Total Complaints
5 filings
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID · model year
5 NHTSA complaints, and 1 recall campaign listed for this cohort. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2011TOYOTAHIGHLANDER HYBRID carries 5 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2011 HIGHLANDER HYBRID is vehicle speed control with 2 filings, followed by unknown or other (1) and service brakes (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause. This cohort has 1 NHTSA recall campaign listed below. Enter a VIN in NHTSA's official recall lookup to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 2011 HIGHLANDER HYBRID. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
5 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 2 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 |
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, and 2009-2010 Scion xD and Pontiac Vib
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, A GRINDING NOISE WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO NORTH BROOK TOYOTA (1530 FRONTAGE RD, NORTH BROOK, IL) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE RUBBER OIL HOSE WAS DAMAGED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE SAME DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DAMAGED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000.
Mileage: 105,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
Mileage: 60,000
BREAK LIGHT WARNINGS ALL CAME ON. BRAKES WENT OUT WHILE IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET. HAD TO SHOVE BREAK PEDAL DOWN WITH BOTH FEET TO THE FLOOR GOING UPHILL TO STOP. DEALERSHIP TOLD US IT'S THE BREAK ACTUATOR PUMP AND WILL BE $5000 TO REPAIR. THIS IS A SERIOUS HARDSHIP ON US. I'M A FOSTER PARENT AND NEED MY VEHICLE IN WORKING ORDER. DEALERSHIP SAID ONLY THEY CAN DO THE REPAIR DUE TO SENSOR CALIBRATIONS.
Mileage: 153,000
THE BACK-UP CAMERA HAS STARTED SHOWN MORE OF THE BUMPER... IT HAS STARTED POINTING MORE TO IT. THE CAMERA DID NOT SEE LOOSE. BUT I SEE THE MORE BUMPER ON THE SCREEN. WHEN I CONTACTED TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHERE I PURCHASED INCLUDE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY IN 2011. I WAS TOLD THAT I STILL HAVE TO PAY THE DIAGNOSIS FEE $89.99 + TAX.
Mileage: 30,000
MY HIGHLANDER HYBRID: PUSHED START BUTTON, AND BEHAVED NORMALLY. UPON BEING PLACED IN GEAR, THE VEHICLE ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE AS IF THE GAS PEDAL WAS PUSHED TO THE FLOOR. ONLY HEAVY BRAKE PRESSURE PREVENTED A SERIOUSLY DANGEROUSNESS CONDITION OF FULL ACCELERATION IN A SMALL PARKING LOT. WHEN PLACED IN PARK, THE THROTTLE REDUCED TO IDLE. I REPEATED THE ACTION OF PLACING THE CAR IN GEAR (EITHER REVERSE OR DRIVE), AND AGAIN, THE THROTTLE ADVANCED TO A FULL ACCELERATION MODE. AGAIN, ONLY VERY HEAVY PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PREVENTED UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION. I PARKED THE VEHICLE, AND CALLED MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER. AFTER BEING PLACED ON HOLD SEVERAL TIMES, I LEFT A VOICE MAIL WITH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. I ALSO WENT ONLINE TO TOYOTA TO THE CUSTOMER HOTLINE, AND LEFT A DETAILED EMAIL WITH VIN, PROBLEM DESCRIPTION, AND EXPRESSED A CONCERN FOR A SERIOUS SAFETY DEFECT. *TR
Mileage: 72,000
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2011 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.