2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

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.

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!

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.

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 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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.