Mazda MAZDA6 vs Toyota Highlander

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Mazda MAZDA6	Toyota Highlander
Complaints on file	2,942	7,196
Model years covered	2002–2021	1997–2026
Worst model year	2014	2021
Best model year	2021	2025
Crashes reported	191	704
Fires reported	37	88
Injuries reported	112	384
Deaths reported	2	10
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	11.6%	16.5%

Mazda MAZDA6 by year

40 245 197 180 207 184 121 529 318 186 128 34 196 78 112 77 82 6 3 19

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Airbags 638 21.7%

Body & Structure 298 10.1%

Engine & Cooling 235 8.0%

Electrical System 231 7.9%

Suspension 225 7.6%

Other & Unspecified 224 7.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 203 6.9%

Brakes 155 5.3%

Toyota Highlander by year

1 1 158 335 316 337 289 348 159 502 178 272 229 230 282 162 254 138 371 357 633 372 638 320 238 59 13 4

97 98 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 1,021 14.2%

Brakes 753 10.5%

Engine & Cooling 718 10.0%

Electrical System 627 8.7%

Other & Unspecified 615 8.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 531 7.4%

Body & Structure 453 6.3%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 447 6.2%