2005 Toyota HIGHLANDER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2005 Toyota Highlander has not been rated for overall safety by the NHTSA. However, it received excellent scores in both front and side crash tests, with 5-star ratings for the driver and passenger sides. The vehicle also scored 4 stars in rollover tests, indicating a lower risk of rollovers. Additionally, the Highlander comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which is a key safety feature that helps drivers maintain control on slippery roads.

While the car does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems, its strong crash test results and stability control add to its overall safety profile. It is important to note that there have been 220 complaints and 6 recalls reported for this model, which should be taken into consideration when assessing the vehicle's safety and reliability.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

220

Recall Count

6

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2005 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2005 Toyota Highlander 4-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2005 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2005 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2005 Toyota HIGHLANDER

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"transaxle vent is leaking transmission fluid onto exhaust, potential of catastraphic transmission failure due to total sudden loss of transmission fliud. leak is cause by a defective seal"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-05-06
Complaint:
"my highlander has 120,000 miles on it and the transmission suddenly gave out while driving on the highway. it started by downshifting suddenly, making it difficult to retain control of the vehicle. then i lost all forward power and had to coast to a stop on the side of the interstate. i am now stuck paying a $3500+ repair bill despite keeping up on regular maintenance according to the manufacturers maintenance guide. after talking with several mechanics, i found out this is apparently a common problem on the transmissions used by the rav4s and highlanders, but toyota has only issued recalls for the rav4s? very disappointing. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2018-04-11
Complaint:
"bought the car and not even a week after owning it i had transmission problems, i took it back to the dealer they replaced the trans and updated the computer. the problem still persist, there is a huge hesitation in the transmission when slowing to an almost stop and re accelerating. the rpm's rev up but the car does not respond sometimes. this is very dangerous when going through intersections or merging into traffic. there are numerous complaints from people experiencing the same problem. i have a new trans in my car, fluid levels are perfect the computer has been updated and still having huge issues with my trans. this is dangerous very dangerous."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2016-07-07
Complaint:
"have documented transmission problems since the purchase of the vehicle. contacted toyota with my concerns, no help was provided. transmission failed. provided toyota with complaint on oct.14,2015. and many times before then. afraid for my life to drive it. turning, jerking, hesitation in take off. etc."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2016-03-06
Complaint:
"traveling at approx 35mph the vehicle suddenly and without warning decelerated rapidly to zero mph and a loud gear - like crunching and grinding sound was heard under the engine compartment. the vehicle would only move at 1 mph to pull off the road and was totally disabled. vehicle had to be towed. mechanics concluded the front drive differential suffered a major failure and then ruined the automatic transmission. *js"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2014-04-06
Complaint:
"my transmission has failed on my toyota 2005 highlander after 96,000 miles. i have read other consumer complaints and i am convinced there is a serious problem with the2005 toyota highlander hybrid transmission. i spoke to toyota and they advised me to take my car to the dealership. i was told that the transmission had to be replaced and that it would cost $5060,00 to replace. toyota offered me .10% off the cost of repairs. i was shocked as i have only owned the vehicle for 15 months and have a 4 year note. i am very fortunate that i did not have a horrible accident as i was coming down a very steep incline on the highway when the transmission began to fail. i am forced to repair the vehicle as i am not in the position to purchase another vehicle. i would like for the nhtsa to look into this issue further. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2014-03-02
Complaint:
"bought the car used with 49k miles approximately. did not do this for the first 1.5 yrs we owned this now problems with the tranny and dealer told us it is suppose to do that. i dont think so by other people in the toyota highlander forums. there are thousands of owners with this tranny problem and toyota has no fix but to replace the tranny for $5000.00 wife's 2005 highlander is not shifting correct when she slows down and then tries to speed up or when she goes around a corner slow and speeds up the tranny has a delay and then shifts kinda hard. when starting from a dead stop shifts fine no problems just slowing down and then accelerating it will delay then shift. it kind of jerks the car and makes you wonder what is going on. car has been doing this for about 6 months. this is very dangerous when in traffic with the delay shifting trying to merge in stop and go traffic. many close calls of getting into an accident. been on many forums and many people have been told by the toyota dealers that this is normal which i feel is a bull crap story just to get rid of the person/complaint. i'm putting in this complaint because it is a safety complaint in my judgment and toyota needs to fix these tranny problems. thanks *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2013-01-06
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota highlander. the contact stated that he noticed transmission fluid leaking from the transmission. the vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 99,000. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2013-12-06
Complaint:
"i have a toyota highlander 2005 v6 4wd, which suffers from a transmission shift delay and hesitation ,which normally occurs when upshifting or downshifting between 2nd and 3rd gear. this shift delay is not only a headache, but a safety concern to me and many other fellow highlander owners as seen on various online forums. while driving my vehicle i have to constantly try to anticipate how it might react in order to prevent an accident from happening,while in traffic. it seems as if this problem has been known by toyota since 2000 and they have not done enough to get it fixed. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2008-11-08
Complaint:
"tl*the contact owns a 2005 toyota highlander. while the contact shifted the gear into the park position, the transmission began to jerk with hesitation. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 29,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2009-11-01

Recalls for the 2005 Toyota HIGHLANDER

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 highlander, highlander hybrid, and model year 2004-2007 lexus rx330, rx350, and rx400h vehicles. if the forward retention clip used to secure the floor carpet cover, which is located in front of the center console, is not installed properly the cover may lean toward the accelerator pedal and interfere with the accelerator pedal arm."
Consequence:
IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY TEMPORARILY BECOME STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION RATHER THAN RETURN TO THE IDLE POSITION. A STUCK ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN UNINTENDED AND SUSTAINED VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE FREE OR CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Component(s) Involved: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL > ACCELERATOR PEDAL
Date of incident: 2011-02-24
Recall:
"on certain sport utility and hybrid vehicles, the two retaining clips for the driver's side forward center console can become loose. if both clips separate from the floor carpet cover, the cover may lean toward the accelerator pedal, causing interference with the accelerator pedal rod."
Consequence:
THIS CONDITION MAY INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL RETURNING TO THE IDLE POSITION INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TWO FLOOR CARPET COVER RETAINING CLIPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 24, 2006, AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY EARLY SEPTEMBER 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331 OR LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.

Component(s) Involved: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL > ACCELERATOR PEDAL
Date of incident: 2006-07-13

TOYOTA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

TOYOTA ranks 3 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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