2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER SUV FWD has an outstanding safety rating of 5 out of 5. It excels in all major crash tests, with a 4 out of 5 for overall front crash rating and 5 out of 5 for overall side crash rating. Additionally, it has stability control, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning systems as standard features, enhancing its safety measures. Despite its impressive safety record, there have been 128 complaints and 2 recalls reported for this model. Overall, the Toyota HIGHLANDER prioritizes safety with advanced technologies and high crash test ratings, making it a reliable choice for drivers seeking a secure and protected driving experience.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

128

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

5/5

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Safety Features

2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER SUV FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER SUV FWD

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.

Standard
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.

Standard

2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER SUV FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER SUV FWD 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 2021 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 4 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2021 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2021 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2021 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:
"i’ve had brakes inspected and was told my brakes look great. however there is major chattering coming off highway to slow on off ramp sometimes they don’t grab as they should and i have to be extra proactive. sometimes steering back and forth quickly to slow vehicle until the brakes will work properly bringing vehicle to a stop or before a collision could occur"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2025-04-01
Complaint:
"my 2021 toyota highlander hybrid braking system has, since about 18 months ago, been intermittently failing. when coming to a stop, with my foot on the break, the break releases (or at least feels like it does) before coming to a full stop and then re-engages a moment later once i press harder. such, gives one a start and is quit disconcerting. there have been times when i was sure the car was going to drift into an intersection. also i am concerned that such breaking behavior may put pedestrians, cyclists, etc., at risk. i have on two occations reported this to the dealer. they have not been able to reproduce the problem, which is typical of intermittent problems. tomorrow, december 11, 2023, they are looking at it again. no warning lights or messages have occured. neither the manufacturer, insurance company, nor the police have inspected the vehicle."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-03-06
Complaint:
"electronic parking brake not always disengaging and sending error."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-02-11
Complaint:
"my 2021 toyota highlander hybrid is having seemingly random issues when braking. i notice it most of the time when the vehicle is going downhill. the vehicle will lose braking briefly, and i have to depress the brake harder to slow the vehicle. in that moment when it loses the brake, the vehicle gives the feeling it is lurching forward, which can cause unpredictable stopping distance. it creates a hazard for the driver, the vehicles in front, and the vehicles behind."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2024-01-10
Complaint:
"when slowing down with steady brake pressure, sometimes there is a short pause, 1-2 seconds where it feels like you just lost the brakes. sometimes this happens when turning and braking too. it isn’t something i can recreate and toyota opened a case, looked at the car, and said it is normal. not my 1st hybrid and this is not normal. this has happened many times over the last year and toyota has looked at the brakes at least 3 or 4 times."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-01-08
Complaint:
"on occassion when attempting to break in traffic or slow down at a yield or stop sign the breaks seem to "fade". the car does not stop until i press harder on the breaks. i feel that the car seems to move forward even though i have pressed on brake. the problem seems to occur most frequently during stoping at the bottom of a slope, during turning or trying to stop on a rough surface. the vehicle has been back to the dealer on 2 occassions and has apparently been recalibrated, with the problem only to reoccur. the dealer does not seem to have a permanent fix for the problem. where this problem occurs intermitently the dealer has not been able to replicate the issue. toyota has issued a tsb0017-21 to recalibrate. on occassion i felt i was going to rear end the vehicle in front of me or drift into the intersection with oncoming traffic. breaking hard to remedy the problem could cause my vehicle to be rear ended. to my knowledge, there were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the "failure""
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2025-02-06
Complaint:
"while braking at random times, at any speed, the vehicle surges forward. this makes you have to break harder to get the vehicle to stop. it seems as if the breaks do not work at all for a brief period. i have brought it into the dealer, my car is no longer under warranty, they found nothing wrong."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2024-08-06
Complaint:
"with increasing frequency, we have noticed what feels like the brakes releasing after being applied. this has happened at low speeds 5-10mph and mid speeds of 20-30's mph. it seems to happen more often when cornering or coming to full stop at low speeds. when the brakes let up it seems almost to accelerate the vehicle. so far we have been able to avoid a collision, but we are fearful that we may hit and injure someone as a pedestrian or in another vehicle. we have complained to toyota twice now and had the car looked at. they can't find anything wrong and tell us it is normal for hybrid cars?"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2024-03-06
Complaint:
"my vehicle showing break power low and indicating all safty feature malfunction"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-08-06
Complaint:
"when braking, often it feels like the brakes are not engaged, not right away, but during the braking process. this causes the vehicle to surge forward like there are no brakes. immediately you feel like the brakes failed, then you push them again, they work. it is very random with no reference to different speeds, inclines, never know when it may happen. it has caused many near misses for our family whenever this happens."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-01-07

Recalls for the 2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER

Component Recalls

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

Recall:
"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. Interim owner notification letters, explaining the safety risk, were December 8, 2023. A second notice will be sent once the remedy becomes available. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB12/23TA12.

Component(s) Involved: STRUCTURE > BODY > BUMPERS
Date of incident: 2023-10-26

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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