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Fuel systemPart report

2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Fuel system Problems

Complaints
8about this part
Share
2%of 370 total for the year
Median mileage
107,500miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the fuel system of the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 2% of the 370 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 107,500 miles. 2 a fire, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I was driving the vehicle and heard a loud popping noise on the way to the dealership for recall work. Once the technician opened the inverter case we found the wiring harness for both the inverter and transmission were completely melted and cooked due to a fire inside the inverter. I am now looking at a $15000 repair bill with Toyota and luckily my family and I were not burned alive or in an accident resulting in fatalities.”

NHTSA complaint #10593095, filed 2014-05, 107,500 miles

“I experienced total power loss to the engine and steering of my 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid while driving down the highway. Toyota wants $7000 to replace the hybrid power inverter. Toyota refuses to disclose frequency of this failure. Identical failures can be found in online forums, all with the 2006 highlander or with the 2006 lexus rx 400h. Potentially deadly failure followed by a price gouging repair costs.”

NHTSA complaint #10339590, filed 2010-06, 129,000 miles

“My wife was backing out of our driveway when the car suddenly lost power to the wheels and all of the warning lights came on. She was unable to move the car forward or backward to get the car out of the lane of traffic. We got the car towed to the local Toyota dealership. They informed us that the inverter was bad and we needed a new one. We had received a recall notice about replacing an intelligent power module and had the repairs done jan 9th 2013. The repair shop has said that the replaced part is working and that it is the inverter itself that has gone bad. …”

NHTSA complaint #10537610, filed 2013-08, 105,000 miles

“The case was stopped and placed in parking when the vehicle started moving forward at about 3 MPH. I almost hit a car 5 feet in front of me(at the time I placed the highlander in parking gear) and it ended 6 inches away from the car in the front. I had to step on the brake shift gears from parking to drive. Shift again to parking and while keeping the brakes on I pressed on the parking brake and turned the car off. There was no incline in the street or any decline observable that could have caused the original failure. My wife and my 1 year old child were inside the car when this happened.”

NHTSA complaint #10553576, filed 2013-11, 60,000 miles

“Engine mechanical ~|~check and report...check engine light and vsc light on dash, ,,car lost power while driving, had to pull over and get the vehicle towed in to the dealership... ~|~tech pulled code p0a05,p0a08,p0a93, ...found inverter pump not working properly ~|~replaced inverter water pump”

NHTSA complaint #10715789, filed 2015-05, 71,893 miles

Fuel system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202117%
2018120%
2016117%
2012111%
201029%
200925%
200863%
200787%
200682%

Other parts of the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Brakes
137 complaints
Electrical system
74 complaints
Hybrid propulsion system
45 complaints
Vehicle speed control
33 complaints
Engine cooling
28 complaints
Engine
25 complaints
Steering
25 complaints
Electronic stability control
24 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
19 complaints
Exterior lighting
15 complaints
Other or unknown
12 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
10 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology