How Safe Is the 2026 Toyota Highlander?

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• The 2026 Toyota Highlander scores well in nearly every Insurance Institute for Highway Safety safety metric.
• It misses a Top Safety Pick award due to a single crash test.
• The moderate overlap frontal crash test was updated in 2023 and has been a common stumbling block.

The 2026 Toyota Highlander is in limbo, with many customers opting instead for the roomier Grand Highlander and an all-new generation of the regular Highlander set to debut for 2027 as a three-row electric vehicle. Conditions such as these can make for a good time to buy, but getting a good deal on a family vehicle is less important than getting a good vehicle that will keep your family safe. In crash testing conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Highlander proved very safe. Mostly.

Related: This or That: 2026 Toyota Highlander Vs. 2026 Grand Highlander

Its IIHS crash-test scores are listed in the chart below. The agency subjects vehicles to three different crash tests, and also evaluates how well their headlights illuminate the road and how well their collision warning systems prevent or mitigate collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles. Note that vehicles are scored on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal or poor; slash values indicate split results across different equipment; and “NT” means it was not tested.

Highlander Crash-Test Scores

Crashworthiness

In crash tests, the Highlander earned top marks in the side impact test and small overlap frontal test. The latter test recreates a common type of collision in which a vehicle leaves the road and hits an object like a tree or utility pole; in it, the vehicle is accelerated to 40 mph and strikes a rigid barrier that covers 25% of its width.

The biggest blemish on the Highlander’s report card is a marginal rating in the moderate overlap frontal crash test. Meant to recreate the forces in an offset head-on crash in which a vehicle strays over the road center line and strikes an oncoming vehicle, this test calls for the subject vehicle to again be accelerated to 40 mph, but it strikes a barrier that covers 40% of its width and has a face of deformable aluminum honeycomb. The resultant forces are similar to those in a crash between two vehicles both traveling just below 40 mph.

While the Highlander did a good job of protecting the front-seat occupant in this crash, the likelihood of injuries to a rear-seat passenger’s head, neck and abdomen resulted in its marginal rating. This test has been a common stumbling block for vehicles of all types and sizes since the agency updated its procedure for 2023. Previously, the test was conducted with just one crash-test dummy aboard, one the size of an adult male buckled into the driver’s seat. With most vehicles earning good ratings in the test, IIHS widened its focus to include rear-seat occupants, adding a second dummy the size of a 12-year-old child or small woman to the seat behind the driver.

Crash Avoidance and Mitigation

The institute’s headlight evaluations measure how well a vehicle’s lights illuminate the road ahead on straightaways as well as in gentle and sharp curves. Here, the Highlander’s standard LED headlights earned an acceptable score, while the upgraded adaptive beams on the Highlander Platinum earned a good rating (likely because they turn to point into corners).

The pedestrian avoidance test gauges how well a vehicle’s standard forward collision warning system prevents or mitigates collisions with pedestrians. It includes evaluations involving adults and children crossing the road in front of the vehicle in daylight and at night, as well as a test with an adult pedestrian walking parallel with the road, as if on the shoulder, at night. The Highlander earned a good score in these tests, as well.

IIHS also tests forward collision warning systems against other vehicle types, including motorcycles, other cars and commercial trucks. It has not yet subjected the Highlander to this evaluation.

Versus Competitors

IIHS bestows two honors on vehicles that demonstrate superior performance in its full battery of tests. To qualify for the lower-tier Top Safety Pick award, vehicles must earn good ratings in all three crash tests and score acceptable in the headlight and pedestrian-safety tests. Earning the agency’s highest honor, Top Safety Pick+, requires a good rating in the pedestrian test and an acceptable in the vehicle-to-vehicle crash-test evaluation.

Even if the Highlander had been subject to the vehicle-to-vehicle test, its marginal score in the moderate overlap test would prevent it from earning either award. Shoppers in this segment who are single-mindedly focused on safety should consider the Hyundai Palisade or Nissan Pathfinder, both of which qualify for Top Safety Pick+. With an acceptable score in the pedestrian avoidance test, the Volkswagen Atlas is a Top Safety Pick. Below are IIHS scores for the Highlander and its competitors.

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