What goes wrong with a 2021 Toyota Highlander?
Owners and drivers have submitted 630 complaints about this vehicle to NHTSA. They are reports, not confirmed defects, and here is what they are about.
Owners and drivers have submitted 630 complaints about the 2021 Toyota Highlander to NHTSA, spread across 32 component categories. The most reported category is power train, with 199 reports. A complaint is somebody telling the federal government what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect, not a manufacturer finding, and not a failure rate.
- Complaints submitted
- 630
- Component categories
- 32
- Most reported
- Power train
- Latest report
- August 10, 2026
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, as ingested August 17, 2026
What these numbers are, before the table
These are complaints submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. They are reports, not confirmed defects and not a manufacturer finding, and they are not a failure rate: a car that sold well collects more of them than a rare one for no other reason than that more people own it.
The component category is chosen by the person filing, out of NHTSA's own list, which is why one of the largest categories on almost every vehicle is "unknown or other". Read the table as a map of what owners chose to report rather than as a ranking of what breaks.
All 32 categories.
Most reported first. Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths are counts of reports that also mentioned one, as recorded by the person filing.
| Component | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | Latest report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power train | 199 | 3 | 0 | 1 | July 28, 2026 |
| Service brakes | 65 | 4 | 0 | 2 | August 10, 2026 |
| Unknown or other | 60 | 3 | 2 | 1 | May 1, 2026 |
| Structure | 49 | 1 | 0 | 1 | March 31, 2026 |
| Engine | 44 | 3 | 2 | 1 | June 11, 2026 |
| Air bags | 42 | 5 | 0 | 4 | April 25, 2026 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | July 25, 2026 |
| Electrical system | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | April 25, 2026 |
| Forward collision avoidance | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | June 25, 2026 |
| Lane departure | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | June 25, 2026 |
| Tires | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | August 19, 2025 |
| Visibility/wiper | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | May 31, 2024 |
| Air bags | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | January 13, 2025 |
| Steering | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | February 27, 2026 |
| Vehicle speed control | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | January 26, 2026 |
| Exterior lighting | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | February 27, 2025 |
| Visibility | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | April 10, 2025 |
| Back over prevention | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | February 27, 2026 |
| Seats | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | June 6, 2026 |
| Structure | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | September 19, 2024 |
| Suspension | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | April 30, 2026 |
| Seat belts | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | July 20, 2022 |
| Wheels | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | November 15, 2025 |
| Chest clip, buckle, harness | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | September 22, 2024 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | February 23, 2026 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | December 30, 2020 |
| Hybrid propulsion system | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | November 1, 2020 |
| Insert, padding | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | November 14, 2025 |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | April 29, 2026 |
| Other/i am not sure | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | April 24, 2022 |
| Service brakes, hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | November 1, 2022 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | November 1, 2020 |
Of the 630 complaints filed about this vehicle, 29 mentioned a crash, 5 a fire and 19 an injury. These are counts of what reporters wrote, not findings, and NHTSA does not verify them at the point of filing.
What to do if your car is doing one of these
A category on this page is not a diagnosis. If your car is making a noise, showing a light, or leaking something, the useful question is what that symptom means and whether it needs the shop tonight or next week.
The symptoms guide works the other way round from this page: it starts with what you can hear, see or smell and says whether it is roadside, a tow, or a booking. If what you are seeing matches a recall campaign on this vehicle, the repair is free at a franchised dealer.
Who works on Highlanders in Brooklyn?
We do, at 619 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218, family owned since 1977. Diagnostics first, then the work, and a flatbed if it will not start where it sits.
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, owner-submitted complaints. Anyone may file one, they are published as filed, and NHTSA opens an investigation only when a pattern in them warrants it. A complaint that led to an investigation and a complaint that did not look identical in this table.
Registration counts: New York State DMV registration file, five New York City counties, August 17, 2026 snapshot. A registration is a record in a state database, not a car on the road, and the borough is where the registrant receives mail rather than where the car is driven. How we counted.
Fuel economy: EPA and DOE ratings published at FuelEconomy.gov, unaveraged, so each configuration is its own row. Recalls and complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, the agency's own wording, as ingested August 17, 2026. Complaints are reports members of the public filed, not confirmed defects. The NYC registration study is the analysis these counts sit on top of.
234 vehicles in this directory, covering 520,848 registered cars. Data as of August 17, 2026.