Toyota Highlander Recall for Seat Back Issue
Areazine synthesizes this NHTSA vehicle recall directly from NHTSA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Toyota is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles due to potential failure of second-row seat backs to lock properly, which could increase injury risk in crashes.
What this NHTSA vehicle recall tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by NHTSA on April 9, 2026 and geographically references United States. Its severity classification of "high" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Vehicle Recalls - determines the consumer-protection framework behind it, which shapes what remedies (refunds, replacements, repairs, or the recall itself) are available to affected consumers and which agency holds statutory responsibility for enforcement.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to read it as a data point about the issuing system: how quickly NHTSA detected the hazard, how precise the geographic or product-identifier scope is, and whether similar notices have clustered in the same category or region in the last 90 days. Cluster patterns frequently precede a broader regulatory action, a single localized NHTSA vehicle recall is isolated; three of them within a quarter often indicate a supply-chain, infrastructure, or seasonal driver that will keep producing notices until something structural changes.
For decision-making, Areazine pairs each alert with the original agency URL, the full agency name, and a timestamp so you can verify the notice against the primary source before acting on it. Tags on this item (recall, product-safety, nhtsa, Vehicle) map to related alerts in the same area of risk - browsing them together gives a clearer picture than any single notice alone, because the shape of an ongoing issue only becomes visible across multiple sequential alerts.
Toyota Highlander Recall
What Happened
Toyota is recalling certain 2021-2024 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles because the second-row seat backs may fail to lock into position during seat back adjustment.
Which Products Are Affected
The recall affects approximately 550,007 units of 2021-2024 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles. Specific models include Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid from model years 2021 through 2024, as listed in the recall details.
What You Should Do
Owners should wait for notification letters expected to be mailed on April 20, 2026. Dealers will replace the return springs in the seat back recliner assemblies free of charge. For more information, contact Toyota’s customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's recall numbers are 26TB06 and 26TA06.
Why This Matters
A seat back that fails to lock may not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Source
This recall information is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), recall number 26V128000. For more details, visit the NHTSA website at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Original source: NHTSA Official Notice ↗
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Common questions about this NHTSA vehicle recall.