Complaint volume
453 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2019 Toyota Highlander Complaints
453 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Toyota Highlander, grouped by component category.
453 Total complaints
22 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
12 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, fuel/propulsion system, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 22 crash reports, 1 fire report, 12 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 139 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 27,463 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, fuel/propulsion system, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2019 Toyota Highlander?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2019 Toyota Highlander
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Toyota Highlander complaints?
22 Crash
1 Fire
12 Injury
0 Fatality
27 Towed
7 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Toyota Highlander complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 149
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 48
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 45
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 16
ENGINE 12
AIR BAGS 9
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 8
453 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The car randomly shuts off, while waiting in line or when the break is depressed. The vehicle won’t start, battery is completely dead and then comes back randomly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? 12V battery How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Vehicle unable to start. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Inspected by independent service center. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning of impending failures. 2/17/2020, vehicle purchased new from Toyota of Morristown (NJ). 2/23/2023, vehicle's (3 year old; 1 week outside of warranty) original OEM 12V battery failed and was replaced with Toyota OEM 12V battery (Part #2880031291) by independent service center ($376.61). 12/18/2025, vehicle's (less than 2 year old) replacement Toyota OEM 12V battery failed and was replaced with Toyota OEM 12V battery by independent service center ($407.88). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | 2019 Toyota Highlander with approx 178000 miles, UA80E transmission sudden failure while traveling approximately 30 mph, on city street. Manually pushed vehicle to safety away from traffic and unto a parking lot. That same evening drove vehicle about 20 feet to a more secure parking spot. VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN MOVED SINCE 12/15/25. No leaks, no spills etc EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission failed while going up a steep hill the car lost power and shut off. Could have caused seriously property and body damage if traffic or people were around. Luckily no accident happened but could certainly cause an accident if the circumstances are different. Please make an official complain so this could be fully investigated. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | premature failure of UA80F transmission with 80,000 miles on vehicle which has been regularly serviced and maintained. Failure symptoms demonstrated match documented cases exactly resulting in the ultimate and complete failure of the transmission resulting in the vehicle being towed in to the dealer for a repair. Repair bill upwards of $10,000 however being told parts not available leaving me with a 40k vehicle that is unable to be repaired. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Our transmission is making a high pitched whining sound when accelerating. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | At around 107,000 miles, we started hearing griding/whining noises from the engine compartment. After multiple inspections from 3 different auto shops a Toyota dealership confirmed the transmission and transfer case had failed and needed to be completely replaced. There were NO warning lamps, messages or other symptoms besides the griding/whinig noise prior to the failure. After the Toyota dealership diagnosed the issue, we stopped using the vehicle until Toyota could make the necessary repairs for the vehicle to be safely driven. The Toyota dealership made the necessary repairs that we paid for on 10/28/25. We are aware that this is a known defect by Toyota on the UA80 Transmission and Technical Service Bulletins have been released. We demand a recall and our out of pocket repair cost money back of $12,623.31. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | 8-speed automatic transmission failing. Noticeable whining sound that increases with acceleration, however no warning lights or messages. Metal shavings found in fluid upon inspection by independent mechanic. This is exactly in line with the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by plaintiff [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The vehicle is relatively new 2019 and mileage is low 45000 car was humming for no reason for a day or two and its well maintained, today at busy thoroughfare it stalled at intersection of ave u and another street and was behaving erratically due to know manufacture defect of Toyota Transmission UA80E/F that causes sudden stall and thank god have. I stalled on highway it would have been a catastrophe. I want NHTSA to acknowledge danger this poses to drivers if suden loss of power occurs suddenly hoping for a solution to this dangerous manufacture defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Adaptive cruise control issue and transmission issue transmission is whining. Vehicle taken to the dealer and I am told nothing is wrong with the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | •What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Transmission and power train failure during normal operation. Vehicle was occupied by mother and two small children. Vehicle produced a whining noise, delay in shifting and power failure. No warning lights appeared to give any indication of failure prior to occurring. Vehicle is available for inspection. •How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Vehicle stalled during normal operation. No warning indicators were present. No ability to proceed to shoulder. Traffic hazard in middle of road. Possibility of being rear ended increased. Exiting the vehicle in traffic to determine fault increase probability of being struck. Two young children seated to the rear should vehicle be rear ended due to sudden stop could cause catastrophic injuries or death. •Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, vehicle was taken and diagnostic conducted by Glendora Toyota. Vehicle was kept overnight. Dealer determined that vehicle had a transmission failure. Multiple articles and bulletins by Toyota indicating and acknowledging transmission failures in 2019 Toyota Highlander. •Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Vehicle has only been inspected by Glendora Toyota service personnel. •Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning lights or indicators. Whining noise was heard prior and taken to Glendora Toyota for diagnosis. They advised no problems with vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My vehicle has noise in the transmission when accelerating. They should give a voletin. thanks | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Issue 1: I reported transmission issued to the dealership/service center where I purchased the car. They assured me its just the electronic transmission trying to find the right gear while driving. Continued to complaint about the jerks and shifting. Dealer warranty expired, then they agreed that I needed a new transmission. Fortunately I had an outside extended warranty otherwise they'd probably would have waited until that ended too. Status post the transmission, tuning, sensor replacements, spark plug replacement, and TPMS replacements all in one service. Prior to my warranty expiring, AWD, engine light and hard transmission shifts began with the new transmission. Returned repeatedly from April to November with no resolution. However, they did have me pay to replace sensors I had replaced in April several times and obtain a new battery. Issue 2: After "new" batter the car's electrical issues worsened resulting in a power failure while driving at 75 miles an hour and losing complete control of the vehicle. The power failure shut down the electronic shifter, power steering, All Wheel Drive, Traction control in raining conditions and ultimately the power assisted brakes. returned the vehicle to the service department for additional "testing" after taking a video of the fault messages were the car electrical systems shut down to auto start stop function warning light. I'm a skill driver and was able to avoid crashing during the incidents. The photos are from the latest day I dropped the vehicle off for review I took a video of the vehicle powering down for their records. They are now stating since they can't figure it out maybe I should pay them to replace the electrical wiring harnesses throughout the vehicle; a cost which exceeds the vehicle's worth to me. I'm convinced now more than ever they knew there was an electrical issue with the vehicle but waited me out and if I would have crashed and died all the blame would have been on me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | My vehicle was taken into Toyota dealership for diagnostics after experiencing a whine noise from transmission after driving. Toyota confirmed that I will need a new transmission. After researching I found that there is a defect in the transmissions for my specific type. It has been reported for years but Toyota has not addressed. Since it is a transmission failure this could lead to a breakdown while driving on highways and could risk my safety and other drivers. The estimated repair cost are currently above $8K. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Owners of 2017–2022 Toyota Highlanders, 2017–2020 Siennas, and 2018–2020 Camrys are experiencing serious transmission issues—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. Toyota quietly acknowledged the problem in Technical Service Bulletins T-SB-0160-18, T-SB-0008-21, and a limited Customer Support Program (CSP ZJC)—but only offered coverage to a narrow group of VINs. Thousands of other affected vehicles were left out, even though they show the same exact symptoms. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission failure. Vehicle is at this time still operational however the transmission has developed the ever so common whining sound and sluggish shifting. Upon fluid inspection metal filings can be seen and replacement has been recommended by repair shop. The whining has been evident for some time but after investigating this issue decided to have inspected. This inspection was just completed on 11/14/25 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | This is the second time this year 2025 my Toyota Highlander 2019 stalled fist in the middle of of intersection and second on the drive thru in in&out. Suddenly my car died. Tried to turn on followed the on screen instructions but the car failed to turn on. The first time it happened in the middle of the intersection while waiting for the light to change, after the issue I when straight to a car shop and oreilly they have this machine to check any possible issues and he said nothing shows in his machine but he think it’s the battery but I told the guy my battery and on the car shop Midas same result no major issue found and one of the technicians says It could be the auto shot off features, that must be manually turn off since this will automatically turn on. The second incident in In&Out the car died suddenly, tried to turn the car but it was on Drive so change to stop then tried to turn on multiple times but faulted , the crews decided to help us push the car out of the drive thru since we are blocking all the customers car, the steering wheel so stiff could hardly turn. We can’t change gear from stop, I was told to push off and on manual break foot pedal and this this help able to change gear to neutral, so we can push the car out of the drive thru. No message or failure message in the screen. We just push the car in the parking lot. Tried to turn on but failed. One of in&out staff was so kind to help us, he has a portable jumpstart and the car able to start. Able to drive home safe. Now I’m afraid to turn on my car or drive far distance due to this issues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Our 2019 Toyota Highlanders transmission is gone. The car has 83,000 miles. I have been researching online and found out that Toyota is very much aware of the problem. They're refusing to help me. They're basing it on our VIN#. No recalls. I just want them to acknowledge that the issue needs to be addressed NOW. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact previously owned a 2017 Toyota Highlander and heard the same whining sound coming from the transmission. The contact stated that when the 2017 Toyota Highlander was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was purchased, the contact was offered a trade of the 2017 Toyota Highlander for the 2019 Toyota Highlander. Following the failure of the 2019 Highlander, the vehicle was taken to two different dealers to be diagnosed. The first dealer had not diagnosed the vehicle but stated that the vehicle was operating normally. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched the failure online and determined that the 2017 Highlander and the 2019 Highlander had the same model transmission, UA80F - CVT transmission. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 133,000 |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I called Toyota as I was concerned it was sluggish and was having trouble excelerating the appointment was given to me 2 weeks out but was told if anything happens to just bring her in. I had to bring her in the week of the appointment on a tow truck as she was not moving. I was told it’s a faulty transmission I asked if it’s covered by my extended warranty and because it’s over by 4 miles it’s not. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Loud ear-piercing noise when vehicle is started. Noise lasts about five seconds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | TIRES | The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander equipped with Yokohama Tires, Tire Line: Geolandar HT-G056, Tire Size: 245/60/R18, DOT Number: TCCI2Y889. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however the contact noticed that the rear seats were vibrating. The contact also noticed that the rear tires were sliding. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the dealer performed a diagnostic test. The dealer inspected the rear suspension and rear springs. The dealer performed an alignment and balanced the tires. The contact was informed that the failure was due to defective rear tires. The contact had purchased the tires from Town Fair Tires. In addition, the contact stated that it was the second time the brand of tires was purchased, and the tires were defective. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 27,000 |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission failed at 143,000 miles. Initially vehicle lost acceleration and would not go over 60mph. Then vehicle would not go into drive, and instead rolled backwards. Vehicle was towed to dealership where they provided a report saying it needed a new transmission that would cost $9,000. No warning lights were ever present on vehicle, it just stopped operating. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle stalled on highway. Went into limp mode. Took to Toyota and they said I need a new transmission. The car only has 139k miles. 2019. I purchased it 1 year ago from Toyota with 101k miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Whining noise when accelerator is pressed. Potential failed transmission. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |