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

When in gear, the power does not engage. Unable to accelerate in Drive (spins as though in Neutral) or Reverse (same result). The car stopped in traffic and I was unable to safely pull aside.

- San Francisco , CA, USA

At 80,000 miles or so the transmission has now started making a whining sound upon acceleration. The repair shop says there's nothing they can do except to replace the entire transmission. This tends to be a common occurrence with Toyota vehicles.

- Atlantic, IA, USA

ur transmission went out with only 96K miles on it, We were told that it could break down at any time leaving us stranded. there are may forums and people experiencing this issue. It was inspected by the dealer, and they confirmed that the transmission was needing to be replaced

- Greeley, CO, USA

These Toyota highlanders had a whine noise in the transmissions that Toyota ended up taking care of in previous years. They said the problem was fixed in 2019 and newer. This problem has not been fixed as there are numerous confirmed cases of the exact problem with later models.

- Liverpool, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that recently while driving at speeds above 40 MPH, there was a whining sound coming from the engine compartment. The cause of the sound was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 51,000.

- Miller Place, NY, USA

Dealership stated that whining sound from transmission is irreparable and must be replaced. It is unsafe to drive and the dealer confirmed the noise. This is a known, common issue with the CVT Transmissions, but they are not willing to replace it due to being more than 60 months past the manufacture date, but under 60,000 miles.

- Austin, TX, USA

Approximately at 56,000 miles I began having trouble with a whining noise along with rough, delayed, or sudden shifting, lack of acceleration from a stop and shuddering. I had taken it in for an oil change and explained some of my complaints. They stated they didn't hear any whining noises (so they say) after completing the oil/fluid change. The service department said if it continues to come back and they stated that they haven't had any complaints about the whining noise with Toyota. I got "service engine light" and took it to the dealer which they said was a sensor for AWD. I paid to have it replaced and 2 days later the exact code came back up. Took it back into the Toyota dealership stating the same code came on but, to date, the dealer has been unable to correct the problem because they say it's the transmission that needs replacing which will cost over 8,500.00! My truck only has 119k miles and should be good to go for at minimum of 100k miles more with no major issues!

- Dunlap, TN, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and was sluggish while responding. There was an abnormal humming noise detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the transmission was replaced, but the failure recurred. While driving 71 MPH and merging into traffic while accelerating, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact was able to veer to the shoulder. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. There were no fault codes retrieved. The mechanic at the dealer reported that during the test drive, there was hesitation while downshifting. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

- Hempstead, NY, USA