What Toyota Grand Highlander owners have reported to NHTSA, the service bulletins the manufacturer sent dealers, and any federal defect investigations, by model year. See Toyota Grand Highlander safety recalls or check your VIN.
Complaints owners filed with NHTSA, by the model year of the vehicle. A high count can also mean a popular year, so compare it with how many were sold.
| Year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injured | Deaths | TSBs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 2025 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| 2024 | 240 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 127 |
The vehicle systems named most often in Toyota Grand Highlander complaints (one complaint can name several).
In the owners’ own words, as filed with NHTSA. Unverified reports; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
Driving in city traffic during morning rush hour, sitting at traffic light, when display lights up indicating âHybrid Malfunctionâ and âtake vehicle to dealerâ. Leaving traffic light, the vehicle at first does not move after pressing accelerator, then slowly engages and thugs along. Pull over on closest side street and turn off vehicle, hoping just a fluke. Restart vehicle and drive a few yards. Stop and attempt to resume driving. This time the vehicle does not react at all, neither in drive or reverse. I was able to put in neutral and coast to nearby parking spot so not to block traffic. Had vehicle towed to my hometown Toyota dealer. Upon inspection, they notified me that a…
June, July and August multiple occurrences of Electronic Parking Brake and Drive Engagement Failure intermittently occurring. The Automatic electronic park brake fails to release from Park to Drive or Park to Reverse while drivers seatbelt is fastened, all door closed, vehicle on level ground. Vehicle behaves as if it's still in Park and revs RPM with gas pedal pressed without movement. Vehicle may abruptly lunge once engagement finally occurs after vehicle on/off & multiple Park to Drive manually placed. Seatbelt of driver has stated that the drivers seatbelt is not buckled when it is and all doors are closed. Display on the info display states that driver door is open when it's closed and…
Engine temperature overheated during long idle on an out of town event. The vehicle put in park and engine running in idle with AC running. Vehicle coolant temp reach high mark in the red area. Vehicle temp alarm gave a warning to shutdown. I estimated the car idle time 40 min due to traffic accident ahead. The incident occurred on 9/11/26. The car was taken to dealer 9/17/26 for checkup/diagnose the issue. Dealer stated, they could not duplicate the issue. But they did my find the vehicle computer log, the engine registered high temp.
Periodically, when you apply the gas, there is no power. The gas pedal is dead. This obviously is a hazard when trying to maneuver through traffic. The problem is random and cannot be reproduced at will. The dealership said they could do nothing about it if they could not reproduce the issue. Vehicle is still under the manufacturer warranty.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid AWD. Vehicle exhibits a severe metallic "clunk" or "boom" noise and impact from the undercarriage specifically when reversing under moderate to firm acceleration. This is a recurring issue reported by numerous owners of this model, related to harsh powertrain engagement and movement when changing direction under load. This issue is NOT related to wheel rotation, brakes, or CV axles. The vehicle has approximately 70,000 miles, has been driven strictly on paved roads with no towing or off-road use, and has no active warning lights. The sudden mechanical shock while engaging reverse poses a potential safety and reliability concern regarding drivetrain compo…
The air conditioning system on my 2024 Grand Highlander failed due to a punctured AC condenser caused by road debris passing through the front grille during normal driving. The front fascia has large open apertures with no protective mesh or screening, leaving the condenser, radiator, and other heat exchangers directly exposed to rocks and debris. The condenser face shows multiple debris strikes, with one impact puncturing the core and causing complete refrigerant loss and AC failure at approximately 62,000 miles. The vehicle worked normally when parked and the AC was completely dead one week later due to the slow refrigerant leak from the puncture. Diagnosis was performed by [XXX] Toyota i…
The contact owned a 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with radiator failure. The contact was informed that there was a hole in the radiator. The contact was informed that the radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
Windshield has experienced multiple cracks/chips at extremely low mileage. Initial crack occurred before 1,000 miles and originated at the upper edge of the windshield. Crack has propagated from the top to the bottom. Multiple additional star cracks have developed. I am concerned about possible windshield/glass, installation, or structural issue. I previously owned a Highlander for over 10 years and did not have any issues of this and I live in the same area. I had one crack that entire time. I currently have 9000 miles with the long crack +3 additional star shape cracks. One occurred from a very small rock that hit and the other I never even heard one hit it.
Repair instructions and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about known issues. A TSB is not a recall, and the repair is usually free only while the car is under warranty; ask your dealer for the bulletin number.
2026 model year Toyota vehicles are equipped with driver side floor mat retainers to secure the floor mat in the correct position. In addition, some models may also utilize retainers for passenger side and rear seat floor mats. During Pre-Delivery Service (PDS), follow the appropriate Installation Procedure to attach the driver side, and if applicable, the passenger side and rear seatfloor mats to the vehicle carpet using the floor mat retainers.
During the manufacturing process, tires are mounted on the vehicle as matched sets to help reduce conditions such as pulling or drifting. If the wheels are replaced or refinished before vehicle delivery, it is important that the tires remain on the vehicle in the same location and in the same direction of rotation.
A battery in a stored vehicle is subject to conditions that can reduce its performance and service life. These conditions include storage period, temperature, parasitic drain, and battery load. Because of these factors, battery inspection and maintenance are required in order to ensure proper operation and optimal battery life.
Long-term or off-site storage requires special care to maintain vehicle condition. The following guidelines should be performed to minimize vehicle component/part degradation due to extendedvehicle storage conditions. Long-term storage can affect a vehicleâs systems and components. Any problems that are found should be corrected immediately.
Pre-Delivery Service (PDS) is a critical step in satisfying our new car customers. Customer feedback indicates the following areas deserve special attention when performing PDS: ⢠Careful inspection for paint chips/scratches and body dents/dings. ⢠Proper operation of electrical accessories (including interior light, clock, and radio reset). ⢠Interior cleanliness. ⢠Proper function of mechanical systems. The PDS process helps identify potential vehicle concerns before customer delivery. After completing the PDS process, maintain accurate PDS records by ensuring the required documen
OBSOLETE NOTICE April 17, 2026: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see T-SB-0028-26
Some 2024 Grand Highlander and Grand Highlander Hybrid vehicles may exhibit a rotational clicking noise from one or both front drive shaft assemblies when accelerating while making turns. This condition may occur without a grease leak present on the front drive shaft assemblies. An updated front drive shaft assembly is available to resolve this condition.
OBSOLETE NOTICE February 27, 2026: This bulletin is no longer applicable and is now obsolete.
OBSOLETE NOTICE February 12, 2026: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see T-SB-0005-26.
A battery in a stored vehicle is subject to conditions that can reduce its performance and service life. These conditions include storage period, temperature, parasitic drain, and battery load. Because of these factors, battery inspection and maintenance are required in order to ensure proper operation and optimal battery life.
OBSOLETE NOTICE February 6, 2026: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see L-SB-0009-25.
During the manufacturing process, tires are mounted on the vehicle as matched sets to help reduce conditions such as pulling or drifting. If the wheels are replaced or refinished before vehicle delivery, it is important that the tires remain on the vehicle in the same location and in the same direction of rotation.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opens these when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Many end in a recall.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a Petition dated July 20, 2026. The Petition requests an investigation of road debris / rocks damaging the heat exchangers in model year (MY) 2024-2026 Toyota Grand Highlander vehicles. The Petition contends that the Grand Highlanderâs front-end grill has large, open apertures and no protective screen between the grill and the vehicleâs heat exchangers. The Petition further alleges that as a result, during normal driving, the damage to heat
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation public data (complaints, manufacturer communications, investigations), model years 2010 and later. Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA.
In complaints filed with NHTSA for model years 2024–2026, owners most often name: unknown or other, power train, engine. 350 complaints are on record.
No. A complaint is an unverified report from an owner. A technical service bulletin (TSB) is the manufacturer telling dealers how to fix a known issue; it is not a safety recall and is usually covered only under warranty. A recall is a formal safety action, and its repair is free.
File a vehicle safety complaint at NHTSA.gov. NHTSA reads every report, and patterns of complaints are what open defect investigations and, eventually, recalls.
