LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
LIVEACCIDENTTRACKER
Home / Car Problems Checker / 2012 Toyota Highlander
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Toyota Highlander — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 191 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

191
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
16
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
3
Involved Fire
owner-reported
13
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

2018 Toyota Highlander

268 complaints

2019 Toyota Highlander AVOID

495 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Steering 47 reports
Electrical System 30 reports
Unknown Or Other 24 reports
Structure 22 reports
Engine 17 reports
Service Brakes 15 reports
Visibility/wiper 15 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 14 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Engine ODI 11385599 12/30/2020

WELL BEFORE MY OIL CHANGES ARE DUE, MY VEHICLE NEEDS MORE OIL. THERE ARE NO APPARENT EXTERIOR LEAKS BUT THE OIL HAS TO BE LEAKING SOMEWHERE OR BURNING AWAY THROUGH THE EXHAUST.

Steering ODI 11164109 12/30/2018

HAVE NOISE IN STEERING SHAFT AT LOW SPEED WHEN TURNING AND BACKING UP AND PULLING FORWARD . TOYOTA DEALER CHECKED AT 50,000 MILE WHILE STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE NOISE . WHEN HAVING OIL CHANGE AT 62000 MILES MENTIONED IT AGAIN TO SERVICE MAN AND WAS TOLD IT PROBABLY IS THE STEERING INTERMEDIATE SHAFT THEY ALWAYS GO BAD IN THAT YEAR AND TOYOTA WILL N…

Suspension ODI 11707520 12/29/2025

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that 5,000 miles after purchasing the vehicle, the contact noticed an oil leak. The contact performed the oil changes and had noticed that engine oil had leaked down onto the weather seal in the vehicle. The contact noticed several oil stains on the ground during rainy weather. The contact noticed that the new tires…

Steering ODI 11163417 12/26/2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS EXPERIENCING STEERING FAILURE. FREEDOM TOYOTA OF HARRISBURG (6060 ALLENTOWN BLVD, HARRISBURG, PA 17112, (717) 545-4726) WAS CONTACTED, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT SEPARATED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER A…

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11163347 12/25/2018

WHILE ENTERING A PARKING SPOT WITH FOOT FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SUDDEN AND UNANTICIPATED ACCELERATION RESULTING IN THE CAR CRASHING INTO A CONCRETE WALL AND BEING TOTALED. WITNESS CORROBORATED THE SOUND OF A THE ENGINE AT HIGH RPM IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE CRASH.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 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 2012 Toyota Highlander reliable?
Owners have filed 191 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Toyota Highlander, most often about steering. 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.