2018 Toyota Highlander Owner Complaints

Whining noise in the transmission

NHTSA ID

11764063

Incident

Sep 14, 2026

whining sound in the transmission, 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.

NHTSA ID

11760890

Incident

Aug 2, 2024

Transmission failure happened suddenly. I pulled out of a car wash and car would not accelerate. I was in heavy traffic and car wouldn’t move.

NHTSA ID

11760164

Incident

Aug 12, 2026

The position of the screen monitor for the backup camera is hard to see when the sun creates a glare on the front windshield.

NHTSA ID

11759618

Incident

Aug 14, 2026

The Pre-Collision System (PCS) failed to engage the automatic emergency braking during a stop-and-go traffic, thereby, resulting in rear-ending the vehicle ahead of our 2018 Highlander Limited vehicle. Our Highlander was at a complete stop, then when the traffic moved slowly forward, we too started moving forward but didn't realize the vehicle ahead of us had suddenly stopped again. Our Highlander alerted us with high-pitched beep-beep-beep sound, but it didn't stop before colliding with the rear of the vehicle ahead of us. The speed couldn't have been more than 10 MPH since it started out from a complete stop and the distance traveled before the collision was about 40 feet. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the collision. It always beeped, like it should, when there were nearby obstacles, pedestrians, and when we got closer to the end of our garage parking space, etc. PCS sensitivity was set at the highest level (3 bars).

NHTSA ID

11758854

Incident

Apr 20, 2026

Vehicle has a high pitch whine on acceleration. Was diagnosed by Toyota dealer. Advised to replace the transmission. This VIN is not included in the CSP ZJC warranty but is a 2018 and is experiencing the same issue. Sound began at 110k miles.

NHTSA ID

11758206

Incident

Mar 1, 2026

GUEST STATES HER VEHICLE IS WHINING DURING ACCELLERATION, WILL STOP WHINING FOR A MOMENT WHEN VEHICLE UPSHIFTS AND THEN RETURN. GUEST HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH SERVICE MANAGER. NOISE CONFIRMED IN DRIVETRAIN, NOTED SUBLT BUT IT DOES OCCURE TEST DROVE ON BACK HILL. PLEASE HAVE CHECKED ADVISE. Comments: Verified reported sound. Like make and model comparison vehicle did not exhibit sound. Traced source of sound to transmission. Replacement of transmission needed to address reported sound. Warranty company sent independent inspector out, warranty company approved replacement with OEM remanufactured transmission. Car has been at dealer for since July 18, 2026 (1 month and counting) and still waiting for replacement transmission to be available from Toyota. Repair Estimate: $9681.80 Original Approved: $0.00 TOTAL APPROVED: $9681.80

NHTSA ID

11757138

Incident

Jul 17, 2026

This vehicle has a UA80 8-speed transmission that has prematurely failed. This is a KNOWN issue to Toyota and they have refused to provide a fix. It is a safety hazard when all acceleration stops when attempting to merge into heavy traffic (as had happened to me last week) or on a highway traveling at top speed. I have only 27,000 miles on this automobile and it failed with NO WARNING! Within a very short time frame the following occurred: the check AWD system, TRAC off, check engine and the transmission fluid at a high temperature lights appeared on the dashboard. Shortly thereafter I experienced a burning smell, suddenly no acceleration with a high TAC response and vehicle jerking. My transmission is toast. This would have ended very badly for me as it failed on a highway at speed with heavy traffic. Toyota needs to address this and recall and replace. Shame on you Toyota!

NHTSA ID

11753332

Incident

Jul 24, 2026

I was parking my car and was almost to the gray slab to stop when the car suddenly surged forward! It felt like an airplane taking off. I hit a brick building. Somehow my nose was broken, and I was bleeding profusely. If someone had been walking on the sidewalk in front of me, they would have been crushed against the brick wall. Others have had this problem; in fact, one lady said she almost hit a brick wall! Ironic! There was no warning of any kind. However, the day before, while driving on the highway, the car did the same thing: it surged forward, but fortunately I was able to control it, and there had been no one in front of me. If I had been driving locally, I surely would have hit someone, and who knows what the consequence would have been. The Insurance Company towed the car and totaled it.

NHTSA ID

11752659

Incident

May 14, 2026

While driving my 2018 Toyota Highlander Limited, the check engine light began flashing off and on. I was near an exit and drove off the freeway. I could feel the car (near the gas pedal) start shaking, then the power went down quickly... as I was trying to find a safe place to go. The farther I drove, there was less power until the car was going about 2 miles an hour. The check light continued flashing as I pulled into a parking lot. This was very scary as I'm sure the car would have just stopped on the freeway if I had not been near an exit as it just simply had no power left. (The check engine light has been on over a year and I took it to three different mechanics. Not one could fix it. This car wiped out my savings and now sits at a Toyota dealership)!

NHTSA ID

11750828

Incident

Jul 15, 2026

I just got my vehicle inspected and successfully passed with no codes on 07/07/2026. Today 07/10/2026 as I was driving to work my vehicle began to jerk/ jitter and when into limp mode. I took it to a shop to have the codes checked on it and they said it was something to do with the transmission and they don’t specialize in that type of work. My vehicle has less than 45400 miles on it and been maintained regularly. I was told this was a common issue with these vehicles. I don’t know where to go to get this serviced. I called around to local shops with no luck at getting someone to fix or look at the cause of it.

NHTSA ID

11749652

Incident

Jul 10, 2026

The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a clunking sound coming from the front driver’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the owner was informed that the struts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was later driven to a local tire and battery service center who inspected the vehicle and informed the owner that the front control arms were rusted and needed to be replaced, and that the front axle was cracked. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The daughter was informed that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 101,000.

NHTSA ID

11746490

Incident

Jun 24, 2026

Mileage

101,000 mi

Transmission failed at 65,000 miles right after the warranty expired. Cost to fix is $8,000. This is an epidemic issue with Toyota Highlanders built from 2017 to 2023. Tried to get dealer to cover but they said they refuse. They said that Toyota Corporate settled by paying all dealerships for potential repairs due to this issue, however all funds have been depleted. Basically no help at all. Pursued issue with Toyota Corporate for several weeks of escalations and appeals. In the end they completely refused to offer any solution other than for me to pay out of pocket. This issue should have been a nationwide recall due to the systemic failure on thousands of Toyota Highlanders. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11742599

Incident

Jul 11, 2025

My car had around 52,930 miles on it when the transmission suddenly went out and left me stranded in [XXX]. I always took my car to the North Hollywood Toyota dealership regularly, twice a year since I bought the car for regular service maintenance. When I was quoted nearly $7,000 to replace the transmission, I sold the car. Why would a 2018 Japanese car with such low mileage and in great condition suddenly have transmission problems? Something doesn’t add up. I had to get towed home. I’m wondering if other Toyota Highlander owners have experienced unexplained transmission problems as well. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11742220

Incident

May 3, 2026

Complaint: I am writing to report a transmission defect in my 2018 Toyota Highlander AWD (UA80 8-speed automatic transmission). Prior to the check engine light illuminating, I noticed a burning smell coming from the vehicle. Subsequently, the following fault codes were retrieved: •P0741 – Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Performance/Stuck Off •P2714 – Pressure Control Solenoid “D” Performance/Stuck Off •P2757 – Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Circuit Performance/Stuck Off These symptoms are consistent with the known defect described in Toyota’s Customer Support Program ZJC (POL19-04), which acknowledges a manufacturing defect involving an improperly bent washer tab inside the UA80 transmission. However, my VIN was not included in the covered vehicles under this program, despite experiencing identical symptoms. I am also aware that multiple class action lawsuits were filed in December 2025 against Toyota alleging the company knowingly concealed this defect from consumers for years. I am requesting NHTSA to investigate whether Toyota’s CSP ZJC coverage should be expanded to include additional affected VINs, and to consider issuing a mandatory recall for all vehicles equipped with the defective UA80 transmission.

NHTSA ID

11741442

Incident

Jun 2, 2026

Transmission failure (whining noise similar to the well-documented issue with UA80F 8-speed transmissions). I reported the noise and requested a specific diagnosis at approximately 95k miles --- no warning lamps/warnings were visible, just noticeable noise while driving without the radio on. On May 22, 2026, Torrington Toyota confirmed that the transmission was failed, but vehicle is drivable. As I purchased a Toyota Extended warranty, Toyota has approved the order of a remanufactured unit, which is on back order, so repair date is TBD/unknown. I lack confidence in the long-term viability of remanufactured unit, as this UA80F transmission continues to have issues, and will cost me $12k+ after the warranty expires, in the likely case that the remanufactured unit fails. There should be a long-term fix to this expensive issue.

NHTSA ID

11740566

Incident

May 22, 2026

The transmission went on my 2018 Toyota Highlander. The other day as I was driving on highway, lost power as I was driving in neutral. I went from 70mph to 10 or less mph, would not accelerate. All of a sudden all warning lights. Check AWD, check engine light came on, many messages at once. There were no warning lights displayed prior to this. I was able to get off an exit. Could not move the car anymore was not in a safe area, called police for assistance. The car was towed to an independent service center who confirmed it was a transmission issue.

NHTSA ID

11737584

Incident

May 8, 2026

UA80F Transmission failure at 100k miles for the 2018 Toyota highlander SE. No warning lights, engine noise (high pitched whine while driving). Took to the dealer and was told the transmission needed to be replaced.

NHTSA ID

11737178

Incident

May 11, 2026

First symptom I noticed was the car smell while it was running. I used a device to see what codes of any would pop up on a scan. It came up with codes tying into the fuel system. I then went to go fill up on gas couple days later and when going to start it back up it wouldn’t start. When it did start it would say engine losing power or steering losing power and then just shut off. I then looked up what that usually means and it made me look towards the alternator. I was told by a mechanic an easy way to see if your alternator was good was to start car and while running disconnect the negative on battery and if it stays running the alternator was still good. So I did that and it stayed running. I then looked up recalls for my vehicle and seen everything it was describing for the fuel system seemed to be happening. I am now filling this form out to get my vehicle looked at and fixed. I have a wife and 2 young daughters that we drive to school. It is not safe to be driving and hoping that us and others on the road will get to there destination safely.

NHTSA ID

11735463

Incident

May 1, 2026

The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, occupied with her children in the rear passenger seats, the contact was attempting to merge onto the intersection, and a state trooper failed to yield at 55-60 MPH vehicle crashed into the front driver's side of the vehicle, causing the whole front end of the vehicle to detach from the vehicle. The contact stated that no air bags were deployed in her vehicle. The contact stated that she and her children sustained injuries, however under direct legal advice, she cannot disclose this information. Medical attention was required. The contact stated that a police report was filed. The contact mentioned the vehicle was towed to a collision center where it was declared destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ID

11731139

Incident

Mar 27, 2026

Mileage

140,000 mi

Currently at 113k miles. VIN # is not on the recall or extended warranty list for transmission issues, shift lag has been noticed way before 100k miles. vehicle is making squealing noise on drive, and when gas petal is press. Since no recall, but per research, I may have a faulty transmission that is left out of the Customer support program zjc, t-SB-0160-18.

NHTSA ID

11730955

Incident

Apr 6, 2026

The UA80 8-speed automatic transmission failed catastrophically without any prior warning symptoms while driving on the highway. During normal acceleration to pass another vehicle, the engine revved to 5,000 RPM as the transmission slipped, then dropped to 3,000 RPM coasting. After exiting the highway approximately one mile later and coming to a stop at a red light, the transmission would no longer engage in any forward gear. The engine revs freely when placed in drive and the accelerator is pressed. Reverse still functions. The vehicle had to be towed from the roadside. This created a serious safety hazard. The driver was stranded on the side of a busy road and lost all forward propulsion without warning while operating at highway speed. The failure occurred suddenly with zero prior symptoms. The vehicle was operating normally around town earlier the same day. The driver had no advance warning of any kind, no warning lights, no unusual noises, no shifting irregularities, before the catastrophic highway failure. This is consistent with reports from other UA80 owners who describe sudden, total transmission failure at similar mileage. The loss of forward propulsion at highway speed posed an immediate safety risk to the driver and surrounding traffic. The driver had to navigate to the shoulder and then reverse off the roadway to reach a safe location to wait for a tow truck. I contacted Toyota Customer Experience at 800-331-4331 and was assigned a case number. Goodwill assistance was denied twice. I was told the system would not allow the representative to proceed. I was disconnected twice during attempts to escalate to a supervisor. My case was then closed without resolution. Over 430 NHTSA complaints have been filed regarding UA80 transmission failures across multiple Toyota and Lexus models from 2017-2024. The pattern of failure is well documented. I am requesting NHTSA investigate this transmission platform and the adequacy of Toyota's limited CSP ZJC coverage.

NHTSA ID

11730276

Incident

Apr 7, 2026

I am reporting a documented safety defect in my 2018 Toyota Highlander (VIN: [XXX] ). On March 31, 2026, a certified technician at Groove Toyota (Work Order #XXX) performed a diagnostic inspection to investigate a severe 'airplane whine' noise. The technician verified the noise and used a stethoscope to pinpoint the source as 'very loud coming from final drive,' officially recommending a full transmission replacement at an estimated cost of $8,475. This failure is a direct mechanical match for a known factory assembly error (insufficiently bent locking tab) acknowledged by Toyota in Technical Service Bulletin T-SB-0160-18 and Customer Support Program ZJC. Despite the technician's formal diagnosis that the vehicle is mechanically unsound and requires immediate replacement for safe operation, Toyota Corporate denied my request for assistance (Case #XXX) on April 8, 2026. Toyota cited my vehicle's VIN does not fall into the customer support program, although it's essentially the same transmission, effectively refusing to remedy a documented manufacturing defect. This vehicle has excellent service records, and Toyota’s refusal to honor the spirit of the ZJC program leaves me with a documented safety risk that the manufacturer refuses to address. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11730065

Incident

Apr 8, 2026

Vehicle makes a whining noise like a siren when accelerating at 40mph or more when you let go of the accelerator the noise stops. I've been told by a mechanic its the transfer case or related transmission component. Toyota should declare a recall since it can cause an accident if the car stops in the middle of the highway.

NHTSA ID

11724185

Incident

Mar 12, 2026

2018 toyota highlander awd. Whining noise when gas is pressed. Whining stops when gas pedal not engaged. Started at 116000 mileage. Regular service done at dealer. Slippage/ delay in gear shifting (automatic). No light on dash to show there may be an issue. Bought a toyota, because they are supposed to be great cars that run long time. Not real happy to hear that they know they have quality and training issues that can seriously hurt people, and they are not doing anything about it. And “their”consumers have to eat the cost for their mistake. I hope nhtsa files another motion to cover move of the vehicle having the powertrain issue

NHTSA ID

11721585

Incident

Mar 2, 2026