2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER problems and owner complaints
Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.
Key facts
505 owner complaints analyzed
4 distinct recall campaigns
19,000 mi median reported failure mileage
Scope: 2021 model year. Data snapshot: . 41 complaints include usable failure mileage.
Most common problems
Power Train is the most frequently named component, appearing in 210 of 505 complaints (41.6%). A complaint can name multiple components.
| Topic | Matching reports | Share of complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Transmission and shifting | 209 | 41.4% |
| Braking behavior | 69 | 13.7% |
| Engine operation | 26 | 5.1% |
| Fuel system concerns | 16 | 3.2% |
| Electrical and battery issues | 14 | 2.8% |
| Steering behavior | 12 | 2.4% |
Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.
Component breakdown
Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Power Train | 210 |
| Service Brakes | 66 |
| Unknown Or Other | 62 |
| Engine | 44 |
| Air Bags | 42 |
| Structure:Body | 35 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 31 |
| Electrical System | 26 |
Power Train: 210; Service Brakes: 66; Unknown Or Other: 62; Engine: 44; Air Bags: 42; Structure:Body: 35; Fuel/Propulsion System: 31; Electrical System: 26
Reported problems by failure mileage
Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Under 25,000 | 22 |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 6 |
| 50,000 to 74,999 | 11 |
| 75,000 to 99,999 | 1 |
| 100,000 to 149,999 | 1 |
| 150,000 and above | 0 |
Under 25,000: 22; 25,000 to 49,999: 6; 50,000 to 74,999: 11; 75,000 to 99,999: 1; 100,000 to 149,999: 1; 150,000 and above: 0
Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (22). 464 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.
Complaints over time
Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 |
| 2022 | 36 |
| 2023 | 41 |
| 2024 | 85 |
| 2025 | 152 |
| 2026 | 143 |
2021: 48; 2022: 36; 2023: 41; 2024: 85; 2025: 152; 2026: 143
Pattern summary
Power Train leads the component reports. Transmission and shifting appears in 209 complaint narratives. Braking behavior appears in 69 complaint narratives. Engine operation appears in 26 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.
Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.
Complaint evidence
Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.
Owner report 11439378 · 2021-11-04 (November 4, 2021)
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated his wife pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine while the vehicle was in reverse. The vehicle then switched gears to neutral on its own, started reversing, and slightly crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The warning message "Put Transmission Into park Illuminated". The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 2000.
Owner-reported narrative. 2,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11439378 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11602864 · 2024-07-17 (July 17, 2024)
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission while accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.
Owner-reported narrative. 54,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11602864 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11406776 · 2021-04-06 (April 6, 2021)
WE ARE EXPERIENCING PCS IS NOT WORKING, WE WERE DRIVING ON FREEWAY WHEN CARS STOPPED SUDDENLY AND NOT EVEN DISPLAYING ANY WARNING SIGNAL OF 'BRAKE' ON THAT MOMENT, WE WERE SO CLOSE TO IMPACT A TRAILER, SECOND TIME SIMILAR SITUATION THE NEXT DAY AFTER THE FIRST APPT AT SERVICE WHERE THEY STATED THAT PCS WAS WORKING PROPERLY , CARS STOPPED SUDDENLY AND NOT EVEN WITH THE WARNING TIMING SET UP IN TO THE 'EARLY TIME', WARNING US TO USE THE BRAKE. THE EXPLANATION FROM SECOND APPT IT WAS 'IT WORKED WITH CRUISE ON', ON MY PREVIOUS CARS NEVER NEEDED T…
Owner-reported narrative. 2,600 miles reported. Look up ODI 11406776 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11418384 · 2021-05-24 (May 24, 2021)
Traveling south bound on SC11 (in Seneca South Carolina) a vehicle that was traveling east bound, failed to stop and traveled across my path. The front end of my vehicle impacted the drivers side / passenger door area of the other vehicle. The momentum of the crash, caused the other vehicle to spin counter clock wise and impact me again...on the drovers side passenger door. Our 2021 Toyota Highlander was 4 weeks old with 2K miles on it. Weather conditions were excellent. I immediately stepped on the brakes when I realized the other person was n…
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11418384 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11416030 · 2021-05-10 (May 10, 2021)
VEHICLE HAS 3400 MILES AND STARTING HAVING LONGER THAN NORMAL CRANKING WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE. SHORTLY AFTER THAT OCCURRED THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO STALL WHILE PULLING INTO TRAFFIC. VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED WHERE THEY INSTALLED SOME FUEL SENSORS. 2 DAYS LATER THE VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN WHILE PULLING INTO TRAFFIC. BOTH INCIDENTS ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED A SECOND TIME BACK TO DEALERSHIP. THEY ARE NOW REPLACING THE FUEL PUMP. MAYBE THEY NEED TO ADD THIS VEHICLE TO RECALL LIST
Owner-reported narrative. 3,400 miles reported. Look up ODI 11416030 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11417767 · 2021-05-19 (May 19, 2021)
The contact owns a 2021 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle and pulled over to the side of the roadway before the vehicle stalled again. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximatel…
Owner-reported narrative. 230 miles reported. Look up ODI 11417767 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11405453 · 2021-03-29 (March 29, 2021)
THE 2021 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID GAS TANK IS EXACTLY 17.1 US GALLONS IN SIZE BUT EVEN WHEN THE LOW FUEL INDICATOR LIGHT TURN ON AND THE THE FUEL GAUGE IS AT NEAR EMPTY IT WILL ONLY ACCEPT A MAXIMUM OF 12.9 TO 13.8 GALLONS. TOYOTA STATES THAT THE MAXIMUM RANGE ON A FULL TANK OF THE VEHICLE IS 615 MILES BUT WHEN FULL THE MAX-RANGE ALWAYS FALLS BETWEEN 460 TO 490 MILES GIVEN MY MPG OF 34.5 TO 36.5. THERE IS AN ISSUES WITH THE FUELING SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO BE PROPERLY FUELED OR THE SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE. OTHER DRIVERS HAVE BEEN…
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11405453 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11406311 · 2021-04-04 (April 4, 2021)
THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE PER SE BUT ONE OF FALSE ADVERTISING. TOYOTA ADVERTISES THE RANGE OF MY HYBRID HIGHLANDER AS 600 MILES ON 17.1 GAL TANK AT 35 MPG. I DO GET 35 MPG (WHICH IS QUITE COMMENDABLE FOR A VEHICLE THIS SIZE) BUT I CANNOT FILL THE FUEL TANK MORE THAN 12-13 GAL EVEN WHEN NEARLY BONE-DRY EMPTY. IN TURN I CANNOT DRIVE ANY FURTHER THAN 450 MILES WITHOUT FILLING UP. SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH EITHER THE DESIGN OF FUEL TANK SUCH THAT NOT ALL THE FUEL CAN BE ACCESSED OR THE DESIGN OF THE FUEL FILLER HOSE SUCH THAT ONE CANNOT FILL THE TA…
Owner-reported narrative. 600 miles reported. Look up ODI 11406311 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11418965 · 2021-05-29 (May 29, 2021)
I purchased this 2021 Highlander on April 3rd 2021. Power steering Malfunction, SRS Airbag system Malfuction first happened on April 21th 2021 when I started the vehicle. the car was towed to the dealer ship. the dealer simply re-set the system and asked me to unplug the tracker device which was installed by insurance company. Because they suspected the problem was caused by the interference from the device. I unpluged it. However, Power steering Malfunction, SRS Airbag system Malfuction happened again on May 21th 2021 when I started the car. I…
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11418965 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11475898 · 2022-07-26 (July 26, 2022)
On July 19, the car was parked and refused to start. Tried Jump start and the gas was at more than half a tank. The car would operate for 30 seconds, stutter and then stop. On July 20, took the car to ED MARTIN TOYOTA in Noblesville, IN. They could not diagnose the issue. Replaced Fuel Pump system. Evaluated all electrical and no issues observed. Escalated to TOYOTA Regional Engineering to teoubleshoot. The car is still in the shop with no root-cause. If the car was in motion and this issue would have occured, could have resulted in a serious a…
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11475898 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 11420347 · 2021-06-09 (June 9, 2021)
I consider this a vehicle safety issue. Was on the freeway, center lane of a 3 lane highway. The vehicle to my left began to move into my lane. I had to quickly move to my right, activating my lane departure and steering assist. This caused my vehicle to attempt to move me back into my lane (where the other driver was now trying to occupy!). I was shown how to disable this feature if desired but what I wasn't told by the dealer, is that this feature can no longer be set to default to off. I just finished a lease of a 2018 Toyota Rav4 which also…
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11420347 at NHTSA ↗