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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2022 Toyota Highlander — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 262 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

262
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
18
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
1
Involved Fire
owner-reported
13 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
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.

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 54 reports
Structure 43 reports
Service Brakes 39 reports
Unknown Or Other 39 reports
Air Bags 30 reports
Electrical System 21 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 21 reports
Seats 14 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 11708092 12/31/2025

Vehicle Issue Description (Rear Liftgate): The rear power liftgate intermittently fails to operate and presents a safety concern. The liftgate often will not open at all. At other times, it opens only partially (approximately one-quarter of the way) and then stops. When this occurs, the liftgate frequently will not close properly and sometimes fails to latch securely. This i…

Electrical System ODI 11707698 12/30/2025

When turning on the heated steering wheel and about 5-10 minutes, it seems there is smoke coming from the steering wheel leather and it’s very hot that almost burnt my hand and forced me to take my left hand off. I immediately turned the heated steering wheel and stopped. There is a burning spot left on the steering wheel also. The heating option still can be enabled and the s…

Power Train ODI 11707457 12/29/2025

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended and made an unusual whining sound. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact's husband, a certified mechanic, diagnosed that the transmission had failed. The contact was informed t…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11707647 12/29/2025

While driving, the vehicle’s moonroof glass spontaneously shattered/exploded without impact. It sounded like a gunshot, which caused an immediate and dangerous distraction. There was no object strike that I am aware of and no prior warning. The sudden loud noise and breaking glass created a safety hazard due to distraction and potential glass intrusion.

Power Train ODI 11706624 12/22/2025

early transmission failure and whining at 40,000 miles

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2022 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 2022 Toyota Highlander reliable?
Owners have filed 262 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2022 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.