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#BS-2018-TOYHIG-6E03

2018 Toyota Highlander

Based on reports from 324 owners and 5 recalls for this exact model.

Complaints
324
Crashes
38
Fires
1
Recalls
5
TSBs
253
🟡

Preliminary Verdict

Think Twice

Based on 324 complaints, 38 crashes, 1 fires, and 5 recalls.

See full verdict with buy/skip conditions

Top reported problems

1

premature brake wear

3 complaints • Severity 8/10

$X,XXX
2

wiring chewed by rodent

1 complaints • Severity 10/10

$X,XXX
3

oil leak from timing chain cover

1 complaints • Severity 10/10

$X,XXX

Preview: What's in your full report

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Mechanic Inspection Checklist

!Check the BrakesHIGH

58 owners reported brakes issues — failures commonly reported around 15K miles.

!Inspect the DrivetrainMED
Look for symptoms of wear and premature failure
+ 6 more items in full checklistUnlock

Failure Timeline by Mileage

102
0–30K
27
30–60K
10
60–90K
4
90–120K
1
120–150K
7
150K+

Peak failure range: 0–30K miles (102 reports) • Median: 15K miles

Full report: which components fail at each mileageUnlock

30,000-Mile Cost Projection

Best Case

$X,XXX

Most Likely

$X,XXX

Worst Case

$X,XXX

Top cost driver: Brakes (58 reports).

Includes fuel costs, common repairs, and recall riskUnlock

Also in your report

Owner Intelligence

AI-synthesized themes from real complaints

Buyer Lot Checklist

Questions, test drive checks, walk-away triggers

Negotiation Talking Points

Data-backed dollar deductions

Buy / Skip Verdict

Final recommendation with conditions

10 sections total in the full reportUnlock all

Where the complaints fall

Brakes58 (18%)
Drivetrain47 (15%)
Other39 (12%)
Fuel System32 (10%)
Engine31 (10%)
Electrical24 (7%)
Airbags18 (6%)
Structure:body10 (3%)

2018 Toyota Highlander: Known Issues & Problem Areas

Brakes Issues

Brakes complaints account for 18% of all reports filed for the 2018 Toyota Highlander, with 58 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. The median mileage at time of complaint is 15,000 miles, suggesting issues tend to surface around the 15K-mile mark.

Drivetrain Issues

Drivetrain complaints account for 15% of all reports filed for the 2018 Toyota Highlander, with 47 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. Owners should pay attention to drivetrain-related symptoms during test drives and pre-purchase inspections.

Fuel System Issues

Fuel System complaints account for 10% of all reports filed for the 2018 Toyota Highlander, with 32 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. Owners should pay attention to fuel system-related symptoms during test drives and pre-purchase inspections.

Engine Issues

Engine complaints account for 10% of all reports filed for the 2018 Toyota Highlander, with 31 owners filing complaints with NHTSA. Owners should pay attention to engine-related symptoms during test drives and pre-purchase inspections.

Data sourced from NHTSA owner complaints and community reports. The full report analyzes severity, repair costs, and failure patterns for each category.

Complaint trend by year

30
18
43
19
59
20
36
21
35
22
34
23
40
24
29
25
18
26

Complaints filed with NHTSA by year for the 2018 Toyota Highlander. Recent trend: decreasing.

Don't negotiate blind — know what this car costs to own

Repair costs • Negotiation scripts • Mechanic checklist • Buy/skip verdict

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Recall History (5 recalls)

17V831000Jan 2018

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

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 with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

18E107000Jan 2019

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

Fujian Wanda Automobile Glass Industry (Wanda) is recalling certain aftermarket Replacement Windshields sold for use in 2014-2018 Toyota Highlander vehicles. The windshields have an attached wire harness that water may leak into, possibly causing damage to the vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM).

18V211000May 2018

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM

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 machined possibly resulting in a sudden loss of brake assist.

20V012000May 2020

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

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 vehicles on January 13, 2020. On March 4, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include certain 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser, 2018 Avalon, Corolla, 2014 FJ Cruiser, 2017 Sienna and Lexus 2018 ES 350, 2018-2019 GS 300, 2013-2014 GS350, 2014-2015 GX 460, IS 350 and LX 570, 2014 IS F, 2018-2019 IS 350, LC 500H and LS 500H, 2013-2015 LS 460, 2015 NX 200T and RC350, 2017 RC 200T and RX 350. Toyota also removed the 2018-2019 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser and 2018-2019 Lexus GX 460 and LX 570 and 2019 NX300 from inclusion in this recall. On March 19, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include 2015 Lexus GS350 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

20V682000Jan 2021

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

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 ES350, 2017 Lexus GS200t, 2017-2019 Lexus GS350, 2019 Lexus GS300, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500h, 2019-2020 Lexus LS500, 2018-2019 Lexus GX460, 2017 Lexus IS200t, 2019 Lexus IS300, 2019 Lexus IS350, 2018-2020 Lexus LC500, 2018 Lexus LS500, 2019 Lexus LS500h, 2018-2019 Lexus LX570, 2017 Lexus RC200t, 2019 Lexus RC300, RC350, 2017 and 2019-2020 Lexus RX350, 2018-2020 RX350L, 2019 Lexus UX200, 2018-2019 Lexus NX300 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Recall severity analysis & seller scripts

The full report rates each recall's severity and gives you scripts for asking the seller about recall completion.

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The worst model year for the Toyota Highlander is the 2003 — worth knowing if you're cross-shopping years. The biggest problem area is engine.

2018 Toyota Highlander vs. Class Average (Small Sport Utility Vehicle 2WD)

This vehicle

324

Class avg

436

Complaint volume is roughly in line with other small sport utility vehicle 2wd vehicles from 2018.

Complaint counts correlate with sales volume — popular vehicles naturally generate more reports. The full report normalizes for this.

About this data

NHTSA Complaints

Federal database of owner-filed safety complaints. 324 records for this vehicle.

NHTSA Recalls

Manufacturer-issued safety recalls. 5 recalls found for this vehicle.

Repair Cost Data

Real-world repair costs from owner reports and independent databases.

Other Toyota Highlander Model Years

20252024202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997
View all Toyota Highlander years →

2018 Toyota Highlander: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common problem with the 2018 Toyota Highlander?
The most commonly reported issue with the 2018 Toyota Highlander is related to the brakes, with 58 complaints filed with NHTSA.
Is the 2018 Toyota Highlander reliable?
The 2018 Toyota Highlander has 324 complaints, 38 crash reports, and 1 fire reports filed with NHTSA. The full report analyzes whether these numbers indicate real risk or are proportional to the vehicle’s popularity.
How much does it cost to fix 2018 Toyota Highlander problems?
Repair costs vary by issue. The full BumperScan report includes detailed repair cost estimates (low/median/high) for every major issue, plus a 30,000-mile total cost of ownership projection.
Does the 2018 Toyota Highlander have any recalls?
Yes, the 2018 Toyota Highlander has 5 recalls on record. The full report includes recall severity analysis and scripts for asking the seller about recall completion.
What mileage do Toyota Highlander problems start?
Based on 151 complaints with mileage data, the median mileage at time of complaint is 15,000 miles. The highest concentration of reported issues occurs in the 0–30K mile range. The full report breaks down exactly which components fail at each mileage bracket.
What’s in the full report?
10 sections of AI analysis: severity-ranked issues, component scores (0-100), 30K-mile cost projection, failure timeline by mileage, recall details with seller scripts, owner sentiment analysis, mechanic checklist, buyer lot checklist, negotiation ammo with dollar figures, and a buy/skip verdict.
How is this different from free NHTSA data?
NHTSA gives you raw complaint text. BumperScan cross-references 2.1M+ complaints with community repair cost data, EPA fuel data, and recall records — then uses AI to synthesize it into actionable advice with dollar figures.
How is this different from Carfax?
Carfax is VIN-specific history ($45/report). BumperScan is model-level reliability intelligence — what problems this car is known for, what they cost, and whether you should buy it. Complementary, not competing.
What if the report isn’t useful?
100% money-back guarantee. If the report doesn’t help you make a more informed decision, we’ll refund you — no questions asked.
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10 sections of AI analysis based on 324 owner reports. Know before you buy.

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