2017 Toyota Highlander · symptom sheet
Engine stalls or loses power while driving
- 48owner reports
- 44,000median miles
- $5,400median quote
- 0involved a crash
Newest report Aug 27, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
173 of the 267 complaints on this car are about the electrical system. 48 of those describe stalling, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2017 Highlander.
Tick what matches of 48 reports
Stalling on other Highlander years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024.
What this problem usually is
Stalling reports are some of the most alarming on the site. The engine quits while the car is moving, sometimes on a highway and sometimes at a stop. Many owners say it restarted right away and the dealer found no stored code, which is part of why these complaints pile up before anything gets fixed.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the battery (14 reports), the fuel pump (9 reports) and the alternator (4 reports).
Recalls and investigations
2 recalls on the electrical system cover the 2017 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
The windshields have an attached wire harness that water may leak into, possibly causing damage to the vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM).
All 4 recalls on the 2017 Toyota Highlander, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
NHTSA investigations into the electrical system on the Highlander
Unintended and uncontrolled acceleration. Closed mar 1, 2011, led to recall 11V-112.
Engine seizure. Closed jun 20, 2002.
None of these investigations covers the 2017 model year.
What owners paid
15 of the 48 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $450 to $7,500.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 19,665 and 85,000 miles, from the 27 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 1 service bulletin or notice for the 2017 Toyota Highlander that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
TT: Some customers may experience several conditions caused by the Crank Position Sensor including, rough engine idle/running, MIL "ON", limp mode, a start and stop system failure to restart or stalling after starting.
What owners wrote
“When stopped at a stop light and using the auto off feature the Highlander stalls. The automatic shutoff repeatedly keeps draining the battery unless I manually turn the automatic shutoff feature off so it does not shut off when the vehicle is stopped. This has continued to happen over the last year and a half.”
Filed Jul 22, 2023
“Car shut down multiple times while driving. Car lost steering and all power then somehow came back to life without me touching anything. Itâs as if the car decides to shut down when All Wheel Drive kicks in. First the entertainment system shuts down and then the entire car shuts down.”
Filed Nov 11, 2022
“It being 4 time that the car shut off by itself while My wife driving in the middle of road and it wonât start the first time happer last year,second tine around April or may, third time yesterday 8/31/21,and today 9/01/21”
Filed Sep 1, 2021
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 0 of 48 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Paid for this repair before a recall covered it? How recall reimbursement works
Other problems on this car
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 29 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 25 reports
- Battery dies or the car will not start 25 reports