IllustrationBACK STOP LIGHT GET RAIN WATER! PASSENGER SIDE FRONT BREAK ALWAYS WEARING OUT BEFORE OTHERS BREAKS ! TRUNK DOOR AUTOMATIC BROKEN! 3 ROW SIT UNDER NEED GET RUSHED! SEAT BELT MOUNTED ON THE FLOOR IF YOU PUT MATS PULL YOU BACK ALL TIME ! AC WENT U TURN ON NOT WORKING RIGHT AWAY TAKE 5-10 MIN TO COOL DOWN !
2015 Toyota Highlander
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2015 Toyota Highlander do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 186.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Highlander years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
570–25K
2625–50K
1950–75K
1175–100K
7100–150K
4150K+
124 reports with mileage · 67 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 52 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Structure. Review the 31 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
17 crash reports6 fire reports12 injury reports
Unknown Or Other complaints
43 reportsMOLD SMELL IN CAR. MUSTY SMELL COMING FROM A/C, WATER ON FLOOR OF DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS SIDE FRONT, MOLD UNDER CARPET/PADDING.
THE RADIO/NAVIGATION SYSTEM WILL MALFUNCTION AND SHUT OFF AND RESTART. AT NIGHT THIS IS A HAZARD DUE TO THE FLASHING LIGHT OF THE RADIO CAUSING A DISTRACTION. THIS IS ALSO A HAZARD DUE TO THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM NOT WORKING. THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM TIMES, IT COULD TURN OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIMES A MINUTE OR IT COULD DO IT ONCE AN HOU…
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THE RADIO/NAVIGATION SYSTEM WILL MALFUNCTION AND SHUT OFF AND RESTART. AT NIGHT THIS IS A HAZARD DUE TO THE FLASHING LIGHT OF THE RADIO CAUSING A DISTRACTION. THIS IS ALSO A HAZARD DUE TO THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM NOT WORKING. THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM TIMES, IT COULD TURN OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIMES A MINUTE OR IT COULD DO IT ONCE AN HOUR. IF THERE IS A SHORT IN THE RADIO COULD THIS CAUSE A FIRE? THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME WHILE IN MOTION OR SITTING STILL AND ON EVERY ROAD.
MY SON DROPPED ME OFF AT THE AIRPORT. I FORGOT TO LEAVE HIM THE KEYLESS DEVICE THAT KEEPS THE VEHICLE RUNNING. HE CALLED AND LET ME KNOW HE MADE IT HOME (30 MILES APPROX.TO HIS HOME) AND I DIDN'T LEAVE HIM THE KEYLESS DEVICE. SHOULD THIS BE A SAFETY RECALL? AND HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK MECHANISM WORKED ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. HAD TO CRAWL THROUGH PASSENGER SIDE TO UNLOCK DOOR MANUALLY BY PULLING ON THE DOOR HANDLE. REPLACED DOOR LOCK MECHANISM AT DEALERSHIP. NOW THE LEFT REAR DOOR IS STARTING TO MALFUNCTION. SOMETIMES PASSENGER IS UNABLE TO OPEN DOOR FROM INSIDE OF CAR AND THE DOOR HAS T…
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DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK MECHANISM WORKED ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. HAD TO CRAWL THROUGH PASSENGER SIDE TO UNLOCK DOOR MANUALLY BY PULLING ON THE DOOR HANDLE. REPLACED DOOR LOCK MECHANISM AT DEALERSHIP. NOW THE LEFT REAR DOOR IS STARTING TO MALFUNCTION. SOMETIMES PASSENGER IS UNABLE TO OPEN DOOR FROM INSIDE OF CAR AND THE DOOR HAS TO BE OPENED FROM THE OUTSIDE.
WHILE DRIVING, THE RADIO AND MAPPING SYSTEM WILL SUDDENLY STOP WORKING. THERE THEN IS NO WAY TO RESET THE MAP AND/OR RADIO, OTHER THAN TO STOP THE VEHICLE, TURN IT OFF AND THEN RESTART IT. SOMETIMES, IT TAKES MORE THAN ONE RESTART TO HAVE THE SYSTEM BACK TO RUNNING NORMAL. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND ON VAR…
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WHILE DRIVING, THE RADIO AND MAPPING SYSTEM WILL SUDDENLY STOP WORKING. THERE THEN IS NO WAY TO RESET THE MAP AND/OR RADIO, OTHER THAN TO STOP THE VEHICLE, TURN IT OFF AND THEN RESTART IT. SOMETIMES, IT TAKES MORE THAN ONE RESTART TO HAVE THE SYSTEM BACK TO RUNNING NORMAL. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND ON VARIOUS TYPES OF ROADWAYS OR HIGHWAYS. IT HAS HAPPENED ON VARIOUS DATES, BUT THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE WAS ON AUG. 10, 2019.
THREE OF THE DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS FAILED ON THIS VEHICLE AT THE SAME TIME. MY WIFE CANNOT UNLOCK THE CAR DOORS WITHOUT GOING TO THE ONE DOOR THAT IS WORKING WHEN SHE PUSHES THE UNLOCK BUTTON ON HER REMOTE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF ARTICLES AND MESSAGE BOARD POSTS ON THE INTERNET RELATED TO DOOR LO…
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THREE OF THE DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS FAILED ON THIS VEHICLE AT THE SAME TIME. MY WIFE CANNOT UNLOCK THE CAR DOORS WITHOUT GOING TO THE ONE DOOR THAT IS WORKING WHEN SHE PUSHES THE UNLOCK BUTTON ON HER REMOTE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF ARTICLES AND MESSAGE BOARD POSTS ON THE INTERNET RELATED TO DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS FAILING ON TOYOTA VEHICLES. TOYOTA IS PROVIDING SOME FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR THE ISSUE BUT IT IS NOT NEAR ENOUGH TO COVER IT ALL AND I AM OUT OF POCKET FOR A LARGE AMOUNT OF THE REPAIR. DUE TO THE SCOPE OF THE ISSUE I BELIEVE THIS SHOULD BE HANDLED THROUGH A RECALL.
DRIVING AT 70MPH ON THE OHIO TURNPIKE TODAY 3/22/2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 6PM WE HEAR A LOUD BOOM. THIS SOUNDED LIKE WE WERE SHOT AT FROM A CORNFIELD. THEN WE HEARD SMALL FRAGMENTS OF GLASS ABOVE US BLOW INTO THE AIR. THERE WAS NO ROCKS OR WE WERE NOT UNDER A BRIDGE FOR SOMETHING TO FALL ON IT. IT WAS JUST AN EXPLODING GLASS AB…
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DRIVING AT 70MPH ON THE OHIO TURNPIKE TODAY 3/22/2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 6PM WE HEAR A LOUD BOOM. THIS SOUNDED LIKE WE WERE SHOT AT FROM A CORNFIELD. THEN WE HEARD SMALL FRAGMENTS OF GLASS ABOVE US BLOW INTO THE AIR. THERE WAS NO ROCKS OR WE WERE NOT UNDER A BRIDGE FOR SOMETHING TO FALL ON IT. IT WAS JUST AN EXPLODING GLASS ABOVE OUR HEAD IN THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF. SEE PICTURES VERY SCARY THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
WIND NOISE FROM PANORAMIC SUNROOF. SEAL DETERIORATING AT BOTH ENDS.
SOON AFTER WARRANTY RAN OUT THE LIFT GATE TO THE TRUNK HATCH BEGAN LEAKING LUBRICATION AND INTERMITTANLY WOULD NOT OPEN ALL THE WAY, CLOSE ALL THE WAY, OR OPEN OR CLOSE AT ALL. MANY TIMES, I WOULD NEED TO MANUALLY PUSH THE HATCH DOWN TO CLOSE, WHICH REQUIRED EXTREME FORCE. THE SAME FORCE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO OPEN THE HATCH AT T…
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SOON AFTER WARRANTY RAN OUT THE LIFT GATE TO THE TRUNK HATCH BEGAN LEAKING LUBRICATION AND INTERMITTANLY WOULD NOT OPEN ALL THE WAY, CLOSE ALL THE WAY, OR OPEN OR CLOSE AT ALL. MANY TIMES, I WOULD NEED TO MANUALLY PUSH THE HATCH DOWN TO CLOSE, WHICH REQUIRED EXTREME FORCE. THE SAME FORCE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO OPEN THE HATCH AT TIMES. ESENTIALLY, THE LIFT GATE IS UNRELIABLE TO LIFT OR CLOSE MOST OF THE TIME.THE COST ESTIMATE FROM THE DEALER EXCEEDED $1,800 FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF BOTH STRUTS.
Official recalls
115V144000 · Steering:electric Power Assist System
Mar 13, 2015
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, and Highlander Hybrid, and 2014-2015 Rav4 vehicles. A component of the electric power steering (EPS) electronic control unit (ECU) may have been damaged during the manufacturing process. Over time, this damage may result in failure of the electric power steering system.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An unexpected loss of power steering increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the serial number of the EPS ECU or steering column assembly. If the number is within the affected range, the EPS ECU will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on May 7, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.