Toyota’s Reliability Legacy
Toyota has been at or near the top of reliability surveys in the U.S. and worldwide for decades, both over the short and long term. This reputation was built through years of hard work and has established the brand as trustworthy in the eyes of consumers. How does the Toyota Highlander’s reliability shape up in Toyota’s portfolio? The results below are for the gas-powered Highlander; it’s being replaced by an all-new electric Highlander for the 2027 model year (below). See how they compare. Lexus is also preparing an electric SUV based on the Highlander EV.
Toyota
RepairPal
RepairPal created a reliability rating based on actual vehicle repairs in 2017 and has been rating cars ever since.
| Toyota Highlander | Jeep Grand Cherokee | Honda Pilot | Ford Explorer | Midsize SUV Average | |
| Reliability Rating | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5 out of 5 |
| Reliability Ranking | 7/26 | 15/26 | 13/26 | 19/26 | – |
| Repair Costs per Year | $489 | $666 | $542 | $732 | $573 |
| Repair Frequency per Year | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.51 | 0.24 | 0.4 |
| Chance of a Major Repair | 13% | 13% | 13% | 14% | 13% |
The Toyota Highlander’s reliability rating at RepairPal is at or above average for repair cost and the probability of a major repair. It also scores highest among these rivals for reliability. Even Toyota’s latest generation of turbocharged engines have so far failed to raise any alarm bells and seem set to maintain Toyota’s reliability reputation.
Toyota
Toyota
The main Toyota Highlander complaints listed by RepairPal are:
- VVT-i oil line leaks
- Air bag sensor issues
- Check Engine light illuminating due to a hose detaching from the air filter housing
- Oxygen sensor problems
- Ignition coil failure after 100,000 miles
Maintenance Cost and Repair Prospects: CarEdge
CarEdge assesses vehicles’ maintenance costs over the short and long term, as well as the likelihood of something major going wrong. This is how the Highlander compares to typical class rivals for total maintenance costs over five and ten years, as well as the chance of a major repair:
| Toyota Highlander | Jeep Grand Cherokee | Honda Pilot | Ford Explorer | |
| Total After 5 Years | $2,048 | $3,511 | $2,549 | $3,105 |
| Total After 10 Years | $6,224 | $11,143 | $7,881 | $9,730 |
| Chance of Major Repair in 10 Years | 16.61% | 32.15% | 21.74% | 27.48% |
The Highlander far outperforms its three rivals here as well, even the Honda Pilot, which is considered a very reliable car. Read how it stacks up against the Pilot in a head-to-head test.
Jeep
Honda
Ford
The Highlander isn’t only the least likely by far to suffer a major repair, but costs nearly half the Grand Cherokee’s total to maintain and repair over ten years. The numbers broadly agree with RepairPal’s showing a $409 average repair cost per year for the first five years, while the likelihood of an expensive repair is also similar. It’s reassuring that different reliability raters reach similar conclusions, cementing the fact that the Highlander scores consistently, and its expected reliability is a predictable outcome, not an outlier.
The CarEdge results are an eye-opener and demonstrate that the advantage of Toyota quality and dependability extends even way beyond the typical short-term results of some surveys, or the Initial Quality J.D. Power survey.
J.D. Power
Lexus, Toyota’s premium brand, is the top performer in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study for problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) after 3 years of ownership, but Toyota itself has slipped to 4th position, still a very strong position among 30 brands assessed, and by far the best for initial quality out of the brands we compare the Highlander to here.
| Survey Ranking Out of 30 Brands Assessed | Brand | 2025 J.D. Power PP100 |
| Survey winner | Lexus | 140 |
| #4 | Toyota | 162 |
| #12 | Honda | 201 |
| Study Average | 202 | |
| #13 | Ford | 208 |
| #28 | Jeep | 275 |
J.D. Power gives the 2026 Highlander an overall score of 82 out of 100, with the Quality & Reliability assessment getting 84 out of 100.
Pandemic aftershocks related to production stoppages and supply-chain bottlenecks seem to have affected most automakers. The average number of problems per 100 vehicles is now as high as last seen in 2009. The main problem area is software problems, while plug-in hybrids are generally the most unreliable cars due to their complex powertrains. New models also take a while to have their teething troubles sorted out, even into the second year of production.
Toyota
Toyota
Toyota
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports takes a more long-term view and has extensive data on 380,000 vehicles reported on by their owners over the last quarter of a century. As expected CR’s predicted reliability scores are quite a bit lower on average for all brands, considering older cars feature in the assessments, but here, Toyota is still unchallenged with a predicted reliability of 66, with Subaru in second place at 63. The most reliable Toyota overall is the 4Runner, at a staggering 95.
Of our compared brands for this story, Honda scored 59, Ford 48, and Jeep only 28. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota’s overall maintenance cost over five and ten years as the third-lowest among automakers, after Buick and Lincoln.
Conclusion
Reviews and assessments of the Highlander are generally overwhelmingly positive. Even KBB ranks the Highlander 4.1 out of 5 stars for reliability – about the same as RepairPal – and gives it a 70% recommendation score. Considering that the Highlander is offered as a gas and hybrid variant in a multitude of different configurations, Toyota has maintained an admirable standard of reliability, and this makes a Highlander easy to recommend, even as a second-hand purchase.
But it’s not just a reliability story, as there are many reasons to recommend a Highlander, as we found when we tested it. It may not be the most exciting SUV to drive, but it ticks the most important boxes that families want from their 3-row transport.
About the author
Cobus F. Potgieter
Reviews and Features Editor