10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2021 Toyota Highlander miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2021 Toyota Highlander Owner Comments

problem #15

Feb 202023

Highlander

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

my car experiences intermittent acceleration when applying the breaks. It lunges forward for some reason. It has also not stopped when hitting the breaks hard but lunges as well. I am using the last date that this happened.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #14

Jul 052022

Highlander

  • miles
Several minutes after leaving my vehicle once I parked and shut the engine routinely, it rolls back a hundred feet and crashes into another vehicle. When I come back I became aware of this as I noticed the back of the driver side of my vehicle is lodged into the side of another vehicle. This caused damage to both vehicles.

- Lakewood, NJ, USA

problem #13

May 112022

Highlander

  • miles
I have a 2021 Toyota Highlander XLE with a panoramic sunroof. on 5/11/2022 I was driving on the road when I heard an extremely loud explosion. I looked around and didn't see any damage, then I pulled off the road to discover that the sunroof had exploded. I called the dealership and they referred me to Safelite. Safelite took my information and called me back 2 days later to inform me that they don't stock the part I have to go to the dealer. I booked an appointment with the dealer (Sheehy), I took the vehicle in, they inspected, and I was told by Sheehy that "they've never heard of such a thing" and they were going to call the manufacturer to see if they will approve my repair under warranty. They called me back about a week later to say my claim for repair costs was denied due to, in their words "outside influences". There were no rocks, debris, etc. found that could have contributed to the moonroof shattering. Fortunately, I had the shades pulled otherwise I would have been covered in broken glass. There was no damage to the shade to indicate an object fell on it. After a quick google search, I saw that other SUV owners had experienced this same phenomenon and were told the same thing- outside influences caused this. Toyota should inform consumers about this issue and fix it no questions asked when this happens rather than try to brush it under the carpet especially when the vehicle is still under warranty. This presents a road safety issue as flying glass could get injure other people.

- Essex, MD, USA

problem #12

May 242022

Highlander

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On May 24th I was driving back to work form my lunch break, had to make an additional stop before going back and in the moment I was to make a right suddenly the car would not stop or turn, no light were on at the moment, now the car is a total loss and I went trough the scariest time of my life after running into mangroves

- Key West, FL, USA

problem #11

May 122022

Highlander

  • miles
This is in regards to a 2021 Toyota Platinum AWD with 8500 miles. While cruising at about 40 miles/hour, the car suddenly lost power, and an alpha numeric code popped on the digital display that said -€œChip malfunction-€ and something else I don-€™t recall. It also said to see your dealer immediately. On the dash, the check engine light came on with a message that said -€œreduced engine power-€. This message alternated with another alpha numeric code. I did not write down the actual codes because I thought the car would record them. I was able to roll onto a side street and turn off the car. After 5 min, I restarted the car and took it to the dealer later that day. They not only could not find a code in the record, the entire trip was not recorded, even though it-€™s on my Toyota app. First, they tried to say it couldn-€™t have happened because it was not recorded. Then, they said the recall regarding a power issue was the culprit, but also admitted the -€œfix-€ had nothing to do with, and would not affect, the engine. After insisting more be done to iD the problem and fix it, they agreed to keep the car and run a diagnostic. It turned up nothing except -€œmaybe bad gas-€. Really? We only use premium from reputable sources. I do not feel safe on the car and most certainly do not feel safe putting my child in it. I cannot believe they cannot find the problem.

- Chandler, AZ, USA

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problem #10

Jan 232022

Highlander

  • miles
I was driving with my daughter on the highway where all of a sudden I could here a loud noise on the top of my car. I opened the sunroof to see what's wrong only to see a Crack in the sunroof. Nothing hit the roof but it was cracked up. As I was driving it began to break up. If I had the shade opened I would have been hit with the glasses and I had my three year old in the car as well. Absolutely nothing hit the vehicle but it broke on its own.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #9

Jan 022022

Highlander

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My sunroof exploded. I reported it to Toyota USA and dropped my car off at the local Toyota dealership. We had to shut the sun shade to keep glass from falling in on us. The SUV is still in the shop and we have not heard back from them yet. I did not call the police or insurance yet. There was no warning. Nothing hit it. It just exploded.

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #8

Jun 012021

Highlander

  • miles
Driver side mirror shakes when going greater than 25 mph. This does not happen on passender side, makes it more difficult to see object in mirror and more dangerous changing lanes on highways. First noticed after a few months of minimal driving.

- Methuen, MA, USA

problem #7

Jun 302021

Highlander

  • miles
While driving a piece popped off of the passenger door mirror. It flew off and hit the passenger door causing scuff marks before flying into traffic and causing the car behind me to swerve in traffic to avoid it from hitting their car or driving over it, which could have caused an accident. I wasn't able to recover the piece due to the incident occurring on the interstate. I did take the vehicle to the dealership (Serra Toyota - Birmingham, AL) in July and was told by the service technician that they had three other cars to come in with the same issue within the last month. Also, I was told that the entire mirror would have to be replaced since the manufacturer didn't make the piece alone. I was told that it would cost me $800 to replace the entire mirror. I should not be responsible for a faulty piece on the vehicle that was just purchased at the end of April. The technician told me that he would put in a ticket with the manufacturer, but I have not received a response.

- Pleasant Grove, AL, USA

problem #6

Aug 302021

Highlander

  • miles
The fixed moonroof appears to have exploded on its own while parked. No alarm was set off and no objects were found inside the vehicle suggesting an impact. There was no debris around the car. There were no storms or the vehicle is not parked near trees or ball fields. Dealer denies any known occurrence and states this must be from an impact and is not covered by warranty.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #5

Aug 142021

Highlander

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was forced to change lanes quickly from the left lane to the left shoulder of an interstate when a double tandem tractor trailer moved into my lane of traffic. The interstate was dry and the left shoulder was in excellent condition and wide enough to accommodate my vehicle easily. All lane assist options were turned off, the driving mode was set to -€œeconomy-€ and the cruise control was turned to -€œoff-€. A few seconds after entering the left shoulder of the interstate, I felt the rear end of my vehicle sway from side to side for a few seconds. After the swaying ended, I thought there was a brief loss of vehicle control after which the vehicle returned completely to my control. My vehicle is a Toyota Highlander Limited AWD gas engine SUV with about 2700 miles when this occurred. I drove my vehicle without any emergency steering maneuvers 2700 miles prior to and 500 miles after this incident without any problems. I had my Toyota dealer examine the suspension, steering and event recorder of the vehicle and test drive it. They found the vehicle to be performing within manufacturers specifications and without any defect in the steering or suspension and found no codes found in the event recorder.

- Saint James, NY, USA

problem #4

Jul 162021

Highlander

  • miles
The answer to the above questions is UNKNOWN. I do not clearly remember the moments leading up to the incident. I was parked on the driveway of my daughters house. I was in my Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2021. We were stationary at the top of the driveway after returning because we had forgotten something. My grandsons were in the car but they were not hurt. The driveway is on an incline.  I am not sure what happened from here. As I exited the car it started to roll backwards. I tried to get back in to stop it but got knocked down by the open door and moving car. I fell. The car rolled over my legs, dragged me down the incline and I was stuck under the front bumper. The car stopped either because of the ABS when I was as the front of the bumper or because it was on level ground at that point. My son-in-law tried to put the car in reverse to move it off of me but said they could not get it to start. I was barely stuck and the neighbors just lifted the front bumper a bit and I rolled out.   I have some soft tissue damage (full thickness degloving to the bone on my left calf and 4 fractures (1 in each leg and a couple in my pelvis). I have been to the operating room 4 times, the emergency room three times and spent 19 days in the hospital. It is the first car I have had with a key fob, no physical emergency break and I have safely parked in on this driveway for 5 months. It does not make sense that it would be in neutral as I never use that gear but that seems to be what would have had to have happened for this to occur. l bought this car for all of the safety features yet this still happened so I am sharing it with you in case there are further safety features that can be developed to prevent such accidents in the future. If it had a real key and real emergency brake I do not think this would have happened.

- Arvada, CO, USA

problem #3

Aug 042021

Highlander

  • miles
The car was stopped at a red light and the car shook and slightly vibrated and shut off. No warning signs, no warning lights, just died. I was in the car with my twin 3 year olds, the AC shut off, everything shut off, the temperature outside was over 90 degrees and heavy traffic. I was very scared for my safety and very confused as to why a brand new car would die.

- La Habra, CA, USA

problem #2

Jul 042021

Highlander

  • miles
About 15 minutes prior to the incident, the interior shade cover was closed beneath the moonroof. Mostly sunny day about 85° F, about 55mph, the moonroof exploded. The sound was that of a shotgun, followed by wind noise and tinkling noises of shattered glass just beyond the shade cover. Upon external examination, 100% of the glass sliding moonroof was shattered, approximately 30% of the glass had departed the vehicle from a forward and central portion of the glass area. The remaining glass was bowed outward. The roof aft of the moonroof displayed 1-3 millimeter length flags of clear coat paint where the glass shards had etched the painted surface and the rear spoiler fairing panel over the aft hatch had gouges in the plastic composition along the upper surface of said fairing. All components on the vehicle were factory installed. Vehicle had 10,000 miles and was in service just over 5 months. There were no indications of an impeding problem. The moonroof was secured with tape and cardboard to prevent shards of glass from departing the vehicle. The dealership body shop estimates repairs at $4319. Safety threat: If shade were open at the time of explosive incident, shards of glass would fall onto driver and passengers, which might create a loss of control from panic (explosion was very loud and disconcerting) glass in facial area (between eyes and sunglasses) or falling into clothing at the neck area and creating a painful bloody situation at highway speeds. Shards of glass departing incident vehicle might reach a following vehicle (motorcyclist) depending upon upward trajectory of glass and forward speed. Might affect vehicles traveling in opposite direction. Driver following incident with window down might be exposed to shards of glass slip streaming into that vehicle.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #1

Jun 192021

Highlander

  • miles
I purchased my Toyota Highlander Hybrid only about 2 months ago. Since then, I've experienced several incidences of sudden acceleration. In a few of them, I was approaching a stop sign and began to slow down. Suddenly, I felt the car accelerate on its own. In both instances, I slammed on the brakes and the car jerked then stopped. There was one instance when I was going down hill and I was stepping on the brakes, but the car seemed to accelerate on its own until I stepped on the brakes again. Fortunately, there were no collisions. However, this is a serious safety problem.

- Diamond Bar, CA, USA

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