Looking for info on Highlanders

Hey all, I’m looking for some information about Highlanders. Presently, we have a Tundra and a 2018 4Runner Pro and I’m considering selling the 4Runner in order to get a vehicle that gets better than 14-15mpg. I love both of our rigs but I’m also trying to think ahead with saving money. I’m thinking about a used Highlander from 2012 - 2020 with a V6 and less than 75k on it. It would be my daily driver and I drive about 25k a year. My question / concern is about the reliability of Highlanders; the V8 5.7 and V6 4.0 are legendary for their reliability due to lack model changes, but the Highlander seems to change a bit more often. I know that recently a Highlander hit the one million mark, but that model was older.
Anyhow, any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

my wife has a 2020 and loves it. 30k and zero problems. I have put a lift on it to get a little different look. We test drove it and the 4Runner and Highlander just had more room and features at the time.

 

We just picked up a 2024 Grand Highlander and this thing is sick. Has all the bells and whistles minus the panoramic moonroof. When I get back home from a work trip I’ll snap some pictures. Its black on black with the black out package. Lots of tech and the 2.4l turbo and 8 speed are a perfect combo.

 

We have a 2021 limited with 28k miles on with the v6. It has been flawless. Really a nice ride we avg 27 mpg on highway. 20-22 around the city.

 

We have a 19 limited. Kids love the rear captains chairs. May want to do 2020 or newer on 3rd Gen or 2nd gen due to transmission shifts erratically in first few years of 3rd gen. My parents 2013 drives extremely well at 130k, better than our 19.

I will say, if our 03 4Runner was 4wd I wouldn’t have considered selling it.

 

40k miles on our 2020 V6 Highlander, no issues. Great car and has almost 300hp so it moves, but we can still hit 30 mpg cruising the flats at 65 MPH. I put 80k on the same engine in a Tacoma and had some issues with preignition under very hard acceleration with a loaded trailer, but learned after I totaled the truck that the spark plug maintenance interval on the 2GR-FKS is 60k miles. I've always wondered if going over the spark plug interval could have caused this so I will make sure I change them on time in the Highlander.

Only thing that has bugged me mechanically is the transfer case fill plug is a total pain in the ass to get to. The Highlander forums offered some help here and suggested a stubby 10mm hex bit with a 5/16" drive on the other end from MAC tools. Use a 12 point 5/16" box wrench to turn the hex driver.

The head unit completely sucks though, even after 2 or 3 updates at the dealer. It's buggy and Apple Car Play routinely crashes when my wife is on the phone with me.

 

We bought a 2018 Highlander for my wife in 2020. It was a lease and had 54K mileage. We are over 90K and have had no issues at all. We had the fuel pump replaced under recall however we never experienced a starting issue. We have the LE Plus which doesn't have much for options but next time we will try to step up to a limited. I wouldn't get one without the V6, while reading posts in Edmund's the one regret many people had was getting a 4 cyl. that felt under powered. When we are traveling we still get 28 mpg. I haven't been in the newest body style however Toyota seems to have adapted the quality through the various changes in the Highlander.

 

I'm probably one of the only dissenting voices.

Wife had a 2012 Highlander and absolutely loved it. The ONLY reason we traded it in was because she had MAJOR paint issues - she had a Blizzard Pearl Highlander, and the paint on the outside of the A pillars and the roof was coming off in sheets. Would have cost like $10K+ to repaint it

Traded it in on a 2020 Highlander...and while it had plenty of gadgets and the like, it shifted oddly, and the seats were (to us) intensely uncomfortable.

Traded THAT in on a 2022 4Runner and we absolutely love it.

 

My dad has a 2017, 150k miles, 0 issues. It’s very nice, except for the root beer color.

 

My wife is still driving the 2012 we picked up new. Just recently, at about 152k mikes, we had to replace the oil pan, which rotted through as we live in NY. Next time you guys are doing an oil change, inspect the pan! The following week was the water pump. Those 2 bills amounted to about 16-1700. Other than that the truck has been great. Serious PITA to change the firewall set of plugs btw, on the V6.

 

Buy a 4 cylinder Camry for commute?

 

Our other vehicle is a 2023 Highlander Limited hybrid that gets almost 40 miles per gallon. Super comfy, roomy, and the factory sound system is damn good.

 

@shifty` has one. Maybe has some thoughts.

 

2014 Highlander here, Fantastic!
110k from new, no issues. This new gen model was built on the Camry frame with the same drivetrain so extremely proven. V6 AWD, 19.5 mpg (wife driving majority of the time) it's a vacation mobile for our family of 4, Captain's chairs middle row and plenty of room inside, and fits the Thule XXL box perfectly.

 

Yup, our last two "family" cars were Highlanders.

We had a 2012 V6 Limited in silver with just about everything except GPS. We wanted to get a hybrid back then, for fuel economy sake, but it would've been more hassle than we wanted to deal with. That thing was nearly flawless for all those years, but in 2021 we decided it was probably about time to trade up for something new. The major pain point for us was the humming issue (which was in a TSB) related to the final gear/pinion not being honed at the right angle, which apparently was a pretty significant flaw. You'd only hear it when you got in the 75-77mph range though. Up to that point, flawless, only regular maintenance, and honestly, oil changes were easy enough. The only issue I had to fix out-of-the-norm was when a bolt fell out in the driver's side window track causing the window to mis-seat and make a loud popping noise, which I resovled with some blue Loctite and reinstall.

We ended up selling that 2012 it recently for $12k in cash to a friend who was always fighting with every BMW x5 they ever bought, and while those BMWs have had thousands and thousands in maintenance, the Highlander is just it ... We bought a 2020 Highlander Limited w/JBL sound system, not quite as bumpy as the JBL system in the 2012 but flawless operation. We picked it up used w/9k miles, for a total steal from Carmax, probably b/c it had some small cosmetic issues, the parking assist on the backup camera was not working, windshield was cracked, and the sunglass holder was jamming up. Carmax replaced the windshield, I fixed the rest in under 2 hours. So far, just under 30k miles and I couldn't be happier. We average around 38mpg in the city, 32mpg hwy, and roughly 36 mixed per the on-board computer, which is essentially double what the 2012 got. Power seems totally fine to us, even in "eco" mode honestly, on-par with what we got out of the 2012 V6.

The things I'll toss out there is this:

• Definitely get the hybrid, but know Toyota didn't include any towing options for it, if that's important to you (it can technically be done using non-hybrid parts; but it wasn't an option as of 2023 that I'm aware of)
• There are some wind noise complaints, seemingly related to the B-pillar, of which I've seen various fixes online; hasn't bothered me, maybe other ppl have it worse.
• No major recalls, all simple stuff thus far with 2 years ownership, dealership actually offered us 15% more than we bought it used for on my last visit.
• The undercarriage has a big wool-like sheet covering most of it, which I'm sure cuts down on corrosion up north, maybe it's interesting, maybe not
• The rear window seems impossible to keep clean; the rear door open-by-foot feature was fixed in later years by relocating the foot sensor to a smarter spot and I think including a indicator on the bumper where the sensor is
• Access to the back row seats is light years better than the 2012 was
• Get the JBL audio system if you can, it's worth the extra coin and is built better than the non-JBL system which I've heard CarPlay issues which were only resolved by replacing the OEM head unit with another OEM head
• There is no convert-the-2nd-row-into-a-bench feature in this newest generation; older gens you could install/remove the center console between 2nd row seats, you're apparently stuck with a center console in the 2020+
• Trunk space with all rows intact seems only a hair bigger in the latest gen versus two gens ago
• The nanny features can be annoying af, but most can be turned off; most annoying one for me is the radar cruise adjusting my speed, even at the lowest setting it seems to be too much
• There's something else that's egging on my brain ... we missed the window on a TSB recently, but I can't remember what it was. It was something insignificant, I'll text my better-3/4 and see if she remembers
• I would highly recommend this option for economical-family purpose; we're overjoyed with our purchase
• I find everything comfortable and we do take regular trips 3-4 hours long in the vehicle to visit family in southern AL; I also love the wireless charging in the center console, but my current iPhone 14+ is a tad too large for it using the specific case I've got on the phone

Honestly, it just looks f'n awesome to me. Ours came with OEM nerf boards. Here it is in front of Dad's 2.5 gen befire I installed the OEM crossbars on top:

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Actually one more comment.

The platinum-clad 20" wheels are utter horseshit, like any other prior model ... basically metal cover glued to a plasticky wheel, and it gets chewed up EASILY ... I'd really love to ditch them for something like ... this thing that Stapp Toyota advertises as a custom build on their side. I like these Niche 22s. I'd like to stick with 20s, and have been trying to find something similar that works and a tire choice that would protect the lips from curb rash a little better, since my better-3/4 is not always so great with that one ...

Oh, and the "WHIIIIIIING!" sound the auto-eBrake makes when you park can be annoying, but is easily fixed with disc brake quiet and/or brake lube apparently.

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Simply put the Highlander is one of the best vehicles I have ever owned (wife’s 2016). I really like the 4Runner (used to own a 2017) but the only times it was better was off-roading or in real blizzards (feet of snow not inches…). In every other category the Highlander is significantly better (especially MPG’s).

It really is a sleeper vehicle, but a well thought out and built car. I really enjoy driving it.

 

FTFY

 

If anyone is interested in the illuminated door sills for the 2021+, LMK. They should be plug and play. I took them off ours that got T-Boned. I think I have all of the all weather mats too.

 

Tried to just quote the ebrake part. How do you quiet this? More details please. My 21 rav4 does this and it is annoying.

 

My wife has a 2016 limited, She absolutely loves it, quiet, comfortable, scoots down the road plenty quick, 20mpg (unless I drive it) her only complaint is I didn't get her the platinum with heated steering wheel, so far so good, no issues at 98,000, I have seen the 3.5 V6 with hundreds of thousands of miles, it did have some issues early on, rubber oil lines on the rear VVTI and rubber oil lines on some with oil coolers. I believe the rubber lines were replace with metal lines by 2012. My daughters 2008 RAV4 had the rubber lines( which I replaced). The Car Care Nut is very popular, here is what he says about the highlander.
https://youtu.be/Ey_hD7PUF88?si=QyWhoVVCIMkoLjxj

 

It helps to find info on it if you know the acronym: "EPB" for Electronic Parking Brake. But know this issue of noise isn't limited to Highlander, nor to Toyota specifically.

The gist is this, taken from another post online, although disclaimer, I haven't done this yet, although I've seen multiple people say the same, that this quiets it back down again: "The repair is to lubricate the pad to caliper bracket contact area usually starts to happen around 25k miles to 30k miles just make sure to clean the area and apply brake grease just were the pads sit on the caliper bracket clips. "

If it drives you nuts, you can actually just shut off the EPB. More info in the video below. I don't recommend this, it's a safety feature for a reason. They don't want you to die like Pavel Chekov (Yelchin edition) did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw3kPHZjQCQ​

 

One thing we miss from our 2018 to the 2020 is the ability to open the rear window. They took that away in 2020. It was nice to have the 3rd row up and just pop the window open to place items in without opening the rear hatch.

 

I had a 2019 for a month as a rental in Alaska that thing made it up and down snow-covered/icy roads like a champ!

 

Probably replacing our 08 4Runner next summer. The wife needs a third row to haul the Grandkids. The Highlander is on the top of our list. Has to be the V6.

 

I am impressed with the hybrid fuel economy!

 

The new 2024 Hybrid Grand Highlander is amazing.

 

18 highlander has been flawless

Don’t get the turbo 4. It sux.

I had a 23 rental. And it drove horribly.

it was only good on the hwy

the 18 has the v6, and it’s awesome

 

I wouldn’t want the electronic hatch without the glass opening, because it takes forever to open when you just want to put something small in the back. I didn’t realize they took this away… on all trims?