NHTSA Safety Recalls
2012 Toyota Highlander Recalls
The 2012 Toyota Highlander has 2 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on April 9, 2013.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2012 Toyota Highlander. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 2
- Owner complaints
- 182
- Crashes reported
- 16
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★☆
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
3 fires
overall, 5 stars max
On a 2012 Toyota Highlander, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
2 recalls on the 2012 Toyota Highlander
Equipment: other: labels
- Campaign
- 13V123000
- Reported
- April 9, 2013
- Vehicles affected
- up to 7,525
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Federal standard
- FMVSS 110, tire selection and rims
- Same campaign
- also 2010–2011, 2013 Highlander, 16 other models
Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive
- Campaign
- 13V014000
- Reported
- January 16, 2013
- Vehicles affected
- up to 3,235
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2009–2011, 2013 Highlander, 15 other models
2012 Toyota Highlander complaints by year
NHTSA has received 182 owner complaints about the 2012 Toyota Highlander, the newest on August 21, 2026. Of these, 16 describe a crash (9%) and 3 a fire; owners reported 13 injuries.
In complaints about the 2012 Toyota Highlander, the component group named most often is the steering (25%), followed by the electrical system (16%) and the structure (11%).
None of the 2012 Toyota Highlander's 2 recalls concerns the steering.
Where 2012 Toyota Highlander owners gave the mileage (127 complaints), the median was 51,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Steering46
- Electrical System29
- Unknown Or Other23
- Structure20
- Engine17
- Vehicle Speed Control14
Complaints received, by year
| 2012 | 13 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 12 | |
| 2014 | 16 | |
| 2015 | 19 | |
| 2016 | 13 | |
| 2017 | 17 | |
| 2018 | 22 | |
| 2019 | 26 | |
| 2020 | 12 | |
| 2021 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 8 | |
| 2023 | 5 | |
| 2024 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 5 | |
| 2026 | 2 |
Complaints about the 2012 Toyota Highlander peaked in 2019, when NHTSA received 26. 33% arrived between 2011 and 2015, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2012 vehicles, the 2012 Toyota Highlander drew 0.8× the complaints of the median Toyota Highlander year in the same window: 14th highest of the 22 ranked years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: ★★★★☆
- Frontal: 4/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 4/5
The 182 complaints about the 2012 Toyota Highlander are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Toyota Highlander by model year
Other 2012 Toyota models
Newest record on this page: August 21, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted