Toyota Highlander
Problems & Worst Years

If there's one thing to know before buying a used Highlander from the 2017 through 2022 span, it's that the transmission is the recurring headline, appearing somewhere in the top five complaints for six consecutive model years. The 2019 model year is the worst by volume at 306 total complaints: half involve hard shifting (50) and a high-pitched whining sound (43), plus two safety-rated entries describing sudden transmission failure and outright loss of propulsion (41 and 40 reports). The 2021 model year runs a close second at 296 total and actually carries the highest safety count in the lineup at six, with every one of its top five problems describing transmission whining, slipping, or failure serious enough to require full replacement.

The years around that stretch echo the same theme at a smaller scale. 2017 and 2018 both show transmission failure and hard or whining shifting alongside airbag deployment problems (22 reports in 2018) and brake power warnings; 2020 logs 62 transmission failure reports alone, even with zero safety-rated complaints that year. By 2022 the transmission issue persists (30 whining or premature-failure reports) but now shares top billing with electrical system problems and brake surging during deceleration, both safety-rated.

Earlier and later years break from that pattern. The 2011 Highlander's leading complaint is oddly specific — the driver's sun visor failing to stay up and obstructing the view, 35 combined reports — alongside an oil cooler hose failure described as causing catastrophic engine failure; recall 13V123 covers that year. By 2023, volume has dropped to 59 total complaints, topped by front bumper detachment and engine hesitation, with recalls 23V480, 24V548, and 25V040 on file.

Given how consistently transmission trouble shows up across the middle years, a test drive should include hard acceleration and sustained highway speed specifically to listen for whining or hesitation, and any service record showing transmission work is worth asking about directly. As with any of these figures, they reflect what owners chose to report to NHTSA rather than a measured failure rate — useful as a guide for what to inspect, not a final verdict on any individual vehicle.