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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2020 Toyota Highlander — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 320 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

320
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
16
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
0
Involved Fire
owner-reported
20
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.

212 complaints

136 complaints

192 complaints

111 complaints

270 complaints

268 complaints

495 complaints

320 complaints

531 complaints

262 complaints

186 complaints

43 complaints

10 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Power Train 126 reports
Unknown Or Other 44 reports
Service Brakes 40 reports
Air Bags 32 reports
Structure 30 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 19 reports
Electrical System 18 reports
Engine 17 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Power Train ODI 11708000 12/31/2025

The contact's wife owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that soon after purchasing a new set of tires, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound upon acceleration. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for an oil change and tire rotation, and the contact was informed that no defect was found on the vehicle. As the failure persisted, the vehicle was taken back to the…

Service Brakes ODI 11708018 12/31/2025

My 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a braking issue identified in Toyota Service Bulletin T-SB-0059-23, Hybrid Regenerative Brake Transition Feeling Improvement. When going downhill and applying the brake, the vehicle lurches forward temporarily as the braking system transitions from regenerative to hydraulic braking. The first time my vehicle did this, it was very alarming a…

Wheels ODI 11499606 12/30/2022

Case #11497584, All 4 tires Brigestone 235/55R20 102V cracked(DOT 4919, Thread 6/32-7/32). Numerous report of this tires exploding. load index 102 is Max load 1874 Lb at 44 PSI. Manufacturing label is 36 PSI, GAWP RR 3405. At 36 PSI(load inflation table) tire capacity is 1620 Lb which is show that GAWP 3405/2=1702.5 LB is ALREADY OVERLOAD each rear tire by 82.5 LB. If you add …

Power Train ODI 11707470 12/29/2025

My 2020 Highlander developed a whining or grinding noise consistent with the Technical Service Bulletin. I took it to a Toyota Dealership for diagnostic and they confirmed the whining and hissing sound. They said it would cost $9,000 to repair. I called Toyota to request a goodwill repair and they denied me. Toyota case number: 251229000423. The car does not feel safe to driv…

Power Train ODI 11707237 12/27/2025

Shortly after the powertrain warranty expired, the automatic transmission in my 2020 Toyota Highlander began producing a loud whining/howling noise during normal driving. The noise appears to come from the transmission area and increases with vehicle speed. The issue was not present during the warranty period and began unexpectedly soon after expiration. The abnormal noise ra…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2020 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 2020 Toyota Highlander reliable?
Owners have filed 320 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2020 Toyota Highlander, most often about power train. 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.