2022 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

Vehicle is parked in the sun for over 30 minutes and when the start button is pushed the Air Bag System Malfunction light is on. After restarting the light goes away.

Four days ago, engine started making a whining noise when accelerating, especially in lower gears. No warning signs. 2022 Highlander Platinum is 3 years old, 80K miles, out of warranty; no extended warranty purchased due to historical, stellar Toyota reliability. Toyota service department at Toyota dealership today said whining is due to a bearing issue within the transmission (my personal mechanic inspected and said that is also likely) and cannot be repaired. Transmission could last another 10K-20K miles they said, before it becomes undrivable or just drops, causing a potential safety issue. Net, the entire transmission needs to be replaced to the tune of $9186. Just shocking.

About 4 weeks a go i started hearing a whining noise from my Highlander. Thinking it was a belt we replaced. Whining continued to get worse only on acceleration. We are at 88,000 miles and it is now at Toyota getting a new transmission. Is there not something that can be done about this? I have read thousands of articles that show the UA 80E/F transmissions that are in the 2021-2022 models are junk. Luckily we bought a Toyota VSA and it is covering it. What about after 100,000 miles. Whats to say after another 80,000 it won't go out again which will cost me the $10,000. When the dealers put new transmissions in these vehicles are they using the same parts for the UA 80 E/F or the upgrade parts that fixed the 2023? If we have a VSA it should extended a year past the 100,000 mile mark because of the issue or they should have to replace them completely to match the 2023 models.

2022 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER TRANSMISSION IS MAKING A HIGH PITCH WHINING SOUND AND IS GETTING WORSE. MY WIFE DRIVES 20 MILES A DAY, 6 DAYS A WEEK AT 65 MPH TO WORK AND THE TRANSMISSION NOISE IS GETTING LOUDER. IF THE TRANSMISSION FAILS AND LOCKS UP, IT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN INTO FINDLAY TOYOTA IN PRESCOTT AZ. AND WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION IS DEFINITELY FAILING BUT WOULD NOT WARRANTY THE ISSUE BECAUSE SHE WAS 2500 MILES PAST THE 60K WARRANTY.

When I am slowing down and coming to a stop, my car will surge forward. It feels like my brakes stop working for a second and that I pressed the accelerator. It has happened on flat road, hills and turns.

The car was parked at work and noticed the shattered panoramic moonroof when I got into leave.

I reported twice to Tustin Toyota that my car seemed to have a strange braking issue. It felt like the car lurched/lunged forward as I was braking. Every time I brought it into service, I verbally mentioned it to the technician checking my vehicle in. I was repeatedly told there was no issue. Turns out there is an active bulletin (T-SB-0059-23) that came out but now my vehicle is out of warranty and they won't fix it unless I pay out of pocket. Why was the dealership not aware. Why is this not a recall for all affected years regardless of warranty? There have been multiple reports online with people have the same issue.

This type of steering wheel cover on the steering wheel will wear out by 50,000 miles poor engineered

Ua80f/e transmission in the 2018-2022 Toyota Highlander are defective. Mine has a loud whistle while accelerating. Problems have been acknowledged by Toyota however they’re refusing to fix.

I own a 2022 Toyota Highlander XLE (UA80E transmission, ~66k mi). The vehicle exhibits a severe transmission defect: uncommanded braking/drag at 35–40 mph and sudden loss of power when accelerating from a stop, making merging/crossing intersections dangerous. Two Toyota dealers (Bryan Toyota and Plano Toyota) reproduced the issue, documented the vehicle as unsafe to drive, and recommended full transmission replacement. The failed unit is preserved at the dealer for inspection. (Toyota Corporate Case #250917001779.) This mirrors long-standing defects within Toyota’s UA80 family that Toyota itself has documented: • Customer Support Program ZJC / POL19-04 (4/18/2019)—UA80 whine, harsh shifts, reduced power 2019 MC-10159730-9999 . • T-SB-0160-18 Rev1 (12/17/2018)—UA80 whine/harsh shift/MIL/reduced power 2018 MC-10198131-9999 . • T-SB-0001-18 Rev2 (1/8/2018)—ECM/UA80 mismatch causing harsh shifts 2018 MC-10185780-9999 . • T-SB-0008-21 (2/9/2021)—UA80E/F failures in 2021 Highlander (whine/grind, pinion shaft) 2021 MC-10188917-9999 . The same safety-critical behavior now recurs in my 2022 model. I request NHTSA investigate this as an ongoing UA80 transmission safety defect trend and consider recall/coverage for affected vehicles.