2017 Toyota Highlander Complaint Log

Bought it used from Lexus Fremont with 46, 600 miles on March 2024 but after driving it for just a little bit over 200 miles, there is a leak underneath the engine and when I had it checked here in Salinas Toyota they found out that the leak is coming from the TIMING CHAIN COVER of which is a big job and I heard a lot from the owners of this Toyotas with the 2GR V6 Engine has this leaking problem.

In city driving, vehicle began exhibiting slightly delayed shifting from 1-2 and 2-3. Downshifts from 3-2 seemed slightly rough. Approximately 5 minutes later when accelerating from a stop on an uphill grade, the shift from 2-3 was delayed (2nd gear disengaged, engine speed increase ~1000RPM, then shifted to 3 abruptly). At next stop, lower gears where not available. Vehicle seemed be in 4th(?) gear when accelerating from a stop. Very little power available. Had to engage hazard flashers and other vehicles navigated around our vehicle. Managed to limp car ~ 1 mile to home. Approaching driveway, Master Warning Light, Check Engine Light and 4WD Warnign light all illuminated. This issue created a loss of power that impaired the drivers ability to maintain a safe speed relevative to traffic. Had this issue occurred during high-speed operation, the vehicle may have been disabled in a high-risk area. Transmission appears to be unreliable.

Water pump has failed at approx 80,000 miles.

I just bought this car and I noticed when the car is sitting and idling it has a strong smell of raw gas in the passenger compartment. I took it to the fire department and they smelled it as soon as they opened the door. They also said this is not safe and I shouldn't be smelling a strong odor of gas in the passenger compartment.

Hi- i have always upkeep the maintenance on my vehicle and take pride taking care of it . But now out of nowhere my vehicle throttle was loose the mechanics can’t explain why and now the transmission is not working i have explained to them them driving the car does seem to stop them feels like it wasn’t to accelerate while driving. I don’t know if anyone else have reported this issue but it doesn’t make sense that for a vehicle le that’s been greatly taken care of the transmission is went out .

While braked at a red light, my vehicle completely turned off. The engine would not restart, and all electrical panel light indicators did not come back on. I could not even turn on my hazards. The whole car was dead. After about a minute, I was able to restart the vehicle, but it took 5 attempts. I changed my battery two months ago, and just had my car checked by a mechanic and nothing was found to be the problem. No warning lamps or other messages were displayed. About 6 months ago, my car did something similar to this and stalled on the freeway in bumper to bumper traffic. However, this time the electrical panel light indicators came back on. No warning messages displayed. The car restarted after only one try. This is really dangerous to have a vehicle loose all power and completely die out!

I had an accident on 1/14/24 and the airbags did not deploy. When we bought the vehicle from I-5 Toyota it had been in a previous accident and was repaired. I have a picture from the dash stating “ SRS air bag system malfunction” on the day of incident. The vehicle is being picked up by insurance 1/18/24 to be inspected. There were no warnings prior to the accident.

There is a toyota service bulletin for known transmission issues with this vehicle. I had noticed that my gears weren't shifting properly. The dealer checked vehicle and said transmission was bad, and that toyota would replace it, for free. However, the part would take one month to arrive. This all occurred on 1/9/2024. I was told by the dealer that Toyota would not cover a rental car while the part was on order, but only for the repair itself. The dealer told me the Toyota recommendation was to not drive the vehicle -- but other customers had done so until they received their parts for repair. I picked up my vehicle after work at approximately 7:15pm. While driving, the vehicle completely shutdown on me in a major highway miles from downtown Philadelphia, in a flooding rainstorm that produced nearly 4 inches of rain. If Toyota knows there is a problem with this vehicle and its transmission, then why is there no recall? And if I'm being told the I should not drive the vehicle, then why isn't it mandated or required for them to provide me a rental - especially since this is the fault of Toyota?

I had my battery replaced about 3 days ago at the Toyota dealership . Yesterday, I was stopped at a red light and when I attempted to drive, the vehicle stalled. “Braking power low” message on the dashboard and the car would not restart. I was able to jump start it after about 30 minutes. I got towed to a local repair shop who could not identify or duplicate the issue. I had no warning indicators other than failing to start the morning of getting the battery replaced 3 days ago.

While accelerating onto highways, my Toyota Highlander suddenly misfires, causing rough engine and a natural response to decelerate instead of continuing to accelerate. The ignition coil was blamed, I replace and then a week later it happens again while trying to accelerate on the highway. Another replacement and then it happens again a third time. There was a known issue under Toyota’s TSB 0148-19, where engine computers were reprogrammed and all coils replaced. My vehicle model year and engine model but doesn’t show this TSB. I am aware TSBs are not recalls, but the sudden repeat engine misfires, all in a year, while accelerating to highway speeds, is a concern.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle and attempting to buckle the seat belt, the contact became aware that the seat belt was no longer attached. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the anchor point bolts were severely corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

2017 Toyota Highlander experienced delayed and rough shifting in 3rd gear. Safety of acceleration is affected, especially merging onto highways. Diagnosed with bad transmission on 12/26/2023 by Toyota service. There was no warning lamps or messages prior to failure. Unknown cause, car is regularly serviced per manufacturer recommendations by Toyota. Part on backorder for approximately 3 months.

The transmission on my Highlander is making a whining noise. I took it to Blackstone Toyota Service for inspection, in Fresno, CA, after my own mechanic inspected it and told me that it was a transmission problem. Toyota told me that the transmission is going out and the car can quit on me at any time and is no longer safe to drive. But since it is out of warranty now they will not do anything to help me with this problem. There has been no warning lamp, message or other symptoms yet. After my service in Nov. 2023 i noticed a slight whine when i accelerated. I had a friend mechanic look at it and he said it could be just because the tires had been rotated. A couple of months ago the whine started on deceleration. I took it to Johnson Auto in Clovis, CA and they were the first ones to tell me it was in fact a transmission problem. I then called Toyota call center and was told that the vehicle needed to be inspected by one of their dealers, and then they could help me. I explained that I didn’t want to go spend more money on the inspection if Toyota would not do anything to help me, I already knew it had transmission problems. I took it to Blackstone Toyota Service Center and they confirmed that the transmission is going out, at only 7800 miles. I called the Toyota call center and was told that since it is out of warranty they will do nothing to help me with this problem. I told them the prior agent I had spoken to said that Toyota would help me. I was told they will do nothing else to help and there was no one else I could talk to about the transmission problems. I was told that they didn’t know of any problems with the 2017 Toyota Highlander and that there were no recalls. I told them that there were lots of complaints about the Toyota Highlander online and I was surprised that they didn’t seem to know anything about the Highlanders having transmission problems. Many people in my same circumstances with expensive repairs way too soon on their Highlanders.

Purchased a brand new 2017 Toyota Highlander XLE 9 years ago. I followed all recommended maintenance and service schedules from the manufacturer. There has always been a faint whine noise present during acceleration. In December of 2023 and about 112,000 miles the transmission began to slip in gears 3 and 4. I brought the vehicle into Balise Toyota in West Springfield, MA for diagnostic services. It was determined that my automatic transmission was failing and needed replacement. Luckily I had purchased an extended warranty through All State and the repairs were covered under warranty. The cost of this repair was upwards of $9,000, so at the time I felt extremely fortunate. That was 2 years ago but my luck would only last so much. Since the remanufacturered transmission was installed by Toyota there has always been a faint whine noise during acceleration. I summed it up to a bad serpentine belt, pulley or alternator because how could it be the new transmission that had been installed? There is only 37,000 driven miles on it and you would expect it to last much longer. Well expectations are just that, expectations. The reality is I am now back to square one because my transmission is beginning to fail yet again. I experienced the transmission slip between 3rd and 4th gears twice on my way home from work yesterday. I set up an appointment at Balise Toyota in West Springfield, MA for tomorrow 03-29-26. My question is how can an 8 1/2 year old vehicle with 150,000 miles on it be in need of a third transmission? The answer is because of defective manufacturing and engineering. There are several class action lawsuits that have been filed in as many months due to the UA80 transmission found in Toyota Highlanders 2017 - present. There are documented claims that Toyota knowingly installed defective UA80 transmissions into these vehicles.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. As a result of the failure, the contact was unable to maneuver or control the vehicle before coming to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure and advised the contact that a Toyota technician needed to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 66,000.

Highlander shift issue 11/14/2023 On 11/14/2023, our 2017 Toyota Highlander, vin# [XXX] , upon driving the transmission decided on its own to disengage. Our Highlander stopped propelling itself in either direction. We had to manually push our vehicle into a parking spot and await the tow truck. Our Highlander is in mint condition with 71,400 miles on it. This was scary because the vehicle would shift on the shifter, but for some reason the transmission would not engage. The engine worked perfectly fine. We had the Highlander towed to the nearest Toyota dealer who pushed the vehicle into their garage and placed on a lift. The Highlander had no idiot lights on, no cable issues, fluid was fine per the Toyota Technician. The Toyota Tech placed the vehicle on their main computer and there were no error codes. The Tech reset the computer on the vehicle with a Toyota Master computer, and the vehicle started to work as normal. I consider this a huge issue and I thank God that my wife was not on the interstate highway when this happened. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This is the SECOND incident with this vehicle in the past 4 months. When going to start my vehicle, it would not start. It gave me this error message: Braking power low, Stop in a Safe Place, See owners manual. There is NOTHING about this in the owners manual. The first time I thought it was battery related and after 3 different chargers on my vehicle, it finally started. Tonight I proceeded to push the button without the foot pedal and the radio came on, so it is definitely not the battery. I've tried several times to start and to no avail. Problem has not been reproduced as i cannot drive my vehicle at this time. No inspection as of yet. No warnings or symptoms prior to failure. Research shows it may have to do with a fuel pump pressure issue. I have paperwork on this issue under a customer support program 23TE01. Hoping this can become a recall and i can get this fixed .

I HAVE AN ISSUE WHEN MY AIRBAG LIGHT KEEP ON GOING IN AND OUT. I DID GET A LETTER FROM TOYOTA THAT SOME AIRBAGS IS RECALLED BUT WHEN I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THAT MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED ON THE RECALL AND THEY WONT TROUBLESHOOT IT WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY. NEED THIS LOOK AT THAT CAN CAUSE FATAL TO THERE CUSTOMERS.

I am writing in reference to a new Toyota Highlander that I purchased in December of 2016. The reason I chose Toyota over a Ford or GM SUV was Toyota’s long history of producing reliable vehicles. I researched and relied on Consumer Reports which gave the Highlander and Honda Pilot the highest rating for customer satisfaction and reliability. About two weeks ago I started hearing a high-pitched whining coming from the transmission, difficulty shifting, and lurching forward when engaging the gear. Last Wednesday my wife was driving on a busy freeway in Atlanta when the vehicle lost acceleration. She was nearly hit while stopped on the freeway. Fortunately, kind motorists got out of their cars and pushed her to the side of the road. The car was towed to a Toyota service shop, and we were advised they could not do the repairs. It was a known internal Toyota issue. I did some research online and found hundreds of posts from Highlander owners of 2017-18 vehicles complaining about issues with the transmission failing. I found Toyota Customer Support Bulletin ,[XXXXXXXX] REPAIR COVERAGE FOR UA80 TRANSMISSION ON CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY SIENNA AND CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY HIGHLANDER VEHICLES. We called Toyota support on 10/9/23 and spoke with a customer service representative named Amber who then transferred us to Vena. They advised based on the VIN number our vehicle was not covered. Vena advised that since all our service was not at a Toyota dealership, they could not honor the repairs. The bulletin stated “after the Primary Coverage, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 10 years from the vehicles date of first use, regardless of mileage”. The cost of this repair is over $6,000. The bulletin list Highlander 2WD and 4WD SUVs. The representative could not explain how the VIN number exclusions are determined and applied to our SUV. My father-in-law retired from the GM Assembly Plant and as I understand parts are shipped from multiple locations to the assembly pla INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Toyota issued a Customer Support Bulletin #POL 19-04 on 4/18/19 for vehicle transmission failure on the 2017 and 2018 Highlander and Sienna cars due to faulty assembly. Dealerships were issued the bulletin 5 years ago but customers were never alerted. Toyota has refused to honor the repairs claiming my VIN did not come up for affected car even though bulletin list the model that includes my car. The bulletin further states that after 60k miles the coverage continues for up to 10 years from date of purchase. Toyota knows there is an issue but they failed to alert customers despite sending the bulletin to dealers. Dealerships never alerted customers who brought in their cars for routine service. Thousands of customers are reporting failed transmissions. Toyota is not able or willing to provide information on how they identified which VINs were impacted. The mechanic pulled a code which is exactly what is being seen on the failed transmissions in the same vehicles and cannot understand why Toyota will not cover the cost of the repair for a known defective product. The replacement cost quoted by Toyota is in excess of 11k. The car failed on a busy freeway in Atlanta while traveling at high speed. Motorists exited their cars and pushed the vehicle to the side of the road. My spouse could have been harmed or worse killed.

About two weeks prior to the transmission failing, I started hearing a high-pitched whining coming from the transmission, difficulty shifting, and lurching forward when engaging the gear. On the evening of October 4th, my wife was driving at 65 mph on a busy freeway in Atlanta when the vehicle lost acceleration. She was nearly hit while stopped on the freeway. Fortunately, kind motorists got out of their cars and pushed her to the side of the road. The car was towed to a Toyota service shop, and we were advised they could not do the repairs. The mechanic stated it was a known internal Toyota issue. I did some research online and found hundreds of posts from Highlander owners of 2017-18 vehicles complaining about issues with the transmission failing. I found Toyota Customer Support Bulletin POL [XXX] dated 4/18/2019, REPAIR COVERAGE FOR UA80 TRANSMISSION ON CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY SIENNA AND CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY HIGHLANDER VEHICLES. The mechanic said the failure code with a failed transaxle and all the symptoms my vehicle experienced were consistent with the bulletin. My time period for the bulletin was for cars produced from November 2016 to December 2017. My vehicle’s manufacturing date was 12/8/2016. Toyota claims my vehicle although produced during this time was not impacted. It is my belief that Toyota was aware of multiple failures on UA80 transmissions on vehicles produced from 2016 to 2020 and deliberately identified a smaller number to avoid a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Driving on the highway vehicle suddenly drop speed. I was able to exit but not proceed forward once exiting. The vehicle was towed and diagnosed with need for new transmission. There was a customer support program bulletin POL 19-04 noting similar problems. However, Toyota is stating this 2017 is not associated with the program. The whine noise and reduced power are all listed with this program. The vehicle sudden reduce power may have resulted in a major accident on busy Atlanta highways. A known transmission issue that Toyota is not willing to support customer in resolving is unbelievable. I was basically told because the vehicle was not serviced at a Toyota dealership regularly, they cannot support.

Brake system malfunctioned and failed. Our safety was put at risk with no braking ability. The car was inspected and serviced by Toyota. One light showed braking power low on one occasion While driving car listed above, on five different occasions the brake pedal went to the floor with out stopping the vehicle. Our safety was put at risk on each occasion.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started jerking, the RPM decreased, and the vehicle started losing motive power. The message "Reduced Engine Power" was displayed. The contact stated that she came to a complete stop at a traffic light. The contact stated that while attempting to drive from a complete top, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle jerked increasingly while driving. The contact veered to the side of the road, where she remained. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring for months. The vehicle was previously taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the low-pressure fuel pump had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V682000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while his wife was driving inside the parking lot of a gas station, the steering wheel seized and then the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact stated that a bystander assisted with jumpstarting the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle to a nearby Walmart and was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The contact purchased and replaced the battery. The contact called and made the local dealer aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

On Aug 28 2023 I drove my car to Cumberland’s for a coffee (.9miles/3m away) on my way back at a stop sign, before turning left onto 129, my car shut off. I pushed the engine button, it restarted & I made it back to my house. Since owning this car this same situation has happened randomly several times, brought it to the dealers attention, not happening at the time, cannot be replicated, nothing was done. I remember being on a hill on 129 at a red light & the car shutting off loading control thinking I was going to roll into the car behind me I pulled the e rake since this was a repeated issue, the car started when I pushed the ignition, another time this happened at a red light not on a hill as well as the highway off ramp in stopped traffic. We eventually replaced the battery clearly that’s not the issue since it has continued to happen. Sometimes my radio will randomly shut off, sometimes it reboots & i get nervous & prepared for my car to stall or shut off which creates a distraction driving. I may have a video of one of these times that I took to show my husband. I do have a video of the radio shutting off that I can provide an alternate way as your system does not except video files.

Car won’t start after getting gas. Check engine like comes off and on. Rough stopping and getting up to speed. When issue with getting to speed on highway put us in dangers way. Not being able to start vehicle multiple times for long period concerning and frightening for family.

Car started to not start after getting fuel. Come to find out the purge valve was remaining stuck open. Dealer told me that this was concerning as it was allowing vapor to gather in my engine. Vehicle was confirmed by two different Toyota dealerships to have faulty purge valve. The purge valve would cause all the warning lights to come on in the Highlander, telling you your AWD system was bad to other warning lights. In doing research this seems to be a problem in various years of Toyota Highlanders. Concerning that something related to controlling fuel vapor could be this common and leading to a build up that could cause something more serious to happen.

Braking power low message on the dashboard and the car won’t start

I was driving to work when my car didn't want to accelerate and then stalled. I had it towed to Toyota dealership in battle creek mi. They called me today and said my low pressure fuel pump needed to be replaced. I checked online and saw Toyota had done a recall in 2020 for this part on the 2017-2019 Highlander and I have the 2017 Highlander. When I had the vin # checked it does not show my car as one to be recalled. My question is why not? when it shows this is a part that people are having problems with . I thankfully was not pulling out in traffic when it went out!

Several times on the highway when getting up to speeds around 70mph the transmission would rev but not accelerate or maintain speed - usually slowing to around 40-50mph or slower depending on the hill grade. The check engine light came on, initially was told it was probably a fluke. The mechanic couldn’t get it to do the same thing for him. Brought it back again when the issue persisted. He suspected the transmission was slipping, referred me to the dealer. The light was off by then, the dealer said they couldn’t diagnose with no light so we needed to wait until it came on. It finally came on while driving on I71 but the car completely lost all power and I was stranded on the side of the highway and had to be towed to the dealer. I did a quick google search and saw a class action suit for this vehicle and year in which the plaintiffs complained of the same issues. Toyota opened an extended warranty on vehicles with this transmission. I called Toyota to see if my VIN was included and they confirmed it is. The person I spoke with (“Cannon”) assigned case # 20612000768. Per the dealer, my vehicle only met half of the criteria to be included under the program. We were stuck with a $6,149 bill to replace the transmission. The dealer won’t even guarantee it for 30 days because it’s a used Toyota transmission, which to me speaks volumes.

Car refused to start. Multiple cranking that had to be stopped by turning car off. Car was not receiving fuel. Waited one day and tried again. Car started on third time but ran very rough, with smoke and odor until it evened out. Drove with initial engine hesitation episodes to dealer. Asked for fuel pump replacement under Customer Support Program but dealer refuses because they cannot duplicate the problem. I am afraid to drive this car because I feel it’s unsafe. I am afraid the car will stall while driving causing an accident. I transport by grandchildren daily so a safe car is imperative. Called Toyota twice to resolve this but if the dealer doesn’t experience the same issue they will not replace my fuel pump even though this is a known issue. My car is not on the recall list yet. Looking back I have had hesitation issues upon acceleration for years. I feel the pump is to blame and should be replaced.

While driving all of these lights started to flash.

My fuel pump has started going out causing my engine to slightly knock and my fuel gauge and range to read improperly

The low beams began to get dim after ~60K miles until it began to be difficult to see the right shoulder of the road. After a number of visits, the Toyota dealer said there was some kind of cloudiness on the internal surfaces of the low beam and that the only solution was to replace both headlight assemblies. By then I had also failed state inspection (because of the lights.) I paid the ~$1400 for the replacements and the lights work now. BUT, I can see inside the sealed low beam portion a few areas with a bit of cloudiness. The dealer said they could not explain and Toyota Engagement (the only way to contact the company), after I sent a long written explanation said, "contact an authorized Toyota service center. So...this is resolved but the car was not safe for a while and I have had to pay to fix a safety issue that I had nothing to do with (vehicle has mainly been garaged and not driven offroad etc).

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the Brake Power Low message was illuminated. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V211000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle had not yet been taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,460.

Transmission lost power while driving and began to slip. Had to pull over immediately. Check engine light illuminated. Happened again several more times before I was able to take to dealer. Dealer was able to reproduce and diagnosed as transmission failure requiring replacement for $10k. Due to the low miles and age (6 years, 3 months) I requested that Toyota help cover costs which they declined to do. This is a dangerous situation and I believe Toyota should have fixed as goodwill.

Within 6 months of purchasing this car used at a Toyota dealership, the check engine, exclamation light, and "Go to dealership/check AWD" lights came on. I took it to the dealership who told me it would cost $250 just to check the lights. I took it to a car parts store who said "it's throwing a bunch of old codes". The dealership also suggested during oil change about $800 worth of work needing to be done and said my warranty I purchased would not cover it so I left. I had the fuel system flush done somewhere else.The lights went off for about a week and then came back on. About a month later.... While driving down the highway at a speed of approximately 60 mph, the rpm's and speedometer went haywire - jiggling and then decreased (and a weird sound like the car revving) even though foot was on gas, the car rapidly lost power and had to pull over on side of highway at night - this is of course very unsafe. Had to pull over and turn off car. Would not start right away but did after a few minutes. Took to mechanic - they could not find anything wrong. Could not reproduce. A few days later, after getting gas, car would not start. Had to wait an hour and then it did. Took back to mechanic, discovered water on spark plugs so had spark plugs replaced. Four days later, all the warning lights back on and car running roughly (like maybe lightly missing?). Component or system failure cause still unknown and yes it is available for inspection. Very frustrated and frankly a bit terrified to drive this very expensive vehicle.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated before the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V682000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 101,000. The contact stated that they repaired the vehicle themselves and no longer wishes to continue with this complaint.

Transmission problem in our 2017 Toyota Highlander started at 104k miles. unfortunately for us out of warranty and lucky for dealer and manufacture who shifted the cost to consumer outside warranty. We experienced delayed and sudden shifting, slow at accelerating. One day the engine kept revving but car was not moving. Also reverse gear stopped working. We brought the car to local dealer, who gave us every excuse in the world that it was our driving habit, we take it off roading etc etc. The truth I am a very careful driver which I am sure the dealer laughed at me for saying that. Never took the car off roading, or on monthly long trips. All services were completed by the dealer. The quoted us a cost of $9500 plus tax plus $250 diagnosing fee. Also reported the issue to Toyota consumer line, got the same answer car is outside warranty and no cost sharing as no official recall has been issued. Upon doing some research, we came across similar issues reported by same model. The sad part is local dealership was fully aware of similar issue, yet they failed to warn customers or suggest necessary repairs while the car had full warranty. A tech at dealer even said, they are not going to suggest it as in that case the repair would have to be done at dealers expense. How, is this ethically right to leave the consumer in dark, at risk on the road and blame the problem on bad driving habit? This is perfect case of bad dealership and a company hiding their problem. Wait till actually someone dies to issue a recall?

This is the second major failure I have experienced with my 2017 Toyota Highlander. I have already filed a complaint about the transmission failure earlier this year. On November 14, 2022, I noticed a knocking sound coming from the engine. My husband was able to ascertain that the noise was coming from the water pump and that the water pump gasket had failed. He checked the coolant fluid and all coolant fluid had leaked out, both the reserve tank and radiator had NO coolant fluid remaining. If I had continued to drive the vehicle, it would have overheated and possibly caused more damage. Thanks to the cooler temperatures we have in November, I did not experience the engine overheating. There were no warning lights or any other indicator that something major was wrong with the vehicle. We called our Toyota dealership and were told that the vehicle which now has 50,100 miles, is out of warranty and we would be responsible for the repair. The normal life of a water pump is over 100,000 miles and with this complete failure of this major system, I do not trust the safety of this vehicle with this being the second major system to completely fail in this vehicle.

Car shut down multiple times while driving. Car lost steering and all power then somehow came back to life without me touching anything. It’s as if the car decides to shut down when All Wheel Drive kicks in. First the entertainment system shuts down and then the entire car shuts down.

My vehicle lost power while driving on the interstate. I pulled over and smoke started coming from under the hood. Flames then started approximate 10-20 seconds later. Flames consumed the vehicle for a total loss. My insurance company declared the vehicle a total loss. Toyota stated they are investigating the issue. The police and fire department were present. The loss of power happened with no warning. There was a brief flash of the check engine light followed by a low power mode warning. I had just pulled over off of the interstate. This happened within 30 seconds of the vehicle catching on fire.

There is a splotchy glare that appears on my windshield that makes it EXTREMELY difficult to see out the windshield in the rain. It is not fog, I have cleaned the inside and outside of the windshield, changed the wiper blades, tried the heated windshield feature, defrost, and seriously done everything and it does not go away unless direct sunlight is on it. Forget driving in the rain at night, I was unable to see the lines in the road and it's worse when headlights are facing your direction. I ran off the road and had to park my car until the rain passed. This is absolutely dangerous. The guys at the dealership were stumped as well. It happened to be raining as I was leaving after service and I showed him and he had no idea. It is across my entire windshield. Sometimes it depends on how light is shining on it. This needs to be a recall before someone is seriously hurt.

I’m not sure why this recall does not show up for my car & we’ve never been notified by Toyota. I have a video of the noise my makes when it’s off on the driveway…I can provide an alternate way as your online system does not allow video. Thank you.

My Highlander was off and parked in my driveway. I was inside my home and I heard what sounded like a car alarm that was cutting out. I went outside to find out it was my car. However, it wasn't the alarm. It's a completely different pitch/tone that the car horn or the panic button. I proceeded to unlock the car, turned the car on and off a couple times, honked the horn, opened and closed the hood, etc and whatever sound was going off continued to go off even while the car was on. Whatever it was sounded like it had a short in it. Even my neighbors came out of their home. The sound eventually stopped and I went inside. 20 minutes later the sound started again. After it stopped, it happened again, for a short period. It was on a Saturday after dealerships were closed. The next day it happened again in the evening. It stopped right as I got outside. It's a nusiance to myself and my neighbors, it's loud, it's embarrassing, and the fact it continues to sound when my car is on concerns me because if it starts sounding while I'm in traffic or on the highway, it could cause major safety issues. No lights on the dash, battery tested good, literally no explanation.

"Clicking" sound in steering wheel when barely turning wheel. Can also feel the "click" in the steering wheel. Was told it is a driving shaft problem - that this has been an ongoing problem with Toyota's, yet there has not been a recall. This needs to be looked into and the appropriate recall needs to be made to correct the faulty drive shafts.

While driving in the rain, the visibility through my windshield is reduced significantly which has caused me to have to pull over due to not being able to see other cars or lines on the roadway and gets worse if lights are shining toward me while it's raining. It almost looks like a waxy coating over the entire windshield. I took it to the dealer and they didn't know what it could be. Windshield is clean, wipers have been changed, and nothing has been applied to the car. Even passengers in the 2nd row pointed out how difficult it was to see out. This happens in all types of rain heavy or light and is not visible in dry conditions. I thought I was the only one with this problem until I was reading through the other 149 reports for a different issue and realized others are having the same issue. I hope that with multiple reports we can get the issue resolved. I am afraid to drive in the rain and do not wish to risk my safety. This isn't normal.

I have a 2017 Highlander, there have been several occasions the latest being 5/21/2022 that when trying to start I get "Braking Power Low" Stop in Safe Place and SUV does not start, after several attempts it starts. I called the Toyota dealership where I purchased SUV, asked if they knew about this issue and was informed, they have no knowledge and never heard of this issue, I looked online and found there have been some complaints. For now, my SUV starts after several attempts, but I am concerned that in the future it may not start and am not sure what to do. Are there or will there be any recalls on this issue? I'm sure the dealership (Toyota) will be more than happy to have me pay to fix this problem when it comes to that, but I feel this Toyota issue.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that upon purchasing the vehicle, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the front passenger’s side tire. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was purchased, Norm Reeves Honda Superstore Huntington Beach (19131 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach, CA 92648), and the contact was informed that no fault was found with the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while attempting to make a U-turn with an unknown message on the instrument panel. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V682000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was purchased; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 67,500.