"How reliable is the 2006 Toyota Highlander?"

"Based on 344 NHTSA complaints, the 2006 Toyota Highlander has a median complaint mileage of 68483 miles. The most common issue is Service Brakes."

"What are common problems with the 2006 Toyota Highlander?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2006 Toyota Highlander is Service Brakes, accounting for a significant portion of the 344 total complaints filed."

2006 Toyota Highlander: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 344 complaints

344

Total Complaints

68,483mi

Median Mileage

Service Brakes

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

34,500 25th Percentile

68,483 Median Mileage

130,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Service Brakes

Vehicle Speed Control

Electrical System

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

Engine

Engine And Engine Cooling

Steering

Visibility/Wiper

Automatic Transmission

Electronic Stability Control (Esc)

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DT: CONSUMER WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON AUGUST 17, 2005 AND SIDE/CURTAIN AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. IT WAS SIDE IMPACT AT 45 MPH. HAD NOT CONTACTED TOYOTA AT THIS POINT. *AK"

"TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID-I HAVE LOST ABS BRAKES, STABILITY CONTROL AND POWER STEERING ALONG WITH THE HYBRID ENGINE ON TWO OCCASIONS WITH MY 2 WEEK OLD 2006 HIGHLANDER. I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER TWICE-THE FIRST TIME THEY FOUND "MALFUNCTION CODES" AND "REBOOTED" THE COMPUTER AND TOLD ME IT WAS O..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Service Brakes 67 complaints

25th: 90,000 mi Median: 150,500 mi 75th: 182,000 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 42 complaints

25th: 19,626 mi Median: 50,000 mi 75th: 87,500 mi

Electrical System 26 complaints

25th: 29,500 mi Median: 90,000 mi 75th: 136,000 mi

Service Brakes, Hydraulic 19 complaints

25th: 11,231 mi Median: 36,000 mi 75th: 65,000 mi

Engine 19 complaints

25th: 80,335 mi Median: 102,000 mi 75th: 137,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 51 VA: 25 TX: 24 MA: 23 FL: 22 GA: 19 NC: 16 NY: 16 PA: 15 NJ: 12

Who Files Complaints?

8.4%

Original Owners

91.6%

Second+ Owners

Toyota Highlander — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2001	158	53,000	Vehicle Speed Control	28
2002	335	70,000	Visibility	27
2003	316	94,000	Engine	43
2004	335	55,675	Automatic Transmission	42
2005	289	52,991	Vehicle Speed Control	50
2007	159	60,500	Service Brakes	15
2008	502	77,900	Service Brakes	59
2009	177	58,000	Engine	7
2010	271	52,000	Electrical System	28
2011	228	52,355	Steering	16
2012	228	48,000	Steering	20
2013	279	30,500	Steering	44
2014	155	38,500	Electrical System	8
2015	242	30,800	Electrical System	19
2016	137	24,000	Unknown Or Other	22
2017	348	20,380	Power Train	32
2018	328	15,163	Service Brakes	38
2019	576	10,000	Power Train	38
2020	318	12,995	Power Train	19
2021	516	15,000	Power Train	29
2022	252	17,781	Service Brakes	22
2023	194	28,000	Unknown Or Other	14
2024	42	-	Unknown Or Other	9

Active Recalls (7)

Federal safety recalls issued for this vehicle.

Seat Heater/Cooler

Campaign 14V743000 | 19/11/2014

Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.

SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.

Seat Heater/Cooler

Campaign 16V396000 | 02/06/2016

If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.

Accelerator Pedal

Campaign 11V112000 | 24/02/2011

IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY TEMPORARILY BECOME STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION RATHER THAN RETURN TO THE IDLE POSITION. A STUCK ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN UNINTENDED AND SUSTAINED VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE FREE OR CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Labels

Campaign 10V035000 | 03/02/2010

THIS DOES NOT MEET THE STANDARD REQUIREMENTS.

DEALERS WILL MAIL TO CONSUMERS THE CORRECTED LABEL OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. DEALERS WILL ALSO CORRECT THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 27, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GULF STATES TOYOTA AT 713-580-3300.

Labels

Campaign 10V036000 | 03/02/2010

A DRIVER MAY OVERLOAD A VEHICLE WHICH MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

DEALERS WILL MAIL TO CONSUMERS THE CORRECTED LABEL OR THE CUSTOMER WILL HAVE THE OPTION FOR DEALERS TO INSTALL THE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 27, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SOUTHEAST TOYOTA AT 1-800-301-6859.

Labels

Campaign 09V223000 | 15/06/2009

INCORRECT LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY MODIFICATION LABELS COULD RESULT IN THE VEHICLE BEING OVERLOADED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH A NEW, ACCURATE LABEL TO BE INSTALLED OVER THE INACCURATE LABEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-888-270-9371.

Master Cylinder

Campaign 10V499000 | 21/10/2010

A LEAK OF BRAKE FLUID COULD LEAD TO A CHANGE IN BRAKE PEDAL FEEL AND OVERTIME A DEGRADATION IN BRAKING PERFORMANCE INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SEAL WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 15, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331 AND LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.

Extend Your Brake Life

Based on the most common issues reported for this vehicle.

Replace brake pads before they wear to the metal — rotors cost 3x more
Flush brake fluid every 2-3 years regardless of mileage
Don't ride the brakes downhill — use engine braking
Address any grinding, pulsing, or pulling immediately
Have brakes inspected during every tire rotation

Compare Toyota Highlander

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Vehicle Rankings

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Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28