lights in the Highlander are on. This needs to be sent to Toyota as a safety recall!!!…"complaint #2083467
    • "During start up Headlight system malfunction and Pre-Collision system failure lights and waring came on. "complaint #2198187
  9. #9

    abs module

    5 unsafe

    5
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When coming to a stop, intermittently the brakes feel like they disengage for a moment before kicking back in and lunging me forward. The first time it happened I thought my foot has slipped off the brake pedal. When I happened again, I knew something was wron…"complaint #1806807
    • "When braking, and going down a slight grade, and when there is a slight bump in the road, the brakes seem to cut out for a second or surge. This will only last for a second and then the brakes will engage again. This could cause an accident if the car in front…"complaint #1823599
    • "On multiple occasions the breaks appear to momentarily slip, resulting in the car lunging forward. This tends to happen when slowly decelerating, especially when going down hill. It happens at random, regardless of weather or road conditions. I reported the is…"complaint #1895099
    • "While driving in town and coming to a stop sign at a four way intersection I applied the brakes at under 15 to 20mph to stop and my vehicle lurched forward and my brakes were unresponsive. The brake peddle got very spongy for a split second and immediately re…"complaint #1897613
    • "The brake system on the 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid malfunctioned momentarily this weekend (7/8/23 was date of incident) in North Kington, RI. While coming to a gradual stop at a stop light, the brakes momentarily stopped working and felt like the car lunge…"complaint #1908485
  10. #10

    adas collision warning

    5 unsafe

    5
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "While driving on the highway the entire dashboard warning system came on all the ADAS and messages saying braking failure to loss of control. This vehicle is not even three months old and is a platinum AWD vehicle fully loaded version. Toyota Dealership nev…"complaint #1853155
    • "The breaking system doesn’t take effect in speed and turn and when you leave the acceleration and the speed increase and loose control . Also the electrical system is damage not with seven month of brand new highlander hybrid . The rear cross traffic control a…"complaint #1900914
    • "On June 26 2023 the vehicle didn't stop automatically when another car was in view in the intersection, the automatic breaking system didn't work and the air bags didn't deploy, "complaint #1905917
    • "Sudden acceleration when applying the brakes. This has happened several times "complaint #2050181
    • "While driving my 2022 Toyota Highlander (VIN: [XXX] , 29,427 miles), I have experienced multiple recurring safety defects that Toyota has been unable or unwilling to repair under warranty. •Front collision sensors frequently trigger without any object present,…"complaint #2118528
  11. #11

    door latch and hinge

    4 unsafe, 1 broken

    5
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a whistling sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that suddenly the bumper detached from the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact st…"~15,000 mi, complaint #1836301
  12. #12

    seat mechanism

    4 unsafe

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH with a child seated in the rear passenger’s side seat with the seat back adjusted, while going around a roundabout, the vehicle was cut off by another vehicle, and the cont…"~27,500 mi, complaint #2216664
  13. #13

    unintended acceleration

    4 unsafe

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highland. The contact stated that while at a traffic light, and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The cause of the…"~13,000 mi, complaint #1901321
  14. #14

    brake pads and rotors

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, causing the vehicle to shudder and the steering wheel was vibrating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with warped roto…"~12,000 mi, complaint #1875541
  15. #15

    ev drive unit or inverter

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When braking the car will start braking then stop slowing down for 1/2 to 1 second and resume braking. If you have ever braked when hitting an ice patch this is exactly how it feels. The obvious answer was an intermittent braking problem and I was delighted to…"complaint #1809318
    • "Car lunges forward while constant braking. Problem is not consistently repeatable and occurs at various speeds, road conditions, and weather conditions. It seems to be in the transition between regenerative braking and mechanical braking from the hybrid system…"complaint #2088720
    • "Component or system that malfunctioned: The braking system on my 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, specifically the transition between regenerative braking and hydraulic friction braking, appears to malfunction intermittently. During braking, the vehicle sometime…"complaint #2178013
  16. #16

    fuel tank and lines

    1 unsafe, 2 annoyance

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The vehicle is advertised with a 17.9 gallon fuel tank. But I can only get about 14 gallons in the tank. Gauge reads full but my distance to empty is only showing 286 miles. It should read closer to 400."complaint #1794444
    • "Car does not fill to stated 17.1 gallon capacity. Most it will fill is between 12 to 13 gallons causing the vehicle to prematurely run out of gas."complaint #1796626
    • "Vehicle does not fill above 14 gallons of gas. It says 10 miles until empty, but when you fill it and try to force as much gas in as it will take, it only fills to 14 gallons not the capacity of 17.8 that is advertised. "complaint #1918289
  17. #17

    hv system fault reduced power

    1 stranded, 2 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The highlander has been having starting issue where the dash reads that the hybrid system is not functioning and won’t turn over. There is a consumer report program instead of a recall. This is deceiving. This morning the TPMS was reading that all tired were a…"complaint #1938432
    • "Car fire (total loss of vehicle) after hybrid malfunction. My family and I were traveling west bound on [XXX] near Crawfordsville Indiana on [XXX]. Trooper Chelsey Smith from the Indiana State Police (CAD # [XXX] ) came to the scene. Our car was traveling w…"complaint #2001331
    • "As my wife had the wheels turned and was pulling up to the curb stop in a parking spot the car suddenly lurched forward without putting the accelerator on and went up and over the curb. Stop and hit a pole. my thoughts are is that the engine possibly changed f…"complaint #2027231
  18. #18

    acceleration loss or hesitation

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=3)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH and attempting to accelerate to enter the highway, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle responded sluggishly. The vehicle emitted abnormal sounds as thou…"~1,800 mi, complaint #1820575
  19. #19

    adas lane keeping

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The system designed to prevent lane departure has a particular issue with the dashed road markings that denote the entrance to tapered deceleration lanes or right-hand exit ramps on Oregon freeways. I have not noticed an issue when similar markings are on the…"complaint #1862620
    • "During start up LTA malfunction, Pre-Collision system malfunction and Headlight system malfunction lights and warning indicators came on."complaint #2198189
  20. #20

    engine stall or no start

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving [REDACTED ADDRESS], the steering wheel failed to respond as needed while attempting to turn to the left or the right. Additionally, the brakes became inoperable and the vehicle de…"~17,781 mi, complaint #1996280
  21. #21

    fluid leak unspecified

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The clips on the roof rails are not sealed and it allows water to leak into the car through the roof. This was an issue with previous RAV4 vehicles and is continuing on with the Highlander design. The water enters the vehicle anytime it rains or the vehicle is…"complaint #2010646
    • "The component that failed is the roof rail clips that hold the roof rack to the vehicle (Toyota Service Bulletin T-SB-0040-24). The clips under the rail fail and cause water to leak into the headliner and down the A-pillars on both sides of the vehicle. It pre…"complaint #2088357
  22. #22

    heater core and blower

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "December 2022 I was driving to my Toyota dealer which is about an hour away from my home for a routine 10k oil. change. Air temperature here in Minnesota was 20-25 degrees. After [REDACTED ADDRESS] driving with front defroster activated, all windows including…"complaint #1869212
    • "During very cold tempratures 25 F and below all windows fog up. Defroster is turned on but windows remain fogged. I can turn on rear defroster (electric grid) and clears back window. All windows fog so you cannot see out. With front defroster fan on high it wi…"complaint #2199789
  23. #23

    backup camera

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the backup camera would intermittently fail to operate as the screen would appear blank. The contact also stated that the warning chime would fail to alert the driver to pe…"~20,000 mi, complaint #2112235
  24. #24

    brake booster

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "WHEN PARKED FOR 15 TO 20 MINUTES WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING THEN MOVING FORWARD THE BRAKES DO NOT WORK. ACCORDING TO SAN MARCOS TOYOTA THIS IS NORMAL. SPEED OD VECHILE IS LESS THAN 5 MILES PER HOUR NO BRAKES AND THIS CAUSED A VERY MINOR REAR END COLLUISN. ACCORD…"complaint #1817469
  25. #25

    control module

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When starting up the vehicle, the headlight system malfunctioned light came on and a pre-collision system light came on. After shutting it off and restarting the vehicle. The lights were off."complaint #2151636
  26. #26

    fuel pump

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I had been driving my 2022 Toyota Highlander XLE with 46k miles that I just got for about two weeks, so about 10 days out of the 14 i actually drove it from home to work and back home. Within those 10 days driving the SUV, 8 mornings and one afternoon the high…"complaint #2164557
  27. #27

    infotainment head unit

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The entire head unit in the center of the front console went crazy and started going blank, glitching out, and basically made it impossible to use any of the features associated with that screen unit. The 2022 Toyota Highlander's head unit controls infotain…"complaint #2165939
  28. #28

    interior trim

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I purchased a new Highlander. When I exit the vehicle, when wearing shorts, the bottom portion of the seam in the seat molding slices my leg open causing bleeding and injury. The dealership tried to fix this by sanding down the uneven protrusion where the sea…"complaint #1891746
  29. #29

    stability and traction control

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "While driving at a constant speed of approximately 45 mph the vehicle suddenly skidded sideways and launched to the right, causing us to nearly hit a guardrail. I dropped speed to 30 mph and this continued to occur at random for the next 10 miles until destin…"complaint #1853735
  30. #30

    steering electric assist

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "When turning on the heated steering wheel and about 5-10 minutes, it seems there is smoke coming from the steering wheel leather and it’s very hot that almost burnt my hand and forced me to take my left hand off. I immediately turned the heated steering wheel…"complaint #2161422
  31. #31

    sunroof

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Sunroof shattered and detached at highway speed without impact"complaint #1950991
  32. #32

    throttle and pedal

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I was parking the car. Car in park. Foot on brake. Carr violently lunged forward. Hitting, and tilting, concrete pole. Put car in reverse. Lunged forward then backward. Someone could have been killed. Thank God no person was near. I could have lunged through…"complaint #2227039
  33. #33

    tire failure

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I was traveling at highway speed with five passengers, luggage, and bike rack with five bicycles and without warning the driver's side rear tire sidewall completely blew out. The vehicle fishtailed but I was able to move over to the right emergency lane to ch…"complaint #1851389
  34. #34

    torque converter

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "HIGH PITCH WHINING SOUND WHEN DEPRESSING ACCELERATOR. DEALER DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE AND SAYS THE TRANSAXLE AND TORQUE CONVERTER HAS TO BE REPLACED. ALL STARTED HAPPENING JUST AFTER 60000 MILES SO OUT OF WARRANTY. $8500 REPAIR BILL"complaint #2128053
  35. #35

    transfer case awd

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this complaint to report a serious mechanical issue involving the transfer case on my 2022 Toyota Highlander. This problem raises concerns regarding the safety, reliability, and overall performance of the vehicle. Whil…"complaint #2197894
  36. #36

    wiper and washer

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Wipers quit working. Available for inspection. Unable to see road because it was raining. Wipers haven’t been inspected. No messages or warning lamps. I was driving in rainy weather with the temperature slightly above the freeze point.."complaint #1857967
  37. #37

    wiring harness

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "According to Toyota, the wire harness needs to be replaced due to damages caused by animals (rodents). My main concern is, this vehicle is not safe to drive. Because if a midsize animal could find its way inside the engine compartment and caused so much damage…"complaint #1892358

Search NHTSA's own recall and complaint database for TOYOTA HIGHLANDER directly.