2015 Toyota Highlander problems
NHTSA has received 255 complaints about the 2015 Toyota Highlander, and 20% of them involve electrical system. After that come body & structure (13%) and steering (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 255 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 19 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 31,000 miles 164 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 68 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 30 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 18 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 164 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 31,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 41,000 miles (37 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 19 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 17 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2015 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Toyota Highlander with enough data (183 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
*AIRBAG FAILURE* -Head on impact with tree. -Significant front end damage. -Vehicle towed from scene, deemed total loss by insurance company. -Police report on file (can provide if needed) -All First Responders on scene we’re shocked/commented/observed that airbags were not deployed: police, fire, ems. As well as all bystanders. -no vehicle warning lamps on prior: car was just inspected and oil change in recent months. -no recalls on vehicle.
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. While stopped at a gas station with the engine on, the contact's wife smelled an abnormal, burning odor coming from the vehicle without warning. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact's wife saw flames shooting from the dashboard near the infotainment system; the contact's wife and children immediately exited the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire.
We were involved in a car accident on 04/29/2021 and the front airbags that are suppose to come out the wheel and dashboard didn't deploy just the rear airbags. Toyota told me the impact wasn't hard enough for them to deploy but as you will see from the pictures attached the whole front end of the car is gone. Please see attached police report and photos for more details.
The audio and GPS system will reset it self while driving!!!! It happens all the time. No support from the dealers....
When driving my highlander the following error messages appeared, error keeping the start button pressed will cause an emergency stop. I dismissed this. Then it popped up a message that car cannot drive while brake and accelerator are pressed simultaneously. I lost ability to accelerate so tried to pull of busy road, pressing the brake pedal restored acceleration. Then when I stopped in traffic or at lights the car shut itself down and had to be restarted.