For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Pilot doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Highlander Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Pilot doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Pilot doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Highlander Hybrid has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Pilot doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Highlander Hybrid has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Pilot doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Highlander Hybrid Limited/Platinum has standard Automated Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Pilot doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Highlander Hybrid (except LE/XLE/Bronze) offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Pilot only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Highlander Hybrid’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Pilot doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Highlander Hybrid and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is safer than the Honda Pilot:
|
Highlander Hybrid |
Pilot |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
28.4% |
35% |
Neck Compression |
90 lbs. |
478 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
545/323 lbs. |
478/436 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is safer than the Honda Pilot:
|
Highlander Hybrid |
Pilot |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
55 |
109 |
Chest Movement |
.3 inches |
.6 inches |
Abdominal Force |
79 lbs. |
101 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
114 |
233 |
Spine Acceleration |
37 G’s |
42 G’s |
Hip Force |
152 lbs. |
304 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
15 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
366 |
406 |
Spine Acceleration |
41 G’s |
45 G’s |
Hip Force |
664 lbs. |
838 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is much safer than the Pilot:
|
Highlander Hybrid |
Pilot |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
71 |
206 |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.51 in |
.67 in |
Pelvis Force |
1316 lbs. |
1339 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
132 |
206 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
2.05 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
6 MPH |
12 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
201 lbs. |
759 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Highlander Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 106 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pilot last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.