2017 Toyota Highlander Power Train

About two weeks prior to the transmission failing, I started hearing a high-pitched whining coming from the transmission, difficulty shifting, and lurching forward when engaging the gear. On the evening of October 4th, my wife was driving at 65 mph 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. The mechanic stated 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 POL [XXX] dated 4/18/2019, REPAIR COVERAGE FOR UA80 TRANSMISSION ON CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY SIENNA AND CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY HIGHLANDER VEHICLES. The mechanic said the failure code with a failed transaxle and all the symptoms my vehicle experienced were consistent with the bulletin. My time period for the bulletin was for cars produced from November 2016 to December 2017. My vehicle’s manufacturing date was 12/8/2016. Toyota claims my vehicle although produced during this time was not impacted. It is my belief that Toyota was aware of multiple failures on UA80 transmissions on vehicles produced from 2016 to 2020 and deliberately identified a smaller number to avoid a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

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.

Transmission problem in our 2017 Toyota Highlander started at 104k miles. unfortunately for us out of warranty and lucky for dealer and manufacture who shifted the cost to consumer outside warranty. We experienced delayed and sudden shifting, slow at accelerating. One day the engine kept revving but car was not moving. Also reverse gear stopped working. We brought the car to local dealer, who gave us every excuse in the world that it was our driving habit, we take it off roading etc etc. The truth I am a very careful driver which I am sure the dealer laughed at me for saying that. Never took the car off roading, or on monthly long trips. All services were completed by the dealer. The quoted us a cost of $9500 plus tax plus $250 diagnosing fee. Also reported the issue to Toyota consumer line, got the same answer car is outside warranty and no cost sharing as no official recall has been issued. Upon doing some research, we came across similar issues reported by same model. The sad part is local dealership was fully aware of similar issue, yet they failed to warn customers or suggest necessary repairs while the car had full warranty. A tech at dealer even said, they are not going to suggest it as in that case the repair would have to be done at dealers expense. How, is this ethically right to leave the consumer in dark, at risk on the road and blame the problem on bad driving habit? This is perfect case of bad dealership and a company hiding their problem. Wait till actually someone dies to issue a recall?

On March 9, 2022, the transmission in my 2017 Toyota Highlander completely failed while I was driving on a busy road during rush-hour traffic. I was approaching a stop light and was braking when the vehicle lunged forward and then stopped moving. I pressed the accelerator to move up to the stop light but the vehicle would not move, even though it was in Drive gear. I changed the gear to Park and then back to Drive and the vehicle still would not move. The engine was revving and the RPMs were increasing but the vehicle would not move while in Drive gear. I also tried to reverse but the vehicle still would not move. I had to exit the vehicle and ask for assistance from other motorists to physically push my vehicle off the road into a parking lot so as not to continue blocking the busy road. I called for a tow truck which towed my vehicle to Scott Clark Toyota City dealership in Matthews, North Carolina. They inspected the vehicle and the next day let me know that transmission had completely failed. They added that they had never experienced this and it was especially unusual on such a new vehicle. The vehicle was only 5 years old and only had 45,000 miles with no prior issue or warning. We bought the vehicle new in 2017 and it has been serviced regularly by a Toyota dealership. Thankfully, the vehicle was still under factory warranty and the transmission was replaced at no cost to me.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON MAKING A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE SHUT-OFF AS HE DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESTART. THE CONTACT HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO MOLLE TOYOTA (601 W 103RD ST, KANSAS CITY, MO 64114) WHERE THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND THE CONTACT WAS PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 37,000.*JB CONSUMER STATED VEHICLE DID RESTART HOWEVER IT WOULDN'T GO INTO ANY GEAR FORWARD OR RESERVE.*JB

UNABLE TO PUT MY CAR IN DRIVE GEAR. STARTED MY SUV WANTED TO GET TO REVERSE. I TRY MAYBE 20 TIMES BEFORE I GOT TO IT. IT WAS HARD TO MOVE RIGHT AND DOWN. I WAS PARKED I MY DRIVEWAY WAS STEPPING ON MY BRAKES. HAPPEN 4 TIMES YESTERDAY. HAVE NOT DRIVEN TODAY.

IN MOTION BUT AT SLOW SPEEDS (<40MPH) COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER. ALL SYSTEMS FAILED, INCLUDING ENGINE, STEERING AND BRAKES. ERROR CODE P0087 INDICATE FUEL PROBLEM. FUEL PUMP? HAPPENED TWICE, ABOUT 40K MILES APART. ONCE IN CONSTRUCTION ZONE ON INTERSTATE AND ONCE ON VERY ISOLATED RURAL ROAD. THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE I COULD REPORT BUT IT'S A VERY LONG STORY. SEE UPLOADED INFORMATION.

THE TRANSMISSION FAILED WITHOUT ANY WARNING ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT 33,000 MILES ON THE CAR PUTTING THE WHOLE FAMILY IN THE CAR AT RISK OF COLLISION. THERE WAS NO ACTION FROM TOYOTA EVEN AFTER KNOWING THAT THEIR TRANSMISSIONS HAVE ISSUES. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY CASES LIKE MINE WHERE THE TRANSMISSION FAILS WITHOUT WARNING.

ON HIGHWAY TRAFFIC CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP WE SAT WITH FOOT ON BRAKE MAYBE 2-3 MINUTES WHEN I RELEASED BRAKES CAR WOULD NOT GO FOR A SECOND THEN STARTED GOING, NO NOISES THAT I RECALL. 2ND TIME AFTER I TURN AND START TO SPEED UP IT FEELS LIKE ITS SLIPPING OR REALLY SLUGGISH, THIS HAS NOW HAPPENED A FEW TIMES, IT SEEMS TO BE WHEN I FIRST DRIVE THE CAR IN THE MORNING. HAVE NOT NOTICED IT AS MUCH AFTER IT WARMS UP AND I DRIVE FOR A WHILE. I HAVE 44,000 MILES CURRENTLY AND DID BUY IT NEW.

AT 62K MILES I NOTICED A LITTLE PINK ON GARAGE FLOOR AND HAD A MECHANIC LOOK AT THE PROBLEM AND FOUND I HAD A INLET WATER THERMOSTATIC HOUSING LEAKING. HE INSTALLED NEW ONE AT MY COST. POWER TRAIN WARRANTY WAS UP TO 60K MILES. FOUND A FEW DAYS LATER STILL LEAKING AND THIS TIME WATER PUMP. COMBINED COST FOR 2 REPAIRS AT LOCAL TOYOTA WAS RIGHT AT $1600. I BOUGHT THIS NEW AND PRIOR TO THIS I HAVE HAD GREAT SERVICE FROM MY TOYOTAS. THOUGHT CORPORATE TOYOTA WOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS BUT NO WAY. I HAVE SPOKE TO SEVERAL OTHER OWNERS OF THIS YEAR INCLUDING RAV OWNERS AND THEY HAD SAME ISSUE. HOPEFULLY TOYOTA RECALLS THESE WATER PUMPS BECAUSE NO NEW CARS WATER PUMP SHOULD GO OUT LESS THAN 100K MILES, THIS VEHICLE COST ME $48K AND WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. WHEN I CALLED TOYOTA YESTERDAY TO CHECK TO SEE IF THERE WAS A RECALL THEY SAID NO BUT THERE WAS A CAMPAIGN FIX ON A OIL HOSE, EVEN THOUGH I WAS REGISTERED WITH THEM THEY DID NOT NOTIFY ME OF THIS CAMPAIGN. I WILL FILE COMPLAINTS WITH VARIOUS ADVOCATES FOR CONSUMERS, THIS IS VERY UNSATISFACTORY ESPECIALLY FOR TOYOTA AND MY WALLET. BOOH TOYOTA..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

29K ON THE CAR AND FOURTH TIME AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS, THIS TIME THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION.

ON SATURDAY APRIL 27 AT 2 PM I PUT MY CAR IN PARK AND WAS GETTING OUT. THE CAR STARTED ROLLING BACKWARDS AND AS I WENT TO REACT WAS KNOCKED DOWN AND PINNED UNDER THE FRONT LEFT TIRE OF THE CAR. MY THREE CHILDREN WERE IN THE BACK WATCHING THEIR MOTHER LYING ON THE GROUND HELPLESS AND SCREAMING FOR HELP. THANK GOD TO GOOD SAMARITAN'S THEY LIFTED THE CAR OFF OF ME WHILE I WAITED FOR THE EMS TO ARRIVE. SEVERAL WITNESSES SAID THE CAR WAS IN FACT IN PARK AND THIS SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. I AM SEVERELY SORE AND INJURED AND THIS SHOULD NOT EVER HAPPEN. THIS HAPPENED ON HYLAN BLVD. PARTY CITY IN STATEN ISLAND NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILED/QUIT WORKING AT A STOP LIGHT IN CHEYENNE, WYOMING 28 DECEMBER 2018 WITH ONLY 25,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. I HAD IT TOWED BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS.

WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT A RED LIGHT, THE VEHICLE STARTED JOLTING LIKE IT WAS GOING TO SHUT OFF. ONCE AT A FULL STOP, THE CAR DID NOT SHUT OFF. INSTEAD, ONCE I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF THE BREAK, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE. I SHIFTED INTO PARK, BACK TO DRIVE, REVERSE, AND EVEN MANUAL BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. I WAS STUCK ON A ROAD WHERE CARS DRIVE 60-70 MPH IF THE LIGHT IS GREEN I WAS AFRAID THAT I WOULD BE READ-ENDED. I WAS HELPED BY A GOOD SAMARITAN OFF THE ROAD AND WAS FORCED TO TOW THE VEHICLE TO MY HOUSE. NEXT MORNING, THE CAR STILL WOULD NOT MOVE AND WAS FORCED TO TOW IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. OUTSIDE OF SOME IRREGULAR DOWN-SHIFTING, THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. ULTIMATELY, THE SYSTEM WAS REBOOTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO ME AFTER I TEST DROVE IT WITH THE SHOP FOREMAN. BECAUSE THE PROBLEM WAS NOT DIAGNOSED, I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND AFRAID THAT PROBLEM MAY REOCCUR, LEAVING ME IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE DEALERSHIP ITSELF WAS VERY HELPFUL BUT THEY RELIED ON CORPORATE TOYOTA TO GUIDE THEM WITH DIAGNOSING AND FIXING THE PROBLEM. IT SEEMS THEY CAME UP SHORT.

AT ABOUT 11,000 MILES, A HIGH PITCH WHINING SOUND APPEARED DURING ACCELERATION. THE DEALER IDENTIFIED A PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES A NEW TRANSMISSION. THE PARTS ARE BACK ORDERED. I WAS ADVISED TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL TOYOTA APPROVED THE REPAIR AND THE PARTS WERE AVAILABLE. RESEARCH INDICATED THAT THIS ISSUE IS COMMON AND MAY LEAD TO COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE PRESENTING A SAFETY ISSUE.

SINCE I LEASED BY HIGHLANDER I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE CAR SHIFTS VERY HARD, SOMETIMES SPUTTERING BETWEEN 5-10MPH AND THEN ACCELERATING. DEALER REFLASHED THE COMPUTER BASED ON TECHNICAL BULLETIN TSB-0194-17. THEY HAVE NOW HAD THE CAR FOR 3 DAYS AND HAVE REPLICATED THE ISSUE AND I AM AWAITING GUIDANCE. THE VEHICLE HAS 13,000 MILES ON IT, THERE SHOULD NOT BE MAJOR TRANSMISSION ISSUES. MY COMPLAINT DOESN'T SEEM ISOLATED.

TRANSMISSION FAILURE. TOYOTA REPLACED ENTIRE TRANSMISSION

4 WEEKS AGO THERE WAS A NOTICEABLE HIGH PITCHED WHINE DURING ACCELERATION FROM 40 MPH AND UP. THE WHINE'S PITCH WOULD CHANGE UP OR DOWN WHEN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CHANGED GEARS AND THE VEHICLE'S SPEED CHANGED. ON 2/12/2018, THE TRANSMISSION LET GO (THE ENGINE WOULD REV, BUT NO POWER TO THE WHEELS) WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ON A BUSY 45 MPH STREET. FORTUNATELY, THE PERSON BEHIND HERE DIDN'T REAR-END HER AND MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE INTO A TURNING LANE AND STOP WITH FLASHERS ON. SHE TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND ON. THE TRANSMISSION ENGAGED AND SHE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE HOME. RIGHT BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION LET GO, SHE HEARD A GRINDING NOISE. WHEN I DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE WHINE WAS GONE ON ACCELERATION, BUT NOW IT WOULD WHINE ON DECELERATION! THE MECHANIC AT THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO AN INTERNAL CLIP THAT BECOMES UNSEATED. THE CLIP CAN CAUSE INTERNAL DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. THEY WERE WORKING ON ANOTHER HIGHLANDER WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. THERE IS A CONVERSATION PUBLISHED ON EDMUNDS.COM WITH OTHER PEOPLE REPORTING THE SAME ISSUE I HAD WITH MY HIGHLANDER'S 8-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. MY HIGHLANDER HAD 13.200 MILES ON IT WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP. IT TOOK 9 CALENDAR DAYS TO GET THE VEHICLE FIXED DUE TO LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF THE TRANSMISSION. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME MY REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION WAS THE ONLY ONE IN THE COUNTRY (USA) WHEN THEY ORDERED IT! IF THIS IS HAPPENING WITH SO MANY HIGHLANDERS WITH THIS 8-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT RESULTS FROM THE TRANSMISSION FAILING ON SOMEONE ELSE.

AS I WAS TURNING LEFT AT A GREEN ARROW ACROSS A DIVIDED HIGHWAY, THE CAR STOPPED MOVING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR ALARMS IN ADVANCE OF THE STOP, NOR WERE THERE ANY CRUNCHING OR GRINDING SOUNDS AT THE TIME THE CAR STOPPED. I COULD TELL WHEN I STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR AT THE TIME THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN THAT SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT. AFTER THE CAR STOPPED, I TRIED TO RE-START 2X IN THE INTERSECTION, THEN PUSHED THE CAR OUT OF THE INTERSECTION. THE LIGHTS AND ELECTRICAL CAME ON, BUT WHEN I PUT IT IN GEAR AND HIT THE ACCELERATOR, THE ENGINE REVVED AND THE RPMS WENT UP, BUT THE TIRES DID NOT ENGAGE. TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WITH CALLS TO TOYOTA ENGINEERING TOOK 2 DAYS TO DIAGNOSE IT AS A TRANSMISSION " PRODUCTION ERROR" THAT REQUIRED A "COUNTERMANDED" REPLACEMENT. THEY HAVE HAD THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE FOR OVER 30 DAYS. I WAS CONTACTED LAST FRIDAY THE 12TH TO BE TOLD THAT THE REPLACEMENT PART WAS IN, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED TO PICK UP.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DRIVE FORWARD AND ROLLED BACKWARDS. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR AXLE SHAFT SUPPORT BEARING RETAINING RING FAILED AND CAUSED THE AXLE TO SEPARATE FROM THE TRANS AXLE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 192.