Toyota Expands Highlander Recall to 52,750 Vehicles in Canada — Don't Use the Second-Row Seats Yet

Toyota has sharply expanded a Canadian safety recall covering the second-row seatback recliners in Highlander and Highlander Hybrid SUVs. The new Transport Canada notice, posted September 10-11, 2026, grows the recall to 52,750 vehicles from model years 2021 to 2025 — an increase of 12,853 over the previous notice, which covered roughly 40,000 units from 2021-2023.

Transport Canada says the new recall replaces the earlier one entirely, after the defect was identified as potentially present in 2024 and 2025 model-year vehicles as well.

What the defect is

According to the recall notice issued by Transport Canada, the seatback recliners for the second-row seats "may not have been manufactured properly." As a result, "the seatback(s) may not lock in position and could move in a crash… A seatback that moves could increase the risk of injury in a crash," the notice says.

Toyota's guidance to owners is unusually direct: do not use the second-row seats to transport passengers until the recall repair is completed. Given that the second row of a three-row family SUV is frequently used for child seats and younger passengers, that precaution is the practical headline of the whole notice. Toyota has not been made aware of any injuries linked to the defect.

The fix

• Repair: dealership technicians replace the return springs in the second-row seatback recliner assemblies with improved ones.
• Cost: free of charge to owners.
• Notification: Toyota says owners of vehicles in the expanded notice will be notified by late September, with instructions to take the vehicle to a dealership.

A busy recall year for Toyota Canada

The Highlander expansion lands in a year of steady Toyota recall activity in Canada. In January, the automaker recalled 12,179 Tundra trucks (2024-2025) over a faulty rear-view camera. In February, nearly 20,000 Prius vehicles were recalled for a risk of rear doors opening while driving. In August, more than 11,000 Camrys in Canada were recalled for a display issue that could disable turn signals, hazard lights and warning sounds at startup — part of a global recall of roughly 655,000 Camrys.

What affected owners should do now

If you drive a 2021-2025 Highlander or Highlander Hybrid, check Toyota of Canada's owner site or Transport Canada's recall database with your VIN (Toyota customer service: 1-888-869-6828), watch for the mailed notice, and keep passengers out of the second row until the spring replacement is done. One quirk noted in coverage of the recall: this Highlander generation spans 2020 through 2026 model years, but neither the initial 2020 version nor the final 2026 model year is included in the recall scope — worth confirming your exact model year against the official notice rather than assuming.

Recalls move fast in Canada's EV era — OTA software fixes now resolve many defects overnight, as Tesla's Chinese recalls demonstrated — but a hardware fault like a seat recliner spring still requires a physical dealership visit.

Looking for EV deals, insurance, or financing? Check out our partner deals and offers.

If you found this guide helpful, use our Tesla referral link for free Supercharging credits on a new Tesla purchase or lease in Canada.