Ford Explorer vs Toyota Highlander (2020-2024): Which Should You Buy?

On the documented record, the Highlander is the stronger buy: reliability score 8 vs. the Explorer's 5. The Explorer's headline defect is a generation-wide safety recall, a rear axle mounting bolt that can fracture and disconnect the driveshaft (2020-2022), which took Ford three separate recalls to actually fix with hardware, not just a software patch. The Highlander's comparable safety campaign, a second-row seat-back recliner recall (2021-2024), is a single free fix already in motion. Both generations carry a real transmission risk, but they differ in how avoidable it is: the Highlander's UA80 8-speed problem is confined to the 2020-2022 V6, so choosing the hybrid or a 2023+ turbo sidesteps it completely, while the Explorer's 10-speed harsh-shift/shudder pattern sits behind both EcoBoost engines across the whole range, so there's no engine choice that avoids it. If you're set on a 2023-2024 specifically, both clean up meaningfully from their early years, but the Highlander enters that comparison already ahead.

• •Highlander's worst documented failure (UA80 transmission, $2,500-$9,000) is boxed into the 2020-2022 V6 only, hybrid and 2023+ turbo buyers never see it. Explorer's worst documented failure (10R60 transmission, $400-$7,500) sits behind every gas engine in the lineup, so there's no trim that dodges the risk.
• •Both files document a 'buy the newest pre-refresh/pre-redesign years' pattern (Explorer: 2023-2024; Highlander: 2023-2026 turbo or any-year hybrid), but the Explorer's own refresh (2025) already stacked up roughly ten recalls in 18 months, while Highlander's 2025-2026 model years show almost no complaint history yet.
• •Highlander's non-transmission problems (A/C condenser punctures, easily-cracked windshields, infotainment reboots) are pricier annoyances but not safety-graded; Explorer's non-transmission problems include two safety-graded items (rear axle bolt, rearview camera failures) beyond the seat-recall both share.