The Recall Desk

Vehicle

Toyota Highlander · 2021

4 recalls affect this vehicle. Sorted by severity, then date.

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1–4 of 4

  • Severity pendingNHTSA·26V128000·2026-03-05

    Toyota Highlander second-row seat backs may fail to lock

    Toyota is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles because the second-row seat backs may fail to lock into position during seat back adjustment.

    Product
    TOYOTA — TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID, HIGHLANDER
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·24V452000·2024-06-18

    2022 Toyota Highlander Tires Insufficient Load Rating Safety Recall

    Southeast Toyota Distributors is recalling 2021–2024 Toyota Highlander vehicles due to 20-inch accessory tires with insufficient load ratings. Overloaded tires can fail and increase crash risk.

    Product
    TOYOTA — TOYOTA HIGHLANDER
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·23V865000·2023-12-20

    Toyota and Lexus vehicles recalled for air bag sensor short circuit defect

    Toyota and Lexus are recalling certain 2020-2022 vehicles with a faulty Occupant Classification System sensor that may prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in a crash, increasing injury risk.

    Product
    LEXUS — LEXUS, TOYOTA ES, CAMRY HYBRID, AVALON, ES HYBRID
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·23V720000·2023-10-26

    2022 Toyota Highlander Front Bumper Covers May Detach During Operation

    Toyota is recalling certain 2020-2023 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles because the front bumper covers may come loose or detach during normal operation, potentially becoming a road hazard.

    Product
    TOYOTA — TOYOTA HIGHLANDER, HIGHLANDER HYBRID
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide

NHTSA crash-test safety rating

Federal 5-Star Safety Rating from crash testing. This is a separate government program from the recall(s) above — a high star rating says nothing about whether a specific recall has been fixed, and a recall says nothing about crash-test performance.

  • 20215/5

    2 trims tested for 2021; overall ratings can differ by trim.

    View on NHTSA.gov

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), a federal crash-test program — not a recall record.

Wider context for this vehicle

Beyond the official recalls above. These are third-party figures derived from NHTSA complaint data — useful signal, but not part of our verified recall record.

Federal investigations — 1 open

  • DP23005 Defect Petition · open · service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components
  • EA18006 Engineering Analysis · steering:column
  • PE18005 Preliminary Evaluation · steering:column
  • EA12006 Engineering Analysis · electrical system
  • PE12002 Preliminary Evaluation · electrical system
  • PE10008 Preliminary Evaluation · steering

Complaint clusters with no matching recall

  • 2021 · powertrain 208 complaints, median 60,347 mi
  • 2019 · powertrain 187 complaints, median 64,000 mi
  • 2020 · powertrain 121 complaints, median 78,000 mi
  • 2017 · powertrain 70 complaints, median 20,800 mi
  • 2008 · engine 70 complaints, median 100,000 mi
    Includes 1 alleging a death and 6 alleging a fire. Unverified owner allegations from complaint filings — not confirmed by any agency.

Technical service bulletins

1,207 manufacturer service bulletins across 22 model years. A TSB is repair guidance to dealers, not a safety recall.

Third-party reliability score

  • 2026: 4.8/5 · 1 complaints
  • 2025: 4.2/5 · 9 complaints
  • 2024: 3.4/5 · 42 complaints · most complained-of: electrical
  • 2023: 2.9/5 · 176 complaints · most complained-of: body
  • 2022: 3.2/5 · 236 complaints · most complained-of: powertrain

This is ProblemsByVin’s own published heuristic (1 worst – 5 best), not an official rating and unrelated to our severity scale.

Data on this panel comes from ProblemsByVin, derived from US NHTSA owner complaints and recalls, and licensed CC BY 4.0. It is not published by a federal agency and is not part of our verified recall record.

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