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2017 Toyota Highlander

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Toyota Highlander do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 186.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

123 reports with mileage · 142 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.

  • Power Train. Review the 72 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports2 fire reports15 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

46 reports
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37,516 miles · Aug 8, 2019
Electrical SystemElectronic Stability Control (esc)Vehicle Speed ControlCrashInjury

MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WOULD NOT GO INTO PARK. THE SUV LUNGED FORWARD OVER CURBING AND INTO BUILDING. THEN WENT VIOLENTLY INTO REVERSE AND INTO A UNCONTROLLABLE SPIN. THEN THE SUV WENT VIOLENTLY INTO DRIVE AND JUMPING OVER A CURBING AND INTO A DITCH AND WAS SITTING ON TOP OF A NATURAL GAS LINE. DURING THIS WHOLE TIME I WAS PRESSIN…

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MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WOULD NOT GO INTO PARK. THE SUV LUNGED FORWARD OVER CURBING AND INTO BUILDING. THEN WENT VIOLENTLY INTO REVERSE AND INTO A UNCONTROLLABLE SPIN. THEN THE SUV WENT VIOLENTLY INTO DRIVE AND JUMPING OVER A CURBING AND INTO A DITCH AND WAS SITTING ON TOP OF A NATURAL GAS LINE. DURING THIS WHOLE TIME I WAS PRESSING THE BRAKE AND PUSHING THE IGNITION SWITCH TRYING TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE. THIS WAS DONE IN A PARKING LOT AS I WAS TRYING TO PARK. *DT *TR

NHTSA ODI #11242500

41,000 miles · May 28, 2019
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

CAR STALLED HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN 5 TIMES AT PARKING LOT - GAS STATION - HOME - RESTAURANT - CAR WASH CAR HAS STOPPED WHILE DRIVING ON MAIN STREET 1 TIME

NHTSA ODI #11210336

27,800 miles · Feb 3, 2019
Electrical SystemEngine

I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE WITH DYNAMIC SPEED CONTROL ON. THE CAR SLOWED APPROPRIATELY TO MATCH THE SPEED OF THE THE VEHICLE AHEAD OF ME. SUDDENLY SEVERAL WARNING LIGHTS AND MESSAGES APPEARED: MASTER WARNING LIGHT, CHECK ENGINE, CHECK AWD, GO TO TOYOTA DEALER, ENGINE POWER LOSS.THE CAR SLOWED TO ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR (IN A …

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I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE WITH DYNAMIC SPEED CONTROL ON. THE CAR SLOWED APPROPRIATELY TO MATCH THE SPEED OF THE THE VEHICLE AHEAD OF ME. SUDDENLY SEVERAL WARNING LIGHTS AND MESSAGES APPEARED: MASTER WARNING LIGHT, CHECK ENGINE, CHECK AWD, GO TO TOYOTA DEALER, ENGINE POWER LOSS.THE CAR SLOWED TO ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR (IN A 65 MPH AREA) WHILE TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF ME WAS AT (OR ABOVE) THE SPEED LIMIT. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY GET TO THE SHOULDER AND TURN THE CAR OFF. I TOOK A FEW MINUTES TO USE MY SMARTPHONE TO FIND THE NEAREST DEALER AND PLANNED TO GO OFF THE EXIT (WHICH WAS JUST A FEW YARD AHEAD) AND TRY TO MAKE IT TO THE DEALER ON SIDE ROADS. WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR ALL LIGHTS AND WARNINGS WERE OFF AND THE CAR DROVE WITHOUT INCIDENT UNTIL I REACHED THE DEALER NEAR MY RESIDENCE, ABOUT 100 MILES AWAY. THE SERVICE REP AT THE DEALER ADVISED I HAD TRAVELED TOO FAR SINCE THE INCIDENT FOR THEIR COMPUTER ANALYSIS TO WORK AND HE HAD NO ADVICE EXCEPT TO GO TO THE NEAREST DEALER IF IT EVER HAPPENED AGAIN. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME INFO ON HOW TO AVOID SUCH AN INCIDENT AGAIN.

NHTSA ODI #11173789

25,000 miles · May 2, 2018
Electrical System

WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE ON CRUISE CONTROL AT 75 MPH, WITHOUT WARNING, ALERTS WENT OFF AND VEHICLE SLOWED TO ABOUT 40 MPH AND WOULD NOT LET ME GO ANY FASTER. THE AWD FAILURE ALERT SIGN CAME ON AS DID SYSTEM ENGINE FAILURE ALERT CAME ON. I WAS ABLE DRIVE AT THAT SLOW SPEED FOR APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES ON INTERSTATE RAMP WITH FLA…

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WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE ON CRUISE CONTROL AT 75 MPH, WITHOUT WARNING, ALERTS WENT OFF AND VEHICLE SLOWED TO ABOUT 40 MPH AND WOULD NOT LET ME GO ANY FASTER. THE AWD FAILURE ALERT SIGN CAME ON AS DID SYSTEM ENGINE FAILURE ALERT CAME ON. I WAS ABLE DRIVE AT THAT SLOW SPEED FOR APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES ON INTERSTATE RAMP WITH FLASHERS ON. MY SON ADVISED ME TO TURN ENGINE OFF FOR ONE MINUTE AND RESTART, WHICH IT DID WITHOUT ALERTS. THEN ABLE TO DRIVE THE 2O MILES HOME. NEXT DAY TOOK IT DEALERSHIP WHERE IT'S BEEN GOING ON 3 RD DAY. EXTREMELY BAD POSSIBLE OUTCOME COULD HAVE OCCURRED ON THE INTERSTATE BEING REAR-ENDED OR IF HAD BEEN TRYING TO PASS SOMEONE OR VICE VERSE. CAR PRESENTLY AT DEALERSHIP SO DO NOT HAVE VIN. OR ACTUAL MULES

NHTSA ODI #11091323

11,980 miles · Dec 13, 2017
Electrical SystemPower Train

DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 72 MPH WHEN VEHICLE DIED CAUSING A POTENTIALLY VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION - CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, MASTER WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, SEE DEALER FOR REPAIR MESSAGE DISPLAYED. WAS ABLE TO LIMP TO SIDE OF ROAD AND HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. AFTER 2 DAYS OF DIAGNOSTIC TESTING THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (E…

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DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 72 MPH WHEN VEHICLE DIED CAUSING A POTENTIALLY VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION - CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, MASTER WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, SEE DEALER FOR REPAIR MESSAGE DISPLAYED. WAS ABLE TO LIMP TO SIDE OF ROAD AND HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. AFTER 2 DAYS OF DIAGNOSTIC TESTING THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY (LESS THAN 12,000 MILES ON VEHICLE). THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING, HOWEVER, NOW NOTICE A DECREASE IN GAS MILEAGE AND DIFFERENCE IN TRANSMISSION SHIFTING SINCE REPLACEMENT.

NHTSA ODI #11054422

3,150 miles · May 18, 2017
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

MANY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, FUSES REPEATEDLY BLOWING OUT, POWER LIFT GATE NOT CLOSING, MANY DIFFERENT ERROR MESSAGE APPEARING ON THE SCREEN FOR NO REASON, VEHICLE WENT INTO ACCESSORY MODE WHILE DRIVING RESULTING IN A LOSS OF POWER. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10990492

Official recalls

3

20V682000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Nov 4, 2020

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 4Runner, 2019-2020 Avalon, 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2017-2019 Highlander, 2018-2020 Camry, 2020 Corolla, 2018-2019 Land Cruiser, 2017-2020 Tacoma, 2019-2020 RAV4, 2019-2020 Sequoia, 2017-2020 Sienna, 2019-2020 Tundra, 2018-2020 Lexus ES350, 2017 Lexus GS200t, 2017-2019 Lexus GS350, 2019 Lexus GS300, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500h, 2019-2020 Lexus LS500, 2018-2019 Lexus GX460, 2017 Lexus IS200t, 2019 Lexus IS300, 2019 Lexus IS350, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500, 2018 Lexus LS500, 2019 Lexus LS500h, 2018-2019 Lexus LX570, 2017 Lexus RC200t, 2019 Lexus RC300, RC350, 2017 and 2019-2020 Lexus RX350, 2018-2020 RX350L, 2019 Lexus UX200, 2018-2019 Lexus NX300 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly with an improved one, free of charge. Owners of specific models were notified that remedy parts were available starting January 21, 2021. Owners of other models will be notified as remedy parts become available. Remedy parts should be available for all affected vehicles by late March 2021. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-012. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TA02. Lexus' number for this recall is 20LA01.

17V520000 · Equipment

Aug 23, 2017

Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (GST) is recalling certain 2017 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles equipped with accessory roof rail cross bars. The fasteners for the roof rails may not be torqued properly.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The roof rails may loosen and possibly detach from the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GST will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and properly torque the fasteners, free of charge. The recall began September 29, 2017. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 17R3.

17V295000 · Tires:temporary/emergency Spare Tire

May 2, 2017

Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (Gulf States) is recalling certain 2017 4Runner , 86, Avalon, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Corolla iM, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Prius, Prius C, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Sienna and Yaris vehicles. The spare tire air pressure was not adjusted to the proper pressure as stated on the Tire Pressure Label.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A spare tire that is not inflated to the proper value may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Gulf States will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the spare tires, adjusting their pressure as necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 15, 2017. Owners may contact Gulf States customer service at 1-800-444-1074. Toyota's number for this recall is 17R2.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.