2024 TOYOTA GRAND HIGHLANDER Complaints

I have a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander (FWD Gas) with about 37,000 miles and had 2 wheel bearings fail - front right and rear right. I noticed a constant humming noise starting around 20-25 mph that increased with vehicle speed. Thinking it was tire noise, I replaced all 4 tires, and the sound was still present. The dealership first replaced the right front bearing, and when they drove it after the repair, they noticed the sound decreased but did not eliminate the noise, and they further diagnosed a failed rear wheel bearing.

My vehicle has a recurrent issue with failing front axle assemblies. The vehicle experienced rotational clicking and had both from axle assemblies replaced around 20,000 miles. Around 40,000 miles the clicking returned and toyota has refused to replace the failing axles again. I currently am at 63,000 miles and I won an arbitration case regarding the axles. The arbitration decision ordered toyota to replace the axles and determined that the parts were defective and covered under warranty. Toyota breached the arbitration and refused to replace the defective axles as ordered in a legally binding arbitration. Rotational clicking is more apparent at low ambient temperatures. A metallic grinding is more apparent at high ambient temperatures. I have had several drive train skips, a sensation of drive train parts slipping and slamming together. Toyota knowingly put defective parts back on my car during the 20,000 mile repair. Toyota release a technical service bulletin T-SB-0082-24 in sep of 2024. It stated that they redesigned the axle to fix the problem. The tsb said to put the original part number on instead of the updated, fixed part number. I received the old, broken part number when my repair was done in 2025. There is a new bulletin T-SB-0028-26 release in april 2026 for the same issue and it states that the previous bulletin is obsolete. The new bulletin states that the correct part number is the new part number not the old one. Additionally, the tsb indicates toyota changed to the new part number with a vin cutoff sometime in 2024. The fixed part number was changed at the production line level in 2024 yet I received the old, known defective part. These are drive axles and a failure can lead to loss of control and a serious accident. A full investigation and recall of this part should be conducted.

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly lurched forward while depressing the brake pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that excessive pressure was needed on the brake pedal to prevent the failure. The contact stated that a service appointment was scheduled with the dealer. While conducting independent research, the contact identified Technical Service Bulletin: T-SB-0028-25, which was associated with the vehicle shuddering while at a complete stop, and believed that the failure was associated with the technical service bulletin. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander. The contact stated that while at a stoplight and attempting to drive forward, while making a left turn, the vehicle experienced a momentary unintended acceleration and lurched forward. The contact immediately depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,544.

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, occasionally there was a clicking sound coming from the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the failure as an axle failure. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred approximately two to three months later. The vehicle was repaired five times due to failures. There was no sound coming from the vehicle after the last repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5.

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate immediately while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle then accelerated and lurched forward while entering traffic. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

I own a 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum Hybrid MAX with approximately 34,000 miles. The vehicle has experienced repeated delayed or absent acceleration from a complete stop, creating a serious risk when entering traffic. Before the most recent repair, I reported intermittent hesitation to the Toyota dealer. On Sunday, July 12, 2026, shortly after startup, the vehicle hesitated twice within the first half mile. At the second stop sign, I attempted a left turn into traffic and applied approximately 30% accelerator pedal. The engine was running, but the vehicle only crept forward at idle-level power for approximately three seconds. There was no noticeable increase in engine RPM and no warning lights. Normal power then returned. On July 15, 2026, the Toyota dealer performed TSB T-SB-0017-24 and updated the engine-control software for hesitation during acceleration. After that repair, the same loss-of-acceleration condition happened again while my wife was leaving a parking lot. She was stopped at a stop sign, making a right turn into traffic on a slight uphill grade, when the vehicle failed to provide normal acceleration. This was substantially similar to the earlier incident and occurred after the software update intended to correct the problem. The repeated failure to respond to accelerator input from a stop creates a collision risk because the vehicle can begin entering traffic without providing the expected power. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether this is a broader safety defect affecting the Grand Highlander Hybrid MAX and whether the existing software repair is effective.

I've had consistent issues with the vehicle accelerating and shifting. These include sluggish acceleration, loss of power and sputtering when we've come to a complete stop and starting to move again. We've almost been hit by other vehicles at least over 20 times because the vehicle has failed to accelerate when pulling into a roadway. The car hesitates during acceleration regardless of how much I push the gas. Once it starts to go, it feels as though the car can't shift from 1st to 2nd gear, The RPMs get extremely high while the car is going 25-40 mph and remain there for a few seconds up to ~20 seconds. I am fearful of getting t-boned when my car hesitates while turning at an intersection, going through an intersection or pulling out from a parking lot. I have been stuck in several intersections when traffic was coming toward me, but thankfully those cars had patience and avoided us. I've also found that this issue always happens when the hybrid battery shows that it only has a charge of 3 bars. It seems that the engine, transmission and hybrid battery don't know how to communicate when the battery charge gets that low. This has been happening since Dec 2023 when I bought the vehicle and the dealer has never been able to duplicate or find any error code, they are refusing to fix a known issue when many others are experiencing the same issue. There are Toyota Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) out there regarding this problem but my dealer told me they won't do anything as it could label my vehicle a lemon. This is creating an unnecessary safety risk for me and my family.

The passenger-side second-row bench seat (60 percent section of the 60/40 split) has a defective seat track/latch assembly that fails in both directions: it seizes completely when it should slide, and it failed to stay latched while the vehicle was in motion. The seat saw almost no use for the first 34 months of ownership (third row kept folded). Within two weeks of its first regular use (XXX, approx. 45,700 miles), it seized completely and could not be moved in either direction. An authorized Toyota dealership in Placerville, CA disassembled the seat and documented in writing that the seat track was twisted and rubbing against the seat frame. The dealer straightened the track rather than replacing it and stated on the invoice that if the seat stopped moving again, both seat tracks should be replaced and the seat frame itself may need replacement or adjustment. After that repair, in approximately mid-June 2026, the bench slid FORWARD on its own as my wife braked for a stoplight, the track failed to remain latched with the vehicle in motion. Two rear-facing infant car seats are installed on this bench, and our toddlers reach the third row through this seat. On XXX (approx. 46,416 miles, 33 days and about 700 miles after the repair), the seat seized again. The vehicle is currently at a second authorized Toyota dealership in [XXX] for diagnosis and is available for inspection upon request. Safety risk: a second-row seat that does not remain latched cannot properly restrain occupants or anchored child restraints during hard braking or a crash, and a seized seat blocks third-row access and egress for children, including in an emergency. There were no warning lamps or prior symptoms before either failure. Note: NHTSA recall 26V128 covers 2021-2024 Highlander second-row seats that fail to lock; this Grand Highlander is not included in that campaign but exhibits a similar failure to remain latched. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On a recent road trip I experience loss of acceleration twice. I was at a stop sign making a left hand turn. I step on the accelerator it start forward but then stop suddenly leaving me in the 1st lane of on coming traffic. I smashed on the accelerator several time before the vehicle finally responded. I took the vehicle to the dealer on 6/30 told the dealer what had happen along with my google findings acceleration hesitation and sudden lurching in the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid MAX Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs), including T-SB-0017-24. The dealer could not duplicate or find any error code, they are refusing to fix a known issue. They are creating an unnecessary safety risk for me and my family.