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What 473 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 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 (473)Crash / fire / injury (26)Transmission & drivetrain (189)Brakes (64)Body & structure (48)Engine (44)Airbags (42)Fuel system (30)Electrical system (25)Visibility & wipers (16)Driver assistance (12)Lane Departure (8)

3 of 473 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Nov 10, 2025SteeringTransmission & drivetrainBrakesCrash3 injuries

Vehicle had a very loud high pitch whining noise the rapid accelerated I was braking and brakes were not working vehicle screen was flashing Vehicle Malfunction. yes vehicle is available. I could not stop the vehicle I struck three signs and a lady fell down as i was approaching the the building very fast, hit a wrought iron black fence and it fell on a park vehicle and then i hit a park vehicle and it stop i threw it in park. i am not sure. Insurance company After the vehicle accelerated there was a message saying VEHICLE MALFUNCTION, not before the accident.

NHTSA ODI 11698619

Jul 16, 2022Transmission & drivetrainCrash

Several minutes after leaving my vehicle once I parked and shut the engine routinely, it rolls back a hundred feet and crashes into another vehicle. When I come back I became aware of this as I noticed the back of the driver side of my vehicle is lodged into the side of another vehicle. This caused damage to both vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11474288

Nov 4, 2021Transmission & drivetrainCrash

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.

NHTSA ODI 11439378

Working with the data? Download all 473 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 2021 Toyota Highlander verdict →