Top Safety Pick

2019 Toyota Highlander

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Headlights
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system	Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

Evaluation criteria	Rating
LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Standard lane departure warning & prevention

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2016-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Toyota Highlander LE 4-door 4wd

The Toyota Highlander was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Beginning with 2016 models, the driver-side A-pillar, door sill, and door internal structure were reinforced to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Despite considerable intrusion of the lower portion of the door hinge pillar, risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1605
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	24
Footrest (cm)	14
Left toepan (cm)	5
Brake pedal (cm)	3
Parking brake (cm)	23
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	6
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	2
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	8
Upper dash (cm)	13
Lower instrument panel (cm)	11

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1605
Head
HIC-15	65
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	8
Maximum Nij	0.18
Chest maximum compression (mm)	24
Femur (kN)
Left	2.8
Right	1.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	7
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.52
Right	0.36
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	2.2
Right	1.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	69
Right	42

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2014-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 Toyota Highlander LE 4-door 4wd

The Toyota Highlander was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Although Toyota reinforced the structure starting with the 2016 model year on the driver side to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes, no such changes were made on the passenger side.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the passenger-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame and dashboard after the crash test indicates that the passenger's survival space was not maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Despite intrusion of the dashboard and door hinge pillar, risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEP1810
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	29
Footrest (cm)	19
Right toepan (cm)	11
Center toepan (cm)	3
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	10
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm)	9
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	14
Upper dash (cm)	15
Right lower dash (cm)	14

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEP1810
Head
HIC-15	118
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	9
Maximum Nij	0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm)	18
Femur (kN)
Left	0.5
Right	3.6
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	5
Right	10
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	1
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.48
Right	0.74
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	0.1
Right	0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	63
Right	53

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEP1810
Head
HIC-15	45
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.15
Chest maximum compression (mm)	30
Femur (kN)
Left	1.3
Right	1.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	4
Right	2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.37
Right	0.37
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.3
Right	0.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	40
Right	37

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Toyota Highlander LE Plus 4-door 4wd

The Toyota Highlander was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1318
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	6
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	7
Right (cm)	7
Brake pedal (cm)	1
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	1
Right (cm)	1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	6
Rearward (cm)	0
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1318
Head
HIC-15	213
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm)	17
Maximum Nij	0.31
Chest maximum compression (mm)	29
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.6
Femur force - right (kN)	1.8
Knee displacement - left (mm)	2
Knee displacement - right (mm)	4
Maximum tibia index - left	0.46
Maximum tibia index - right	0.48
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.3
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	63
Right	99

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Toyota Highlander XLE 4-door 4wd with standard head curtain airbags for all three rows of seats and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Toyota Highlander was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1311
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-18.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1311
Head HIC-15	167
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.6
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	44
Lateral force (kN)	1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	28
Average deflection (mm)	25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.56
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.31
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.5
Combined force (kN)	2.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.2
L-M moment (Nm)	49
A-P moment (Nm)	42

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1311
Head HIC-15	63
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	30
Lateral force (kN)	1.1
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	24
Average deflection (mm)	20
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.76
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.27
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.4
Combined force (kN)	1.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	68
A-P moment (Nm)	-40

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2014-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Toyota Highlander LE Plus 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	4,414 lbs
Peak force	23,836 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	5.40

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm)	16
Distance below top of head (mm)	2
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	12.9
Head contact time (ms)	56
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	335

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Trim level(s)

LE trim
LE Plus trim
XLE trim
SE trim
Limited trim
Hybrid LE trim
Hybrid XLE trim
Hybrid Limited trim

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen projector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was fair on the gradual right curve and inadequate on the sharp right and both left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and all 4 curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	LE trim LE Plus trim XLE trim SE trim Limited trim Hybrid LE trim Hybrid XLE trim Hybrid Limited trim
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen projector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2017-19 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	88.5 m	None
Straightaway left edge	53.2 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	51.2 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	45.0 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	42.6 m	7.3%
150m radius left curve, left edge	38.8 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	169.6 m
Straightaway left edge	151.4 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	65.7 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	63.6 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	49.7 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	48.1 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2017-19 models

Superior

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 24 mph.

About the original front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2017-19 models

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	LE Plus
Seat type	cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 2 additional seating positions with a tether anchor only.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	LE Plus
Seat type	cloth

Rating icon	Rating
G	Good
A	Acceptable
M	Marginal
P	Poor
	Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol	Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol	Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

Position	Rating
1
1	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
2
2	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	none available
3
3	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
5
5	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	none available

Technical measurements for this test

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	5
Clearance angle (degrees)	88
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	8
Clearance angle (degrees)	85
Tether anchor
Location	Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present	Yes
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location	Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present	Yes
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	6
Clearance angle (degrees)	91
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	4
Clearance angle (degrees)	87
Tether anchor
Location	Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present	Yes
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location	Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present	Yes
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation