VinCanary

Reliability report · 2023 Toyota Highlander · Updated July 2026

The fewest complaints of any year here — a new turbo engine that's holding up, once the launch software is done.

2023 is a turning point: the base Highlander drops the long-serving 3.5-liter V6 (and its eight-speed's whine history) for a 2.4-liter turbocharged four (Toyota's T24A-FTS), the same engine family Toyota uses in the Lexus NX/RX and the Tacoma. It has the lowest complaint total of any year in our data, and early reliability reads are positive — Consumer Reports rates the 2023 'average' and the 2024 'much better than average.'

The asterisks are launch-grade: a pedal-lag / cold-start behavior addressed by a Toyota software campaign (Special Service Campaign 24TC05, tied to a check-engine code, P05CE00) that you may need to request and that can return as the car relearns; infotainment glitches; interior rattles; the generation's recurring rotor warping; and a normal stack of free recalls including a driver-airbag spiral-cable recall and its re-repair. Verify the recalls and confirm the cold-start software was done, and this is a genuinely Calm year.

Evidence: 170 NHTSA complaints · 5 recall campaigns · 6 mechanic & forum sources

Canary status

Calm

What that means: 162 complaints on the gas Highlander plus 8 on the Hybrid (170 total) — the smallest file in our set. 2023 drops the V6 for a 2.4-liter turbo four; early cars needed a cold-start software fix, and there's a stack of free recalls, but no expensive failure pattern has emerged.

CalmChirpingSquawkingFainted

This status assumes the riskiest common powertrain — see the Highlander engine guide.

170

Federal complaints

5

Recalls (era-leading)

Known issues

Ranked by the cost of ignoring them. Every claim carries its source.

New 2.4L turbo four — pedal lag and a cold-start software fix

moderate

The 2023 gas Highlander uses the T24A-FTS 2.4-liter turbo four. Two related items: owners report an acceleration lag from a stop — press the gas, a brief nothing, then a lurch — which Toyota addresses with a software update you may have to request, and which can return as the car relearns. Separately, Toyota ran Special Service Campaign 24TC05 for a check-engine light with code P05CE00 (a cold-start camshaft-timing performance code) on 2023 T24A-FTS engines, remedied by an engine-control-module software update. Neither is a hardware failure, and the engine is otherwise holding up well across Toyota's lineup, but confirm the cold-start/pedal software was performed and test the low-speed throttle response yourself.

What to check

Pink and cleanServiced. Proceed.

Dark brownDamage underway.

Sources: NHTSA complaint database, 2023 Highlander + Highlander Hybrid · NHTSA manufacturer communications (SSC 24TC05 / P05CE00, recall documents) · Independent mechanic + community channel transcripts (Car Care Nut; current-Highlander reliability reviews)

Driver-airbag spiral cable — recall 23V-480 (and its re-repair)major

Recall 23V-480 (2023 Highlander/Highlander Hybrid among others): an electrical connection in the steering-column spiral cable may be insufficiently welded and can separate, deactivating the driver's airbag. The remedy is a free inspection and spiral-cable replacement. A follow-up recall, 25V-040, covers 2023 cars that may have been incorrectly repaired under 23V-480 — so on a 2023, confirm BOTH show completed by VIN, not just the first.

Sources: NHTSA complaint database, 2023 Highlander + Highlander Hybrid · NHTSA manufacturer communications (SSC 24TC05 / P05CE00, recall documents)

$0

Recall spiral-cable repair

Infotainment glitches, rattles, and rotor warpingminor

The gen-four texture, corroborated across the mechanic and community sources: the touchscreen can freeze or reboot and the backup camera can go black on reverse (a rearview-camera software recall, 25V-744, addresses a Panoramic View Monitor freeze on 2022+ cars); interior rattles from the moonroof, dash, and panels appear on rough or cold roads; and the front rotors can warp early — vibration under braking reported as soon as 5,000–15,000 miles — with aftermarket rotors and pads the common fix. Annoyance-grade, not structural.

Sources: NHTSA complaint database, 2023 Highlander + Highlander Hybrid · Independent mechanic + community channel transcripts (Car Care Nut; current-Highlander reliability reviews)

Bumper cover, seat recliner, tire, and label recallsmoderate

The remaining recalls are free housekeeping: 23V-720 (front lower bumper cover can detach), 26V-128 (second-row seat-back recliner may not lock), 24V-419 and 24V-452 (20-inch accessory tires with insufficient load rating), 24V-548 (a distributor load-capacity label), and 25V-595 (an instrument-panel software issue that can blank the speed/brake/tire-pressure warnings, fixed over-the-air on non-plug-in cars). Verify each by VIN.

Sources: NHTSA complaint database, 2023 Highlander + Highlander Hybrid · NHTSA manufacturer communications (SSC 24TC05 / P05CE00, recall documents)

$0

Recall remedies

So far the new 2.4-liter turbo engine has been holding up really well — Consumer Reports rates the 2023 average and the 2024 much better than average.
6 mechanic & owner sources

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Open recalls

Free fixes at any Toyota dealer. Run the VIN — “completed” isn’t always completed.

  1. 23V-480Steering-column spiral-cable weld may separate and deactivate the driver's airbag (2023 Highlander/Highlander Hybrid among others). Free inspection/replacement.open
  2. 25V-040Re-repair of 23V-480 — covers 2023 cars possibly repaired incorrectly the first time. Free inspection/replacement of the spiral cable.open
  3. 23V-720Front lower bumper cover (2020–2023) can loosen or detach after minor impact. Free repair/replacement.open
  4. 26V-128Second-row seat backs (2021–2024) may fail to lock during adjustment. Dealers replace the recliner return springs free; interim letters mailed 2026.open
  5. 25V-595Instrument-panel software (2023–2025) may fail to display speed, brake-system, and tire-pressure warnings at startup. Over-the-air software update (non-plug-in); free.open

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