Total Complaints
5 filings
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID · model year
5 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2015TOYOTAHIGHLANDER 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. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2015 HIGHLANDER HYBRID is electrical system with 1 filings, followed by unknown or other (1) and electrical system:software (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 2015 HIGHLANDER HYBRID. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
5 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 |
| INTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 |
2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO AN ISSUE WITH THE AMBIENT LIGHTING GOING OUT. *LD *JS
I UNKNOWINGLY FAILED TO TURN OFF MY CAR LAST NIGHT. IT HAS A KEYLESS IGNITION (FOB) AND SETS OFF AN ALARM WHEN LEFT ON. UNFORTUNATELY, LAST NIGHT MY HUSBAND ARRIVED HOME AT THE SAME TIME AND BETWEEN 2 GARAGE DOORS CLOSING AND EXCITED, BARKING DOGS I DIDN'T HEAR THE ALARM. WE WENT TO BED SHORTLY THEREAFTER. MY HUSBAND WOKE UP VERY EARLY AND HEARD OUR CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR GOING OFF IN THE GARAGE. WHEN HE OPENED THE DOOR HE DISCOVERED IT WAS VERY HOT AND THE DETECTOR WAS REGISTERING HIGH LEVELS OF CM. HE OPENED THE GARAGE DOORS AND WINDOWS IN THE HOUSE. I HAVE SINCE RESEARCHED THIS. SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE DIED UNDER THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES. I FEEL LUCKY. THE CAR IS A HYBRID SO IT WAS ALTERNATING ALL NIGHT BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND THE BATTERY. WE ALSO HAD A CM DETECTOR IN THE GARAGE WHICH IS NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED. THE MANUFACTURERS NEED TO HAVE AN AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF FOR THE KEYLESS SYSTEMS OR MANY MORE INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL DIE. PLEASE FIX THIS NOW.
Mileage: 16,000
2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE ENTUNE SYSTEM CRASHING AND REBOOTING AT VARIOUS TIMES. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENTUNE SYSTEM SCREEN FROZE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A STRAIGHT ROAD, MAKING A RIGHT OR LEFT TURN, AND SITTING IDLE IN TRAFFIC. THE SCREEN WOULD GO DARK AND RESET THE SYSTEM WHEN THE NAVIGATION FEATURE WAS IN USE WHETHER THE RADIO WAS ON OR OFF. IT WOULD LOSE THE NAVIGATION ROUTE. THE SCREEN WOULD LOOP BETWEEN THE TOYOTA SCREEN AND THE WELCOME SCREEN 3-4 TIMES THEN RESETS WITH THE DEFAULT SETTINGS. THE ENTUNE SYSTEM REBOOTED WHEN THE RADIO WAS ON AND NAVIGATION WAS OFF. WHEN THE RADIO WAS ON THE SOUND TURNED OFF THEN AFTER IT REBOOTED, THE RADIO TURNED BACK ON WITH THE SAME STATION. DURING THE FAILURES NO CELLPHONE OR BLUETOOTH IS CONNECTED TO THE SYSTEM. UPDATED 03/23/2017 *JS
THE HATCH CONTINUES TO FAIL EVEN AFTER THEY REPLACED "DEFECTIVE" PART. THE BATTERIES HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THEY HAD FAILED. ON 3/2/17 I WAS SITTING IN THE DRIVER SEAT WITH THE CAR IN PARK WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND SUDDENLY THE DRIVER SEAT MOVED ALL THE WAY FORWARD, THEN THE BACK STRAIGHTENED COMPLETELY AND THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS ADJUSTED ALL THE WAY UP. I PLACED A CALL TO THE DEALERSHIP AT 2:51PM, WAS TOLD I'D GET A CALL BACK. I DROVE THE CAR HOME WITH MY ADULT DAUGHTER. RADIO WAS OFF. WHEN I WAS STOPPED IN EITHER TRAFFIC OR A LIGHT WE COULD HEAR A MOTOR TRYING TO START. I MADE IT HOME SAFELY. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS ADVISED THAT SINCE THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. THEY RETURNED THE CAR TO ME WITHOUT ANY DOCUMENTATION OF A COMPLAINT.
Mileage: 16,425
THE HATCH CONTINUES TO FAIL EVEN AFTER THEY REPLACED "DEFECTIVE" PART. THE BATTERIES HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THEY HAD FAILED. ON 3/2/17 I WAS SITTING IN THE DRIVER SEAT WITH THE CAR IN PARK WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND SUDDENLY THE DRIVER SEAT MOVED ALL THE WAY FORWARD, THEN THE BACK STRAIGHTENED COMPLETELY AND THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS ADJUSTED ALL THE WAY UP. I PLACED A CALL TO THE DEALERSHIP AT 2:51PM, WAS TOLD I'D GET A CALL BACK. I DROVE THE CAR HOME WITH MY ADULT DAUGHTER. RADIO WAS OFF. WHEN I WAS STOPPED IN EITHER TRAFFIC OR A LIGHT WE COULD HEAR A MOTOR TRYING TO START. I MADE IT HOME SAFELY. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS ADVISED THAT SINCE THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. THEY RETURNED THE CAR TO ME WITHOUT ANY DOCUMENTATION OF A COMPLAINT.
Mileage: 16,425
Data as of 2025. 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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.