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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2025 Toyota Highlander

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

Owners have filed 10 safety complaints about the 2025 Toyota Highlander with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is vehicle speed control, named in 3 complaints, 30% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers July 2025 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

10 complaints on file

10

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

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
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 30%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 20%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 20%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 10%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 · 10%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 10%
STEERING 1 · 10%
VISIBILITY 1 · 10%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 10.

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 2026 at 7.

8 6 4 2
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 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 2025 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 16.4% 16.9%
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

3 on file

SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:ANCHORAGE

25V872000 · December 17, 2025

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The third row center seat belt roof anchor may have been installed at an incorrect angle, preventing the seat belt from properly restraining the occupant.
The risk
A seat belt that does not properly restrain an occupant increases the risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will reinstall the seat belt anchor with a new bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 25TA16.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 39 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION

25V744000 · October 30, 2025

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru Solterra vehicles equipped with a Panoramic View Monitor (PVM) system. Please see the recall report for a complete list of models. A software error may cause the rearview camera to freeze or display a blank screen when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A rearview camera that fails to display an image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the parking assist software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB13 and 25LB06. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE25.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 1,024,407 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

25V595000 · September 11, 2025

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Toyota Venza, 2023-2025 RAV4 Prime, RAV4, Highlander, GR Corolla, Crown, 2024-2025 Lexus TX, LS, Toyota Tacoma, Grand Highlander, and 2025 Lexus RX, Toyota Crown Signia, Camry, RAV 4 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and 4 Runner vehicles. Due to an error in the instrument panel software at vehicle startup, the instrument panel may fail to display vehicle speed, brake system, and tire pressure warning lights.
The risk
An instrument panel display that does not show critical information can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
The remedy
Dealers will update the instrument panel software over-the-air (OTA) for non-PHEV vehicles, free of charge. For PHEV vehicles, dealers will inspect the instrument panel assembly, and either replace it, or update the software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 5, 2025. Additional letters will be sent, anticipated in May 2026. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB08 and 25TA08. Lexus' numbers for this recall are 25LB05 and 25LA05.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 591,377 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.

STEERING

1 injured · crash · towed

[XXX] was turning left onto [XXX] from [XXX]. Two lanes turn left. She was in the inside lane. The traffic light was red, and when it turned green, she started to turn. Partway through the turn, the steering became unresponsive. She couldn't get it to turn left, and she could not complete the turn, and crashed into the pole that holds the traffic signal. She traveled less than 100 ft total from the light to the pole. The accident was at 1:30 PM on a dry and clear day. The car has 8087 miles on it. There were no observed indications of warning lights and no symptoms of a problem. The vehicle was towed to a salvage lot, the Insurance company inspected it and declared it a total loss. All the

NHTSA complaint 11750944, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

crash · towed

I was backing up the vechial accelerated the steering wheel was turning rapid & a grinding noise causing me too hit another vechial about a month before my husband was driving & the vechial accelerated going toward also we had had some issues with back camera not doing a warning signal with a object behind vechial when the accident happened my vechial has braking system that stops you if something is behind you this time it didn’t I called the dealership when accident happed which was May 21 2026 & reported it they said they had accelerations before & advised me to call Toyota engadgment which I did they did a diagnostic test June 5 & to this day I’ve never heard back from them

NHTSA complaint 11753999. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

15,000 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while leaving the driveway at the doctor's office on a slope, the accelerator pedal was depressed while making a left turn, but the vehicle failed to move. The vehicle then rolled into traffic. The brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle was slow to respond. The dealer informed the contact that her foot was on the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time, or a sensor identified movement around the vehicle, which stopped the flow of fuel. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. Toyota was able to locate an issue in the log occurring at 3:00 PM. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA complaint 11765928. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

8,498 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while she and her husband were driving at 60 MPH, she heard a loud explosion noise from above her head and felt air whipping on top of her head. The contact stated that the sunroof exploded; however, the sunroof shield prevented the glass from entering the vehicle. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and inspected, but the contact did not find anything wrong at that time. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a rock may have hit the sunroof. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,498.

NHTSA complaint 11741757. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The speedometer registers speed up to 7mph over actual speed for the first 15 miles then returns to matching GPS speed. Reported to Toyota, dealer said they have seen this before but not identified a fix as of today

NHTSA complaint 11740832. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

100 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally strong odor entering the cabin of the vehicle through the vents. The windows were rolled down due to the obnoxious odor. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was tested for leaks in the exhaust; however, no leaks were found. The contact was informed that the fumes were possibly from burning wires or a new vehicle odor because the vehicle was a brand-new vehicle. In addition, the contact was offered the option to trade the vehicle in for a new vehicle. The contact stated that the odor was extremely strong and foul, and the

NHTSA complaint 11712542, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota Highlander

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
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 —
2015 192 1 —
2014 136 4 1
2013 207 3 —
2012 182 2 —
2011 181 5 —
2010 216 10 —

Other 2025 Toyota models

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