Owners have filed 40 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the transmission, body and structure, and fuel system. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2025Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2025 Toyota Highlander: inspection sheet
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/1
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/6
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
These years share the 2025's design and most of its parts, so their problems are the ones to look for on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
EPA figures for each version of the 2025 Toyota Highlander. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4L 4-cylGas | AWD, FWD | 24–25 mpg |
| 2.5L 4-cylHybrid | AWD | 35 mpg |
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Brake power loss or delay
15,000–16,000 miles
NHTSA complaints for the 2025 Toyota Highlander, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
From a stop, the car hesitates to accelerate. It shudders, lurches, or shakes violently, and in one case the engine shut off. Highway reports describe a sudden loss of power with warning lights, followed by limp mode, which leaves the car stranded in traffic. Front axle problems show up as a failed left front axle before 20,000 miles and as clicking from the front drive shafts while turning. Replacement axles take months to arrive. There are also hard shifts out of first gear and one car that crept forward in Park. Dealers often cannot reproduce these faults, and a firmware update did not fix one of them.
At highway speed the aluminum hood flutters and shakes, right in the driver's line of sight. A service bulletin covers this on the 2024 Grand Highlander, but dealers say it does not apply to 2025 models and have no fix. Water leaks from the top of the windshield onto the steering wheel and dashboard in rain or after a car wash, and repeat dealer visits have not found the source. The sunroof also bursts outward while cruising, with Toyota denying warranty and quoting over $2,100 to replace it.
The fuel gauge and distance-to-empty readout hit zero while about 4 gallons are still in the tank. Refills from empty take only 11 to 14 gallons against a published capacity of roughly 17 gallons. In practice, owners get around 350 to 365 miles per tank instead of the expected range, which means more fuel stops. Dealers call this normal and offer no fix. It is mainly a nuisance, though a miscalibrated gauge could lead some drivers to misjudge their range.
Braking power drops suddenly. The pedal has to go to the floor before the car slows, and a Low Brake Power warning appears alongside a cascade of stability, ABS, and driver-assist alerts. A milder pattern is a brief delay in braking under light pedal pressure, with no warning at all. Both patterns appear on hybrid AWD models at around 15,000 to 16,000 miles. Either one creates a real crash risk in traffic or near pedestrians, and neither had been confirmed by a dealer when reported.
While reversing, the back-over prevention system gives no warning tone even though the camera image shows. An Adaptive Cruise Control unavailable message comes on, and the automatic braking engages by itself. The fault keeps coming back, even after an instrument cluster replacement, and the dealer could not duplicate it. A separate, minor report notes that the factory puddle lamp wire connectors are missing from both front doors.
Excerpts from complaints Highlander owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
The car was running perfect, 9 months after I bought this car, before 20,000 miles Front Left Axle become defective, and therefore, the dealer promised to reemplaced it, but I am still waiting from the dealer. It is a big risk to runs the car like that.
Filed with NHTSA, February 2026
Poor acceleration from 0 to 40. Vehicle will start shuttering at a dead stop. The engine has shut off once with this issue. It happened around 4800 miles.
Filed with NHTSA, October 2025
On 11/02/2025 with the cruise at 55mph all glass closed. Heater on with no vehicles around, the sunroof exploded. It pushed up from the inside. With less than 9k miles on the vehicle. It took my dealer 8 days to look at it then Toyota denied the warranty. Then Quoted me over $2,100 to replace. This vehicle isn't safe to drive as told to me from the dealer.
Filed with NHTSA, November 2025
The 2024 and 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander has excessive hood shaking and vibration at the rear of the vehicle. It is directly under the projection area of the windshield and directs your attention to the movement. At highway speeds the shaking is excessive. Toyota has not been able to find a repair for this issue.
Filed with NHTSA, March 2025
The car only accepts 11-13 gallons of gas when refueling an empty tank despite the advertised 17.2 gallon capacity. I believe this is a fuel gauge or DTE system problem. I’ve seen many many similiar complaints on the forums. Fuel gauge issue could leave drivers stranded on the road.
Filed with NHTSA, August 2025
The entire life of the car from initial purchase the fuel gauge is incorrect. The car has a 17 gallon gas tank and the fuel gauge is calibrated to around 13 gallons. The car thinks it is out of gas around 13 gallons when there is actually 4 more gallons left.
Filed with NHTSA, January 2026
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2025 has the fewest owner complaints of the 8 Highlander years we cover, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.
The 2025 is the sixth model year of the Highlander's fourth generation (2020–2026).
Recall repairs are free at any Toyota dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles. The third row center seat belt roof anchor may have been installed at an incorrect angle, preventing the seat belt from properly restraining the occupant.
Risk: A seat belt that does not properly restrain an occupant increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will reinstall the seat belt anchor with a new bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 25TA16.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru Solterra vehicles equipped with a Panoramic View Monitor (PVM) system. Please see the recall report for a complete list of models. A software error may cause the rearview camera to freeze or display a blank screen when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: A rearview camera that fails to display an image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the parking assist software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB13 and 25LB06. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE25.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Toyota Venza, 2023-2025 RAV4 Prime, RAV4, Highlander, GR Corolla, Crown, 2024-2025 Lexus TX, LS, Toyota Tacoma, Grand Highlander, and 2025 Lexus RX, Toyota Crown Signia, Camry, RAV 4 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and 4 Runner vehicles. Due to an error in the instrument panel software at vehicle startup, the instrument panel may fail to display vehicle speed, brake system, and tire pressure warning lights.
Risk: An instrument panel display that does not show critical information can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will update the instrument panel software for non-PHEV vehicles, free of charge. For PHEV vehicles, dealers will inspect the instrument panel assembly, and either replace it, or update the software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 5, 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB08 and 25TA08. Lexus' numbers for this recall are 25LB05 and 25LA05.
Cars shoppers compare with the Toyota Highlander, with their own 2025 checklists.
2025 owner complaints, side by side
