Image: Elise240SX, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. 2022 Toyota Highlander LE photographed in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Cropped to 16:9.
Transport Canada recall 2026-427, published September 9 and updated September 10, replaces campaign 2026-101. It now covers 52,750 vehicles: 2021 through 2025 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid. On certain units, the second-row seatback recliners may not have been manufactured properly, so a seatback may not lock and could move in a crash. Toyota recommends not using those seats for passengers until the spring in the recliner assemblies is replaced. Transport Canada
What it means: The original March campaign listed 39,897 units and stopped at 2023. The replacement adds 2024 and 2025 and raises the published count to 52,750. That is not a Honda defect and it is not a reason to skip every three-row SUV. It is a reason for anyone who already has a 2021–2025 Highlander — gas or hybrid — to run the VIN on Toyota Canada’s recall lookup or Transport Canada’s database before they keep using the second row for kids. Mail notice is coming. The repair is a dealer spring replacement, not a “wait and see.”
On the floor, the people this actually hits are Highlander owners who walk in asking whether a Pilot is “safer,” and Pilot shoppers who hear “Toyota recalled the seats” and think every three-row is under a cloud. Honda Canada has not published a matching Pilot seat-recliner campaign. I will not invent one. Pilot is imported; confirm build origin on honda.ca or the window sticker for the specific unit. Sit in the second and third rows of both vehicles. Then decide on the car you can see, not a screenshot of someone else’s recall letter.
My prediction: By December 12, 2026, Transport Canada recall 2026-427 will still list 2024 and 2025 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid model years. I will be wrong if those two years are removed from that campaign.
If you're buying right now: If you already own a 2021–2025 Highlander, check the VIN before the next school run. If you are choosing between a Highlander and a Honda Pilot this week, start with the live Vaughan snapshot at Highlander vs Pilot in Vaughan, then sit in both second rows. A recall letter is not a spec sheet.
Quick answers
Which Toyota Highlanders are in the expanded Canadian seat recall?
Transport Canada recall 2026-427, dated September 9, 2026 and updated September 10, covers 52,750 vehicles: 2021 through 2025 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid. It replaces the earlier campaign 2026-101, which listed 2021–2023 only. 2020 and 2026 model years are not on that list.
What should a Highlander owner do before using the second row?
Toyota, through Transport Canada, recommends not using the second-row seats to transport passengers until the recall repair is done. Dealers replace the spring in the second-row seatback recliner assemblies. Check your VIN on Toyota Canada’s recall lookup or Transport Canada’s database. Owners are to be notified by mail.
Does this Toyota recall change a Honda Pilot shopping decision?
It is a Toyota campaign, not a Honda recall. If you already own a 2021–2025 Highlander, check the VIN first. If you are cross-shopping a new Honda Pilot, compare the actual vehicles — seats, third-row use, and the written quote — and confirm Pilot build origin on honda.ca or the window sticker for the specific unit.
Cross-shopping Pilot against a Highlander this week?
Send the two VINs or stock numbers. I will tell you what actually differs on seats, space and the written quote — not a Toyota campaign pretending to be a Honda defect.
Henry Chen
Sales and Leasing Executive, Maple Honda
89 Auto Vaughan Dr, Maple, ON L6A 4A1
647-523-6878 · henry@maplehonda.com
Transport Canada recall 2026-427, published September 9, 2026, updated September 10, 2026, replacing 2026-101. Predictions are my personal read, not Honda Canada or Toyota Canada policy.
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