2020 Toyota Highlander
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 317 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 5th highest complaint count among 25 Highlander model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 15 involved a crash. 20 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationDec 20, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.
An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.
Campaign 23V865000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, body, bumpersOct 26, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Highlander & Highlander Hybrid vehicles. During normal vehicle operation, minor impact to the front lower bumper cover may result in the cover coming loose or detaching.
A detached front bumper cover can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will repair or replace the upper and lower front bumper covers as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed April 22, 2024. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB12/23TA12.
Campaign 23V720000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bagsOct 14, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020 Highlander and Highlander hybrid vehicles. Incorrect seat trim covers on one or both of the front seats can prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly.
Improper deployment of the seat-mounted side air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats and replace the seat trim covers as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TB14 / 20TA14.
Campaign 20V633000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, deliveryMar 19, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020 Highlander vehicles equipped with a 3.5 L, V6 (2GR-FKS) gasoline engine. Due to an Engine Control Unit (ECU) programming error, fuel may not be correctly supplied to the engine while using the stop and restart feature.
Improper fuel supply programming can result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECU, free of charge. The recall began May 15, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TA06.
Campaign 20V162000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
44 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Jun 17, 2024
Rear AC lines are defective and are failing on vehicles releasing gas under the vehicle. Dealer has confirmed this is a known design issue caused by dissimilar metals between the vehicle, bracket and rear AC lines. Toyota has stopped supply of the defective part but has no solution to repair this issue yet. They have no solution other that to wait for a) Parts to be re-continued, b) wait for Toyota to release a design fix. Meanwhile I have a newborn and the car is unable to maintain a acceptable temperature for occupation
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Forward collision avoidance, Jun 13, 2024, crash
I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage. As i was pulling in, the car unintentionally had a rapid acceleration event and crashed into a cement pillar causing the car to be a total loss
Other or unspecified, Apr 12, 2024
The vehicle continues to place excessive wear on the right rear tire despite the auto dealership service department stating there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. My tires have been replaced 4 times with 89,000 miles on the vehicle. The dealership service department is not willing to look into it any further and states everything is normal despite something clearly wearing this particular tire every 20-25,000 miles.
Other or unspecified, Dec 27, 2023
Nav Search and Voice message dictate disabled. Highlander 4th Generation (2020+) Has anyone experienced a DCM failure? My 2020 Highlander LTD hit 70K and 3yr mark; all of a sudden my Nav won't search while driving and I cannot dictate a response to a msg. Other forums suggest, reset the DCM by disconnecting the battery for a minimum of 30 minutes. This can be problematic. NO hands free driving capability.
Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Sep 9, 2023
Random loss of braking feeling and jolting forward when stopping due to regenerative braking letting off. Happened randomly since purchase. Happens around 20mph mark
Other or unspecified, Mar 21, 2023
On March 20th while on the freeway my 2020 Toyota Highlander sunroof exploded. Related or not, I had just rolled up my driver's window immediately preceding the explosion. The sound from this was loud and surprising. Thankfully I was able to get to the right lane and exit the freeway. Upon stopping and viewing the sunroof I was surprised to see the remaining glass pushed UP out of the car. I had no warning nor was I in a situation that I would have expected there to be a problem. I have an appointment 3 days after the explosion at the dealer for them to check it out.
Other or unspecified, Feb 15, 2023
The driver side mirror shakes and vibrates while driving. This is distracting and makes it difficult to concentrate on surroundings. This happens at all speeds. My dealership said that it is normal, but I see many other people on forums have similar complaints. The passenger side mirror does not rattle.
Other or unspecified, Sep 1, 2022
The driver side mirror, yes available for inspection The mirror is shaking on higher speed makes it difficult to keep up with traffic around you No No No
Other or unspecified, Aug 17, 2022
While driving at approximately 45 MPH on a multi-lane parkway in Virginia, my wife and I heard a loud explosion which I immediately assumed might be a tire blowout. However, the steering system seemed normal as I slowed the car and began a move toward the road's shoulder. Within 10-15 seconds we began to hear the sound of "rushing air" above our heads. To determine why we heard that sound we slowly retracted the interior cabin fabric "head cover" to expose our sunroof; as soon as the "head cover" had retracted an inch or two it was clear that we had a large hole in the sunroof forward panel and that the tempered glass had shattered. We immediately closed the "head cover" and continued forward to our home which was a few miles away. As we drove, more and more "glass shards" were falling to the topside of our head cover. Fortunately, with our fabric head cover closed when the sunroof "failed" we were not showered by glass. However, had we had the sunroof exposed, I believe we would have had small glass pieces fall into the cabin area and on our heads. I have called my insurance company (USAA) and they have processed my claim sending me to SAFELITE which in turn has forwarded my repair work to SUNROOF EXPRESS. I called my Toyota Dealership which told me the sunroof is no longer under warranty. I can only speculate that the failure was caused either by a "micro-defect" in the sunroof which over time and temperature changes (summer heat, interior cool from A/C, winter freeze, etc) caused a sudden failure; or, it's possible a rock/pebble kicked up by a vehicle somewhere in front of us had a trajectory high enough (higher than our front windshield) and then impacted the sunroof at a sufficient angle to cause its failure. Following this incident with my car, I went on-line and discovered that I'm not alone. Apparently many other motorists have experienced what they describe as "explosive" sunroof failures...and some have been showered in glass. Not good!
Other or unspecified, Jul 28, 2022
Excessive tire wear was noted at 18,000 miles requirement replacement of tires. 25,000 miles later, the same tire wear problem has occurred on a set of tires rated at 65,000 miles. The west is much more predominant on the passengers side. Toyota has been informed and claims there is no problem with the vehicle, despite not inspecting the vehicle for other causes. This is a safety hazard, as with regular checkups, the tires were so low that one is at 0/32nd. Upon showing giving me the printout after measuring, the dealership told me I could drive on the tires a few more months. This is a major safety concern.
Other or unspecified, Jul 23, 2022
Sunroof exploded (like the sound of a bomb), without warning, on 7/21/22, while driving the vehicle. The shards traveled upward, and broken tempered glass protrudes towards the sky. Size of hole (largest points) approx. 16" X 9". It was not a rock or any other debris that caused this--it was internal force. I reached out to the dealer on 7/21/22, and today with pictures, who will reach out to Toyota. No damage was done to the vehicle, to the best my knowledge, other than the sunroof.
Other or unspecified, Jun 3, 2022
While driving around 60 MPH all the sudden I heard a loud explosion like a shot gun going off and then my sunroof exploding and shattering all over me and the interior of my car. There was no impact from another vehicle, rock, tree, anything. It just exploded into thousands of little pieces out of nowhere. It was terrifying. I was able to safely pull over. There were cuts experienced.
Other or unspecified, Feb 10, 2022
On several occasions, using the key fob to remote start the car, once unlocking the car, the car doesn't turn off as it should when unlocked or touching the drivers side door. Once in vehicle (car still running), car is unresponsive until shifted from Park, then the engine shuts off and car is disabled for 10-15 minutes. Will not start, unresponsive to touching the push start ignition and dash says "Not ready to Drive." Brake pedal gets very hard. Have been unable to video the actions of the remote start in order to get it to a dealership.
Other or unspecified, Feb 3, 2022
I was driving on the highway at about 65 mph, there were no cars beside me, when there was a loud explosion type noise. I noticed the passenger side mirror had flipped into the window. The cover on the mirror exploded causing damage to the hood and side panel of the vehicle.
Other or unspecified, Dec 2, 2021
I was driving on a freeway with no cars in front of me and no debris in the air when our panoramic sunroof spontaneously exploded. The glass blew upwards and the remaining glass around the edges were pointed upwards as if the window had suffered an internal to external impact. Fortunately, the fabric was closed and it could have resulted in a severe accident with glass going everywhere.
Structure, Other or unspecified, Aug 18, 2021, crash
Several times pulling out from stop signs I failed to see cars coming from the passenger side. On August 4th 2021 I failed to see a car until it was directly in front of me and I collided with it. Wondering how I could have failed to see it I started doing research on the internet. I discovered others had this same problem also involving an accident. It was brought to my attention the mirrors are large and placed high in regards to the passenger window. I noted others sighted their height as part of the problem. I have a bad back and kept my seat low to ease getting in and out of the vehicle. My vehicle was totaled but the air bags never deployed and no one was injured.
Other or unspecified, Dec 13, 2020
WE WERE DRIVING IN THE FREEWAY AND SUDDENLY WE HEARD LIKE A "BANG" SOUND, LIKE AN EXPLOSION. WE LOOKED AROUND US AND WONDERED WHAT IT WAS. THEN WE HEARD THE AIR FROM THE ROOF SEEPING THROUGH AND WE TOOK AN EXIT, IT WAS A SHATTERED SUNROOF. SINCE THE RAIN IS IN THE FORECAST AND WE WERE GOING ON A CROSS COUNTRY VACATION, WE USED A FLEX TAPE TO PREVENT FOR THE GLASS TO KEEP SHATTERING AND FROM THE RAIN.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Lane departure, Nov 16, 2020
BLIND SPOT MONITORING IS NOT WORKING. TOOK IT TO DEALERSHIP THY SAID IT NEEDED RE-CALIBRATION BUT IT STILL DOESN'T SEE SEMI TRUCKS. MY WIFE ACCIDENTALLY RAN ANOTHER WOMEN OFF ROAD BECAUSE SHE TRUSTED THIS TOYOTA SYSTEM. SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY STILL WORKING INTERMITTENTLY.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, May 26, 2020
THE VEHICLE HESITATES, STALLS AND HAS BUCKING LEAPING FORWARD UNCONTROLLABLY, ON THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAS A VERY LOUD WHINING NOISE UPON SHIFTING THE CAR FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND BACK AGAIN FROM DRIVE TO PARK, AT A STAND STILL. THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE WITH A NEE CAR, MY WIFE AND I DON'T FEEL SAFE WHILE DRIVING IN THIS CAR. *TR