Complaint volume
475 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Toyota Highlander Complaints
475 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Toyota Highlander, grouped by component category.
475 Total complaints
16 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
12 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, service brakes, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 16 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 12 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 38 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 26,599 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, service brakes, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Toyota Highlander?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Toyota Highlander
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Toyota Highlander complaints?
16 Crash
3 Fire
12 Injury
0 Fatality
9 Towed
8 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Toyota Highlander complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 170
SERVICE BRAKES 41
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36
STRUCTURE 34
AIR BAGS 28
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 22
ENGINE 14
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 8
TIRES 8
VISIBILITY/WIPER 7
475 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission went out at 94,000 mils. Loud whinning noise and vechicle very loud sounds like a disel truck once cranked. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. 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 issue. The contact stated that the air bag warning light remained illuminated while operating the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000(Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer and another dealer, Sport City Toyota(12650 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy, Dallas, TX 75228), were contacted. 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 issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission is shifting roughly and whining. Has to be replaced, on backorder for a month. This is a safety issue as it could fail while driving. Online search finds a service bulletin (T-SB-0008-21) and many, many consumer complaints about the same issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | The vehicle pulls/jolts foward as I slow down at a stoplight. At first, I thought this was normal, but over the past year, I've noticed something unusual, possibly with the gear shifting. It has become more noticeable over time. It has happened enough where I almost get into a fender bender with the car in front of me. I started researching this issue and it's a common complaint among other Highlander vehicle owners. [XXX] . I reported this issue to the Toyota Dealership and all have stated this was normal. I have also seen other issues with the transmission with the similar year and build. Leading me to believe this car may have an early sign of transmission issues. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | On 2023, the bumper of my car fell while I was driving on the highway. At that time, I took my vehicle to the Toyota Dealership to get inspected and they inspected the vehicle and recommended me to take it to a Body Shop to get it repaired. I paid for the repairs from my pocket since they did not take any responsibility of the damages. On December 2023, I received a letter from Toyota telling me that my highlander has a recall due to bumpers felling off and needed to add some clips from the manufacturer. I opened a case and provided all the information requested by Toyota. At the end they asked me for a CCR document where none of the representatives I've spoke were able to explain what is this document. I provided receipts, Dealership inspection document, my car documents. Today 11.27.2024, I receive a letter telling me that they are not going to move forward with the reimbursement. The body shop that they recommended me does not provide a letter with the specific information they are asking me for. Toyota contacted them and confirmed they did the repairs and they still refused to pay for the manufacturer damages. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ENGINE | My car out of no where once it hit 60k miles (which makes it fall off warranty) I start having transmission problems. It’s a 2021 which is very weird for that to happen. Bought it brand new. I was driving with my kids in the car on the highway and the car decelerates and I freaked out. I see that I’m not the only one that is having this issue and it looks like it’s 2020-2021 models that are having transmission issues and I think this needs to be something to get checked. Automatically after driving the car decelerates and you don’t know where or when it can be the rpm drops. Took it to the dealership they said it’s transmission but a brand new car right when it hits 60k miles then this happens. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The Battery was leaking fluid, smoke was visible and rotten smell from the battery. Electrical secondary brake system came on the dashboard | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid - experiences the sensation of brake loss during transitional period when car switches between regenerative brakes and mechanical brakes; most often occurs on a downgrade approaching a stop. During the transition, the car will surge ahead unexpectedly. I would consider this a significant safety issue; causes the driver to misjudge the required stopping distance and it is possible to hit something (or someone) in front of you. There is a TSB-0059-23 against this issue that requires a software update of the brake actuator. The issue is serious enough in my opinion that a recall of all Highlander hybrids is justified and Toyota should cover the cost of the update. The issue is intermittent and has occurred since new. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The Check Engine light came on and I took it into Toyota of Downtown dealership where I was receiving periodic maintenance. After 2 days, they said the light was out but they hadn't found the cause. I could either leave if for a few more days or take it and bring it back if the light came on again. This was early August. I chose to take the car & when the Check Engine warning light came on again, I took it in on Aug 15, 2024 before I left to Portland to give them more time. I returned on Monday & couldn't reach them. The next day they informed me that while on a test drive, there was a loud bang, it started smoking and by the time 911 arrived it was on fire. After a 2 month investigation by Toyota's Engineering Analysis fire inspection, they concluded Toyota was not involved. The dealership has not provided me with the report although I've requested it but they aren't accepting responsibility either although it was in their possession when the fire occurred. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Toyota is not trying to own up to failing transmissions especially in the Highlanders. The Highlander started making a whining noise around 50k miles like a supercharger. The dealer said the car needed a whole new transmission. The transmission is available for inspection upon request. The car is hard to accelerate because the transmission is failing without giving any warning signals on the dashboard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | AIR BAGS | If the important safety recall on 2021 highlander is that important, why is it taking years to fix , I feel toyota is dragging their feet and no one from the Nhtsa is doing anything about it, I think social media will be informed about your inaction of letting them slide for so long ! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | POWER TRAIN | THE DEALER HAS CONFIRMED A PROBLEM ON THE MATTER AND SAID IT WOULD COST $8000.00 TO FIX IT. HAS NOT PUT A RECALL ON IT YET. BUT THERE IS A BULLITON ON THE MATTER. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | AIR BAGS | My Toyota Dealer, Toyota Corporate Customer Service, Toyota Recall Web site, and NHTSA web site have no remedy, no scheduled remedy, and have sent no status reports since recall 23TA15 was issued 12/20/2023. The only data that I can find states an estimated fix by October 2024. Almost 1M vehicles are impacted by OCS defective part that may cause the passenger air bag to fail causing serious injury or death. Toyota an NHTSA should take immediate action to make sure that there is a sense of urgency (after almost a year), an action plan is in place, and owners are kept informed on a timely basis. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission is making a whining noise. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | SEATS | My vehicle was rear-ended while stopped by a 2014 Toyota Corolla that was estimated to be traveling between 60-70 miles per hour. During the crash, the driver seat failed, resulting in the partially reclining into the second row passenger. The failure mechanism appears to be internal to the seatback, as the seat twisted during the failure, causing me to lean more towards the passenger side of the vehicle. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The car started making a whining.humming sound only while pressing the gas. Took to mechanic and they advised it was TSB 0008-21. I need a new transmission. I drive this daily with my own kids, and several that aren't mine. If the transmission were to go out, I would not be able to accelerate and the care would stop moving. I can't even imagine this happening on a high with hundreds of cars speeding or a busy road. This could cause a bad accident, injury or death. No warnings etc. The noise just started and took right to mechanic. I gave the mechanic a copt of power train warrant and hoping it gets covered and fixed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Regarding Toyota TSB T-SB-0008-21, ‘Whine or Grind Noise From the Transmission’, issued February 2021: Some 2021 model year Avalon, Highlander, and Camry vehicles equipped with UA80E or UA80F transmissions may exhibit a whine or grind noise from the transmission. This condition may be caused by an issue with the front carrier assembly pinion shafts. This is a widespread problem with these specified transmissions. The noise generally starts around 60-70k miles, just outside the warranty period. Toyota knowingly continued to sell vehicles with these defective transmissions. Repair estimates range from $8.5k-$13k. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | AIR BAGS | SAFETY RECALL 23TA15 (Interim Notice 23TB15) was issued December 20, 2023 - almost one year ago. Toyota does not yet have a remedy for this potentially serious safety issue. For several months, Toyota's website has had the following verbiage regarding this "Toyota estimates the remedy can be available in Quarter 3, 2024, but this is subject to change based on parts availability." I cannot continue to drive people with this potentially serious safety issue. When will a remedy be available? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission failure at 70,000 miles waited 3 months for replacement transmission. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | STRUCTURE | Water leaking into the A pillar where airbags are located due to faulty seals in roof rails. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN | My wife’s Highlander started whining under acceleration. I am not a trained mechanic but know enough about vehicles that I k ew it was the transmission. I checked Google for 2021 Highlander complaints and found hundreds of them. The vehicle has 90k on it but luckily we bought the extended warranty through Toyota. I took the vehicle in for service and told them the transmission was whining and needed replaced and would be covered under my warranty. They looked at me strange and said ok sure, we’ll check it out. 4 hours later they called to confirm I needed a new transmission. They estimate it to take be 4 weeks before they receive the transmission. Apparently so many being replaced they are on back order. Luckily we bought our vehicle as a “Certified Pre-Owned” so we get a loaner the entire time. Just sad to see Toyota quality going down hill like it has. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | STRUCTURE | See attached document for complaint. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness | Chest clip is magnetic and can be opened by child without using the buttons to open. No longer staying closed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |