UsedScore

2008 Toyota Highlander: Avoid

Owners filed 182 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Toyota Highlander in its first five years on the road, about 165 for every 100,000 sold: 2.7× the rate of a typical Highlander year. That's more than twice a typical year, across more than one problem area.

The biggest problem area, counting serious complaints more, is speed control (23% of complaints, median 21,000 miles).

Complaint index
2.7×
per vehicle sold, vs. a typical Highlander year
Rank
14th of 14
1st = fewest complaints
Complaints
182
first five years; 165 per 100,000 sold
Recalls
12
campaigns
2nd generation, 2008–2013 (first year of the generation; redesign years often run worse) · Updated September 24, 2026 · How we rate
2008–2010 Toyota Highlander Limited

Photo: 2008–2010 Toyota Highlander Limited · IFCAR, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Problem areas

Ranked by severity-weighted complaints · share · median miles
  1. Speed control23% · 42 complaints · median 21,000 miles
  2. Brakes21% · 38 complaints · median 25,000 miles
  3. Air bags5% · 9 complaints · median 58,000 miles
  4. Powertrain10% · 18 complaints · median 12,000 miles
  5. Engine8% · 15 complaints · median 56,000 miles
  6. Wheels and tires19% · 34 complaints · median 20,000 miles
  7. Electrical9% · 17 complaints · median 30,000 miles
  8. Fuel and propulsion3% · 5 complaints
  9. Steering4% · 7 complaints · median 13,000 miles
  10. Seats and belts3% · 5 complaints

Bars rank problem areas by complaints weighted for severity (crashes, fires, injuries and deaths count more). A complaint can name more than one area. Mileage is reported on about half of complaints.

What owners describe

Air bags

Owners commonly report the air bag warning light coming on due to a failing spiral cable, often requiring an out-of-pocket repair or a wait for recall parts. A number of owners also describe crashes in which the air bags did not deploy.

Warning signs:
Many describe the SRS or air bag warning light turning on and staying lit, sometimes flickering, often occurring with no crash or apparent cause.
What shops did:
Dealers frequently diagnosed a faulty spiral cable and replaced it for several hundred dollars, though some owners report parts were on back-order under a recall and repairs were delayed or unavailable.
Mileage:
most between 65,000 and 105,000 miles, among 47 complaints that give it

“The spiral cable in the steering wheel has caused the airbag light to come on, which means the airbags will not operate in the event of a crash”

Brakes

Many 2008 Highlander owners, especially of the hybrid version, describe intermittent brake hesitation or sudden loss of braking, frequently linked to ABS actuator or pump failure. Repairs are often costly and some owners report the problem recurring even after parts were replaced.

Warning signs:
Owners report dashboard warnings for brake, ABS, and VSC systems, chirping or grinding noises, pulsating or sinking pedals, and a lunge or delay before braking engages.
What shops did:
Dealers and mechanics frequently diagnosed and replaced the ABS actuator, pump, accumulator, or brake booster/master cylinder, often at high out-of-pocket cost, though some could not duplicate or resolve the issue.
Mileage:
most between 70,000 and 155,000 miles, among 160 complaints that give it

“She hit the brakes which initially stopped, but on their own released for a fraction of a second and then re-engaged”

“Abs light, vsc light, and check engine light came on. Brakes went out completely while driving on road”

Speed control

Owners of this Highlander commonly describe the car lurching or accelerating unexpectedly, especially while parking or braking, sometimes leading to crashes. Many say dealers struggled to find a cause, though some had recall-related pedal work or paid for brake system repairs.

Warning signs:
Many report the engine revving or racing, warning lights such as ABS, VSC or check-engine illuminating, and the brake pedal feeling unresponsive or dropping to the floor before the surge.
What shops did:
Dealers frequently could not duplicate or diagnose the problem; some owners had accelerator pedal or floor mat recall work done, while others paid out of pocket to replace brake actuators, pumps or pads.
Mileage:
most between 15,000 and 85,000 miles, among 57 complaints that give it

“Accelerated to pass a car in the next lane so I could pass and the accelerator got stuck. I could not stop the car.”

“The vehicle rapidly accelerated without driver intent. The contact shifted into neutral and depressed the brakes until he was able to stop the vehicle.”

Summaries are written with AI from the owner complaints shown on NHTSA's site and checked against them; quotes are word for word.

Recalls (12)

Check a VIN on NHTSA ›
  • NHTSA 16V396000June 20167,749 vehicles

    Seats: front assembly: seat heater/cooler

    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.

    Risk: If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

    Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory.

  • NHTSA 15V689000October 20151,814,284 vehicles

    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 Vibe vehicles. During the manufacturing of the Power Window Master Switch (PWMS), grease lubricant may have been inconsistently applied to the sliding electrical contacts.

    Risk: If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch assembly may overheat and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.

    Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found.

  • NHTSA 14V743000November 20143,233 vehicles

    Seats: front assembly: seat heater/cooler

    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.

    Risk: Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.

    Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 14V168000April 20141,486,413 vehicles

    Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, 2008-2010 Highlander, and 2009-2010 Tacoma, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and General Motors Pontiac Vibe vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the steering column assembly contains electrical connections to the driver's airbag module housed in a spiral cable assembly, which includes a Flexible Flat Cable (FFC). Due to the shape and location of the FFC's retainer, the FFC could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned.

    Risk: If the FFC is damaged, connectivity to the driver's air bag module could be lost and the air bag deactivated. The failure of the driver's air bag to deploy in the event of a crash that typically necessitates deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver.

    Fix: Toyota will notify the Toyota vehicle owners, and General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners.

  • NHTSA 13V396000September 2013133,081 vehicles

    Hybrid propulsion system: inverter

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid vehicles manufactured February 16, 2005, through July 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured February 23, 2005, through December 2, 2008. The Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. If this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel.

    Risk: The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge.

  • NHTSA 12V491000October 20122,519,424 vehicles

    Visibility: power window devices and controls

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Tundra, Sequoia, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Yaris, Scion xB, Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. The power window master switch assemblies in some of these vehicles were built using a less precise process for lubricating the internal components of the switch assemblies. Irregularities in this lubrication process may cause the power window master switch assemblies to malfunction and overheat.

    Risk: If the switch overheats, it may melt, possibly resulting in a fire.

    Fix: Toyota will notify its owners, and dealers will inspect the switch and apply a special grease that inhibits heat build up or replace any switch damaged by the defect, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 11V245000April 2011307,848 vehicles

    Air bags: side/window · Air bags

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 highlander, highlander hybrid, and model year 2007-2008 rav4 vehicles. In the curtain shield airbag (csa) system, there are two sensors in the airbag sensor assembly which are designed to detect vehicle roll angle. If one of these sensors malfunctions, the airbag warning light (malfunction indicator light: mil) will illuminate and the roll detection system will be suspended; however, the airbag csa remains available in the event of a side crash. If both sensors fail nearly simultaneously after initial airbag system check, the csa and the seat belt pretensioner could be inadvertently activated.

    Risk: Inadvertent activation of the csa and/or the seat belt pretensioner can cause injury to a vehicle occupant.

    Fix: Toyota will replace the airbag sensor assembly with a new one containing improved roll rate sensors, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 10V035000February 2010271,417 vehicles

    Equipment: other: labels

    Gulf states toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold between september 1, 2005 and june 2, 2008 without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.

    Risk: This does not meet the standard requirements.

    Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge.

  • NHTSA 10V036000February 2010153,418 vehicles

    Equipment: other: labels

    Southeast toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.

    Risk: A driver may overload a vehicle which may increase the risk of a crash.

    Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge.

  • NHTSA 10V023000January 20101,126,915 vehicles

    Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 highlander, model year 2009-2010 corolla, venza and matrix passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. This recall is an expansion of a campaign of 3.8 million other toyota vehicles announced in 2009 for the same issue (see 09v-388).

    Risk: A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.

    Fix: Toyota will modify or replace the accelerator pedals on the subject vehicles.

  • NHTSA 09V223000June 200927,080 vehicles

    Equipment: other: labels

    Toyota is recalling 27,080 model year 2005 through 2010 passenger cars built from september 1, 2005 to may 4, 2009. These vehicles were not equipped with load carrying capacity modification labels which fails to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims."

    Risk: Incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels could result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Fix: Toyota will notify owners and provide them with a new, accurate label to be installed over the inaccurate label free of charge.

  • NHTSA 08V181000April 200890,189 vehicles

    Seat belts: rear/other

    Toyota is recalling 90,189 my 2008 highlander and highlander hybrid passenger vehicles equipped with a third row seat. These vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." the non-driver designated seating positions (dsp) on these vehicles is equipped with seat belt assemblies that have a feature that converts the retractor from an emergency locking retractor (elr) to an automatic locking retractor (alr). The belts convert to the alr mode after the webbing has been fully withdrawn from the retractor. The system is designed so that as the belt is released into the retractor, the system remains in the alr mode so that a child restraint system (crs) can be tightly secured.

    Risk: However, for the two third row dsp's on these vehicles, the alr mode deactivates before the webbing is fully retracted, so that it will not lock when certain rear-facing crs's that have a short seat belt routing path are installed in the vehicle. This can allow the seat belt webbing to spool out during normal driving maneuvers, which could affect the stability of a child restraint installed at those seating positions. As such, this could discourage the use of a child restraint and in the event of a crash, the child may not be adequately protected possibly resulting in injury.

    Fix: Dealers will install a newly designed seat belt component free of charge.

A recall only helps if the repair was done. Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup before you buy.

Service bulletins

Toyota sent NHTSA 302 service bulletins and other notices to dealers covering the 2008 Highlander. These are repair instructions, not recalls. Warranty extensions and bulletins about its top problem areas:

  • TSB003220 · August 2023TSB: Replacement certification labels (the vinyl label installed on the driver door or door post) and VIN plates (the metal plate riveted to dashboard) (see Figure 1) for most 1979 ?
  • T-SB-0094-21 Rev · November 2022TSB: Some 2005 ?
  • TTT063620 · March 2022TT: Some Toyota vehicles installed with Toyota Complete Maintenance Care (TCMC) brake pads may exhibit a groan or squeak noise in various driving conditions
  • T-SB-0014-22 · March 2022TSB: This Service Bulletin includes procedures to replace damaged or loose front carpet floor retainer(s) without replacing the carpet assembly.
  • Toyota Safety Re · March 2021Toyota Safety Recall and Service Campaign - Technician Certification Requirements
  • T-TT-0636-20 Rev · March 2021TT: Some Toyota vehicles installed with Toyota Complete Maintenance Care (TCMC) brake pads may exhibit a groan or squeak noise in various driving conditions.
  • T-TT-0636-20 · December 2020TT: Some Toyota vehicles installed with Toyota Complete Maintenance Care (TCMC) brake pads may exhibit a groan or squeak noise in various driving conditions.
  • ZKC_Dealer Packa · August 2019Dealer Package: Toyota has received reports regarding the Brake Actuator Assembly and Brake Booster Pump Assembly on certain 2008 - 2010 model year Highlander Hybrid vehicles.

All 2008 Highlander bulletins on NHTSA ›

Questions owners ask

Is the 2008 Toyota Highlander reliable?
Owners filed 182 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Toyota Highlander in its first five years on the road, about 165 for every 100,000 sold: 2.7× the rate of a typical Highlander year. That's more than twice a typical year, across more than one problem area. Ratings compare Highlander years with each other using complaints filed with NHTSA; they don't measure every problem owners have.
What are the most common 2008 Highlander problems?
Owners' complaints most often involve speed control (23%), the brakes (21%) and the air bags (5%). A complaint can name more than one area.
Has the 2008 Toyota Highlander been recalled?
Yes. NHTSA lists 12 recall campaigns for the 2008 Toyota Highlander, the most recent in June 2016 (seats). Enter the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to see whether the repairs were done.

Sources

Owner complaints, recalls and manufacturer communications from NHTSA's public data files, as of September 24, 2026. Complaints are counted once each, over the model year's first 60 months on the road. UsedScore is not affiliated with NHTSA or Toyota. The 2008 Toyota Highlander on NHTSA.gov · How we rate