Problems · by component
2015 Toyota Highlander structure problems
32 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2015 Toyota Highlander cite structure, 17% of all 193 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
32
17% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the structure
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The paint is severely peeling on the outside. This can likely flake off and damages other vehicles, property, and roadway infrastructure. This is the factory coat of paint. Color is Toyota Blizzard Pearl (070)”
“The factory paint on my 2015 Toyota Highlander, Blizzard Pearl (Toyota code 070), is delaminating from the primer. The base coat lifts and peels in sheets, starting on the roof, fender, and pillars — the panels with the greatest UV exposure. There has been no collision, repaint, or chemical damage; this is spontaneous adhesion loss between the factory base coat and primer. First noticed 5/5/2026 at ~137,193 miles, it has spread across the roof and pillars, with the largest piece so far (~4"x2") flying off the vehicle. Delamination lines radiating under the paint indicate more will detach, and the defect affects all painted surfaces. On 7/20/2026, while driving at highway speed, a large paint chip detached from the passenger-side A-pillar and flew off, directly witnessed by my passenger. Paint released from a moving vehicle poses a road hazard to trailing vehicles, and further detachment events are likely. This is a known manufacturing defect in Toyota's 070 Blizzard Pearl paint. Toyota acknowledged the identical defect — UV-related adhesion failure between primer and base coat — in Customer Support Program ZKG, covering the Camry, Corolla, Avalon, 4Runner,…”
“The paint is severely peeling on the outside. This can likely flake off and damages other vehicles, property, and roadway infrastructure. This is the factory coat of paint. Color is Toyota Blizzard Pearl (070)”
“The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the power liftgate consistently failed halfway through while opening and closing the liftgate. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact became aware of information online about Technical Service Bulletin: SB0023/16, NHTSA ID Number: 10134306 (Structure, Electrical System); and associated the failure with the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the vehicle was not covered under warranty, TSB, or a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.”
“Paint is peeling off my car, This is confirmed by Toyota it was covered by the Consumer Support program which expired in July however the paint did not start peeling off until last week.Toyota said that there wasn't anything they could do. this is clearly a manufacture defect and should be repair by Toyota at no charge to me.”
“We have a 2019 Toyota Highlander. VIN: [XXX] . There are two issues with this vehicle... 1) Our bumper fell down after an uneventful car wash. We didn't hit anything. Reported it to the car wash place (Ollie's Car Wash in Walker, LA) after we noticed it fell. We had to tie-strap it back up because the clips no longer worked right. This happened August 12, 2023. We have pictures of the damage. 2) A second issue is totally separate from the first. This one has to do with the back lifting door. It often gets stuck to where we have to manually force it closed. We have to reset the button often. Sometimes it gets stuck open and sometimes it won't open at all.”
Showing 6 of 32 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.