NHTSA Safety Recalls
2021 Toyota Highlander Recalls
The 2021 Toyota Highlander has 4 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on March 5, 2026.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2021 Toyota Highlander. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 4
- Owner complaints
- 533
- Crashes reported
- 17
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
4 fires
overall, 5 stars max
On a 2021 Toyota Highlander, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
4 recalls on the 2021 Toyota Highlander
Seats: mid/rear assembly: recliner
- Campaign
- 26V128000
- Reported
- March 5, 2026
- Vehicles affected
- up to 686,588
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2022–2025 Highlander, 1 other model
Tires
- Campaign
- 24V452000
- Reported
- June 18, 2024
- Vehicles affected
- up to 4,763
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Federal standard
- FMVSS 110, tire selection and rims
- Same campaign
- also 2022–2024 Highlander
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- Campaign
- 23V865000
- Reported
- December 20, 2023
- Vehicles affected
- up to 999,901
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2020 Highlander, 10 other models
Structure: body: bumpers
- Campaign
- 23V720000
- Reported
- October 26, 2023
- Vehicles affected
- up to 750,795
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2020, 2022–2023 Highlander, 1 other model
2021 Toyota Highlander complaints by year
NHTSA has received 533 owner complaints about the 2021 Toyota Highlander, the newest on October 22, 2026. Of these, 17 describe a crash (3%) and 4 a fire; owners reported 19 injuries.
In complaints about the 2021 Toyota Highlander, the component group named most often is the power train (43%), followed by the service brakes (13%) and the structure (10%).
1 of the 2021 Toyota Highlander's 4 recalls also concerns the structure.
Where 2021 Toyota Highlander owners gave the mileage (45 complaints), the median was 27,109 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Power Train228
- Service Brakes67
- Unknown Or Other67
- Structure52
- Engine47
- Air Bags42
Complaints received, by year
| 2021 | 48 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 36 | |
| 2023 | 41 | |
| 2024 | 85 | |
| 2025 | 152 | |
| 2026 | 171 |
Complaints about the 2021 Toyota Highlander peaked in 2026, when NHTSA received 171. 39% arrived between 2020 and 2024, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2021 vehicles, the 2021 Toyota Highlander drew 2.7× the complaints of the median Toyota Highlander year in the same window: 1st highest of the 22 ranked years.
That makes 2021 one of the Toyota Highlander years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: ★★★★★
- Frontal: 4/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 4/5
The 533 complaints about the 2021 Toyota Highlander are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Toyota Highlander by model year
Other 2021 Toyota models
Newest record on this page: October 22, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted