NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2023 Toyota Highlander.
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash | |
| Side Crash | |
| Rollover |
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash |
Component: STEERING:COLUMN
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023 Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma, 2023 Lexus RX350, RX350 Hybrid, RX500 Hybrid, 2023-2024 Lexus NX250, NX350, and NX350 Hybrid vehicles. An electrical connection inside the steering column's spiral cable assembly may be insufficiently welded, causing the connection to separate and deactivate the driver's air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence: A deactivated driver's air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the spiral cable assembly, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 8, 2023. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TA08. Lexus' number for this recall is 23LA02.
Component: STRUCTURE:BODY:BUMPERS
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Highlander & Highlander Hybrid vehicles. During normal vehicle operation, minor impact to the front lower bumper cover may result in the cover coming loose or detaching.
Consequence: A detached front bumper cover can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will repair or replace the upper and lower front bumper covers as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed April 22, 2024. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB12/23TA12.
Component: TIRES
Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (GST) is recalling certain 2022-2024 model year Highlander L and Highlander LE vehicles equipped with the Blackout Package that includes 20" black alloy wheels and tires. The installed tires have an insufficient load rating. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V128000 (Seats); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.
2023 Highlander Hybrid braking suddenly changes at low speeds when coming to a stop. Vehicle's brakes work properly (Regenerative and hydraulic combined) until it slows to make a stop or slows in heavy traffic. Suddenly the brake pressure changes and the vehicle "lunges" forward and brake pedal must be pressed extremely hard to stop or slow the vehicle. Problem happens most often when on a hill approaching a stop. Toyota dealer initially said that they never heard of such a problem until I presented them with T-SB-0059-23 Hybrid Regenerative Brake Transition Feeling Improvement for Model years 2020 thru 2022 from Toyota's website. I had reported the issue 3 times before (twice while in warranty and documented by them once while in warranty) but they claim that there is no fix available and when and if one comes available it will only apply to vehicles with 36,000 miles or less. LOOKS like Toyota and this dealer could care less about SAFETY and its customers.
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, and driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt alarm chimed while the seat belts were properly buckled. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and released and fastened the seat belt securely however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer a third time; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.
The 2023 Toyota Highlander has 9 NHTSA recalls and 142 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. The high number of complaints suggests potential reliability concerns — review the complaint details above before purchasing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
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| Side Crash |
| Rollover |
Consequence: Tires with an insufficient load rating may be overloaded and fail, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GST will inspect and replace the tires as necessary, and install a new tire information label as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 8, 2024. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 24R1.
Component: TIRES
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander vehicles. The 20-inch accessory tires with an insufficient load rating for the vehicle's Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) were installed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Consequence: Tires with an insufficient load rating can be overloaded and fail, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: SET will inspect and replace the tires and information placard, as necessary free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 16, 2024. Owners may contact SET's customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET24A.
Component: EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (GST) is recalling certain Toyota 2023 GR Supra, 2024 4 Runner, Corolla, Grand Highlander, Grand Highlander Hybrid, Land Cruiser Hybrid, Tacoma, Tacoma Hybrid, 2023-2024 BZ4X, Corolla Cross Hybrid, GR Corolla, GR86, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Prius, Prius Prime, Sequoia Hybrid, Tundra, Tundra Hybrid, Venza Hybrid, 2023-2025 Crown, and 2025 Camry Hybrid vehicles equipped with GST accessories. The load carrying capacity modification label may display inaccurate added weight values. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Consequence: A vehicle with an incorrect maximum capacity weight value may be overloaded, which can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GST will mail new labels to owners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 16, 2024. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 24R2.
Component: STEERING:COLUMN
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma, Lexus RX350, 2023-2024 NX250, and NX350 vehicles that may have been incorrectly repaired under previous NHTSA recall number 23V-480. An electrical connection inside the steering column's spiral cable assembly may be insufficiently welded, causing the connection to separate and deactivate the driver's air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence: A deactivated driver's air bag will not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the spiral cable assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 17, 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 25TA02. Lexus' number for this recall is 25LA02.
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Toyota Venza, 2023-2025 RAV4 Prime, RAV4, Highlander, GR Corolla, Crown, 2024-2025 Lexus TX, LS, Toyota Tacoma, Grand Highlander, and 2025 Lexus RX, Toyota Crown Signia, Camry, RAV 4 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and 4 Runner vehicles. Due to an error in the instrument panel software at vehicle startup, the instrument panel may fail to display vehicle speed, brake system, and tire pressure warning lights.
Consequence: An instrument panel display that does not show critical information can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy: Dealers will update the instrument panel software for non-PHEV vehicles, free of charge. For PHEV vehicles, dealers will inspect the instrument panel assembly, and either replace it, or update the software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 5, 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB08 and 25TA08. Lexus' numbers for this recall are 25LB05 and 25LA05.
Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru Solterra vehicles equipped with a Panoramic View Monitor (PVM) system. Please see the recall report for a complete list of models. A software error may cause the rearview camera to freeze or display a blank screen when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera that fails to display an image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the parking assist software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB13 and 25LB06. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE25.
Component: SEATS:MID/REAR ASSEMBLY:RECLINER
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The second-row seat backs may fail to lock into position during seat back adjustment.
Consequence: A seat back that fails to lock may not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the return springs in the seat back recliner assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 20, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota’s customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 26TB06 and 26TA06.
Some times when I request the rear hatch to open is does nothing but most of the time when I depress the close button, it moves less than an inch and then beeps. I have had to depress the button up to 6 times before the hatch closes. The car is only 3 years old as of this month and the problems stated more than 6 months ago but my mileage was over 36,000 6 months ago so it was out of warranty. This is a joke since my 12 year old suv has no issues with its powered hatch. There are a lot of online complaints on the power hatches. It is a safety issue of the hatches don’t close. This is almost a daily challenge (it not closing when I ask it to be closed (fob, rear hatch button as well as dash hatch button).
While driving down the highway I went over a bridge joint and my sunroof suddenly exploded sending glass both into and off the back of the vehicle. I was able to find the moment of the explosion on my rear dashcam (saw the falling glass) and checked the front dashcam for any evidence of an object that would have impacted and did not find any. Neither I or my two passengers saw an object hit. The front dashcam also confirmed rough pavement near the bridge joint that would have caused some vibration in the vehicle.
It takes time to accelerate. The car jerks and shakes before moving
I bought this vehicle new in March 2024. I normally use Apple CarPlay for music and more importantly maps. Approximately 1 year after purchase, I was driving along and all of a sudden a new screen appeared with a keyboard requesting that I sign in with my email address. To clear the screen, I had to hit the small "X" in the upper right hand corner of the screen. That cleared and then a new screen appeared in blue saying "Experience Drive Connect" and asking me to subscribe to their software service for navigation and other services. To get back to the map on Apple CarPlay I had to hit another button on the upper left of the screen. I will upload screenshots. This is a safety issue not only in losing the map but more importantly it takes my eyes off the road to resolve (the buttons are small and not easily pushed while driving.) This happens multiple times a day in short around town drives. I googled this on line and noted many complaints by Toyota owners for the same problem. So I asked the mechanic yesterday when I had the car serviced if he could disable the Experience Drive Connect so i wouldn't have the problem. He laughed and said it's a common complaint by customers and that it's "hard wired" in and cannot be disabled unless you call Toyota and purchase their monthly plan for $15/month or $20/mo for the premium version. This is not only a scam but it's an unsafe feature that could be disabled if Toyota chose to make a software change. I urge you to use your influence to correct this unsafe and unethical feature of their otherwise excellent vehicles.
Delayed acceleration, jerking shifting between gears and whining noise
The rear window on my car spontaneously shattered as I was driving. This was in light rain on the freeway. I had turned the rear-window defrost on at the beginning of my 20 minute drive to work in the dark at 5:30AM . When I was almost at my destination, I heard a noise and looked in the rear view mirror to see my rear window had shattered. My car is just three years old with about 30,100 miles on it. I drove to the dealer, waited until they opened, and they evaluated - saying it would take $1300 and three days to fix. They said it would not be covered by my bumper to bumper warranty as that had expired in the prior week. They said it would not be covered by my Toyota extended care warranty. As much rain was expected later in the day, I fixed paying for the repair myself as I found a third party installer who could do it for a fraction of the dealer's asking price on the same day. There were no warnings, messages or other symptoms. I had only turned on the rear defroster one other times in the three years I owned the vehicle. This happened without warning.
My Toyota Highlander 12.3 inch display of the instrument panel may be blank at startup. Operating the vehicle with this display blank reduces the ability to see certain malfunction indicators. This Safety Recall that has been active since September 11, 2025. The problem been acknowledged and confirmed by Millers Toyota, in Anaheim, California and Toyota in Bueno Park, California dealers. Their answers, Toyota currently does not have a remedy as of to date, February 17, 2026. The screen goes blank every time I start my car, while driving, or trying to access the applications on my screen. I would greatly appreciate help regarding this recall.
The vehicle's tailgate motor has started to malfunction and is failing prematurely. When opening the tailgate it makes a loud squealing noise. When attempting to close utilizing all automatic features it will stop and beep twice. After multiple attempts the tailgate remains open is unable to be closed via automatic means. This is a safety issue as it compromises the closing an opening functionality if the tailgate itself and could lead to unsecured tailgates or vehicles with an inability to close their tailgates.
Air bags did not deploy during accident Black box did not record any incident occurred and vehicle was totaled vehicle black box data was downloaded by manufacturer representative accident report was submitted On October 28 2025 a deer ran in front of us and we hit it at approximately 55mph vehicle was determined to be totaled after insurance adjuster reviewed Sheriff deputy and tow truck driver both said air bags should have deployed. Upon receiving the pdf file of black box raw data, it states that no incident happened. I asked a relative who works for a major airline manufacturer and the opinion of their analyst for data recorders is that the computer seems to have been defective. Toyota however states the accident did not meet the parameters to register an incident. I find this answer highly suspicious at best.
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the instrument panel failed to display critical safety information as intended. No warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Emission Recall Remedy not available. 2.3 in display of the instrument panel may be blank at start up. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk?/operating the vehicle with this display blank reduces the ability to see certain malfunction indicators remedy not available. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, dealership Toyota of Anaheim and Buena Park. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, Toyota Of Anaheim and Buena Park. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? None
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while the vehicle was running, the instrument panel was black and failed to display critical safety information as intended. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
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