2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

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

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.

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.

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.

My car would randomly shut off at red lights, one time I was on a hill & thought I was going to roll back into the car in front of me. After restarting it would turn on. The radio would randomly shut off. We eventually replaced the battery. On a Fri.(Dec 17th) my car would not start, so my Husband drove the kids & I to school, upon my return the car started. He told me the wheel locks & I need to move it. Then on Mon. (Dec 20th) driving my daughter to preschool school…I have video from home camera showing your system will not let me attach a video) …my car stalling as I reversed out of the driveway. I loose all control, then you hear that I pulled the emergency break & stop just before two cars pass by. I then restart the car, it goes, I drive 3 houses down I pressed the break to make a left turn onto a side street, my car accelerated & smashed into a telephone pole on the drivers side. You can hear the crash on my home camera. The impact was so hard, it bent my a frame, my airbags did not deploy, my drivers side door would not open. I shifted the pole & cracked the frozen dirt ground around it as seen in the pics. I can provide a copy of the body work repairs. We paid our $1k deductible. The car jpeg image icon does is not show like the other pics attached, so I attached a screen shot as well. We have other pictures & video’s of damage to provide upon request

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.

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.

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.

When stopped at a stop light and using the auto off feature the Highlander stalls. The automatic shutoff repeatedly keeps draining the battery unless I manually turn the automatic shutoff feature off so it does not shut off when the vehicle is stopped. This has continued to happen over the last year and a half.