Toyota Highlander Complaints

958 consumer complaints on file.

#11683442August 27, 2025
POWER TRAIN
UA80 transmission failure
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683238August 26, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR:HANDLE:EXTERIOR, STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR:HANDLE:INTERIOR
My driver side rear door handle comes off when I open the door. I am having the dealership look into this on 8/28/2025.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683118August 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Transmission in our 2021 Toyota Highlander required a full replacement due to a known part defect (front carrier assembly front pinion shaft). Toyota will not cover any portion of the $8k cost. In looking into the issue, this is very widespread with even our dealership confirming four transmission replacements by customers in a short period of time. The transmission is also back ordered (ours took 3 months), but the dealership has seen up to six months. I am guessing this is do to the high demand.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682893August 25, 2025
POWER TRAIN
At 119,000 miles, the UA80F transmission in our 2021 Toyota Highlander XSE started making a whining noise. A dealer confirms the transmission needs to be replaced. After much research, this is apparently a known issue and Toyota will not warranty the repair after the 60,000 mile warranty expires. Estimated repair cost is $11,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682344August 22, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Complete failure of transmission at approximately 53k miles. No warnings. No lights. Car had just had its 50k miles service appointment. My safety and that of my family was jeopardized when I unknowingly took this car to/from our family vacation out of state- the gears started jumping a few days after we returned, quickly followed by the grinding, whining noises. Come to find out there is a service bulletin that has been out for 4 years! T-SB- 0008-21 issued on February 9, 2021, for select 2021 Highlander models equipped with a UA80E or UA8OF.8-speed automatic transmission. Why wasn't this a recall? How is this not a safety issue? Why wasn't this disclosed by Toyota when I was sold a car with 30k miles on it for $35k miles?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682149August 21, 2025
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the front of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,729.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682142August 21, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that the parts were not yet available. The contact had been waiting for the parts for over a year. In addition, the contact was fearful of driving her kids around in the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682008August 20, 2025
POWER TRAIN
My Highlander is making a whine noise due to the issue described in T-SB-0008-21. I was never made aware that this was a potential issue. My car is making the whine noise, but Toyota Of Capistrano refuses to cover the cost of fixing it because my car has 86,000 miles. I would have taken the car in sooner had I known of this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681929August 20, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
As your braking coming to a stop, the vehicle surges forward, feels like you lost your brakes and then it stops. If the car in front of you were to stop suddenly, you would hit them from behind. It had been going on for a while, but since it was my wife’s car she said she just stayed way back from the car ahead of her. I came within inches of hitting someone in early June 2025. I took the car to my Toyota dealer June 25, 2025 and they said there was a computer update for the braking system. It took away most of the problem, but it still surged.On August 19, 2025 I took the car back to the dealer where they had another computer update for the brakes. We will see if that works!! I feel it’s a safety issue, we should have been notified. Out of warranty cost me $348.01
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681095August 16, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Complaint Description: The automatic transmission in my 2022 Toyota Highlander failed completely at only 62,800 miles. Toyota Brand Engagement Center offered to cover 50% of the replacement cost, but I was informed that the transmission is on national backorder with an estimated wait time of 4–5 months. This leaves me without a safe and reliable vehicle for an extended period of time. The failure is consistent with Technical Service Bulletin T-SB-0008-21 (Feb 9, 2021), which acknowledges internal component failures and abnormal noises (whine/grind) in UA80E/UA80F transmissions. A major drivetrain failure at this mileage is unacceptable and raises concerns about safety, reliability, and Toyota’s handling of known transmission defects. I am requesting NHTSA to investigate this issue as it appears to be systemic and affecting many 2021–2022 Toyota Highlander owners.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681085August 16, 2025
AIR BAGS
My wife was hit from the driver side, causing car to deviate and have a head on collision with a fire hydrant. No airbags deployed. Side or front.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11680607August 14, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Started hearing a whining noise when I would accelerate and then my car bucked a couple of times. I brought it into Toyota on 8/07/25 to be checked out and I was told that my transmission would need to be replaced. My car is 4 years old, bought brand new in April of 2021 and have kept up on regular maintenance. In researching this I am finding out that there is a large number of people who are experiencing this same thing with their Highlanders. I have also come to find out that in February of 2021 there was a TSB put out with regards to this same issue. This was 2 months before I even purchased my car. It for some reason does not include every vehicle and only some vehicles are included leaving others with this problem out of luck. I do not understand how that can be. If I have that UA80F transmission in my car and that is what is being named as one of the transmissions that have this problem then why is that certain vehicles are not being taken care of and why is Toyota not issuing a recall? My warranty has expired so I am being expected to pay out of pocket $8,000 (not including labor) and on top of that they do not even have the parts as they are on back order. We have to hold Toyota responsible for this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679955August 11, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Transmission failed and makes whining noise
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679722August 10, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Transmission. I believe the transmission is defective. A lot of customers has complained that toyota Highlander 2021 transmission is defective I was driving my car and the transmission went bad, I could not move my car again. I had to tow it to a mechanic and they diagnose that the transmission is bad
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679694August 10, 2025
POWER TRAIN
While slowing down, the vehicle will suddenly lunge forward, as if It hit a patch of ice and then slow again. This started happening around 30,000 miles. The dealer said this is because of a transition between hydraulic braking and regenerative braking and is "NORMAL". This did not start until 30k miles. I have owned 4 hybrid vehicles and only this one does this. Upon reading and studying online, there was a bulletin for an earlier generation of this type of problem. Clearly, it is an issue as I am not the only one with this problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679684August 10, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Vehicle starts to produce humming and whining sounds as speed picks up from underneath the vehicle, likely from the transmission/final drive gear area. This problem is consistent and persistent. The whining noise stops when the throttle is released and will resume as throttle is engaged. More reported cases of transmission failure, sudden lost of propulsion and grinding noise are found on public forums. Toyota issued a service bulletin about this problem. Toyota issued extended warranty to prior model years from 2016 to 2017 of the same issue. This will affects millions of Toyota sold with the UA80, UA80E and UA80F transmissions in the US.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679297August 8, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving my 2022 Toyota Highlander (VIN: [XXX] , 29,427 miles), I have experienced multiple recurring safety defects that Toyota has been unable or unwilling to repair under warranty. •Front collision sensors frequently trigger without any object present, creating a risk of unexpected emergency braking at freeway speeds. •Transmission hesitates and surges unpredictably, sometimes propelling the vehicle into traffic. •In heavy rain, my windshield wipers activated on their own and multiple system failure warnings appeared (including ABS failure), nearly causing a crash. •Persistent startability issue when fuel is below half a tank. •Seatbelt malfunction caused a passenger to strike their head. •Seat heater failure, seat separation, persistent coolant odor, and nonfunctional factory wireless charger since purchase. These defects are intermittent but recurring, and their unpredictability increases the danger. Toyota and the dealer have failed to duplicate the issues during short test drives, but they continue to occur during normal operation. This vehicle remains under factory and extended warranty, yet repairs have been denied. I believe these defects pose a serious risk to myself, my passengers, and others on the road. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679104August 7, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
I purchased a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid brand new. This vehicle was manufactured during COVID (production date of 10/2020) with significant mfg defects that have surfaced after several years of ownership. Both the passenger and driver’s side doors have growing cracks/defects which has slowly caused the doors/windows to bow out. A collision company estimates the repairs to be at least $11,000 and after confirming that I had no accidents or work done on the vehicle to cause this problem, agreed that this is a manufacturing defect. Toyota has additionally refused to acknowledge that the vehicle is most likely a safety hazard to drive with the window now so bowed out on the passenger window, that it is exposed to the elements. The Corporation has refused to remedy the mfg defects citing that it has been 4 years and too many miles later, even though I have a nearly 4 year history with them of meticulously taking my vehicle in to get serviced etc. Ultimately they know that this defect was a hidden/growing problem, but because of the extent of the damage involved, they have refused to take ownership.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679063August 7, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11678899August 6, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY, ENGINE
The grill of the vehicle is too big. There is nothing to stop the condenser from being damaged. There should be a plate for airflow but also stop the damage being done to the condenser. Shouldn't have to file an insurance claim, pay out of pocket and warranty doesn't cover. Recurring problem something should be done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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