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What 298 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Toyota Highlander

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (298)Crash / fire / injury (14)Transmission & drivetrain (119)Brakes (33)Airbags (32)Body & structure (28)Fuel system (17)Engine (16)Electrical system (15)Speed control (10)Seat belts (6)Driver assistance (5)

2 of 298 complaints match · Speed control · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Dec 4, 2024Speed controlBackup camera & sensorsDriver assistanceCrash1 injury

my wife was pulling into a driveway slowly approximately 5 mph when she went to stop the Toyota Highlander sped up to full speed and smash the tree while my wife was depressing the brake. All airbags were deployed and it looks like they are going to total the Toyota Highlander that has all the maintenance records Very lucky to not have somebody seriously injured.

NHTSA ODI 11628820

Jun 13, 2024Speed controlDriver assistanceCrash1 injury

I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage. As i was pulling in, the car unintentionally had a rapid acceleration event and crashed into a cement pillar causing the car to be a total loss

NHTSA ODI 11594195

Working with the data? Download all 298 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 11, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2020 Toyota Highlander verdict →