When starting it would make grinding noise, sounds like metallic noise until the engine oil starts circulating.Dealer said that its normal due to cold starts but this can happen even when the engine is up to temperature.Toyota refuse to remedy the issue.

- Norridge , IL, USA

Engine oil filler cap had interior motor part, melt through while driving, almost hurling all the way through, 2 inch cylindrical part viewed when opening hood to inspect damage. Braking, trac and vsc engaged and motor failed almost dieing, abs allowed brake pedal to go to floor with vehicle just stopping enough to move from traffic. No injuries and No collisions happened due to violent engine combusting or braking disabled, incident happened at 10 mph entering a parking lot.

- Muscatine , IA, USA

3 times over the last month, while I was driving my vehicle, the car suddenly lost power while I was driving on the highway. All the dashboard lights flashed on, check engine light and warning lights illuminated. The vehicle lost power, the accelerator was not working, and I was just barely able to pull the car over to the side of the road. Car turned off and was able to turn back on, now with illuminated check engine light and check hybrid system warning light illuminated. This is a big safety issue as the car is losing power in the middle of the road while my foot is on the accelerator. The first time this happened I was able to pull a couple codes from the code reader. Codes were: U0001 & U0100 the second and 3rd time this happened there were no codes coming up on the code reader.

- Kingston, NY, USA

Brief engine knock/rattle noise at cold startup (1ar2ar) vds(s):da41A, za3eh wm(s)5td

- Hanover Park, IL, USA

Oil cooler connected to engine block with a rubber hose. Hose failed with oil leak which caused loss of engine oil. Car towed and repaired before engine seized. It appears rubber hose was not protected from heat of catalytic converter and rubber degraded. Vehicle was in motion on interstate highway when first noticed loss of oil pressure. Added oil but oil loss continued. When warning light went on second time stopped vehicle and towed to service. Event occurred on May 15, 2020.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

Vvti cam gear issue, making grinding noise.vehicle just hit 60,000 and out of warranty. Earlier tsb from Toyota didn't cover this since the vehicle didn't show any signs.

- Dumfries, VA, USA

Oil coolant line bursts which causes immediate loss of all oil. Problem happens while vehicle is in motion, and in this case while in motion on a high trafficked freeway. Fix cost about $1,000 out of pocket. This is a very large leak which covers the ground, engine, and undercarriage. If the oil line ruptures while driving, the low engine oil message and engine oil pressure warnings will illuminate. Continued use after these warnings will result in complete engine failure due to oil starvation. The line is known to be defective, and a revised part has been issued by Toyota but recall has not been issued. Covered under a warranty issued by Toyota but covers under a short time frame.

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

I was driving down the interstate in Wisconsin during rush hour when I took off my cruise control to slow down to take the next exit. I noticed an abnormal down shift when I took off the cruise control. Almost immediately the oil and traction control lights came on. As I slowed to the stop sign at the end of the exit the display screen began dinging and read low oil pressure and immediately stop the car and turn off the engine. I immediately pulled over once out of the way of traffic and shut down the car. Upon checking the oil there was none on the dipstick. There was oil dripping down from the grill all underneath the car including in the front tire wheel wells. I also heard knocking from the engine, so I am concerned that the lifters and the top end of the engine may be compromised. This a known issue with Toyota, who has refused to issue a recall for faulty oil lines and seals. Luckily, I was at an exit where I could safely pull over before more major damage was done to the vehicle. My personal safety, the safety of my family as well as other drivers could have compromised by the neglect that Toyota has shown by continuing to ignore this issue.

- Cambridge, WI, USA

When vehicle is stationary, engine always makes strange noise upon initial start.

- San Juan, PR, USA

I was turning into a parking lot and I started getting "low oil pressure" alerts on my dashboard. I was worried if it was a sensor issue and kept moving till I parked my vehicle. Upon further investigation, I saw that oil had started to drip from where I had turned, and when I parked the car the oil drip got bigger and had pooled under the vehicle. Based on the information I got from the Toyota dealership, this was a known issue which starts as a small leak but due to pressure, the oil cooler pipe bursts open. This known problem is documented here: Https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/2007-2011-Toyota-sienna-Highlander-and-venza-engine-oil-cooler-pipe-leak-lsc-ZE2.358/ Toyota refused to pay my repair bill as I was over the mileage requirement by 2700 miles. I cannot understand why Toyota did not consider this a safety issue/recall. If this had happened while I was driving on the highway, my engine could have been completely damaged and the heavily leaking oil could have contributed to an accident(s). The Toyota dealership also agreed with me that this should have been a safety recall. Toyota claims they sent out a letter for this warranty enhancement (ZE2) which I never received. Toyota has refused to escalate this issue within the company.

- Milford, MA, USA

Oil cooler hose burst in car. Yo have about 20 seconds to turn the engine off before it seizes up because all the oil is pouring out of the car. We had it towed to midas dealership and they fixed it. I called Toyota because I noticed they had a customer support program covering this problem. I was told if I would have taken it straight to the dealership, it would be covered but instead I had to submit paperwork which I did. Well it is not covered. They are claiming that the part on the invoice is not covered. However, the oil cooler hose that burst which is original to the car was rubber and the Toyota replacement part is metal. They are merely not covering this because it is not a recall and they are not getting in trouble for it. It is a huge safety issue, as when this bursts (with no heads up), you have only a few seconds to get to the side of the road and turn off the engine. Toyota is fully aware of the issue but the gov't has not required them to put in a recall.

- Frederickburg, VA, USA

The coolant pump pulley broke and engine got overheated and stopped on a major highway and had to be towed. The vehicle has less than 60K miles on it. Dealer tells me that both the engine and water pump have to be replaced and would cost over $9,000.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

2009 Highlander, purchased new, had 105000 miles on 3.5L V6 engine. Oil changed every 7000 miles, fully synthetic. No warning lights or engine noises prior to incident. Car started after work, drove.6 mile. Started running very rough, pulled over to shoulder thinking I had a flat tire. Car died before finishing maneuver, coasted to shoulder. Engine would not start. Towed to repair shop, they diagnosed "engine fully seized up". contacted Toyota, they offered no satisfaction as " car not being repaired by dealer, not under warranty". I find this answer to be wrong, due to low mileage, history of maintenance, no reason for catastrophic failure of engine. Mechanic stated theory of "oil ports clogging up", since heard theory of "oil pump failure".

- St Louis, MO, USA

March 10, 2016 vehicle was taken to dealer for oil change. Parked vehicle after return home (10 miles drive between dealership and home) same day and after a few hours, noticed all oil had leaked from vehicle. Vehicle was towed back to dealer that day. Upon investigation dealer said the problem was the oil cooler pipe. Dealer said Toyota issued a technical service bulletin T-sb-0201-11 over 5 years prior that issued a repair procedure to replace this oil cooler pipe. Dealer replaced oil cooler pipe under warranty per technical service bulletin and assured me that no damage to the engine was "apparent" after the repair. July 18, 2016 returned to same dealer for a problem with the engine making a loud knocking sound upon fast acceleration. Dealer diagnosed problem as a rod knock and confirmed it was due to the oil cooler pipe leak from March. The repair involves replacing the engine an extensive and very expensive repair. Toyota needs to make this technical service bulletin problem a recall to avoid unnecessary engine damage and potential safety hazard to the 533500 estimated vehicles included in the bulletin.

- Red Hook, NY, USA

The water pump went on my Toyota highland. I looked it up online and found out the water pumps are faulty and will make a sound like there is gravel in the motor. I had Toyota fix the problem under warranty, but I looked online and found that other people have the same problem. Should be looked into due to being bad pumps.

- Ashburn, VA, USA

Noticed large oil puddle in driveway. Had car towed as oil loss could have caused fatal damage to the engine. The oil line was diagnosed as dry rotted and needed to be replaced. The replacement oil line was vastly different than that of the original line indicating a problem with the previous design. The leak began while driving and we were able to trace the oil for miles leading home. The oil indicator light did not come on to warn of low oil. Toyota did recall other vehicles for the same problem however not this particular make and model. After talking to Toyota's recall department I was told if I had had the repairs taken care of at a Toyota dealership I may have been able to be reimbursed slightly (a percentage of the bill) however since I used the shop of my choice there is no option for any reimbursement.

- Anderson, SC, USA

August 6, 2015 I was driving northbound on hwy 45. After about 20 minutes on the road my 2009 Toyota Highlander began to smoke, the oil pressure warning light came on and I pulled over to the side of the road. Within a few minutes, black smoke was pouring out from underneath the hood. Within another minute or two the SUV was on fire and soon the front half was completely engulfed in flames. I thought it would explode. Two milwaukee fire department teams arrived and extinguished the fire. Thank god no one was hurt and my children were not in the car. Accident report bmz14xn was filed with milwaukee county. Prior to the fire that totaled the Highlander, an emergency repair was made to the Highlander on November 3, 2014. That night the engine began to make a strange noise and the oil warning light went on. I pulled into the nearest auto repair shop; the tech said if I drove any further the engine would have been severely damaged because there was no oil left. The engine coolant pipe sprung a leak and all of the oil poured out of my car. That was the first time my Highlander lost all of its oil because of a faulty oil coolant pipe- the second time it resulted in an engine fire. In December 2014 I received a letter from Toyota stating they reimburse for repairs related to leaking oil or engine damage. Toyota dealers received technical service bulletin (tsb) #tsb-020-11 indicating the replacement part should be metal; not rubber which is what I had. I mentioned the emergency repair twice when I went in for service to jack safro Toyota. Neither time did a service tech suggest that the oil coolant pipe be checked to make sure it was correctly repaired. I believe this was a major oversight on the part of the service department and that Toyota should recall the oil coolant pipe. The faulty part is on 2007-2010 Highlanders and other Toyota vehicles.

- Brookfield, WI, USA

We were traveling down a state route highway at 50 mph when suddenly we lost power to the car, we were between two mac trucks, and the oil light started flashing. We had to quickly get off the roadway (no breakdown lanes) and find a safe spot to stop on some grass. The rubber oil line had cracked/ruptured and drained the oil from the car rapidly causing the engine to lose power and make noise. I found out online that this is a known issue but no recall has been done as Toyota claims this is not safety issue. However, in my case it was very much a safety issue as this happened on a highway in rapid succession with no safe place to leave the roadway.

- Concord, NH, USA

Massive oil leak from oil cooler line of 2009 Toyota Highlander with tow package at ~78,000 miles. Rubber hoses burst and oil leaked out from engine.

- Chicago, IL, USA

While driving down the expressway with the family (50mph), check engine light and traction control suddenly turn on and flicker on and off randomly. Engine power hesitates. At the stoplight, check engine light continues to turn on, and off randomly, as well as traction control light. Engine appears to be stalling at times, and RPM bounces between 500-900. Acceleration when pressing against gas pedal results in uneven acceleration. Pulled vehicle off to the side, turned engine off, and examined vehicle. Examined vehicle and do not see anything suspicious. Turned vehicle back on, and check engine light with traction control off. Moments later, lights turn back on. Limped vehicle back to residence via local roads. Continued to experience intermittent on/off check engine light and traction control. After arriving at residence, parked vehicle and performed additional examination. Noticed burning smell at rear brake shoes, possibly from traction control holding on to brakes. Will bring car to dealership on 08/05/13 first thing in the morning.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA