One problem related to steering pinion shaft has been reported for the 2005 Toyota Highlander. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Toyota Highlander based on all problems reported for the 2005 Highlander.
2005 Toyota Highlander 4x4 v6. The steering became jerky when turning and especially when going over bumps. The intermediate shaft assembly had to be replaced to fix the issue. The technician researched it and there have been two technical bulletins put out by Toyota and they have redesigned the original part so that it is no longer available and has a new part number. The Toyota dealership also stated that just lubricating the assembly does not work. My mechanic stated that he has fixed a number of these on Highlanders, rav4s, and avalons. In my opinion the old part adversely affects the steering and safe handling of the vehicle and should have been recalled by Toyota when the part was redesigned.