2021 Toyota Highlander — Problems & Complaints
NHTSA has 531 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.
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.
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
What Owners Complain About Most
Recent Owner Reports
While I was driving the vehicle on December 30, 2025 emerging on to the highway I heard a loud popping sound which I thought was one of the tires going flat when the plastic barrier underneath the car became unattached
While pulling onto highway I heard a loud pop and scratching noise. Pulled off road and looked at vehicle from outside. When I looked on top I saw that the glass from sunroof had a hole and had shards like it had exploded from inside pressure.
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the contact heard an abnormal whining sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that it was a known failure. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where i…
Headed westbound on 285 in Georgia; hit on passenger side front door and vehicle swerved several lanes and hit a wall going 60 miles per hour. The airbags did not deploy. I was injured badly and the vehicle was totaled.
I have a faulty transmission that is now widely known. 2021 Highlander with the UA80 transmission. Out of warranty and Toyota wants to provide no help even know this is an ongoing issue with so many owners
Recalls & Crash Tests
Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 Toyota Highlander, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.
Problems Checker
Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.