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2017 Toyota Highlander

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Toyota Highlander do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 186.5.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

123 reports with mileage · 142 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 72 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports2 fire reports15 injury reports

What owners actually said

265 reports
Mileage unknown · Feb 23, 2024
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

Hi- i have always upkeep the maintenance on my vehicle and take pride taking care of it . But now out of nowhere my vehicle throttle was loose the mechanics can’t explain why and now the transmission is not working i have explained to them them driving the car does seem to stop them feels like it wasn’t to accelerate while drivi…

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Hi- i have always upkeep the maintenance on my vehicle and take pride taking care of it . But now out of nowhere my vehicle throttle was loose the mechanics can’t explain why and now the transmission is not working i have explained to them them driving the car does seem to stop them feels like it wasn’t to accelerate while driving. I don’t know if anyone else have reported this issue but it doesn’t make sense that for a vehicle le that’s been greatly taken care of the transmission is went out .

NHTSA ODI #11573636

Mileage unknown · Feb 10, 2024
Fuel/propulsion System

I just bought this car and I noticed when the car is sitting and idling it has a strong smell of raw gas in the passenger compartment. I took it to the fire department and they smelled it as soon as they opened the door. They also said this is not safe and I shouldn't be smelling a strong odor of gas in the passenger compartment…

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I just bought this car and I noticed when the car is sitting and idling it has a strong smell of raw gas in the passenger compartment. I took it to the fire department and they smelled it as soon as they opened the door. They also said this is not safe and I shouldn't be smelling a strong odor of gas in the passenger compartment.

NHTSA ODI #11571212

Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2024
Power Train

2017 Toyota Highlander experienced delayed and rough shifting in 3rd gear. Safety of acceleration is affected, especially merging onto highways. Diagnosed with bad transmission on 12/26/2023 by Toyota service. There was no warning lamps or messages prior to failure. Unknown cause, car is regularly serviced per manufacturer rec…

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2017 Toyota Highlander experienced delayed and rough shifting in 3rd gear. Safety of acceleration is affected, especially merging onto highways. Diagnosed with bad transmission on 12/26/2023 by Toyota service. There was no warning lamps or messages prior to failure. Unknown cause, car is regularly serviced per manufacturer recommendations by Toyota. Part on backorder for approximately 3 months.

NHTSA ODI #11569400

Mileage unknown · Jan 31, 2024
Air Bags

I HAVE AN ISSUE WHEN MY AIRBAG LIGHT KEEP ON GOING IN AND OUT. I DID GET A LETTER FROM TOYOTA THAT SOME AIRBAGS IS RECALLED BUT WHEN I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THAT MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED ON THE RECALL AND THEY WONT TROUBLESHOOT IT WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY. NEED THIS LOOK AT THAT CAN CAUSE FATAL TO THERE CUSTOMERS…

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I HAVE AN ISSUE WHEN MY AIRBAG LIGHT KEEP ON GOING IN AND OUT. I DID GET A LETTER FROM TOYOTA THAT SOME AIRBAGS IS RECALLED BUT WHEN I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THAT MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED ON THE RECALL AND THEY WONT TROUBLESHOOT IT WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY. NEED THIS LOOK AT THAT CAN CAUSE FATAL TO THERE CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ODI #11568940

Mileage unknown · Jan 25, 2024
Electrical SystemEngine

While braked at a red light, my vehicle completely turned off. The engine would not restart, and all electrical panel light indicators did not come back on. I could not even turn on my hazards. The whole car was dead. After about a minute, I was able to restart the vehicle, but it took 5 attempts. I changed my battery two months…

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While braked at a red light, my vehicle completely turned off. The engine would not restart, and all electrical panel light indicators did not come back on. I could not even turn on my hazards. The whole car was dead. After about a minute, I was able to restart the vehicle, but it took 5 attempts. I changed my battery two months ago, and just had my car checked by a mechanic and nothing was found to be the problem. No warning lamps or other messages were displayed. About 6 months ago, my car did something similar to this and stalled on the freeway in bumper to bumper traffic. However, this time the electrical panel light indicators came back on. No warning messages displayed. The car restarted after only one try. This is really dangerous to have a vehicle loose all power and completely die out!

NHTSA ODI #11567779

Mileage unknown · Jan 19, 2024
Air BagsCrashInjury

I had an accident on 1/14/24 and the airbags did not deploy. When we bought the vehicle from I-5 Toyota it had been in a previous accident and was repaired. I have a picture from the dash stating “ SRS air bag system malfunction” on the day of incident. The vehicle is being picked up by insurance 1/18/24 to be inspected. There w…

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I had an accident on 1/14/24 and the airbags did not deploy. When we bought the vehicle from I-5 Toyota it had been in a previous accident and was repaired. I have a picture from the dash stating “ SRS air bag system malfunction” on the day of incident. The vehicle is being picked up by insurance 1/18/24 to be inspected. There were no warnings prior to the accident.

NHTSA ODI #11566503

75,000 miles · Jan 12, 2024
Seat Belts

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle and attempting to buckle the seat belt, the contact became aware that the seat belt was no longer attached. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the anchor point bolts were severely…

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The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle and attempting to buckle the seat belt, the contact became aware that the seat belt was no longer attached. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the anchor point bolts were severely corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

NHTSA ODI #11565106

Mileage unknown · Jan 10, 2024
Power Train

There is a toyota service bulletin for known transmission issues with this vehicle. I had noticed that my gears weren't shifting properly. The dealer checked vehicle and said transmission was bad, and that toyota would replace it, for free. However, the part would take one month to arrive. This all occurred on 1/9/2024. I w…

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There is a toyota service bulletin for known transmission issues with this vehicle. I had noticed that my gears weren't shifting properly. The dealer checked vehicle and said transmission was bad, and that toyota would replace it, for free. However, the part would take one month to arrive. This all occurred on 1/9/2024. I was told by the dealer that Toyota would not cover a rental car while the part was on order, but only for the repair itself. The dealer told me the Toyota recommendation was to not drive the vehicle -- but other customers had done so until they received their parts for repair. I picked up my vehicle after work at approximately 7:15pm. While driving, the vehicle completely shutdown on me in a major highway miles from downtown Philadelphia, in a flooding rainstorm that produced nearly 4 inches of rain. If Toyota knows there is a problem with this vehicle and its transmission, then why is there no recall? And if I'm being told the I should not drive the vehicle, then why isn't it mandated or required for them to provide me a rental - especially since this is the fault of Toyota?

NHTSA ODI #11564611

Mileage unknown · Jan 6, 2024
Electrical SystemService BrakesUnknown Or Other

I had my battery replaced about 3 days ago at the Toyota dealership . Yesterday, I was stopped at a red light and when I attempted to drive, the vehicle stalled. “Braking power low” message on the dashboard and the car would not restart. I was able to jump start it after about 30 minutes. I got towed to a local repair shop who …

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I had my battery replaced about 3 days ago at the Toyota dealership . Yesterday, I was stopped at a red light and when I attempted to drive, the vehicle stalled. “Braking power low” message on the dashboard and the car would not restart. I was able to jump start it after about 30 minutes. I got towed to a local repair shop who could not identify or duplicate the issue. I had no warning indicators other than failing to start the morning of getting the battery replaced 3 days ago.

NHTSA ODI #11563939

Mileage unknown · Dec 12, 2023
Structure

This 2017 Highlander Blizzard Pearl White paint is defective on the drivers side door. Paint started to bubble in 2021 then peeled off with rust stains underneath due to water damage. It appears that there is no sealant on the door for the paint to adhere so it continues to peel and rust. A defective paint job on this vehicle…

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This 2017 Highlander Blizzard Pearl White paint is defective on the drivers side door. Paint started to bubble in 2021 then peeled off with rust stains underneath due to water damage. It appears that there is no sealant on the door for the paint to adhere so it continues to peel and rust. A defective paint job on this vehicle when manufactured. Please have Toyota take responsibility for their irresponsible paint job on this door. The vehicle has never been in an accident or hit with anything on the drivers side of the door. They need to correct their incomplete and incompetent painting. There seems to be no sealant underneath for the paint to adhere to. Please address this error.

NHTSA ODI #11559801

Official recalls

3

20V682000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Nov 4, 2020

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 4Runner, 2019-2020 Avalon, 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2017-2019 Highlander, 2018-2020 Camry, 2020 Corolla, 2018-2019 Land Cruiser, 2017-2020 Tacoma, 2019-2020 RAV4, 2019-2020 Sequoia, 2017-2020 Sienna, 2019-2020 Tundra, 2018-2020 Lexus ES350, 2017 Lexus GS200t, 2017-2019 Lexus GS350, 2019 Lexus GS300, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500h, 2019-2020 Lexus LS500, 2018-2019 Lexus GX460, 2017 Lexus IS200t, 2019 Lexus IS300, 2019 Lexus IS350, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500, 2018 Lexus LS500, 2019 Lexus LS500h, 2018-2019 Lexus LX570, 2017 Lexus RC200t, 2019 Lexus RC300, RC350, 2017 and 2019-2020 Lexus RX350, 2018-2020 RX350L, 2019 Lexus UX200, 2018-2019 Lexus NX300 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly with an improved one, free of charge. Owners of specific models were notified that remedy parts were available starting January 21, 2021. Owners of other models will be notified as remedy parts become available. Remedy parts should be available for all affected vehicles by late March 2021. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-012. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TA02. Lexus' number for this recall is 20LA01.

17V520000 · Equipment

Aug 23, 2017

Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (GST) is recalling certain 2017 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles equipped with accessory roof rail cross bars. The fasteners for the roof rails may not be torqued properly.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The roof rails may loosen and possibly detach from the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GST will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and properly torque the fasteners, free of charge. The recall began September 29, 2017. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 17R3.

17V295000 · Tires:temporary/emergency Spare Tire

May 2, 2017

Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (Gulf States) is recalling certain 2017 4Runner , 86, Avalon, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Corolla iM, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Prius, Prius C, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Sienna and Yaris vehicles. The spare tire air pressure was not adjusted to the proper pressure as stated on the Tire Pressure Label.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A spare tire that is not inflated to the proper value may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Gulf States will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the spare tires, adjusting their pressure as necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 15, 2017. Owners may contact Gulf States customer service at 1-800-444-1074. Toyota's number for this recall is 17R2.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.