Everything NHTSA's vPIC database knows about this exact vehicle:
Decoding from NHTSA…
Vehicle history — accidents, title & owners
The decode above is what this vehicle is. For what it's been through — accidents, title brands, odometer, theft/total-loss and previous owners — pull a full history report.
NHTSA publishes the first 11 characters of the VIN with every complaint — that identifies the plant, model year, body and engine. So these are reports from cars built exactly like this one, not an average across the whole model.
5TDHZRAH3MS••••••2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER
This build draws 1.7× more complaints than the average 2021 Toyota HIGHLANDER build (4 vs 2).
4on this build
470on the model
194builds in total
Most reportedPower Train 3Structure 1
What owners of this build wrote
Power TrainJun 2026
Transmission makes a metallic whining sound when you accelerate. Associated and confirmed to be transmission failure. Vehicle has 65,000 miles on it and failure is considered premature. The specific transmission, UA80, is known to have manufacturing defects that cause this…
StructureMay 2021
After leaving my hotel in San Diego in the early dense foggy morning. I pulled over to help a kid who looked like he was just hit by a car or something. I put my 2021 less than 1500 miles at the time Highlander in park. The kid walked up to my rig, I being a single female,…
Power TrainMay 2025
When our vehicle reached about 70,500 miles (10,000 miles past when the powertrain warranty expired), the vehicle started making high-pitched whining noises when the gas pedal was depressed. We brought it to the Toyota dealership and were advised that the vehicle's transmission…
Power TrainMay 2025
The transmission started making a whirring and grinding noise so I took it into the mechanic who notified me that Toyota put out a TSB on this issue in February 2021. I leased this vehicle in April 2021 and it was never disclosed to me that I would experience a transmission…
Owner complaints…
Now the whole model — all 194 builds of it, not just this build. Same NHTSA reports, wider net:
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Full research report as a PDF you can hand to a mechanic
Decoded via NHTSA vPIC. Recalls, complaints and safety from NHTSA; MPG from EPA fueleconomy.gov. Full history reports from our partner. VIN 5TDHZRAH3MS529687 · decoded Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by Denis Kataev, founder of ForCar.