2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,958,125 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 26 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

VISIBILITY 15V689000 2015-10-22 1,814,284 affected
Defect

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. …

Consequence

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.

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found. If abnormality is found, the PWMS circuit board will be replaced, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 20, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's…

HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM 13V396000 2013-09-04 133,081 affected
Defect

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…

Consequence

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.

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.

EQUIPMENT 13V123000 2013-04-09 7,525 affected
Defect

Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza,…

Consequence

An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.

Remedy

Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

SEATS 13V014000 2013-01-16 3,235 affected
Defect

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla,…

Consequence

If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Remedy

Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Complaints by component

SERVICE BRAKES
5
ENGINE
3
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2
HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTER
2
STEERING
2
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
1
EQUIPMENT
1
Total complaints26

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“The hybrid inverter failed when accelerating from a red light. A loud clunk was heard and the car would not move forward. The engine was still running but car would not accelerate and had to be pushed out of the road. "check hybrid system" warning flashed. Car was towed to a dealer who confirmed…”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2019-06-23

“All doors and hatch do not lock with the key fob or with the power locks on both the passenger and driver side doors.”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2019-02-11

“Abs - code -1391,this is second time,first time(2016) was changed this part -44510-48080”

SERVICE BRAKES · reported 2018-10-24

“While using the tailgate close button on the key fob,car shut off and parked, a loud bang was heard while the door was closing and the door jammed, slightly opened and immovable. Had to take the car to a certified toyota repair facility to get the closing servo disconnected so the door would shut.…”

STRUCTURE:BODY · reported 2018-10-23

“I almost got in to an accident on 5/11/2018 due to the abs system not stopping the vehicle while driving in I-95. I got a warning light on the dash as I was pressing the brakes, later the car did not wanted to stop, but it did not prevent me from hitting the other car. I press on the emergency…”

SERVICE BRAKES · reported 2018-05-11

“Defective intermediate steering shaft. Clunking, etc. Seems dangerous, no recall.... This is one complaint to add to the numerous others. Toyota, when are you going to do something about this?”

STEERING · reported 2018-02-01

“I was driving to pick up my son when a brake malfunction warning light came on indicating a problem with abs system. After picking up my son I went directly to the dealer and the found the problem was given by code c1391, a brake accumulator vacuum leak. Was told vehicle was unsafe to drive…”

SERVICE BRAKES · reported 2017-11-25

“Very common problem is being reported in all of the highlanders of 2008 forward. At low mileage, the steering column has a bearing in it called a stub shaft but apparently gets loose leaving to a clunk and looseness in the steering. It is so common that our dealer has to keep multiple replacement…”

STEERING · reported 2016-02-23

Defect investigations

Investigation DP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07

Pedestrian alert sounds

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…

Investigation EA18006 Opened 2018-11-16 · closed 2024-04-02

Steering Column Separation

On November 16, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an Engineering Analysis (EA18-006) as an upgrade to a Preliminary Evaluation (PE18-005).  The investigation focused on allegations of steering wheel separation from the lower steering column after using the tilt and/or telescoping mechanism.…

Investigation EA18006 Opened 2018-11-16 · closed 2024-04-02

Steering Column Separation

On November 16, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an Engineering Analysis (EA18-006) as an upgrade to a Preliminary Evaluation (PE18-005).  The investigation focused on allegations of steering wheel separation from the lower steering column after using the tilt and/or telescoping mechanism.…

Investigation PE18005 Opened 2018-05-04 · closed 2018-11-20

Upper Steering Column Separation

On May 4, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE18-005 to investigate three allegations of steering column separation for Model Year (MY) 2008 through 2013 Toyota Highlander vehicles. Two (2) of the 3 complaints were received by ODI in April 2018 and occurred while the…

Investigation PE18005 Opened 2018-05-04 · closed 2018-11-20

Upper Steering Column Separation

On May 4, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE18-005 to investigate three allegations of steering column separation for Model Year (MY) 2008 through 2013 Toyota Highlander vehicles. Two (2) of the 3 complaints were received by ODI in April 2018 and occurred while the…

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.