Power Train Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 2

Transmisson started whining and slipping at 61000 miles. 1k miles out of warrenty. Even though Toyota has a service bulletin about knowing my exact year and serial number transmisson will go bad. No recall issued and they want 9k for a repair. Rick mcgill Toyota on alcoa highway knoxville tennensse diagnosed it.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Transmission went out at 93,000 miles. Toyota dealer confirmed the car needs a new transmission and wants me to pay $7500 for it. This seems ridiculous for these to go out the early. I follow all the regular maintenance schedules.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Making a whinnig noise while accelerating.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning lights were illuminated. A passerby helped push the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the vehicle was inspected, and the contact was informed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,335.

On September 2, 2025, the vehicle’s hybrid system shut down on cold start and the vehicle would not start. A dealer inspection reported coolant had entered cylinder #4, allegedly causing the engine block to warp, the cylinder head to crack, and the head gasket to fail. This was a sudden catastrophic engine failure on a five-year-old vehicle with no prior overheating warnings, no dashboard alerts, and no performance issues in the days leading up to the failure. It is highly unlikely for an engine block to warp without sustained overheating, yet the failure occurred on a cold start. The dealership itself described this as a “premature failure” in their service report. At approximately 26,000 miles, the vehicle’s coolant thermostat failed and was replaced under warranty. If the thermostat stuck closed even briefly, the engine could have experienced one or more silent overheat events that never registered on the dashboard. In aluminum blocks, even short bursts of high localized heat can create latent distortion that doesn’t cause immediate problems but can eventually lead to catastrophic failure years later. Safety risk: – vehicle became disabled suddenly without warning. – engine failure occurred without overheating symptoms, creating risk of sudden shutdown during use. Problem confirmation: – engine failure confirmed by a Toyota-authorized dealer. – dealer service report explicitly called this a “premature failure. ” warning lamps / symptoms: – a check engine light appeared briefly three days before failure, then cleared on its own. – no overheating warnings or drivability issues were observed prior to failure.

See all problems of the 2020 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The transmission on this vehicle has failed - I’ve been told by Toyota dealer maintenance that I need the transmission replaced on this vehicle with under 70,000 miles and just over three years old. I began hearing a whining noise while accelerating, and brought it in for service. No system warnings.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Transmission on this vehicle failed and causes sudden deceleration causing a safety issue. Sudden deceleration. Yes, Toyota of vero beach has confirmed failure of the transmission. No, warning just failed then got all the warnings and lights immediately thereafter.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Transmission whine owners of 2017–2022 Toyota Highlanders, 2017–2020 siennas, and 2018–2020 camrys are experiencing serious transmission issues—including high-pitched whining, erratic shifting, clunks, hesitation, and premature failure. These vehicles are equipped with the ua80f (awd) and ua80e (fwd) 8-speed automatic transmissions.

Car manufactured in April 2019. Transmission failure at 113,000 miles. Before failure, the transmission had a whine and lag when accelerating from a full stop, creating an unsafe situation when pulling into traffic. The cost to repair is over $9,000, and the part is on backorder for several months. The nhsta facilitated a voluntary service bulletin with Toyota that extended the warranty for the Highlander model years 2017 to 2018 for issues related to the ua80f transmission. The service bulletin should extend to the 2019 model year, as the issues are the same and the transmission model is the same, and possibly for models built early in 2019, which likely have transmissions built or component parts from 2018.

Transmission failure at 78,000 miles.

2021 Toyota Highlander 87000 miles began making humming noise when stepping on gas and goes away when foot off gas. Toyota said metal shavings in transmission fluid and we need new transmission. We have made appointment to replace. No warning lights. No incident just filing complaint.

Ua80 transmission failure.

2020 Toyota Highlander l transmission. . Whining noise it gets louder when accelerating.

Transmission planetary gears in 2020 Toyota Highlander. Makes a "whining" noise when accelerating. No warning lights or other symptoms. Many reported problems with this model but no recall. Many people are needing to pay out of pocket due to the 60k mileage powertrain warranty.

2017 Toyota Highlander xle why hasn’t Toyota issued a recall?! my transmission failed at 2am on the florida turnpike 140 miles from home, after a physically and emotionally exhausting day moving my daughter to college. I slept in my car 7 hours, scared, waiting to get towed. The closest shop that was open early on a Saturday was an hour away in the other direction and when I got there, they told me they wouldn’t be able to look at it until Monday. Pointless to pay 2 nights at a hotel, so I got an uber to get a rental to get home. It wasn’t bad enough when I found out the cost to replace the transmission on a car with 96k miles (my camry had 300k when I sold it), but even if I agreed to pay, the transmission is backordered, and it could be months. Months! I had to pay the diagnostic fee - completely understandable - and I needed it moved to avoid a $75 per day storage fee. Aaa would tow it 100 miles, then $7. 00 per mile. When I asked to speak with someone because I had the upgraded membership that provided 200 miles, I was told they wouldn’t cover any part of the tow because it was already at an auto shop. The least expensive option was to get a transport company ($300) to pickup and deliver the car to the local Toyota dealership. They’re anticipating at least 3 months, but they’ll pay for a rental if I agree to have them do the repair. Has Toyota fixed the issue, or will the new transmission likely to have the same problem?.

The transmission was checked by Toyota at 55,000 miles for whining sound. Technician advised that it is a normal sound for that type of transmission and it is ok. The sound continued to get louder , so we took it to 2 independant garages and they advised that the noise is the transmision going bad. At 64,000 miles we took it back to the same dealer to tell them we thought it was the transmission. The technician road with us and said he thought it was the brakes or something else. After returning from the test drive with the technician, 3 technicinians looked at it and agreed that the transmission is bad and should be replaced. The factory warranty expired at 60,000 miles and Toyota is not honoring that we took it to them for the same problem prior to warranty expiration. They are advsising that it has not completely failed yet, so it's not a problem. I do not want to drive my vehicle for any distance or at highway speeds for fear of failure in a dangerous area or stranded during bad weather.

Transmission whining, harsh shifting, delayed acceleration.

The transmission has exhibited signs of premature failure due to an internal component defect. The only indication was a whining noise when accelerating. This was first noticed around July 2025 when the car had about 78,000 miles on it. The car was later inspected by the Toyota dealer on 08/20/2025 with 79,253 miles on it. The Toyota dealer determined that "the noise being heard was the transmission becoming faulty" and prescribed replacing the transmission "as soon as possible. " this is a safety concern if the transmission suddenly fails while driving, but I am not going to wait for that to happen before replacing it.

At approximately 64,607 miles, my 2019 Toyota Highlander experienced a complete transmission failure. The vehicle had. Been properly maintained. There were no warning lights prior to the failure. The transmission began making a high-pitched whining noise, followed by difficulty shifting. Research shows that many other 2019 Highlander owners have reported the same issue, often described as the "death whine," occurring between 50,000-100,000 miles. These failures appear related to the ua80 8 -speed automatic transmission, which has already been the subject of service programs in earlier 2017-2018 Toyota vehicles. Transmission replacement cost range from $7,000 - $10,000, with parts frequently on backorder. A major drivetrain failure at such low milage, raises significant safety concerns, and appears to be a recurring defect that warrants investigation.

Transmission started whining at 90k miles and has failed.

8/I was informed that the had a transmission failure requiring full replacement. The Highlander is a 2019 se with a ua80 transmission which we have now discovered has multiple complaints against it. Our car only has 108,000 miles and has been maintained with all required maintenance a full transmission service.

August 14, 2025 while coming home from work, truck started to lose power. It slowed down on the main street and then coasted to a complete stop in the middle of the road. There were no signals or alerts until it went dead. The vehicle will start, but it will not advance when put in drive. I have had the vehicle towed to my dealership to expedite diagnosing the issue.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I was nearly in an accident because the vehicle was unable to accelerate quickly due to transmission shift delay.

Erratic shifting, dangerous hesitancy and slow starts when pulling into traffic, whining. Took the car to the Toyota dealer on 08/19/2025, diagnosed as having a failing transmission (detailed service invoice attached).

My 2020 vehicle has 75,000 miles on it. It started making a high pitched sound when accelerating. I brought my vehicle to the dealership where I bought it, to have it inspected. I was assuming it would be a belt or an easy fix. The service agent walked over and cooly explained that I need a new transmission. He continued to say that this is a common issue with this make and model. He stated that at the beginning of the year customers were having to wait a couple of months of transmission parts, but now because of the demand due to the well known power train failure, that the current wait time for transmission parts are only two weeks. He stated several times, that this is a common problem, one that car owners are expected to pay $9,000. To fix. A quick google search brings up a plethora of customers having the same exact problem. Toyota needs to make this right and issue a recall on their faulty product.

At 65,000 miles, the transmission has developed a "whining" sound consistent with TSB t-sb-0008-21.

While driving my 2022 Toyota Highlander (VIN: 5tdfzrbh3ns225637, 29,427 miles), I have experienced multiple recurring safety defects that Toyota has been unable or unwilling to repair under warranty. •front collision sensors frequently trigger without any object present, creating a risk of unexpected emergency braking at freeway speeds. •transmission hesitates and surges unpredictably, sometimes propelling the vehicle into traffic. •in heavy rain, my windshield wipers activated on their own and multiple system failure warnings appeared (including abs failure), nearly causing a crash. •persistent startability issue when fuel is below half a tank. •seatbelt malfunction caused a passenger to strike their head. •seat heater failure, seat separation, persistent coolant odor, and nonfunctional factory wireless charger since purchase. These defects are intermittent but recurring, and their unpredictability increases the danger. Toyota and the dealer have failed to duplicate the issues during short test drives, but they continue to occur during normal operation. This vehicle remains under factory and extended warranty, yet repairs have been denied. I believe these defects pose a serious risk to myself, my passengers, and others on the road.

Entering the freeway a mile from home the car would not properly excellerate, only reachind 40 mph before exiting the freeway in favor backroads to my appointment. Shaking back and forth while driving, exacerbated when braking and coming to stop, I needed to put the car into neutral to calm down the shaking while waiting for the light to change. I just went through experiencing a brake failure and reporting of that to this agency and now see another of many defects associated with the 2020-2022 Toyota Highlanders and siennas Toyota is not addressing through recalls as they should be, and further frustrated this agency has or chooses to have no means by which to enforce Toyota's responsibility to the public.

Transmission failed and makes whining noise.

Started hearing a whining noise when I would accelerate and then my car bucked a couple of times. I brought it into Toyota on 8/07/25 to be checked out and I was told that my transmission would need to be replaced. My car is 4 years old, bought brand new in April of 2021 and have kept up on regular maintenance. In researching this I am finding out that there is a large number of people who are experiencing this same thing with their Highlanders. I have also come to find out that in February of 2021 there was a TSB put out with regards to this same issue. This was 2 months before I even purchased my car. It for some reason does not include every vehicle and only some vehicles are included leaving others with this problem out of luck. I do not understand how that can be. If I have that ua80f transmission in my car and that is what is being named as one of the transmissions that have this problem then why is that certain vehicles are not being taken care of and why is Toyota not issuing a recall? my warranty has expired so I am being expected to pay out of pocket $8,000 (not including labor) and on top of that they do not even have the parts as they are on back order. We have to hold Toyota responsible for this.

On August 3, 2025, the vehicle developed a loud humming noise. After an inspection on August 12, heritage Toyota informed me that the transmission had failed and would require replacement at an estimated cost of $9,000. This failure occurred only days past the five-year warranty and just 8,834 miles beyond the 60,000-mile powertrain limit. I immediately contacted Toyota’s brand engagement center (case #250814000192). Despite speaking with multiple representatives over several weeks, my inquiries were repeatedly delayed, escalated, or dismissed. At one point, I was even informed that further follow-up on my case would be deleted through Toyota website. Ultimately, I was offered 50% coverage of the transmission replacement. While I appreciate this offer, it does not fully address the seriousness of a transmission failure occurring under such circumstances. I also contacted heritage Toyota directly to request assistance, but my calls to the service manager went unanswered, and the dealership declined to provide any additional support. I believe this situation raises concerns about both product quality and customer care. A transmission should not fail in under five years with fewer than 70,000 miles, especially on a well-maintained vehicle serviced exclusively by Toyota. I respectfully request that Toyota be held accountable for this failure and that further review be conducted to determine whether this issue represents a larger pattern of premature transmission failures in Highlanders.

While driving, I began noticing a high-pitched whining or buzzing noise when pressing the accelerator, particularly at low speeds. The sound resembles an electric or remote-control car and rises in pitch with engine rpms. The noise disappears when I release the gas pedal. A mechanic initially suspected a wheel bearing, but after further inspection, it appears the noise is coming from the transmission or drivetrain. I later discovered that this issue is widespread among 2017–2020 Toyota Highlander models equipped with the ua80e/ua80f 8-speed automatic transmission, which has been associated with internal gear and pump whine. Toyota has issued customer support program pol19-04 and technical service bulletin t-sb-0008-21 addressing similar transmission whine and gear damage, but my vehicle is outside the standard 5-year/60,000-mile warranty and was not included in the extended coverage list, even though the symptoms match exactly. The problem appears to be a design or component defect within the ua80-series transmission, leading to premature wear and potential failure. This can affect drivability, safety during acceleration, and could result in transmission failure without warning.

I’m reporting a drivetrain and engine performance issue affecting my 2019 Toyota Highlander, which I believe is related to Toyota's t-sb-0160-18, t-sb-0008-21, and customer support program zjc (csp zjc). My vehicle is exhibiting the same symptoms like: 1. Intermittent engine misfires (no consistent cel, but noticeable during driving) 2. Hesitation and shuddering during light or moderate acceleration 3. Unintended surging/lunging — the vehicle will randomly jerk forward without throttle input 4. Whining noise under acceleration, which appears to come from the engine bay these symptoms negatively affect vehicle control and driver confidence, especially when merging, passing, or driving in traffic. The behavior is unpredictable and poses a potential safety hazard. After researching, I found that Toyota issued t-sb-0160-18 and t-sb-0008-21 for this engine, acknowledging similar performance issues due to valve train irregularities and ecm programming. Toyota also released customer support program zjc, offering limited support to some vins. However, despite my vehicle showing the same symptoms, it is not included in the csp, and Toyota has not offered assistance without out-of-pocket costs. This issue appears to be more widespread than Toyota’s internal VIN list suggests. Many Highlander owners have reported the same issues online, and I believe Toyota should take responsibility for correcting these performance defects under a recall, not a limited csp. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigate the scope and validity of Toyota's csp zjc and tsbs related to the 2gr-fks engine and push Toyota to expand csp zjc or issue a formal recall to cover all affected vehicles based on symptoms, not just vins.

Whine when accelerating. Toyota has released a TSB 0008-21 indicating to replace transmission due to incorrect installation of a retaining clip on a nut securing differential in place. Nut can become loose and stuck in gears of internals of transmission causing transmission to lock up while driving. This will cause loss of power and could result in an accident. Toyota is aware of the issue but refuses to make repairs due to vehicle being outside of powertrain warranty. Toyota has extended warranty to 10 years on 2017 and 208 model years however the problem still exist in 2017-2024 model years with the same transmission ua80e/ua80f.

My wife was driving on the highway, felt a bump and the engine rpms spiked. The check engine light came on as well as a error message that the secondary collision braking system was disabled. The vehicle was taken to the dealership and we were told there was a internal failure in the transmission. The vehicle has approximately 80k miles.