2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Typical pattern

2.8% of complaints about the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2006 vehicle — around the middle of the 250 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 7.0 yr in service. The most-reported system is service brakes (76 complaints), typically at 10.8 yr or about 138,000 miles.

Complaints: 422
Median age at failure: 7.0 yr
Median mileage: 107,500 n=387
Crash / fire / tow: 12.3% of reports
Safety recalls: 6

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Service brakes

76 reports · 138,000 mi

10.8 yr

6.6%

Electrical system

71 reports · 117,000 mi

6.3 yr

5.6%

Hybrid propulsion system

45 reports · 108,000 mi

5.8 yr

6.7%

Engine cooling

28 reports · 92,100 mi

4.8 yr

10.7%

Steering

25 reports · 105,000 mi

6.2 yr

Engine

25 reports · 115,000 mi

8.0 yr

12%

Speed control

24 reports · 86,340 mi

8.1 yr

37.5%

Electronic stability control (esc)

24 reports · 122,000 mi

11.7 yr

4.2%

Service brakes, hydraulic

18 reports · 50,000 mi

5.2 yr

27.8%

Power train

17 reports · 107,500 mi

6.6 yr

11.8%

Exterior lighting

15 reports · 75,000 mi

5.6 yr

26.7%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

13V396000 2013-09-04

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 lig

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.

11V539000 2011-11-09

Engine cooling

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 AVALON VEHICLES; 2004 AND 2005 CAMRY, CAMRY SOLARA, HIGHLANDER, AND SIENNA VEHICLES, 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID; 2004 AND 2005 LEXUS ES330 AND RX330; AND 2006 LEXUS RX400H VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 1, 2004 THROUGH MARCH 31, 2005, EQUIPPED WITH THE 1MZ-FE OR 3MZ-FE ENGINE. THE AMOUNT OF ADHESIVE AGENT APPLIED BETWEEN THE OUTER RING AND THE TORSIONAL RUBBER DAMPER (INNER RING) IN THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY MAY BE INADEQUATE. IF THE ADHESIVE IS INSUFFICIENT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE OUTER RING MAY BECOME MISALIGNED AND IT MAY NOT PROPERLY ROTATE W

IN SOME CASES, THE BELT FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE PULLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND A SUDDEN INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

11V342000 2011-06-29

Electrical system

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2007 HIGHLANDER HYBRID AND LEXUS RX400H PASSENGER CARS MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 16, 2005, THROUGH AUGUST 30, 2006. A MODULE INSIDE THE INVERTER MODULE MAY CONTAIN INADEQUATELY SOLDERED TRANSISTORS THAT DURING HIGH-LOAD DRIVING, MAY BE DAMAGED BY HEAT CAUSED BY THE LARGE CURRENT. 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.

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.

11V112000 2011-02-24

Vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 HIGHLANDER, HIGHLANDER HYBRID, AND MODEL YEAR 2004-2007 LEXUS RX330, RX350, AND RX400H VEHICLES. IF THE FORWARD RETENTION CLIP USED TO SECURE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, WHICH IS LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE CENTER CONSOLE, IS NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARM.

IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY TEMPORARILY BECOME STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION RATHER THAN RETURN TO THE IDLE POSITION. A STUCK ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN UNINTENDED AND SUSTAINED VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

09V223000 2009-06-15

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."

INCORRECT LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY MODIFICATION LABELS COULD RESULT IN THE VEHICLE BEING OVERLOADED, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

06V253000 2006-07-13

Vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY AND HYBRID VEHICLES, THE TWO RETAINING CLIPS FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE FORWARD CENTER CONSOLE CAN BECOME LOOSE. IF BOTH CLIPS SEPARATE FROM THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, CAUSING INTERFERENCE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ROD.

THIS CONDITION MAY INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL RETURNING TO THE IDLE POSITION INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling 1,450 mi 5 mo in service

2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 4WD HYBRID STALLED DURING LEFT TURN (IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC) WHEN TRAVELING TO WORK. BOTH THE GAS AND ELECTRIC ENGINE STALLED - I.E. I PUSHED THE GAS AND NOTHING HAPPENED. TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTED, AND EVERYTHING HAS WORKED WELL SINCE (4 DAYS). *NM

Engine cooling 100,140 mi 3.0 yr in service

MY 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID SUDDENLY STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. THE CAR WAS LATER TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALER IN HANFORD,CA. THE CAR HAS 140 MILES OVER 100,000 MILES AND THE DEALER TOLD ME IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE HYBRID SYSTEM WAS LATER POINTED OUT TO THE INVERTER AND IT WILL COST ME ROUGHLY $5,000. *TR

Engine cooling 31,000 mi 3.0 yr in service

UPON ACCELERATION THE 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID 2 WD SUDDENLY AND RAPIDLY ACCELERATED. THIS HAPPENED ONCE IN REVERSE AND ONCE IN DRIVE BOTH TIMES THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED AT ONSET. IT HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN THUS FAR (2 DAYS AGO). THE SUV WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP YESTERDAY WHERE THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG. I AM NOW AWARE THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE WITH TOYOTA'S, ESP THE CAMRY, UPON WHICH THE HIGHLANDER IS BASED. *TR

Power train 500 mi 0 mo in service

SINCE I OWNED THE CAR IN SPEEDS BETWEEN 40 AND 45 MPH THERE IS A HESITATION BACK AND FOURTH THIS IS A HYBRID HIGHLANDER 2006 REPORTED IT TWICE NO FIX YET. *NM

Other Highlander Hybrid model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.