Toyota Highlander

The wife is looking at a new vehicle and she really likes the Highlander. How do you guys like them. Anything you guys don't like.

 

My wife loves her highlander.

The only thing I don’t like is the new engine/transmission in them.

 

What don't you like about it

 

Here’s a thread with more info about the issue.

https://www.toyotanation.com/forum/...xactly-how-clunky-transmission.html?t=1571098

 

My family is on our third Highlander, we have had 2012 limited, 2015 XLE and know we have a 2018 Limited. We leased the first two, we bought this one. We didn’t keep the 15 because it didn’t have TSS. THE 18 does, my drives about 300 miles a week and out of all three, she likes the 18 the best. She says it feels faster and more responsive. Once the transmission learned my wife’s driven style it has become seamless. Now if I get in a drive the transmission basically is telling me to get out and don’t every drive me again. The wife does mention the ride is a bit jerky after I drive until the transmission comes down, so in turn I don’t drive it anymore.

 

My wife has a 2015 limited. She loves it. She likes the accent lighting around the interior, and all the extras that came with it. We didn't see a platinum while we were shopping but I think they have a bigger sunroof, heated steering wheel, and back seat warmers.

The one issue she has with it is the Bluetooth. There is an echo that comes through the calls. She can't hear it but it's annoying as hell to the caller. The mic picks up the voice from the speakers. She can adjust the volume and it helps a little, or fade out the front speakers, but there isn't a Toyota fix I can find.

I don't like it as much as she does. The seat warmers work but do not get as warm as the ones in any other vehicle I have been in. The coolers are worse. You can hear it working, but very little cool air comes out compared to others we have had. My other issue has to do with who I married more than the vehicle. There is a lot of heat that comes through that big windshield on a warm day. Since she's always cold the ac is barely blowing and I bake in the passenger's seat.

 

I got a 2017 limited as a loaner car when my Cadillac SRX was in the shop and was extrenely impressed with the feel of the car- had literally never considered a Toyota until driving that Highlander. And then a month later I got the tundra....

But the one I drove had a interior on par with my caddy, didn’t look bad outside, drove well, and was big enough that when I folded down seats could fit my mountain bike.

I really liked that car!

 

Almost bought a Highlander for the wife this year. Ended up with a Honda Pilot. The 3rd row is way better in the Pilot IMO. Not a deal breaker, but the Limited Highlander also had hub caps. Dealer refused to swap wheels on a lower model that were not caps. But the reason was the interior. My wife loves her Pilot!

 

Right now in that segment I'd get a Pilot. The Highlander is a year or two out from a full model change.

 

When we were shopping for Wife's "Grammy-Mobile", we drove the Highlander first because the Toyota dealer was closest. At that time (04) there weren't as many features on either vehicle as there are now. She wasn't comfortable backing the Highlander up but when we test drove a Pilot she had no problem. That 04 Pilot EXL now has 350,000 miles on it with the stock Engine, Transmission and Radiator,all other work that it's needed has been maintenance. We bought her a 09 Pilot Touring for her retirement vehicle and it's not surprising us either. I'm sure the Highlander would've served us just fine too but as with us, choose the one that "fits" you/her best!

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Just bought a 2018 XLE Highlander last month got a 6k rebate dealers are getting rid of the 18's. So far don't have issues with the transmission. My only gripe is the digital display doesn't have the tire pressure gauge and digital speedometer. Otherwise a good family SUV, no the best in its class, the Pilot wins this category but I could not pass the rebate offered, that Honda could not match.

I believe the Camry is the one has issues with transmission not the Highlander's

 

I love the Highlander but they definitely have transmission issues:

https://www.toyotanation.com/forum/threadloom.php?query=thread:1603770 transmission&tab=1085

Unless you got lucky with yours!

 

Wifes got a 2018 Limited. There have been complaints online about the engine and trans but we don't have any as far as performance or driveability are concerned. She has put 11,000 miles plus on it since we got it in May. No issues and rides really nice. The only thing I don't like is the engine auto stop/start, when in the city or at known long lights it may be worthwhile but not so much in the country. Biggest issue I have is she will pull down the drive and stop out front of the garage in the summer, press the brakes hard enough to stop the engine (not intentionally), then put in park which starts the engine, then hit the button to turn off the car. All within a couple seconds. Cant be good on things.

 

Had four Highlanders (01, 02, 07, and 13). I like the look of the new ones, but purchased a 17 Kia Sorento SX-Limited in JAN 17. Love the Kia Sorento SXL features, the long warranty (3-yrs full, 10-yrs drivetrain), and the dependability (only back to the dealer for a free oil change). Hate the Kia for the depreciation.

 

I bought an 18 Highlander limited back in July for the wife. She has put about 3500 miles on it since then. It has been trouble free so far, no issues with the tranny. It drives really smooth and seems pretty peppy for an SUV. The first I do when I drive the Highlander is to turn off the auto engine shut off. I have accidentally stopped the engine by depressing the brake pedal a couple times so far and I hate it. Wish there was a way to disable it permanently. I don’t think it helps with the kind of driving that we do. Another thing I turn off is that dadgum lane departure alert. It’s a big time nuisance driving with it going off all the time. Fortunately you can disable it permanently.

 

You can actually disable that feature. Its located on the left side bottom corner with the symbol A and an arrow around it.

 

I’ll keep an eye on. I believe the powertrsin is 5 years warranty?

 

Kia’s are very reliable cars/SUV now compared early years. Thats the only thing bad about them is the resale value.
They need to debadge or rename the KiA brand. They can’t seem to hold there value inspite of the great changes made in there vehicles.

 

My wife has a '15 limited. Loves it. I like it too. Smooth ride, gadgets, very nice interior. 50k miles and no issues at all. It could be a little quieter in the cab. And the 3rd row is only good for smaller kids. I'd buy it again though. Drives like a car, not a big, heavy SUV. We previously had a GMC Acadia... what a heavy POS that was.

 

highlanders are great. But what about a 4runner?

 

They're two different things though. 4Runner more truck like, offroad, adventurer. I tried and tried to talk my wife into a 4runner but in the end she wanted something more car like, which is what the Highlander is. I feel like I'm driving a very nice car when I drive it.

 

That is true. Highlanders are actually more comfortable.

 

Just bought a 2018 Highlander XLE for my wife a few months ago. She loves it, and honestly it’s pretty nice to drive around. We were looking at the 4 Runner, highlander, and the Pilot. We both love the 4 Runner but it was a little cramped for a family car (2 kids and 2 large dogs). The 3rd row seating was a joke as well. Narrowed it down the the pilot and highlander. She liked the way the highlander drove better. It was also cheaper to get leather, sunroof, Nav, etc in the highlander than it was the pilot.
Bonus points- the highlander uses the same oil and tools as the tundra so oil changes are a breeze!

 

We have a 2014 Acura MDX which is what the new generation of Pilot's is modeled after. The only issue I can foresee is that the engine, which is very responsive, is direct injected. Although I haven't seen much online about carbon buildup on the intake valves on that engine, it doesn't seem like Honda put anything in place to curb that issue.

The Highlander is also direct injected but it is with the D-4S system. That means it has both direct injection and supplemental port injection to keep the intake valves clean.

At the time we purchased our MDX, the Pilot was a giant, ugly soccer mom mobile and my wife wanted nothing to do with it. She didn't care for the Highlander, either. There was also the issue that only the MDX had a fully, power adjustable front passenger seat allowing for up/down travel. If we were to repeat the process today, we would, most likely, get the Highlander for the D-4S system. I'm not looking forward to the bill for having the valves cleaned when they need it. Also, on the new Pilot's, it looks like Honda put on the fancy jeweled LED headlights. They are fantastic for lighting but not so much if you ever have to replace them. The entire unit has to be replaced as you cannot replace individual bulbs. At least that is the case with our MDX.

Honda's SH-AWD system is fantastic. That thing sticks like glue to snow and ice. I put it to the test the first winter we had a ice storm. The only issue is the brakes can't preform to the same level as the drive system so you can easily over drive your stopping ability.

The OEM tires on our MDX sucked and barely made it to 30k (we stretched it to 37k but that was really pushing it). They were replaced with Nitto 421Q tires. I am amazed at the performance of these tire's. They have far better traction than the OEM's and far better than I was expecting in all types of weather. I would almost recommend removing the OEM tires asap and putting a set of these on. They are that good. Dee's MDX is rolling 80k now and there is still a lot of tread left.

--Matt

 

Ww have an 18 limited and its been great. No tss issues like the tundra super comfortable seats. 3rd row is a joke and works for short distance driving and it doesnt lay down fully flat. The cargo area cover is also comical at best. The mount is about 10 inches after the seat backs of the middle row so it looks dumb and leaves a huge hole to see underneath.

It does have power seats up front heated and cooled as well as all windows auto up and down. Rear pax temp controls. All in all a well rounded car

 

Mine lay down flat. All rear seats lay down flat. Maybe yours are broken?

 

My wife is on her third Pilot now, she had an 06, 014,and a new 018, they are constantly improving the ride, the cabin, mpg, and fit and finish. The motor and drivetrain is and always has been bulletproof. She loves the 18 the best so far. But to be fair her second choice for a vehicle was the Highlander. IMO you can't go wrong with either vehicle!

 

We have an 08 Highlander sport with 184,000 km and absolutely love it. Hoping to put at least another 100,000km on it.

 

is yours a 17? we have a 17 limited with captain seats in the middle row and the seats lay flat but slope up towards the headrests... look again they all do the same thing (at least the 3 that i have access to. ( put a ball in the back and watch it roll towards the tailgate. )

 

We had a 2012 Limited. Really nice solid vehicle. My parents have a new 2018. Really nice. Resale values are crazy. No comparison to any other vehicle in this segment in terms of reliability and resale.