Home / Car Problems Checker / 2010 Toyota Highlander

Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2010 Toyota Highlander — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 238 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

238

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

Injuries

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Toyota Highlander — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Toyota Highlander

238 complaints

2011 Toyota Highlander

186 complaints

2012 Toyota Highlander

191 complaints

2013 Toyota Highlander

212 complaints

2014 Toyota Highlander

136 complaints

2015 Toyota Highlander

192 complaints

2016 Toyota Highlander

111 complaints

2017 Toyota Highlander

270 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Electrical System 55 reports

Service Brakes 36 reports

Visibility/wiper 31 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 23 reports

Steering 23 reports

Unknown Or Other 18 reports

Engine 15 reports

Structure 15 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Structure ODI 10937552 12/27/2016

POWER LIFT HATCHBACK DOOR NOT COSED ALL THE WAY. VERY DANGEROUS.

Equipment Adaptive/mobility ODI 10668429 12/27/2014

VISOR ON DRIVER'S SIDE DROPPED DOWN AND WILL NOT STAY UP. IT IS AN ABSOLUTE HAZARD. *TR

Tires ODI 10372574 12/27/2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER EQUIPPED WITH TOYO A20 TIRES (NA), SIZE 245/55/R19. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN RECEIVING THE VEHICLE, IT SWAYED TO THE SIDE IT WAS TURNED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE TIRE MANUFACTURER WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE AND REFERRED HIM TO THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURER. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE BRAND OF THE TIRES WAS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH WEIGHT OF …

Electrical System ODI 11056285 12/24/2017

BACK DOOR STATES THAT IT IS AJAR EVEN WHEN IT IS COMPLETELY CLOSED. THIS SEEMS TO BE SAFETY ISSUE TO ME AND TOYOTA SHOULD CHECK AND ISSUE AN RECALL.

Electrical System ODI 11706861 12/23/2025

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the gear shifter had been stuck on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the fuses were replaced on several occasions; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rearview mirror wiring had failed. The vehicle w…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2010 Toyota Highlander, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2010 Toyota Highlander reliable?

Owners have filed 238 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2010 Toyota Highlander, most often about electrical system. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Toyota Highlander years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.