2020 Toyota Highlander complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the internal bearings had failed, and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced Technical Service Bulletin: TSB-0008-21 as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.

Faulty Transmission that Toyota doesn’t want to cover fixing.

Currently having issues for my active recall with no remedy available

The transmission is making a whining noise at 104;368 miles. We own another 2020 Toyota Highlander and it had to have the transmission replaced for the same reason. It is available for inspection. It’s a safety hazard because it’s a bearings in the transmission that’s failing. The transmission will eventually stop working. The issue was confirmed by a Toyota dealer and one of our transmissions has already had to be replaced. Toyota has a service bulletin out for this known problem. There were no warning signs for the transmission noise.

There is a whining noise coming from the power train/transmission. It only happens when the accelerator pedal is pressed. We had a couple of mechanics look at it. The transmission oil was changed twice, with the vehicle less than 78,000 miles. Neither mechanic can find any issue with any other item, including the engine. The noise still persists. There are no warning lights on. We have researched the web. Toyota is aware of the problem and has replaced some transmissions still under warranty. They have issues a TSB (TSB008-21) in February 2021, but did not issue a recall or notify owners of a potential problem.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Around 92k miles my transmission started makining a whining noise while driving. Dealership diagnosed a transmission problem and it needed to be replaced. They said eventually the transmission will go bad and stop working, potentially leaving me stranded or causing an accident. Spoke with Toyota HQ who would not offer financial assistance or assist with getting a part. UA80F transmissions are on a nationwide backorder. They also would not acknowledge that there is a problem.

The 8-speed automatic transmission was making a whirring, whining noise. Transmission could failed completely and stranded occupants including children. Vehicle has been serviced every 5,000 miles and no warning lights or indicators ever came on. Dealer inspected and diagnosed an internal component failure necessitating complete transmission replacement. Vehicle is 4 years and 2 months old with 65,000 miles on it.

Transmission going out afraid it will come apart or lose power while driving. Toyota dealership told me that we could put new transmission in but it will be the same as the one that is in it and that problem with them has not been corrected and it probably won't hold up long either. Our vehicle only has 71000 miles and we bought it new.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was making an abnormal whining sound. The contact stated that the failure occurred at various speeds. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: T-SB-0008-21 Whine Or Grind Noise from Transmission (Power Train). The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

There was a safety recall for this airbag issue, and Toyota estimated the remedy can be available in Quarter 3, 2024, however, till date nothing was completed. Toyota failed to resolve this matter in a timely manner. Every time I ask the dealer, they say no remedy yet! This is very unacceptable. This is affecting my personal finance. I need this to be resolved ASAP. Thank you.

Complete transmission and transfer assembly failure at 72,000. Just outside manufacturer warranty. Toyota Dealership and Corporate refused to acknowledge responsibility, stating that the transmission and transfer assembly met warranty requirements, and that they would not entertain assistance.

At 76000 miles my 2020 Highlander water pump began to fail. 20 days after the water pump was replaced at Kings Toyota dealership, the transmission is now failing at 79000 miles. The warranty only covers repairs on each up to 60000 miles. This car has been maintained by the dealership and no engine light ever came on. The water pump was $1200 to repair and I’m being quoted $10K to repair the transmission. I also don’t trust that dealership didn’t accidentally cause the transmission to fail bc they surprisingly have a new transmission in stock the day I came in. If it truly failed today, then Toyota needs to recall this car for safety reasons. It went from fine to not fine in just a few days of driving.

The transmission is starting to whine at 108,000 miles. Toyota service told me the only fix is a replacement and they have seen two failures within the same week. They also said this is a known issue with this model year. A Reddit thread shows many owners in the US and Canada with the same issue. If this is resulting in failures of the transmission in operation this is a safety issue and a reasonable recall being a known defect for this line of transmissions. The recommendation from the service department since this vehicle is paid off is to run it to failure.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The VIN was not available.

Sensation of loss of braking, especially at low/crawling speeds, when braking on a downhill, or when braking on bumpy road surfaces. Dealer described it as "INCONSISTENT APPLICATION OF BRAKES WITH CONSISTENT PRESSURE ON PEDAL ON LOW SPEEDS". A very noticeable moment between regenerative braking disengaging and traditional brakes engaging. It was a very unsettling feeling when pulling into a garage or parking space, or making a hard stop at highway speeds. Dealer reprogrammed braking computer per Toyota T-SB-0059-23 ("Hybrid Regenerative Brake Transition Feeling Improvement"). It is improved but not perfect and I still notice this unsettling sensation from time to time.

Toyota sent a letter in mid-2024 that there was a safety recall for airbag issue with 2020 Toyota Highlander. The letter stated that a remedy would be available by the third quarter of 2024. As of January 21, 2025, they still have not provided a remedy for the serious safety issue. I would like to file a complaint against Toyota for failing to remedy the defect within a reasonable time.

Before hitting 100,000 miles the car started making a whirring/whine noise when accelerating. We mentioned it to the service advisor when taking the car in for an oil change. Initially the advisor said the service technicians took it for a drive and didn’t notice any noise; when we picked up the vehicle asked the advisor to sit in with us to point out the noise to him, he heard and acknowledged there in fact was a whining/whirring noise and said he would inquire about it to the shop foreman. The next day the advisor called me and said the shop foreman stated that noise is a transmission issue.

The transmission started slipping without any warning and then went into neutral while driving and I am not able to drive it anymore. The dealership said the transmission is bad. I see many complaints online about 2020 Toyota Highlander transmissions going bad for no reason. This is a new car only 4.5 years of normal driving and the transmission goes, this is not normal for such a high rated vehicle.

I am not reporting any specific incident related to this defect. I am simply complaining to NHTSA that Toyota is taking far too long to provide a remedy for the OCS sensor issue, NHTSA recall number 23V865 (Manufacturer recall number 23TB15). This issue has been ongoing since late in 2023 and it seems that Toyota should have provided a remedy by now.

While driving on a highway, with little traffic around, our sunroof exploded, sending shards of glass down. It produced a sound of a gunshot and quite possibly could have resulted in such a distraction to cause a wreck. The vehicle has not been inspected but insurance agents has been contacted. There were no warnings at all.

Highlander transmission broke down around 80,000 miles

The transmission in my 2020 Highlander XLE needs replacement at 64,000 miles.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA, I mentioned to the service tech that I did have an error code appeared in my front dashboard display area momentarily and disappeared several times within the last 10 months. I was told that this would be address at this inspection of OCS (Occupant Classification System) sensor appointment. Doesn't this equate to a faulty OCS sensor and requires a replacement regardless of the testing of the sensor results today. If the error code was displayed in the past logically the sensor is failing and should be replaced. Does this make sense!!!!

My wife was pulling into a driveway slowly approximately 5 mph when she went to stop the Toyota Highlander sped up to full speed and smash the tree while my wife was depressing the brake. All airbags were deployed and it looks like they are going to total the Toyota Highlander that has all the maintenance records Very lucky to not have somebody seriously injured.

When coming to a stop the vehicle will often lurch forward. The lurch is powerful and could easily cause a collision. This problem occurs both when stopping in traffic and pulling into parking spaces. We were told by the dealer that the problem is caused by hybrid cars but we've had hybrid cars before that did not exhibit this behavior. It sounds like the dealership is aware of the problem but Toyota is not addressing it. This issue certainly poses a safety issue, especially for vehicles in front of the affected vehicle when attempting to stop.

I was in a school line waiting for my children. I went to hit the gas to move and the car said “maintenance required” and then flashed other warning lights “low power steering fluid and engine light.” Then the car turned off and screens were flashing. I tried to restart the car but the steering column was locked and brake pedal was locked. I checked all fluids and they were full. I had someone jump the car and it turned back on. I figured maybe a bad battery. Had AAA come look at the car and all diagnostic testing was normal. Next day, car does it again in the middle of an intersection.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the front lower bumper cover detached from the vehicle, causing debris to scatter onto the highway, while the damaged bumper cover was dragged underneath the vehicle. During the failure, the vehicle sustained excessive front-end damage, and damages to the undercarriage and fender liners. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who confirmed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V720000 (Structure). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,260.

While driving on the freeway in the evening about 10 minutes into the drive, a loud bang was heard like a shotgun and the front portion of the panoramic sunroof had shattered. Small shards of glass entered the cabin but fortunately no one was injured inside the vehicle. No sign of a rock hitting the vehicle or defect in the panoramic had occurred prior to this incidence. It appears to have occurred spontaneously. There was a large hole in the glass with an outward projection like the pressure inside the vehicle somehow blew out the sunroof. The passengers in the vehicle were at risk of being covered in small shards of glass including a small child in a rear facing carseat who was sitting behind the driver's side. The driver and front passenger would have been impacted as well if the glass gave away. This occurred at high speeds on a freeway where if the glass would have fallen inside the cabin could have caused the driver to be covered in glass, injured while driving at high speeds and caused a wreck. The incident was reported to the highway patrol who could not place a formal report because they said it was not a mechanic defect and the Toyota corporate office said that they could not report because it was a glass issue. Insurance has not been informed yet as we are waiting from the local dealership to see if they can assist. There were no warning messenger prior to this problem and it occurred spontaneously.

Transmission whining around 38mph when accelerator is pressed. Goes away when foot is off pedal. No warning lights are on. I test drove 3 other 2020 - 2021 Highlanders in May before I purchased this one. All 3 of those had a very noticable transmission whine over 20mph. I opted for this Highlander because there were no noticeable issues/sounds. Just this month, I am noticing a more pronounced high pitch whine during acceleration. This certainly sounds like a much wider issue, especially calling around to multiple dealerships confirming they have other 2020-2021 Highlanders in getting transmission replacements (on 3+ months wait times for parts) This is absolutely a safety issue if a transmission fails while driving. There was a technical bulletin for this same issue with certain VINs, but I was told that my VIN fell outside of that range. To answer rest of questions: No confirmation from dealer on the whine, they are all charging $180 to diagnose the issue and I am not paying that. No further inspections by the above groups listed.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that there was an abnormal winding noise detected while accelerating. The failure increased over time. While the contact’s husband was driving approximately 60 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle lost motive power. While shifting to park, there was an abnormally loud, high-pitched winding sound detected. The vehicle was slow to shift from first to second gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the CV joint needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a transmission center, where the transmission was rebuilt. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

I own a 2020 Toyota highlander and the car mileage is 68,000 and the dealer told me my transmission is dead and needs to replacement. The cost for replacement is $13,000.00! I’m the first owner of the car and how could a new Toyota car transmission fail at 68,000 miles and the warranty is 5 yrs or 60,000 miles. This issue have to be Toyota manufacture problems and they should have a recall on this and I researched online and a lot of highlander owners have the same problems as me! NHTSA PLEASE RESEARCH AND HELP HIGHLANDER OWNERS! Thank you

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, there was an abnormal humming sound from the engine compartment. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, and the sound got louder. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and accelerating, the vehicle made an abnormal buzzing and clunking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The dealer repaired the brake pedal and an axle; however, the failure progressively became worse. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the rear differential was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced; however, the part was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and there was an abnormal whining sound underneath the vehicle on the driver's side. The contact stated that the sound was intermittent but was occurring at various speeds. The contact stated that there were no warning lights. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

While steering to the right to exit a parallel parking spot, the ABS sensor cable came into contact with a suspension bolt, snapping the sensor wire. This triggered the Check Engine Light and caused a malfunction in the braking systems.

With 55k miles on a 2020 Toyota Highlander, we began hearing a whine. On various on-line sources it appears that this is not unusual among late teens to early '20s Highlanders. I brought the vehicle to the dealer (with close to 56k miles) and the dealer decided the transmission needs to be replaced. Even though the dealer service center acknowledges this is an ongoing issue w/the Highlander of this (late teens/early '20s) vintage I'm told its a 1-2mo wait for a transmission repair/replacement. Warranty is 60k miles... I was told be safe and don't go over 60k miles or its possible the warranty might not be honored. While currently operable, a quick internet search indicates, transmission failure often occurs unexpectedly, leaving drivers stranded on the side of the road. This situation can be not only inconvenient but also dangerous.

Known transmission issue not being addressed. Internal parts issue and must be replaced after only a few years.

My vehicle is started making a loud whining noise at around 78K miles whenever you accelerate between about 25-60mph. The dealer said that a new transmission is the only thing that would fix it. The cost of the transmission is 8K. The dealer said that Toyota ought to cover it, but I called and their initial answer is that they will not. This part should be recalled, there are multiple people online saying they are experiencing the same exact issue. This is a very expensive problem for this car, and not one that consumers should shoulder at low mileages. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The SRS airbag system malfunction went off and the seat keeps beeping for a long time before finally stopping I’ve taken it in to get fixed to the Stockton dealership but they said there’s no available fix yet, but then when I went to pick it up after my oil service they said for $200 they could fix it.

There is an open recall which has not been addressed in a timely manner. The below has been open since OCT 26, 2023. I have been advised that I would be notified when a remedy was available but it's been ten months with no solution. My front bumper detached while I was on the interstate causing damage to the front end of my vehicle. The subject vehicles are equipped with a resin front lower bumper cover assembly, connected with mounting tabs. If there is minor impact to the lower front bumper cover assembly that causes the mounting tabs to detach from the vehicle during normal operation, one or more parts of this assembly could detach, which could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash or injury for other road users.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at speeds above 20 MPH, there was a loud whining sound coming from the transmission. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic and the contact was informed that the sound was an indication of transmission failure. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 73,000.

See attached document for complaint.

During the first 20K miles of driving our 2020 Highlander Hybrid; we noticed that while braking; the car would sometimes lung forward as though we had accelerated quickly. It startles you and it causes you to "hit the brakes" quickly. It doesn't happen all the time. It seems to occur more so when we're braking at low speeds in parking lots; while slowing down on a slight decline or simply making a turn left or right while braking. I mentioned this to my Toyota Dealer a few times as to whether or not they had a recall notice for this. I was told "no". I had my oil changed on June 15, 2022 MIL/35,379 and I asked them to check this problem. They checked and advised no problem was duplicated and the invoice stated in part "will wait on any diagnostics at this time". I was never contacted with a "fix". Today (August 16, 2023) I located a Technical Service Bulletin that appeared to address my issue. It is "T-SB-0059-23". This issue is a safety concern to both me and my wife; I'd like to see this problem addressed. This was all mentioned during the warranty period but no notifications were made by Toyota. My current mileage is 89,202. Thank you

8AT transmission failure. Toyota is telling me that it will take 7 months to obtain a replacement transmission.