Free Consultation: 310-256-2622
Check another vehicle

2023 Toyota Highlander: Recalls, Complaints & California Lemon Law

Below are recalls and complaints reported to NHTSA for the 2023 Toyota Highlander. This information is consumer-reported and provided for general informational purposes only. Vehicles like this may qualify under California lemon law depending on their individual repair history.

0
Recalls reported to NHTSA
17
Complaints filed with NHTSA
310-256-2622
Free case review — no obligation

Complaints Filed with NHTSA

The following are consumer-reported complaints filed with NHTSA. These are unverified allegations and are not proof that any defect exists.

SERVICE BRAKES

2023 Highlander Hybrid braking suddenly changes at low speeds when coming to a stop. Vehicle's brakes work properly (Regenerative and hydraulic combined) until it slows to make a stop or slows in heavy traffic. Suddenly the brake pressure changes and | When applying the brakes sometimes, particularly when breaking at the bottom of a hill, the car lunges forward before the brake catches and it stops. The transition is jarring and does not seem safe at all. I've been told by mechanics at the Toyota | Since I got this car, when going down hill the breaks don't work properly. It is a sudden surge and the car takes a few extra seconds to break. It happens often and I always need to keep a good distance from the car in front of me to avoid a collisio

POWER TRAIN

Delayed acceleration, jerking shifting between gears and whining noise | The transfer case blew out when I stopped at a red-light, within the first 3 years of original ownership. Only 65,000 miles on the odometer, mostly from highway driving. The car is now inoperable and repair quotes are prohibitively expensive. | Almost since purchase this vehicle has emitted a shudder when driving. The loss of power has affected ability to evade when making turns, acceleration on highways, and has caused safety concerns while driving with children in the vehicle-this is a br

WHEELS

On November 24, I took the vehicle into Gene Messer Toyota in Lubbock, TX to have them diagnose a noise in the front end. They confirmed hearing the noise but assured me the vehicle was safe to drive. No repairs were performed. 10 days later, on Dece | Unknown

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My Toyota Highlander 12.3 inch display of the instrument panel may be blank at startup. Operating the vehicle with this display blank reduces the ability to see certain malfunction indicators. This Safety Recall that has been active since September | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various sp | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while the vehicle was runni

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Vehicle smells like gas/fuel sometimes. I brought it to the dealership and was advised that they cannot duplicate my concerns since they can't smell anything when I dropped it off. | On hot days the evap system does not function properly. You can visibly see gas fumes spewing from the filler neck area. The smell of gas inside and outside of the vehicle is horrible. It has caused headaches, nausea and dizziness to the passengers i

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE

The vehicle has erratic acceleration. It will either be extremely slow and jerky or it will jump forward with great speed and force. This is dangerous and may cause an accident. You have no control when it comes to acceleration whether you are leavin | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated and the engine misfired. The secondary collision, braking system malfunct

AIR BAGS

My wife was hit from the driver side, causing car to deviate and have a head on collision with a fire hydrant. No airbags deployed. Side or front. | The contact owned a 2023 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH on a heavy snow weather condition, the vehicle lost traction, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a tree, w | Vehicle was hit all the way around and was totalled with 4,000 miles. None of the airbags deployed.

Allegedly reported: 5 injuries (as reported to NHTSA).

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

It takes time to accelerate. The car jerks and shakes before moving | I have a 2023 Toyota Highlander Platinum. For some unknown reason, the dashboard suddenly stopped working. Because the dashboard is not working, I have no information on things like when the gas will run out, what speed I’m driving, or if any parts a | Hesitation/Non-linear Acceleration From a Stop. Reprogramming the ECM completely resolved the issue. This needs to be sent out to affected vehicles but I had to investigate and pretty much demand a resolution. I fear what this could later do to our e

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE

On 10/21 the vehicle accelerated on its own. At a stoplight behind another automobile, when I only slightly lifted my foot from the brake, the car lurched forward and the auto safety stop system lit up. I never touched the accelerator pedal. I pushe | My new Highlander has had issues that I can describe as "power surging" when accelerating from a stop. The car frequently does not respond to accelerator being pushed down for a second or two and then surges from a stop to accelerating with very inco

ENGINE

Issues with vehicle accelerating, bucking and hesitating | The vehicle surges and hesitates when pressing on the gas. Several times I push on the gas and nothing really happens. Slow to move. Other times I push on the gas and it “bucks”. Like the turbo kicked in to max power all of a sudden. Almost lost cont | The vehicle hesitates and stutters upon light to moderate acceleration. This can happen either from a dead stop or while moving in traffic. The concern was present when vehicle was purchased new in Feb 2023. Initially the dealership thought the symp

TIRES

2023 Toyota Highlander XLE, Bridgestone Alenza Sport A/S 235/65R18. This is the 2nd time we had a side wall tire blow out. First incident 08/2023 and today 03/06/2025 happened again with 3 slit/cracks/holes(not sure how describe it, attached picture) | -Tire Sidewalls are cracked within 2 years of use and more than half of tread is unused -Cracking sidewalls leads to blowouts as complained about by prior consumers -Went to goodyear service center for inspection as requested for warranty claim -No w | I am writing to bring to your attention a serious issue regarding my Toyota vehicle, which is still under warranty. While my wife was driving to work, the front passenger tire exploded unexpectedly, without any warning lights or messages. This is pa

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Acceleration Issues, engine lag, poor response time and bucking when accelerated is pressed. Dangerous to drive not enough power to merge with traffic and hesitates to go at stop lights. Bought as a family suv and don’t feel safe with them in the car | When 87 octane fuel is put into the vehicle, the 2023 highlander is sluggish to start and make jump at times as well. After reading other complaints online, the current fix was putting 93 octane in the vehicle to remedy the issue. Putting 93 octane f | Upon acceleration, car hesitates then surges. Started after approximately 2000 miles. Occurs most frequently from a dead start. However, continues upon acceleration up to 50 mph. Took to Toyota Dealer, but they were unable to diagnose. Others report

STRUCTURE

Driving vehicle and front lower bumper cover assembly fell off on highway. 2 days later received a recall notice for exact issue. Safety recall 23TA12. Brought vehicle into NuCar Toyota of North Attleboro and they refused to execute recall stating p | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from behind the dashboard and the rear passenger-side door. The contact stated that it sounded as if | the front bumper assembly has come off our 2023 highlander twice since purchase 2 years ago, the first time the entire bumper was pulled off while on the freeway(terrified my wife) and we had to pull it off and put it in the back on the highlander an

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

I have another issue that has never happened to me before. The front passenger door just popped open while I was sitting at a red light. I had just driven for over 2 hours with it closed and locked and it made a weird sound and shifted. The light on | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle drove over a pothole, and the driver’s side front door opened about 3-4 inches wide. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Some times when I request the rear hatch to open is does nothing but most of the time when I depress the close button, it moves less than an inch and then beeps. I have had to depress the button up to 6 times before the hatch closes. The car is only | While driving down the highway I went over a bridge joint and my sunroof suddenly exploded sending glass both into and off the back of the vehicle. I was able to find the moment of the explosion on my rear dashcam (saw the falling glass) and checked | I bought this vehicle new in March 2024. I normally use Apple CarPlay for music and more importantly maps. Approximately 1 year after purchase, I was driving along and all of a sudden a new screen appeared with a keyboard requesting that I sign in w

SEAT BELTS

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, and driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt alarm chimed while the seat belts were properly buckled. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicl | I took delivery of the new vehicle without testing all the seatbelts. The third row passenger side seat belt is fully retracted as it should be, but it's locked in that position. It came from the dealer that way, and it cannot be used. If I hadn't no

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The rear window on my car spontaneously shattered as I was driving. This was in light rain on the freeway. I had turned the rear-window defrost on at the beginning of my 20 minute drive to work in the dark at 5:30AM . When I was almost at my destin | 23 Toyota Highlander was in for a routine 10K Mile Oil Change and additional key programming. When I was notified the vehicle was done and taking delivery the vehicle came into the delivery area with the drivers mirror folded away from the car damage

Vehicles like this may qualify — get a free review

If your 2023 Toyota Highlander has had repeated repairs for the same problem, you may have rights under California lemon law. Tell us about it and we will review your situation at no cost and no obligation.

By submitting this form, you consent to Lucky Lemon Law’s Privacy Policy and agree we and our third-party affiliates can contact you by phone, text, or email, even if your number is on a do-not-call list. You’re not required to purchase anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

No recalls were reported to NHTSA for the 2023 Toyota Highlander at the time this page was generated. A vehicle can still qualify under California lemon law even without a recall if it had a substantial defect and repeated repair attempts during the warranty period.

Important Legal Disclaimer

This page is attorney advertising and is provided for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney regarding your specific situation. Viewing this page or contacting Lucky Lemon Law does not create an attorney-client relationship; such a relationship is formed only by a signed written agreement.

The recalls and complaints shown here are reported to NHTSA and are consumer-reported, unverified allegations. They do not establish that any defect exists in any individual vehicle, and nothing on this page should be read as asserting that the 2023 Toyota Highlander is defective. Counts reflect items filed with NHTSA and may not be current. “May qualify” statements are general and do not mean any particular vehicle or owner qualifies.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and depends on its own facts. Lucky Lemon Law is responsible for the content of this advertisement.