2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Complaints

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 07/04/2025

After getting gas, the vehicle will not start. It will crank and crank but not turn over, like it is starving for gas. Then after 10-15 minutes it will start barely and to keep it running I have to floor the accelerator. Any other time it starts just fine. There are also no codes causing a check engine light.

Carry Handle, Shell, Base — Filed 06/26/2025

I have had this car seat for 1 year and 10 months and I just found out that the headrest foam piece is split in half (06/26/2025). It has been handled with extreme care and I got it in September of 2023. It has stayed in my specific car and the only reason I found the problem was because I was cleaning them off. It is the third Chicco car seat to have found the foam headrest either broken in half or completely separate from the plastic base in 2 months (2023 & 2024 manufacture dates). There is something wrong with this and I really hope an investigation starts so that others can avoid these issues and potential repercussions from said flaw.

Carry Handle, Shell, Base — Filed 06/26/2025

I have had this car seat for 1 year and 3 days and I just found out that the headrest foam piece came off the plastic base frame(06/26/2025). It has been handled with extreme care and I got it in June 2024. It has stayed in my car and the only reason I found the problem was because I was cleaning them off. It is the third Chicco car seat to have found the foam headrest either broken in half or completely separate from the plastic base in 2 months (2023 & 2024 manufacture dates). There is something wrong with this and I really hope an investigation starts so that others can avoid these issues and potential repercussions from this flaw.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 10/11/2024

Car suddenly began to slip out of gear and have difficulty shifting smoothly. After having car examined by 2 repair shops it was determined the UA80 Transmission needed replaced. Repair shop advised car was not safe to drive with this condition. Warning lights for Check Engine and Check AWD system and traction control came on at the same time as the slipping and rough shifting.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 05/26/2025

Car is shaking heavily when stopped. Several misfires while engaging the brakes. Mechanic is telling me that he has seen many vehicles of this model with faulty purge valves.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 12/14/2023

The transmission on my Highlander is making a whining noise. I took it to Blackstone Toyota Service for inspection, in Fresno, CA, after my own mechanic inspected it and told me that it was a transmission problem. Toyota told me that the transmission is going out and the car can quit on me at any time and is no longer safe to drive. But since it is out of warranty now they will not do anything to help me with this problem. There has been no warning lamp, message or other symptoms yet. After my service in Nov. 2023 i noticed a slight whine when i accelerated. I had a friend mechanic look at it and he said it could be just because the tires had been rotated. A couple of months ago the whine started on deceleration. I took it to Johnson Auto in Clovis, CA and they were the first ones to tell me it was in fact a transmission problem. I then called Toyota call center and was told that the vehicle needed to be inspected by one of their dealers, and then they could help me. I explained that I didn’t want to go spend more money on the inspection if Toyota would not do anything to help me, I already knew it had transmission problems. I took it to Blackstone Toyota Service Center and they confirmed that the transmission is going out, at only 7800 miles. I called the Toyota call center and was told that since it is out of warranty they will do nothing to help me with this problem. I told them the prior agent I had spoken to said that Toyota would help me. I was told they will do nothing else to help and there was no one else I could talk to about the transmission problems. I was told that they didn’t know of any problems with the 2017 Toyota Highlander and that there were no recalls. I told them that there were lots of complaints about the Toyota Highlander online and I was surprised that they didn’t seem to know anything about the Highlanders having transmission problems. Many people in my same circumstances with expensive repairs way too soon on their Highlanders.

VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 04/04/2025

Driver side interior visor has failed and does not secure in place causing obstruction of view while driving.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 04/07/2025

My 2017 Highlander XLE AWD had complete transmission failure at 106,000 miles. Toyota has an extended coverage warranty for this but according to them my VIN number was not included even though it failed for the same reason as the recalled transmissions. Loud whining started around 100,000 miles on acceleration around 30mph and continued to get louder. From a dead stop it is very slow to accelerate and misses 3rd gear and jerks. There is a TSB out on this and the extended customer satisfaction extended warranty ZJC but they refuse to cover. I was also told by Toyota corporate that even if my VIN was affected they would not cover due to all maintenance not being done at a toyota dealership. I am the 4th owner and should not be penalized for this. My case number with Toyota is Toyota Brand Engagement Center Case 250416002071

POWER TRAIN — Filed 03/03/2025

Known issue with the transmission assembly that results in a whining noise and eventually hard shifting and transmission failure. Known issue acknowledged by Toyota across this model and date, but they seemingly are only addressing some vehicles - and not others - with said known issue.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 02/12/2025

Transmission failure requiring replacement. Known pattern failure from Toyota. Customer support program from Toyota does not cover all affected vehicles.