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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2015 Toyota Highlander

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 192 safety complaints about the 2015 Toyota Highlander with the US government. Of those, 17 describe a crash, 6 mention a fire, 16 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the steering.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 52 complaints, 27% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 30,650 miles, the median across the 124 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2014 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

192 complaints on file

192

Complaints

17

Describe a crash

6

Mention fire

16

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 52 · 27%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 43 · 22%
STRUCTURE 32 · 17%
STEERING 25 · 13%
SERVICE BRAKES 15 · 8%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 12 · 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 6%
ENGINE 10 · 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 10 · 5%
AIR BAGS 8 · 4%
POWER TRAIN 7 · 4%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 4 · 2%
0 23 46

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 192.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2015 at 27.

32 24 16 8
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2014 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2015 Toyota HIGHLANDER, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 16.9% 18.5%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

15V144000 · March 13, 2015

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, and Highlander Hybrid, and 2014-2015 Rav4 vehicles. A component of the electric power steering (EPS) electronic control unit (ECU) may have been damaged during the manufacturing process. Over time, this damage may result in failure of the electric power steering system.
The risk
An unexpected loss of power steering increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the serial number of the EPS ECU or steering column assembly. If the number is within the affected range, the EPS ECU will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on May 7, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 110,085 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

We were involved in a car accident on 04/29/2021 and the front airbags that are suppose to come out the wheel and dashboard didn't deploy just the rear airbags. Toyota told me the impact wasn't hard enough for them to deploy but as you will see from the pictures attached the whole front end of the car is gone. Please see attached police report and photos for more details.

NHTSA complaint 11421270. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

2 injured · crash · towed

On [XXX] my vehicle suffered an unintended acceleration on a very busy highway of The Dominican Republic, reaching a speed of 100 MPH. I was able to drive the car into the bushes of the highway service road hitting all king of obstacles such as trees, wall, advertising signs and safety barriers. The car damages resulted in a total loss. My life and my family life were in extremely dangerous situation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11665465. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 injured · fire · towed · 104,000 miles

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. While stopped at a gas station with the engine on, the contact's wife smelled an abnormal, burning odor coming from the vehicle without warning. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact's wife saw flames shooting from the dashboard near the infotainment system; the contact's wife and children immediately exited the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. The contact's wife suffered minor burns on her right hand but did not seek medical attention. The contact had the vehicle towed back home where it remained in the contact's possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a claim was filed. The

NHTSA complaint 11581700, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 236 miles

MY DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. I HIT MY CHEST ON THE STEERING WHEEL. I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 AT 10:00 AM ON HIGHWAY 95, THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 65. A MAN HYDROPLANED IN FRONT OF ME, I HAD TO BE GOING AT LEAST 40......UPDATED 10/19/15 *BF.. ...UPDATED 12/29/15 *BF *JS *JS

NHTSA complaint 10779757. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint is severely peeling on the outside. This can likely flake off and damages other vehicles, property, and roadway infrastructure. This is the factory coat of paint. Color is Toyota Blizzard Pearl (070)

NHTSA complaint 11766542. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
Blizzard White color - Car paint peeling on multiple areas.

NHTSA complaint 11763771. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The a/c condenser was damaged due to impact of road debris. This caused loss of proper system operation. The cost to repair was $1100+. The debris entered thru the front grill, which has nothing in place to prevent debris from entering the engine compartment.

NHTSA complaint 11760154. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
The factory paint on my 2015 Toyota Highlander, Blizzard Pearl (Toyota code 070), is delaminating from the primer. The base coat lifts and peels in sheets, starting on the roof, fender, and pillars — the panels with the greatest UV exposure. There has been no collision, repaint, or chemical damage; this is spontaneous adhesion loss between the factory base coat and primer. First noticed 5/5/2026 at ~137,193 miles, it has spread across the roof and pillars, with the largest piece so far (~4"x2") flying off the vehicle. Delamination lines radiating under the paint indicate more will detach, and the defect affects all painted surfaces. On 7/20/2026, while driving at highway speed, a large

NHTSA complaint 11754797, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint is severely peeling on the outside. This can likely flake off and damages other vehicles, property, and roadway infrastructure. This is the factory coat of paint. Color is Toyota Blizzard Pearl (070)

NHTSA complaint 11751753. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE

133,000 miles

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the power liftgate consistently failed halfway through while opening and closing the liftgate. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact became aware of information online about Technical Service Bulletin: SB0023/16, NHTSA ID Number: 10134306 (Structure, Electrical System); and associated the failure with the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the vehicle was not covered under warranty, TSB, or a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.

NHTSA complaint 11750990. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota Highlander

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 10 3 —
2024 42 7 —
2023 182 9 —
2022 259 5 1
2021 522 4 —
2020 317 4 —
2019 486 3 —
2018 266 4 —
2017 267 3 —
2016 110 2 —
2014 136 4 1
2013 207 3 —
2012 182 2 —
2011 181 5 —
2010 216 10 —

Other 2015 Toyota models

RAV4 304 Camry 271 Sienna 232 Corolla 220 Prius 165 Tacoma 101 4Runner 86 Tundra 49

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Toyota on this site — 281 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst