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2019 Toyota Highlander

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Highlander years

Owner complaints for the 2019 Toyota Highlander are substantially higher than the model-year median of 186.5.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

140 reports with mileage · 340 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 194 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 86 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 69 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

22 crash reports1 fire reports12 injury reports

What owners actually said

480 reports
Mileage unknown · Sep 11, 2021
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesCrash

While driving threw a construction zone the car upfront of me stopped. Upon applying the brakes nothing happened. There was a tractor trailer beside us and I was at the reR and another car was at the front plenty of time to stop. Brakes didn't activate until right before impact and the nose dove down. ABS never activated and the…

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While driving threw a construction zone the car upfront of me stopped. Upon applying the brakes nothing happened. There was a tractor trailer beside us and I was at the reR and another car was at the front plenty of time to stop. Brakes didn't activate until right before impact and the nose dove down. ABS never activated and the collision avoidance never activated. I was traveling with my wife and two young kids lucky no one was hurt and I had no avenue of escape due to cement barriers and 18 wheeler.

NHTSA ODI #11432570

Mileage unknown · Aug 27, 2021
Unknown Or OtherCrash

Vehicle will slip into drive without the hybrid system engaging, allowing vehicle to roll without brakes or steering.

NHTSA ODI #11430754

Mileage unknown · Aug 13, 2021
Fuel System, Diesel

2019 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. CONSUMER WRITES SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR VEHICLE REPAIRS RELATED TO SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REMOVED FROM THE RECALL LIST AS THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN REPAIRED.

NHTSA ODI #11428988

Mileage unknown · Aug 7, 2021
Forward Collision AvoidanceFuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control

Problems: 1) Check Engine Light lit up. 2) "Hybrid System Malfunction" warning on heads-up display. 3) "Pre-Collision System Failure" warning on Heads-Up Display. 4) Gasoline engine stalls after an intentional deceleration and is unable to come back up to speed. First Event: On July 4th, my wife and I were driving on an interst…

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Problems: 1) Check Engine Light lit up. 2) "Hybrid System Malfunction" warning on heads-up display. 3) "Pre-Collision System Failure" warning on Heads-Up Display. 4) Gasoline engine stalls after an intentional deceleration and is unable to come back up to speed. First Event: On July 4th, my wife and I were driving on an interstate highway. We entered an exit ramp interchange to merge onto another highway and when trying to accelerate the car suddenly became sluggish, and gave messages for problems 1), 2), and 4) stated above. Problem 3) did not occur during this event. Messages stated to pull over in a safe location. We parked on the shoulder and immediately shut the car off, waited 5 minutes and then started the car again. We were able to drive to the next off-ramp to a city street (about 100 yards) before the engine started becoming sluggish again and lurching, error messages remained throughout the event. OBD codes stated simply "faulty engine" on a car with 16,000 miles. Dealership was unable to find a cause, but did find a code for ignition failure. They checked some things but did not do any repairs, and were unable to replicate the issue as it seemed to have cleared. Diagnosis was "vapor-lock" and no explanation for why. Second Event: On August 6th, my wife was driving the vehicle to visit family, when pulling onto an exit ramp, was unable to accelerate again afterwards. All the same warnings popped up, but this time also had problem 3). Engine stalled when warnings appeared and did the same sluggish lurching. After pulling off in a safe area, Shut the car off and tried to restart 4 times, warning did not clear. Gasoline Engine does not operate when pedal is pressed. Shut the car down for 2 hours and tried to restart afterwards, warnings still present, engine now runs when pedal is pressed, but stalls when idle. Shutdown for another hour while waiting for a tow, warnings still present, still stalls when idle. Waiting on callback from dealership.

NHTSA ODI #11428198

Mileage unknown · Jul 27, 2021
Air BagsForward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesCrash

While driving onto an exit ramp I applied my brakes to my 2019 Toyota Highlander but the engine just roared up, took my foot off the brake and applied both feet to the brakes and the engine roared up again, I then came up right behind a car at the intersection and the front end collision did not stop me so I survived to the left…

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While driving onto an exit ramp I applied my brakes to my 2019 Toyota Highlander but the engine just roared up, took my foot off the brake and applied both feet to the brakes and the engine roared up again, I then came up right behind a car at the intersection and the front end collision did not stop me so I survived to the left lane but then I was headed into the highway and was T-boned by another Toyota Highlander and came to a stop on the right side of the highway. All the air bags deployed in the other SUV but none deployed in mine. The fireman had to use the jaws of life to get me out of the SUV. My wife and I were very shook up but had no serious injuries. But my brakes, the front-end collision, and the airbags all failed in the Toyota. My Highlander was totaled by my insurance company but they will not investigate the failures.

NHTSA ODI #11426668

Mileage unknown · Jul 18, 2021
Unknown Or Other

I purchased this vehicle in March 2020. I specifically asked if it had been a rental car. Having worked in the rental car industry, I know how hard people are on rental cars so I absolutely did not want one. I checked the Carfax and it was completely clean. I purchased this vehicle and a few months later noticed a sticker under …

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I purchased this vehicle in March 2020. I specifically asked if it had been a rental car. Having worked in the rental car industry, I know how hard people are on rental cars so I absolutely did not want one. I checked the Carfax and it was completely clean. I purchased this vehicle and a few months later noticed a sticker under the rearview mirror that was an Avis/budget sticker. Still, the Carfax never said it was a rental car. Today I'm cleaning out the glove box and registration falls out from the previous owners: Avis Budget in NJ. So this is confirmation that this car absolutely was a rental car at some point and your Carfax failed to disclose that.

NHTSA ODI #11425318

Mileage unknown · Jul 15, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion System

Driving under "normal" weather conditions when the check engine light warning along with the hybrid maintenance warning light. The car stalled while trying to safely pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Toyota dealership. They confirmed fuel pressure codes p0087, p107b, p3190. I was told Toyota has …

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Driving under "normal" weather conditions when the check engine light warning along with the hybrid maintenance warning light. The car stalled while trying to safely pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Toyota dealership. They confirmed fuel pressure codes p0087, p107b, p3190. I was told Toyota has not issued any updates for this problem. So I am stuck with a car that isn't safe to drive, especially long distances.

NHTSA ODI #11425043

20,000 miles · Jul 8, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion System

My vehicle was not part of the fuel pump recall like the other 3.3M vehicles from Toyota. However, my vehicle exhibited the exact same symptoms as those cars and stranded me on the side of the road twice. This included pushing on the accelerator and getting no response from the car followed by numerous system warning lights i…

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My vehicle was not part of the fuel pump recall like the other 3.3M vehicles from Toyota. However, my vehicle exhibited the exact same symptoms as those cars and stranded me on the side of the road twice. This included pushing on the accelerator and getting no response from the car followed by numerous system warning lights including hybrid system malfunction, front collision system failure, and check engine light. Initially, the dealership could not find anything wrong when I first brought it to them. The second time it happened, I was able to bring the car in with the check engine light still on so they were able to diagnose it and are currently replacing the fuel pump. My car (and many others) should have been included in this recall, this is a huge safety issue as this had me stranded on the side of very busy highways twice plus not being able to accelerate in traffic.

NHTSA ODI #11423903

Mileage unknown · Jun 25, 2021
Fuel/propulsion System

I was driving my car on a major intersection. The light turned green and I proceeded to make a left turn onto a major street. As I made it onto the street a warning came up that said "Hybrid system malfunction" and my car immediately started decelerating even though I had the gas pushed. I was able to sway to the right into a…

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I was driving my car on a major intersection. The light turned green and I proceeded to make a left turn onto a major street. As I made it onto the street a warning came up that said "Hybrid system malfunction" and my car immediately started decelerating even though I had the gas pushed. I was able to sway to the right into a parking lot and stop the car before it stopped. My daughter was in the back seat at the time when the car failed and since we were in the middle of accelerating to get onto the major street when the car started decelerating, the cars behind me had to hit brakes/change lanes. I had the car towed to the closest Toyota dealership. They diagnosed it as a failed fuel pump. I looked up the issue and saw that Toyota had a recall on fuel pumps. I told them I wanted the improved fuel pump replacement. They informed me that my car was a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and my fuel pump was different than the recalled Toyota Highlander fuel pump and was not on recall. They replaced the failed fuel pump with the same product and assured me that the car was safe to drive and my fuel pump just failed and was not on recall.

NHTSA ODI #11422334

Mileage unknown · Jun 19, 2021
Fuel/propulsion System

While driving approximately 70mph on an interstate, lost ability to accelerate. Car started to slow down, forcing us to stop. Very fortunate no one was behind us or we would have been rear-ended. Multiple warning lights came on at this point, including the check engine light, AWD malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction and…

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While driving approximately 70mph on an interstate, lost ability to accelerate. Car started to slow down, forcing us to stop. Very fortunate no one was behind us or we would have been rear-ended. Multiple warning lights came on at this point, including the check engine light, AWD malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction and hybrid system malfunction. Contacted Toyota dealership immediately and slowly drove the car to dealership. Upon inspection, was told that the fuel pump failed. Was also told that the problem is a recall issue for other Toyota models but not for the Hylander. Car is now at dealership being repaired.

NHTSA ODI #11421501

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.

20V012000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Jan 13, 2020

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) recalled certain 2018-2019 4Runner, Highlander, Camry, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra, and Lexus RC 300, RC 350, GS 350, GX 460, IS 300, LC 500, LS 500, LX 570, RX 350L, and 2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla, and certain Lexus NX 300, and ES 350 vehicles on January 13, 2020. On March 4, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include certain 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser, 2018 Avalon, Corolla, 2014 FJ Cruiser, 2017 Sienna and Lexus 2018 ES 350, 2018-2019 GS 300, 2013-2014 GS350, 2014-2015 GX 460, IS 350 and LX 570, 2014 IS F, 2018-2019 IS 350, LC 500H and LS 500H, 2013-2015 LS 460, 2015 NX 200T and RC350, 2017 RC 200T and RX 350. Toyota also removed the 2018-2019 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser and 2018-2019 Lexus GX 460 and LX 570 and 2019 NX300 from inclusion in this recall. On March 19, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include 2015 Lexus GS350 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, free of charge. The recall began May 4, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB02 and 20TA02 for Toyota vehicles and 20LB01 and 20LA01 for Lexus vehicles.

19V244000 · Equipment:other:labels

Mar 27, 2019

Gulf States Toyota (GST) is recalling certain 2019 C-HR, 4Runner, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Tacoma, Sienna, Tundra and Yaris vehicles. The text on the load capacity label may become illegible. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the driver cannot read the label, they may unknowingly overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GST will notify owners, and dealers will provide corrected load carrying capacity modification labels, free of charge. The recall began May 24, 2019. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 19R1.

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.