2019 Toyota Highlander — Known Issues & Recalls

Your car rolled forward while in park at a gas station, as if the transmission wasn't holding. After restarting and putting it in drive, you heard grinding noises. The transmission fluid appeared dark with a reddish tint and slight sparkle, but no visible metal shavings were present. This suggests an internal transmission problem that may require professional diagnosis and potentially a transmission rebuild or replacement.

Your transmission has failed at under 100,000 miles despite regular maintenance at Toyota. The repair cost is approximately $11,000. This will likely require a transmission rebuild or replacement to restore drivability.

Your transmission started making a high-pitched whining noise and shifting hard into second gear. Within a year, the transmission failed completely and became stuck in third gear, leaving you unable to drive normally.

Your Highlander suddenly lost power while driving on the freeway at highway speeds and wouldn't respond to the gas pedal, even though no warning lights appeared. After pulling off and restarting the vehicle, it wouldn't shift into gear and only revved without moving, requiring a tow to the dealer where the transmission was diagnosed as failed and replaced. The sudden loss of driving power on the freeway created a serious safety risk.

Your transmission started making a whining noise around 70,000 miles. At 90,000 miles while driving on the highway, your transmission completely failed and you lost all forward gears and neutral—only reverse works now. Your transmission will likely need to be rebuilt or replaced to restore normal operation.

Your transmission suddenly failed without warning, requiring complete replacement. The dealership informed you that replacement transmissions were unavailable and that your warranty had expired three months earlier, leaving you responsible for $8,500–$12,200 in repairs. Even with partial warranty company coverage, you paid nearly $4,000 out of pocket, and Toyota declined to take responsibility for the failure.

Your transmission makes a whining noise when you press the gas pedal, and you've noticed rough shifting between gears since you bought the car. This suggests your transmission may not be operating smoothly. A transmission fluid check, fluid change, or internal transmission inspection will likely be needed to diagnose and fix the issue.

You're hearing a whining noise coming from your transmission, which a Toyota technician diagnosed as internal transmission failure. The dealership recommends replacing the entire transmission assembly and torque converter. Toyota has issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 0008-21) about this issue on your 2019 Highlander, but you weren't notified about it until you discovered it yourself.

Your 2019 Highlander makes a whining noise between 0-40 mph and sometimes shifts hard. Multiple mechanics confirmed this is a transmission problem—the Toyota dealer's diagnostic codes show internal transmission failure. The dealer quoted $10,500 for a complete transmission replacement, though replacement parts are currently backordered for 8+ weeks. A new transmission assembly will need to be installed to resolve this issue.

Your transmission failed at approximately 90,000 miles, which is earlier than typical for this vehicle. This is a significant issue that will require professional transmission service or replacement to restore your vehicle to working condition.

Your transmission has failed completely. This is a serious drivability issue that will prevent your vehicle from operating normally and require professional repair or replacement of the transmission unit.

Your car makes a high-pitched whining noise when you accelerate. This sound is coming from the powertrain area and may indicate an issue with the engine or transmission components that need inspection.

Your check engine light came on and your car started losing power, running roughly at idle, and stalling. You had your battery, alternator, and starter tested and they're all working fine. A diagnostic test showed the problem is with the fuel and air mixture your engine is receiving. The check engine light keeps turning on and off as you continue driving. The fix will likely involve inspecting and cleaning or replacing components that control the fuel and air mixture, such as the oxygen sensor, mass airflow sensor, or fuel injectors.

Your Highlander hesitates and sputters when you accelerate, loses power during driving, and sometimes stalls completely. The engine computer has detected trouble codes related to fuel pressure and fuel mixture problems, suggesting an issue with how fuel is being delivered or burned.

Your vehicle stalled while driving at 30 MPH, and you had to shift into park and restart it to get back to normal. You saw "Auto START/STOP Failure" and "See Dealer" messages on the dashboard, even though no warning lights came on. This happened multiple times. The dealer diagnosed the problem as a faulty wiring harness that needs to be replaced.

Your overhead console occasionally makes a loud, piercing sound when you start the car that can be painful to hear. This appears to be a known issue affecting 2019 Toyota Highlanders in Limited Platinum trim, and it's happening more frequently now that your vehicle is out of warranty. The dealership has been unable to recreate the problem despite your reports and video evidence. Fixing this will likely involve diagnosing and replacing the speaker or audio module in the overhead console.

Your transmission lost the ability to shift into 3rd gear, which caused your vehicle to stall while you were turning in traffic with your children in the car. The Toyota dealership confirmed this was the problem during inspection. The transmission will likely need internal repair or replacement to restore proper gear shifting.

Your 2019 Highlander developed a whining noise from the transmission at 50,236 miles while still under warranty, and the dealership performed a transmission service. The noise returned within weeks along with hard and delayed shifting, which your dealership now says indicates transmission failure requiring full replacement. Since the original problem was reported under warranty but wasn't properly fixed, you're asking Toyota to cover the replacement cost even though the vehicle is now out of warranty.

Your transmission is making noise and causing power loss while driving. The vehicle loses power intermittently and you've noticed smoke, suggesting possible transmission fluid overheating or internal damage. A transmission inspection and fluid service will likely be needed to diagnose the issue.

Your car's transmission is making a whining sound while operating. This noise is noticeable but hasn't caused a crash or fire risk. The issue likely requires transmission fluid inspection or service, and potentially transmission component repair or replacement.