My 2019 Toyota Highlander with 56k miles has a whining noise whenever the accelerator is pressed down. The noise stops when you release the accelerator. This was confirmed by my Toyota dealership service department. They informed me the transmission needed to be replaced. They said this is a common problem with this vehicle but yet there has not been a recall. Cost of replacement is around $8000. Fortunately for me my vehicle is still under warranty. I found many similar complaints about the transmission on the Toyota Highlander Forum. I don't understand why there has not been a recall. Going forward I am concerned that the replacement transmission could very well have the same problem.

- Greenland, Nh, NH, USA

My 2019 Toyota Highlander with 56K miles has a whining noise whenever the accelerator is pressed. The noise stops when you release the gas pedal. This was confirmed by my Toyota dealership service department. The transmission does need to be replace. They said this is a common problem with this vehicle and yet there has been no recall. Fortunately my vehicle is still under warranty. I found manner similar complaints about this transmission on the Toyota Highlander Forum. I don't understand why there has not been a recall. Going forward I am also concerned that the replacement transmission could very well have the same problem.

- Greenland, Nh, NH, USA

The CPO vehicle was purchased at 60k miles 11/5/2024. The vehicle started bogging down accelerating from a stop, while pulling into traffic, and decelerating randomly at 62k. The vehicle went in to the dealership at 64.5k on 2/20/2025 where they stated the transmission needed replacing due to a transmission whine and incorrect acceleration/deceleration. Toyota corporate will not acknowledge the dangerous problem with the UA80 transmission that 1000's of customers are having. This transmission is in many models with similar issues from 2017-2019.

- Marietta , GA, USA

My Highlander transmission has an internal failure. The Toyota dealership declared -??transmission has internal failure quote. I am afraid to drive it due to it breaking down on the highway.

- Glastonbury, CT, USA

ENGINE CHECK LIGHT coming on constantly Cylinder 3 misfire reported under DIAGNOSTICS of ADVANCE AUTOPARTS 500 Rte 291, Lee's Summit, MO 64063 another workshop said NO MISFIRE however now it says Engine Misfire 1, 3, 5, 6 4 cylinders misfiring as per diagnostic on 02/15/2025

- Lees Summit, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shuddering, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway where the failure persisted. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 88,000.

- Peachtree City, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal burning oil odor coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the failure was related to the transmission. The mechanic referred the contact to a certified transmission mechanic. The vehicle was taken to Leon's Transmission Services, where diagnostic trouble codes indicating an internal transmission pump failure were retrieved. The vehicle was then taken to Integrity Transmission & Auto Repair, where the same assessment was made, and the mechanic determined that the transmission needed to be replaced with a used, new, or rebuilt factory transmission. The dealer was contacted for parts and informed the contact that parts were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

- Cypress, CA, USA

Vehicle has 80k miles. When slowing the vehicle down to 10-20 mph and then trying to accelerate again the transmission bangs/clunks into gear and is delayed to get going causing a safety concern. No warning lights

- Royersford, PA, USA

Vehicle started making intermittent whining noise around 75,000 miles but Toyota service advisor at the time told me it was normal and since my transmission had been serviced on schedule, it was nothing to worry about. Around 135,000 miles the vehicle sometimes would operate completely normal, and at other times would suddenly seem to struggle to get up to speed especially on the highway somewhere between 20-60 mph. Also sometimes difficult to go at stoplights; but then would resume completely normal operation. The risk to us was we could have easily been hurt in an accident had the vehicle not been able to operate normally at normal speeds, leading to a collision. There were no warnings nor stored codes; the vehicle had received all routine maintenance on schedule including all major maintenance such as transmission services performed by a Toyota dealership. When taken in for this problem, they claimed that they were not able to replicate the jerky/intermittent issues during their test drive, but the whine was indicative of transmission failure and the transmission would need to be replaced. The remanufactured transmissions were on backorder with no ETA, which I was told could be 6-10 months of a wait due to a parts shortage. My service advisor recommended I trade in the vehicle instead because they could not guarantee the vehicle would be safe to drive and I could not continue to drive fearful of a wreck, so we had to do that, and the vehicle was traded in.

- Thomasville, NC, USA

Transmission whine stated on or around 52000 miles. Whine progressively increased in volume over the next 2000 miles. Toyota dealer analyzed the noise and recommended the transmission be replaced. Transmission out of warranty. Independent transmission shop confirmed transmission internal pump was failing and could cause transmission lockup at speed.

- Reading, PA, USA

automatic transmission makeing a whinning noise.Many other customers complaining about same problem. Car has 72,000 miles on it which puts it out of 5 year/60,000mile warranty.Customers feel that toyota should cover replacement or repairs cost knowing they have had same problem with 2017/2018 models and have not corrected the problem with the 2019 model.Very unprofessional for such a high quality company.

- Reno, NV, USA

when I release the gas between 40 to 60 km a whining sound. Dealer says transmission has to be replaced I have 103,000 km.

- Repentigny, NH, USA

within a 3 hour span, car started whining when accelerating and engine would rev and accelerate but wouldnt go. By lunch time the car would accelerate but go nowhere. Transmission failed within a morning.

- Dallas, TX, USA

1 - The car transmission is emitting a whine noise, harsh shift and loss of power. The dealer recommended the transmission be replaced. The car has 54,857 miles. The auto is available for inspection. 2 - Safety is an issue when the transmission loses power and is unable to accelerate. 3 - The issue was reproduced by the dealer and recommended transmission replacement. 4 - Inspected by dealer only. 5 - There were no warning indicators for the failure.

- Clinton, MA, USA

While driving up hill in snowy and icy conditions, my engine RPMs suddenly went up to 4000, then quickly back down. When I tried to continue driving, the car would not switch gears. It was stuck in what I think was 5th gear. I was slugging along at about 5mph. At this point I put the car in park, and waited in confusion for about a minute before putting the car back in gear. There were no warning lights on my car and nothing else to suggest anything was wrong. I tried to move forward up the steep hill, but the car would not go. I put the car in park again and then switched into reverse instead of drive. At this point I had no option but to back down the narrow icy road. I was driving the going to wrong direction backwards, but it was my only option to get me out of the way of others traffic. The conditions made it more dangerous, but this would have been dangerous on any given day. I was able to back down, get my car to flat ground where I parked, shut the car off, waited about 10 mins, and then turned it back on. After turning it back on I was able to drive the car down to the mechanic shop where they told me that my transmission was bad. In hindsight i should have had it towed, but I'm thankful I made it to the shop safely after the transmission warmed up a little. I'm now waiting 3 or 4 weeks to get a transmission directly from toyota (a $5000 part). The repair in total will cost nearly $8000!! This isn't something I can afford to do, especially near the holidays, but I have no other options as the vehicle isn't worth much in its current condition. I'm very disappointed in Toyota for this one. I expect more from their vehicles.

- Boulder, CO, USA

My 2019 Toyota Highlander XLE has 50,000 miles on it, when the transmission began making a whining noise while driving. The noise has become significantly louder. There has been no noticeable issues with the shifting, however when taken to the dealer I was advised that the transmission needs to be replaced and can not be repaired. I was lucky enough that we did not encounter any serious problems with the transmission. This appears to be a major problem with the Highlander transmission and should become a recall. I was lucky enough that my vehicle was in the drivetrain warranty range considering the low miles and cost to repair such a problem. Toyota should be mandated to recall or at the very least extend the transmission coverage to 10 year 100,000 miles due to the malfunction.

- Macomb , MI, USA

Dealer states that the transmission and transmission cooling needs to be replaced. The car only has 58500 miles.

- Littleton, CO, USA

Faulty transmission with no solution for a fix. Transmission makes grinding noise while driving. Dealership cannot fix the problem knowing that there is an issue with the 8 speed transmission. They recommend replacement with a salvage transmission out of pocket.

- Mandeville, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine revved but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the check engine warning light illuminated, and the AWD message was displayed. The failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

- West Pittston, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the check engine warning light illuminated and disappeared later in the evening. Additionally, the contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, there was a winding sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,471.

- Manchester Township, NJ, USA