2017 Toyota Highlander Engine Problems

bought the car in 2018 and ever since it makes a rttling noise, Toyota says it is the hybrid system engaigeing, hybrid cars are not supposed to make noise.

NHTSA ID

11744157

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the spark plugs needed replaced. The spark plugs were replaced by an independent mechanic, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, who retrieved diagnostic trouble codes P11F0 (Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance) and P0305 (Misfire In Cylinder Number 5). The mechanic cleaned the fuel injectors, but the failure persisted. The contact was informed that the fuel injectors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, Toyota of Cedar Park (5600 183A Toll Rd, Leander, TX 78641), who determined that cylinder #5 needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.

NHTSA ID

11741892

Incident

Dec 1, 2025

Mileage

151,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that when the vehicle was taken to a dealer for routine maintenance, the dealer informed the contact that the rear main seal was leaking and needed to be resealed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,402.

NHTSA ID

11711253

Incident

Oct 8, 2025

Mileage

95,402 mi

I drive a 2017 Toyota Highlander and am having issues with the transmission. The issues and poor craftsmanship on the UA80 8-speed transmissions. Toyota offered Technical Service Bulletins T-SB-0160-18, T-SB-0008-21, and a limited Customer Support Program (CSP ZJC). But very few VINs were included and there are tons of Highlander owners with this transmission facing $10,000+ repair bills for what is supposed to be one of the most reliable cars and car brands on the planet. This is very wrong. Toyota has not stood by its customers and have not done right by owners. Toyota needs to recall the transmissions and offer a remedy at no cost to the customer. This needs to be done now. It's completely unacceptable. Thanks for what you do and for reading! Appreciate you guys very much.

NHTSA ID

11706787

Incident

Dec 23, 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for service, the contact was informed that the engine was leaking due to a timing chain failure. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be taken apart to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11700516

Incident

Nov 19, 2025

Mileage

60,000 mi

Formal Complaint to NHTSA – Summary I am submitting this formal complaint regarding repeated mechanical and electrical failures involving my 2017 Toyota Highlander, purchased as a Toyota Gold-Certified vehicle with an extended Platinum Warranty. Despite strictly following Toyota’s maintenance guidelines and using only certified dealerships for all services, the vehicle has become inoperable multiple times, requiring five separate tows and resulting in repair costs exceeding $10,000. In June 2025, a Toyota dealership replaced the engine after diagnosing a warped head due to water pump failure. Following this, the vehicle began experiencing repeated charging system failures and electrical malfunctions. Multiple components—including the alternator, battery, and sensors—were replaced at another Toyota dealership based on ongoing issues, but the problems persisted. On September 2, 2025, a Toyota technician identified a missing ground wire nut as the likely root cause of these electrical failures. He confirmed the issue originated during the engine installation and that the unsecured ground caused system malfunctions. After repairs, the vehicle was again returned with a loud engine knocking noise, later traced to an improperly secured component from a prior repair. These events have raised significant concerns for the safety of myself and my family. Improper installation of major components and misdiagnosis by certified service providers have led to hazardous driving conditions, unexpected vehicle shutdowns, and unnecessary costs. I am requesting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigate this matter for potential safety defects related to improper engine installation, grounding failures, and faulty electrical diagnosis by certified Toyota service centers. Documentation, invoices, and repair records are available upon request. Thank you for your attention to this critical safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11686749

Incident

May 30, 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.

NHTSA ID

11673285

Incident

Jul 4, 2025

During the Multi Point Inspection, technician inspected the vehicle. He checked the engine, transmission, and cooling system, topping off all fluids. However, the engine was failing inspection as there was oil underneath the vehicle, which was also seen around the engine, due to an oil leak.

NHTSA ID

11609334

Incident

Aug 6, 2024

While accelerating onto highways, my Toyota Highlander suddenly misfires, causing rough engine and a natural response to decelerate instead of continuing to accelerate. The ignition coil was blamed, I replace and then a week later it happens again while trying to accelerate on the highway. Another replacement and then it happens again a third time. There was a known issue under Toyota’s TSB 0148-19, where engine computers were reprogrammed and all coils replaced. My vehicle model year and engine model but doesn’t show this TSB. I am aware TSBs are not recalls, but the sudden repeat engine misfires, all in a year, while accelerating to highway speeds, is a concern.

NHTSA ID

11591363

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

Bought it used from Lexus Fremont with 46, 600 miles on March 2024 but after driving it for just a little bit over 200 miles, there is a leak underneath the engine and when I had it checked here in Salinas Toyota they found out that the leak is coming from the TIMING CHAIN COVER of which is a big job and I heard a lot from the owners of this Toyotas with the 2GR V6 Engine has this leaking problem.

NHTSA ID

11581497

Incident

Mar 25, 2024

Water pump has failed at approx 80,000 miles.

NHTSA ID

11579644

Incident

Mar 3, 2024

While braked at a red light, my vehicle completely turned off. The engine would not restart, and all electrical panel light indicators did not come back on. I could not even turn on my hazards. The whole car was dead. After about a minute, I was able to restart the vehicle, but it took 5 attempts. I changed my battery two months ago, and just had my car checked by a mechanic and nothing was found to be the problem. No warning lamps or other messages were displayed. About 6 months ago, my car did something similar to this and stalled on the freeway in bumper to bumper traffic. However, this time the electrical panel light indicators came back on. No warning messages displayed. The car restarted after only one try. This is really dangerous to have a vehicle loose all power and completely die out!

NHTSA ID

11567779

Incident

Jan 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. As a result of the failure, the contact was unable to maneuver or control the vehicle before coming to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure and advised the contact that a Toyota technician needed to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 66,000.

NHTSA ID

11558326

Incident

Dec 2, 2023

Mileage

66,000 mi

Toyota issued a Customer Support Bulletin #POL 19-04 on 4/18/19 for vehicle transmission failure on the 2017 and 2018 Highlander and Sienna cars due to faulty assembly. Dealerships were issued the bulletin 5 years ago but customers were never alerted. Toyota has refused to honor the repairs claiming my VIN did not come up for affected car even though bulletin list the model that includes my car. The bulletin further states that after 60k miles the coverage continues for up to 10 years from date of purchase. Toyota knows there is an issue but they failed to alert customers despite sending the bulletin to dealers. Dealerships never alerted customers who brought in their cars for routine service. Thousands of customers are reporting failed transmissions. Toyota is not able or willing to provide information on how they identified which VINs were impacted. The mechanic pulled a code which is exactly what is being seen on the failed transmissions in the same vehicles and cannot understand why Toyota will not cover the cost of the repair for a known defective product. The replacement cost quoted by Toyota is in excess of 11k. The car failed on a busy freeway in Atlanta while traveling at high speed. Motorists exited their cars and pushed the vehicle to the side of the road. My spouse could have been harmed or worse killed.

NHTSA ID

11549771

Incident

Oct 4, 2023

I am writing in reference to a new Toyota Highlander that I purchased in December of 2016. The reason I chose Toyota over a Ford or GM SUV was Toyota’s long history of producing reliable vehicles. I researched and relied on Consumer Reports which gave the Highlander and Honda Pilot the highest rating for customer satisfaction and reliability. About two weeks ago I started hearing a high-pitched whining coming from the transmission, difficulty shifting, and lurching forward when engaging the gear. Last Wednesday my wife was driving 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. 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 ,[XXXXXXXX] REPAIR COVERAGE FOR UA80 TRANSMISSION ON CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY SIENNA AND CERTAIN 2017-2018 MY HIGHLANDER VEHICLES. We called Toyota support on 10/9/23 and spoke with a customer service representative named Amber who then transferred us to Vena. They advised based on the VIN number our vehicle was not covered. Vena advised that since all our service was not at a Toyota dealership, they could not honor the repairs. The bulletin stated “after the Primary Coverage, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 10 years from the vehicles date of first use, regardless of mileage”. The cost of this repair is over $6,000. The bulletin list Highlander 2WD and 4WD SUVs. The representative could not explain how the VIN number exclusions are determined and applied to our SUV. My father-in-law retired from the GM Assembly Plant and as I understand parts are shipped from multiple locations to the assembly pla INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

NHTSA ID

11549012

Incident

Oct 4, 2023

On Aug 28 2023 I drove my car to Cumberland’s for a coffee (.9miles/3m away) on my way back at a stop sign, before turning left onto 129, my car shut off. I pushed the engine button, it restarted & I made it back to my house. Since owning this car this same situation has happened randomly several times, brought it to the dealers attention, not happening at the time, cannot be replicated, nothing was done. I remember being on a hill on 129 at a red light & the car shutting off loading control thinking I was going to roll into the car behind me I pulled the e rake since this was a repeated issue, the car started when I pushed the ignition, another time this happened at a red light not on a hill as well as the highway off ramp in stopped traffic. We eventually replaced the battery clearly that’s not the issue since it has continued to happen. Sometimes my radio will randomly shut off, sometimes it reboots & i get nervous & prepared for my car to stall or shut off which creates a distraction driving. I may have a video of one of these times that I took to show my husband. I do have a video of the radio shutting off that I can provide an alternate way as your system does not except video files.

NHTSA ID

11544509

Incident

Aug 28, 2023

Within 6 months of purchasing this car used at a Toyota dealership, the check engine, exclamation light, and "Go to dealership/check AWD" lights came on. I took it to the dealership who told me it would cost $250 just to check the lights. I took it to a car parts store who said "it's throwing a bunch of old codes". The dealership also suggested during oil change about $800 worth of work needing to be done and said my warranty I purchased would not cover it so I left. I had the fuel system flush done somewhere else.The lights went off for about a week and then came back on. About a month later.... While driving down the highway at a speed of approximately 60 mph, the rpm's and speedometer went haywire - jiggling and then decreased (and a weird sound like the car revving) even though foot was on gas, the car rapidly lost power and had to pull over on side of highway at night - this is of course very unsafe. Had to pull over and turn off car. Would not start right away but did after a few minutes. Took to mechanic - they could not find anything wrong. Could not reproduce. A few days later, after getting gas, car would not start. Had to wait an hour and then it did. Took back to mechanic, discovered water on spark plugs so had spark plugs replaced. Four days later, all the warning lights back on and car running roughly (like maybe lightly missing?). Component or system failure cause still unknown and yes it is available for inspection. Very frustrated and frankly a bit terrified to drive this very expensive vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11515704

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

This is the second major failure I have experienced with my 2017 Toyota Highlander. I have already filed a complaint about the transmission failure earlier this year. On November 14, 2022, I noticed a knocking sound coming from the engine. My husband was able to ascertain that the noise was coming from the water pump and that the water pump gasket had failed. He checked the coolant fluid and all coolant fluid had leaked out, both the reserve tank and radiator had NO coolant fluid remaining. If I had continued to drive the vehicle, it would have overheated and possibly caused more damage. Thanks to the cooler temperatures we have in November, I did not experience the engine overheating. There were no warning lights or any other indicator that something major was wrong with the vehicle. We called our Toyota dealership and were told that the vehicle which now has 50,100 miles, is out of warranty and we would be responsible for the repair. The normal life of a water pump is over 100,000 miles and with this complete failure of this major system, I do not trust the safety of this vehicle with this being the second major system to completely fail in this vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11494126

Incident

Nov 14, 2022

Car shut down multiple times while driving. Car lost steering and all power then somehow came back to life without me touching anything. It’s as if the car decides to shut down when All Wheel Drive kicks in. First the entertainment system shuts down and then the entire car shuts down.

NHTSA ID

11493160

Incident

Nov 9, 2022

I own a 2017 Toyota Highlander, XLE. Last year my vehicle stalled 2 times. Luckily, I was in a position to put the car in park and restart. About 6 weeks ago, it stalled again. This time I was approaching a left turn lane, slowed down for a millisecond then accelerated and tried to make a left turn. At that moment, the vehicle stalled. I was almost in a nasty accident. I was in the middle of the intersection with a car approaching and a car behind me thinking I was making that left turn through the intersection. The 1st time it happened, I thought it might be bad gas. The 2nd time I rationalized it might be bad gas or just a fluke. The 3rd time, after almost being involved in a nasty accident, I did some research into this matter. As it turns out that as of the end of 2020 more than 6,000,000 Toyotas and Lexus’ have been recalled worldwide, 3,340,000 in the United States, including 2017-2020 Highlanders for fuel pump problems. As I understand it, it was a problem with fuel pumps with low pressure and my vehicle is experiencing the same characteristics of those recalled Toyota Highlanders. I believe it to be a very dangerous situation. I was informed that my VIN number was not included in the recall. I had a diagnostic assessment performed at Sport City Toyota in Dallas, TX., to determine the problem. They also drove it around for a couple of days to try and duplicate the problem. Of course, any reasonable person would know the chances of duplicating a problem that has happened 3 times in 60,000 mile is highly unlikely. Neither the diagnostic test nor the test drives revealed anything wrong with my vehicle. At that point Toyota told me there nothing further they could do for me. What I have experienced is legitimate issue as Toyota has a very well documented fuel pump problems. So now I’m driving what I consider to be an unsafe car. The Texas “Lemmon Law” is no help to me as I have over 63,000 miles on the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11474840

Incident

May 2, 2022

Unkown

NHTSA ID

11454684

Incident

Feb 24, 2022

2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER VIN: [XXX] I purchased my Highlander new in 2017 and I have had consistent electrical issues. The radio has consistently fluctuated between bass, treble, and off for no apparent reason. I have taken my vehicle to the dealer 4 times and still no change. I have replaced the battery 3 times although I only have 25,000 miles on 55,000mile tires, the tire treads are wearing quickly. I rarely go anywhere and when I do it is on smooth surfaced, well-maintained roads. All maintenance is completed at the dealership, including rotation and balancing. I really so annoyed and I see by the comments that I am not alone in these issues. I'm not even going to get into the plastic chrometek wheels. However, Toyota states there are no problems. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11443756

Incident

Dec 14, 2021

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, she heard abnormal clicking sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

NHTSA ID

11437675

Incident

Sep 30, 2021

Mileage

45,000 mi

The car jerks upon acceleration. It is so pronounced that it causes whiplash in driver and passenger

NHTSA ID

11431299

Incident

Jan 1, 2021

When turning on the car the emergency hybrid system states to put in P and take foot off brake. Car will not stop. When in car wash on neutral car would not go into drive and rolled out and was able to find spot but couldn’t turn off and back on. Has occurred multiple times. Multiple Warning lights on dash light up when it occurs.

NHTSA ID

11418759

Incident

May 27, 2021