2018 Toyota Highlander Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2018 Toyota Highlander has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 3,363,189 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 342 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 20V682000 2020-11-04 1,525,742 affected
Defect

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 4Runner, 2019-2020 Avalon, 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2017-2019 Highlander, 2018-2020 Camry, 2020 Corolla, 2018-2019 Land Cruiser, 2017-2020 Tacoma, 2019-2020 RAV4, 2019-2020 Sequoia, 2017-2020 Sienna, 2019-2020 Tundra, 2018-2020 Lexus…

Consequence

If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly with an improved one, free of charge. Owners of specific models were notified that remedy parts were available starting January 21, 2021. Owners of other models will be notified as remedy parts become available. Remedy parts should be…

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 20V012000 2020-01-13 1,830,752 affected
Defect

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) recalled certain 2018-2019 4Runner, Highlander, Camry, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra, and Lexus RC 300, RC 350, GS 350, GX 460, IS 300, LC 500, LS 500, LX 570, RX 350L, and 2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla, and certain Lexus NX 300, and ES 350…

Consequence

If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began May 4, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB02 and 20TA02 for Toyota vehicles and 20LB01 and 20LA01…

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 18V211000 2018-04-03 6,046 affected
Defect

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018 Toyota Camry and Highlander vehicles, 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles and 2017 Lexus RX350 vehicles. During the manufacturing process, the oil galley in the rotor for the brake booster vacuum pump assembly may have been improperly…

Consequence

A sudden loss of braking assist can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake booster vacuum pump, free of charge. The recall began on May 9, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371, or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0K/JLD.

EQUIPMENT 17V831000 2017-12-20 649 affected
Defect

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Toyota 4Runner and Tundra, 2018 Toyota Highlander, RAV4 and Lexus GX460 and 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles. These vehicles may have incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels. As such, these vehicles fail to comply…

Consequence

An incorrect load information label can result in the operator overloading the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Toyota will notify owners and provide them with corrected labels, free of charge. The recall began on January 23, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are H0Z for Toyota vehicles, and HLF for Lexus vehicles.

Complaints by component

POWER TRAIN
58
SERVICE BRAKES
53
9crashes4injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
40
4crashes3injuries
ENGINE
31
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
24
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
21
1crashes
AIR BAGS
19
15crashes19injuries
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
12
STEERING
10
STRUCTURE:BODY
10
3crashes3injuries
Total complaints342

What owners report

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

“The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 toyota highlander. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a clunking sound coming from the front driver’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the owner was informed that the struts needed to be replaced.…”

SUSPENSION · reported 2026-06-24

“The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 toyota highlander. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a clunking sound coming from the front driver’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the owner was informed that the struts needed to be replaced.…”

STRUCTURE · reported 2026-06-24

“Complaint: I am writing to report a transmission defect in my 2018 toyota highlander awd (ua80 8-speed automatic transmission). Prior to the check engine light illuminating, I noticed a burning smell coming from the vehicle. Subsequently, the following fault codes were retrieved: •p0741 –…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2026-06-02

“Transmission failure (whining noise similar to the well-documented issue with ua80f 8-speed transmissions). I reported the noise and requested a specific diagnosis at approximately 95k miles --- no warning lamps/warnings were visible, just noticeable noise while driving without the radio on. On…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2026-05-22

“Ua80f transmission failure at 100k miles for the 2018 toyota highlander se. No warning lights, engine noise (high pitched whine while driving). Took to the dealer and was told the transmission needed to be replaced.”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2026-05-11

“The transmission went on my 2018 toyota highlander. The other day as I was driving on highway, lost power as I was driving in neutral. I went from 70mph to 10 or less mph, would not accelerate. All of a sudden all warning lights. Check awd, check engine light came on, many messages at once. There…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2026-05-08

“My car had around 52,930 miles on it when the transmission suddenly went out and left me stranded in [xxx]. I always took my car to the north hollywood toyota dealership regularly, twice a year since I bought the car for regular service maintenance. When I was quoted nearly $7,000 to replace the…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2026-05-03

“First symptom I noticed was the car smell while it was running. I used a device to see what codes of any would pop up on a scan. It came up with codes tying into the fuel system. I then went to go fill up on gas couple days later and when going to start it back up it wouldn’t start. When it did…”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2026-05-01
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 2018 Toyota Highlander as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.