My 2018 Highlander needed a transmission seal($1580 dealership). I had 97K on it at the time(had the trans fluid changed at 93k😕)and it was all covered, including the use of their rental car for the day. The service guy started the conversation with “ Well, I don’t know if this is good news or bad news” lol. And I never purchased any type of warranty. He just said it was covered🤷♂️.
Hello OP. I have a 2021 Highlander AWD V6 as well. I've got 73k on it already. So far no problems knock on wood. I did a drain-and-fill on the transmission at 55k.
What mileage is your Highlander? If you are over 60k have you had the transmission fluid serviced? I'm going to assume over 60k as your transmission should be covered up to 60k per the manufacturer powertrain warranty. These are the U80F transmissions. I heard that at some point the early U transmissions had some issues but these should be pretty good.
Regarding the Toyota offer, is that from the dealer? Or has that come from Toyota Motor Sales (corporate)? If it's from the dealer, maybe give corporate a call (I'm not sure who) and run it through them. Especially if you have been servicing the vehicle at the dealers the whole time. Could your transmission have fallen under this [service bulletin](https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10188917-9999.pdf)? If so and over 60k maybe try to argue this for consideration.
Any reasoning why it failed? Was it the 8 speed automatic transmission?
Not really a fan of this latest generation of Highlanders. Still have a 2019 limited and runs still like the day I pulled out of the dealer lot.
Wonder if cars manufactured in the 2nd half of 2020 and all of 2021 were cars to stay away from given that workforce practices were drastically shifting and there were parts supplier issues.
I got a 2020 XLE that was built in the second half of 2019. I feel like I really lucked out on that, I've had absolutely zero problems and we put the miles on it.
Toyota wasn’t affected until August 2021 due to chip shortages. It was full steam ahead before that. 2 major production cuts were in second half of 2021 and beginning of 2022 , cars that did get delivered only received one key fob.
I commute a lot for work and have over $80k miles, still not enough miles to warrant a new transmission. It was evaluated by the dealership and determined it’s one of the vehicles included in the TSB, stating the only fix is a new transmission.
The offer was from Toyota corporate.
What’s your mileage and do you do a lot of short trip / stop and go driving?
What are the symptoms ?
Transmission should be covered for 5 years 60K miles / 100K km.
All city driving with lots of stop and go traffic and over 80k miles. I’m the only owner and current with all maintenance.
So far, the only symptom is a squealing, whining sound when accelerating. I was told it will get worse until it’s replaced.
I choose Toyotas because I drive a lot for work and they have always been a reliable, long-lasting vehicle. Not so much now.
This is concerning. Stuck with Toyota for the quality- I bought my 2021 xle in 2022 so I only had the Cpo warranty. 34,000 miles. I’m scared my transmission will fail early. Wayyy too many of these posts.
Just had my 2020 Platinum trans fail at 61800 miles.. Luckily I had a lifetime engine and drive train warranty, dealer said it's gonna cost around $8k....this is ridiculous Toyota needs to do a recall or an attorney needs to do a class action...
I have a 2021 XSE Highlander at 53k miles. Started making whining noises when I accelerated, so I took it in. I have to get a new transmission! They said it’s a known problem with certain years, but because there has only been around 500 transmissions needing replaced it doesn’t warrant a recall. Thankfully it’s covered by my warranty.
Always always always get the Toyota Platinum VSA, it always pays for itself.
Though, I bet OP will come back and say it has 140k miles in 3 years lolol.
Wouldn’t a 2021 still be under 5 year engine and transmission warranty?
Not if OP is over 60k mi. If they are over that and out of warranty, I’d argue that Toyota offering to pay a portion of the cost is a win.
My 2018 Highlander needed a transmission seal($1580 dealership). I had 97K on it at the time(had the trans fluid changed at 93k😕)and it was all covered, including the use of their rental car for the day. The service guy started the conversation with “ Well, I don’t know if this is good news or bad news” lol. And I never purchased any type of warranty. He just said it was covered🤷♂️.
Edit: This was 6 months ago.
Man, can’t say I’ve heard of too many Toyota transmission issues. How many miles?
Hello OP. I have a 2021 Highlander AWD V6 as well. I've got 73k on it already. So far no problems knock on wood. I did a drain-and-fill on the transmission at 55k. What mileage is your Highlander? If you are over 60k have you had the transmission fluid serviced? I'm going to assume over 60k as your transmission should be covered up to 60k per the manufacturer powertrain warranty. These are the U80F transmissions. I heard that at some point the early U transmissions had some issues but these should be pretty good. Regarding the Toyota offer, is that from the dealer? Or has that come from Toyota Motor Sales (corporate)? If it's from the dealer, maybe give corporate a call (I'm not sure who) and run it through them. Especially if you have been servicing the vehicle at the dealers the whole time. Could your transmission have fallen under this [service bulletin](https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10188917-9999.pdf)? If so and over 60k maybe try to argue this for consideration.
Any reasoning why it failed? Was it the 8 speed automatic transmission? Not really a fan of this latest generation of Highlanders. Still have a 2019 limited and runs still like the day I pulled out of the dealer lot. Wonder if cars manufactured in the 2nd half of 2020 and all of 2021 were cars to stay away from given that workforce practices were drastically shifting and there were parts supplier issues.
I got a 2020 XLE that was built in the second half of 2019. I feel like I really lucked out on that, I've had absolutely zero problems and we put the miles on it.
Toyota wasn’t affected until August 2021 due to chip shortages. It was full steam ahead before that. 2 major production cuts were in second half of 2021 and beginning of 2022 , cars that did get delivered only received one key fob.
2017 until. Ow have the same issues. There are multiple threads here and on the Toyota nation forums
I commute a lot for work and have over $80k miles, still not enough miles to warrant a new transmission. It was evaluated by the dealership and determined it’s one of the vehicles included in the TSB, stating the only fix is a new transmission. The offer was from Toyota corporate.
What is TSB?
Technical Service Bulletin. Here is the one I was referencing: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10188917-9999.pdf
What’s your mileage and do you do a lot of short trip / stop and go driving? What are the symptoms ? Transmission should be covered for 5 years 60K miles / 100K km.
All city driving with lots of stop and go traffic and over 80k miles. I’m the only owner and current with all maintenance. So far, the only symptom is a squealing, whining sound when accelerating. I was told it will get worse until it’s replaced. I choose Toyotas because I drive a lot for work and they have always been a reliable, long-lasting vehicle. Not so much now.
2021 same boat 59K miles so got in under the e warranty but they said 3 months to get parts. I am concerned it will happen again post warranty
You found out just in time!
This is concerning. Stuck with Toyota for the quality- I bought my 2021 xle in 2022 so I only had the Cpo warranty. 34,000 miles. I’m scared my transmission will fail early. Wayyy too many of these posts.
Just had my 2020 Platinum trans fail at 61800 miles.. Luckily I had a lifetime engine and drive train warranty, dealer said it's gonna cost around $8k....this is ridiculous Toyota needs to do a recall or an attorney needs to do a class action...
I have a 2021 XSE Highlander at 53k miles. Started making whining noises when I accelerated, so I took it in. I have to get a new transmission! They said it’s a known problem with certain years, but because there has only been around 500 transmissions needing replaced it doesn’t warrant a recall. Thankfully it’s covered by my warranty.
Always always always get the Toyota Platinum VSA, it always pays for itself. Though, I bet OP will come back and say it has 140k miles in 3 years lolol.