AutoUtility currently tracks 194 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2015 Toyota Highlander. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 54 complaints (27.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 17 filings cite a crash, 6 cite a fire, 12 report one or more injuries. The 2015 Toyota Highlander belongs to the 3rd Generation (XU50) platform.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 194 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (54 reports • 27.8% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Body & Structure (31), Steering System (25)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 17 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 12 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
194
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
17
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
6
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
12
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2015 Toyota Highlander

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 27.8% of complaints

Electrical System

54 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
🔥 4 fire reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 16% of complaints

Body & Structure

31 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#3 Problem Area 12.9% of complaints

Steering System

25 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 8.8% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

17 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#5 Problem Area 6.7% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

13 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 2 fire reports
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Toyota Highlander

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11760154
Filed: 08/27/2026

"The a/c condenser was damaged due to impact of road debris. This caused loss of proper system operation. The cost to repair was $1100+. The debris entered thru the front grill, which has nothing in place to prevent debris from entering the engine compartment."

Incident Date: 02/06/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Body & Structure NHTSA ODI ID: #11754797
Filed: 08/04/2026

"The factory paint on my 2015 Toyota Highlander, Blizzard Pearl (Toyota code 070), is delaminating from the primer. The base coat lifts and peels in sheets, starting on the roof, fender, and pillars — the panels with the greatest UV exposure. There has been no collision, repaint, or chemical damage;..."

Incident Date: 07/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STRUCTURE
Body & Structure NHTSA ODI ID: #11751753
Filed: 07/21/2026

"The paint is severely peeling on the outside. This can likely flake off and damages other vehicles, property, and roadway infrastructure. This is the factory coat of paint. Color is Toyota Blizzard Pearl (070)"

Incident Date: 07/21/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STRUCTURE
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11750990
Filed: 07/17/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the power liftgate consistently failed halfway through while opening and closing the liftgate. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact became aware of information online about..."

Incident Date: 03/17/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11741329
Filed: 06/01/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the infotainment screen would go blank and the system would turn on inadvertently. This issue became more frequent, occurring approximately every 10 seconds. The power steering..."

Incident Date: 05/31/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Toyota Highlander

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Toyota Highlander Current Page 194 17 2 Current
2016 Toyota Highlander 115 14 3 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Toyota Highlander 267 18 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Toyota Highlander 268 24 5 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Toyota Highlander 480 22 3 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Toyota Highlander 316 15 5 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Toyota Highlander 512 16 5 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Toyota Highlander 240 16 6 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Toyota Highlander 185 12 9 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Toyota Highlander 41 4 7 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Toyota Highlander 9 2 3 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Toyota Highlander 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2015 Toyota Highlander

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 54 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 31 0 1 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 24 0 1 1 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 19 1 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 17 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 11 1 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 7 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 0 1 1 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 6 1 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 6 4 0 1 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 4 0 4 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 5 4 0 8 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 2 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 1 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
INTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (194). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07

Pedestrian alert sounds

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 22V063000 Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.