2019 Toyota Highlander Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Highlander years
- Far more complaints than other years 2nd of 30 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 3 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 5 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 495 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019 Toyota Highlander. That ranks 2nd out of 30 Highlander model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is power train (205 complaints, 41%), typically at around 64,000 miles. Complaints mention 22 crashes, 1 fire, 18 injuries. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year.
- 495owner complaints
- 3safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 22complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2019 Toyota Highlander problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train problems | 205 | 41% | 64,000 | “whining noise” (20%) | $10,000 |
| Fuel/propulsion System problems | 88 | 18% | 6,313 | “fuel pump” (35%) | — |
| Unknown or Other | 80 | 16% | 4,100 | — | — |
| Engine problems | 69 | 14% | 13,000 | “hybrid malfunction” (7%) | — |
| Electrical System problems | 56 | 11% | 5,100 | “feedback noise” (14%) | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 19 | 4% | 13,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 18 | 4% | 5,500 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 14 | 3% | 14,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 13 | 3% | 10,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 12 | 2% | 5,000 | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 11 | 2% | 8,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 8 | 2% | 4,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 6 | 1% | 23,491 | — | — |
| Seats | 6 | 1% | 3,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 5 | 1% | 9,444 | — | — |
| Suspension | 5 | 1% | 8,880 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 4 | 1% | 14,280 | — | — |
| Tires | 4 | 1% | 18,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 3 | 1% | 96,200 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 3 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Visibility | 3 | 1% | 60,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 3 | 1% | 9,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 2 | 0% | 4,800 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 0% | 26,250 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 0% | 7,000 | — | — |
| Back Over Prevention | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Diesel | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2019 Toyota Highlander recalls (3)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump
Problem: 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.
Risk: If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) recalled certain 2018-2019 4Runner, Highlander, Camry, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra, and Lexus RC 300, RC 350, GS 350, GX 460, IS 300, LC 500, LS 500, LX 570, RX 350L, and 2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla, and certain Lexus NX 300, and ES 350 vehicles on January 13, 2020. On March 4, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include certain 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser, 2018 Avalon, Corolla, 2014 FJ Cruiser, 2017 Sienna and Lexus 2018 ES 350, 2018-2019 GS 300, 2013-2014 GS350, 2014-2015 GX 460, IS 350 and LX 570, 2014 IS F, 2018-2019 IS 350, LC 500H and LS 500H, 2013-2015 LS 460, 2015 NX 200T and RC350, 2017 RC 200T and RX 350. Toyota also removed the 2018-2019 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser and 2018-2019 Lexus GX 460 and LX 570 and 2019 NX300 from inclusion in this recall. On March 19, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include 2015 Lexus GS350 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began May 4, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB02 and 20TA02 for Toyota vehicles and 20LB01 and 20LA01 for Lexus vehicles.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Gulf States Toyota (GST) is recalling certain 2019 C-HR, 4Runner, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Tacoma, Sienna, Tundra and Yaris vehicles. The text on the load capacity label may become illegible. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: If the driver cannot read the label, they may unknowingly overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GST will notify owners, and dealers will provide corrected load carrying capacity modification labels, free of charge. The recall began May 24, 2019. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 19R1.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
My car is stalling and stopping while driving both slow speeds and high speeds and all displays are going off, it may restart after several attempts, it seems a serious safety problems, however my VIN is not part of original Toyota Fuel pump recall, however it seems my issue is also related to Fuel…
While traveling east on [XXX] in [XXX] on Monday, XXX, the sunroof of my Toyota Highlander 2019 spontaneously shattered. There were four occupants in the car and we all heard what sounded like a gunshot or explosion. There were a few shards of glass that hit my daughter who was in the front…
Transmission had problems with shifting gears - can hear a banging noise while shifting gears. Reported to dealer and they indicated diagnostics report showed purge valve issues. Nothing showing transmission errors. 9/20/26 significant transmission Issues occurring with eco mode turning on and off…
While driving along, the car suddenly begun not too shift in the middle of an intersection. Fortunately for me, this occurred in the middle of the night when there were not many cars around, otherwise serious injury would likely have occurred since it was in a busy area. I had the car towed to an…
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that driving the vehicle lost power and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was an abnormal whining sound coming from the transmission and the vehicle lunged forward and unintendedly accelerated…
Other Toyota Highlander years
← 2018 Highlander · 2020 Highlander →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Highlander | 4 | 0 |
| 2025 Highlander | 10 | 4 |
| 2024 Highlander | 43 | 7 |
| 2023 Highlander | 186 | 9 |
| 2022 Highlander | 262 | 5 |
| 2021 Highlander | 531 | 4 |
| 2020 Highlander | 320 | 4 |
| 2019 | 495 | 3 |
| 2018 Highlander | 268 | 4 |
| 2017 Highlander | 270 | 3 |
| 2016 Highlander | 111 | 2 |
| 2015 Highlander | 192 | 1 |
| 2014 Highlander | 136 | 4 |
| 2013 Highlander | 207 | 3 |
| 2012 Highlander | 182 | 2 |
| 2011 Highlander | 181 | 5 |
| 2010 Highlander | 216 | 10 |
| 2009 Highlander | 134 | 9 |
| 2008 Highlander | 404 | 11 |
| 2007 Highlander | 124 | 4 |
| 2006 Highlander | 278 | 7 |
| 2005 Highlander | 224 | 6 |
| 2004 Highlander | 286 | 5 |
| 2003 Highlander | 258 | 2 |
| 2002 Highlander | 301 | 2 |
| 2001 Highlander | 137 | 3 |
| 2000 Highlander | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 Highlander | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 Highlander | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 Highlander | 1 | 0 |
See all Toyota Highlander problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2019 Toyota Highlander?
Owners most often report power train, fuel/propulsion system, unknown or other problems. The top one, power train, accounts for 205 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2019 Toyota Highlander?
Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2019 Toyota Highlander a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Highlander model years, the 2019 has far more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.