2020 Toyota Highlander
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 317 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 5th highest complaint count among 25 Highlander model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 15 involved a crash. 20 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationDec 20, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.
An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.
Campaign 23V865000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, body, bumpersOct 26, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Highlander & Highlander Hybrid vehicles. During normal vehicle operation, minor impact to the front lower bumper cover may result in the cover coming loose or detaching.
A detached front bumper cover can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will repair or replace the upper and lower front bumper covers as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed April 22, 2024. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB12/23TA12.
Campaign 23V720000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bagsOct 14, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020 Highlander and Highlander hybrid vehicles. Incorrect seat trim covers on one or both of the front seats can prevent the seat-mounted side air bag from deploying properly.
Improper deployment of the seat-mounted side air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats and replace the seat trim covers as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TB14 / 20TA14.
Campaign 20V633000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, deliveryMar 19, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020 Highlander vehicles equipped with a 3.5 L, V6 (2GR-FKS) gasoline engine. Due to an Engine Control Unit (ECU) programming error, fuel may not be correctly supplied to the engine while using the stop and restart feature.
Improper fuel supply programming can result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECU, free of charge. The recall began May 15, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TA06.
Campaign 20V162000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
125 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Jul 5, 2025
76,000 miles on my 2020 Highlander. Car was made in September 2020, less than 5 years old. Started to hear whining noise from transmission. Over past few days it has gotten louder. Took to Serra Toyota dealer today in Birmingham, Alabama. They confirmed a problem with transmission and told me I needed a new one for $8600. None are even available. I refuse to pay Toyota any money for this. This is a KNOWN issue with the UA80E transmission. The transmission may completely stop working at anytime now. Dealer was unwilling to do anything to help me since car is out of 60,000 mile warranty, and no TSB's or recalls are for my particular year 2020. There is a TSB for 2021 UA80E transmissions. I am so angry about this. This is a clear manufacturing defect. When this transmission dies which will be sooner than later the car will be worthless with no transmissions available.
Power train, Jul 5, 2025
My 2020 Toyota Highlander Platinum started having the well-known "whining" sound at just under 60,000k. This is coming from the transmission. The vehicle is now just over 60,000k and I did not know that the noise was a cause for concern, let alone something that was an issue (I am not tech savvy - I'm just a regular person). I will not drive this vehicle again, as it is my only transportation for my children. Toyota issued a service bulletin about this issue for 2021 Highlanders ONLY, but as I am now experiencing this problem, I see that this is something well known as a problem.
Power train, Jul 4, 2025
I brought my 2020 Toyota Highlander to Round Rock Toyota in 09/2024 for a failed transmission, referenced in TSB T-SB-0008-21. As of today, the vehicle has been in Toyota’s possession for over 10 months and remains unrepaired. My assigned case manager (Case #241003001730) has confirmed that Toyota has no ETA for the replacement part. I’ve also confirmed through Toyota’s customer support line that their parts department cannot provide a timeline. Toyota acknowledged the issue is tied to a known defect, yet there is no resolution. I was denied a loaner vehicle until escalating the issue to the dealership’s upper management. Toyota’s delay has caused significant personal and financial hardship. This is a clear breach of their powertrain warranty and represents a systemic breakdown in their ability to support affected customers. I am seeking immediate federal review of this issue, as it affects vehicle safety, value, and reliability.
Power train, Jul 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, there was abnormal whining sound coming from underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission assembly. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Support Program: POL 19-04. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 129,000.
Power train, Jun 21, 2025
Transmission failure- this affects the safety of others when the car decides it doesn’t want to accelerate and could potentially lead to car accidents when another vehicle runs into it. The transmission needs to be completely replaced. This issue started back in January and has been an ongoing problem since warranty and Toyota will not assist with issue of their faulty product.
Power train, Jun 19, 2025
Transmission making whining noise that increases with speed. Concerned about safety if transmission fails while driving Diagnostic done at Toyota and confirmed transmission is failing and needs new replacement. There are no warning lamps. Noise has increased intensity over short period of time
Power train, Jun 13, 2025
At around 61,000 miles, I noticed a whining sound in the vehicle when accelerating. I took the vehicle in to a Toyota dealer for diagnostics and their technicians indicated that my vehicle had transmission failure and it needed to be completely replaced - quoted at $8,000 to do the replacement. Diagnostic appointment also cost $174. Parts are on back order and no one could tell me when parts would come in - guess was one month. In reality, parts are now finally in (I'm about to take it in to be fixed) after 2 months. I was told by the dealership that I could drive it at my own risk of failure - if it were to fail, I would be stranded wherever that may be putting my family and those around me at risk due to the unknown nature of when that could happen. This failure is recorded for the same model and same UA80 transmission on several online forums: [XXX] The vehicle has been inspected by a Toyota dealer as I stated previously. Diagnostic report says "Internal component failure. Recommend transmission" No other warning lights or messages from the car to warn me of this problem even now. Just the whining sound from the failure itself. Keep in mind, Toyota's powertrain warranty period is 5 years or 60,000 miles - this vehicle just surpassed both of those limits as this problem came about. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Suspension, Power train, Structure, Jun 13, 2025
It’s been a known issue that Toyota Highlander has transmission problems under 100k miles from 2016-2021 or later (social media sites confirmed such). My vehicle require a trans axle replacement as well as the struts are leaking oil and my vehicle has less than 62k miles and is only 5 years old. This is being covered under my extended warranty but parts are on back order After doing research many owners complain about a whining noise showing acceleration of vehicle . If left unfixed this leads to transmission gears slipping and eventually needing an entire replacement Some owners also complain about leaky struts. My car has an issue with leaky struts and is being fixed under warranty Some owners say they need an entire new transmission and after that is replaced the rear transaxle goes and needs replacement Toyota is not putting a recall on this but it’s a known issue. Owners are asking to have this put out as a recall by toy. All parts are on back order and takes several months before transmission can be repaired or replaced. This tells me there are hundreds if not thousands of Highlander’s having the same issue This is a Toyota problem and is related to building transmission in the factory..recall the older vehicles and do better in the factory
Power train, Jun 11, 2025
Whining noise from the transmission after 66K miles - Change fluids still no improvement - Known issue with UA80 transmission . Dealers knew of the issue but still sold cars
Power train, Jun 5, 2025
Final drive failing in transmisssion
Power train, May 21, 2025
8 speed automatic transmission started whining at 45k miles (purchased new), has been inspected, dealer confirmed transmission is bad and part is on back order (date keeps moving out),
Power train, May 14, 2025
Began hearing a high-pitched whining sound when I accelerated. Took it into the dealer and they casually told me that I needed a new transmission. My car was less than four years old, but had more than the 60,000 miles that would apply under a warranty. I am now reading online. This is a widespread problem involving Toyota Highlanders. Can’t get a new transmission for three months or more.
Power train, May 12, 2025
2020 Toyota Highlander l developed a whining noise and after extensively researching this sound it seems like its common on highlanders with the UA80 transmission and leads to transmission failure. There is a Toyota forum where owners have gathered about this issue not only for this year highlander but early models when the specific transmission above started being used. Quotes to replaced this transmission range from $6,000-$13,000 at the dealer. Toyota has been called and they have been of no help to anyone. Even worse it seems all places are backordered on these transmissions and owners are left without a car. To quote a toyota member who called to get hemp with the issue, this is what Toyotas response was: “ Toyota refuses any support stating that "we can't predict an average life expectancy for any specific part of component", This only means life expectancy on their parts does not exist? Shouldnt they have a target life expectancy on parts? A lot of dissatisfied toyota owners as toyota is hiding from this issue.
Power train, May 1, 2025
Around 90,000 miles, the transmission has started to whine really bad. This seems to be a common problem with this 2018 to 2021 Highlanders, but 2020 has no recall or service bulletin. My mechanic priced a transmission from a dealership and was told it would be 3 months at least to get a reman transmission. There is a good chance of catastrophic failure before we can get a new transmission installed.
Power train, Apr 23, 2025
At about 85,000 miles, the transmission developed a whine noise, and two dealers and a transmission shop all state it needs replacement. However, the backlog for replacement is enormous and I risk the transmission failing catastrophically while driving.
Power train, Apr 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the internal bearings had failed, and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced Technical Service Bulletin: TSB-0008-21 as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.
Power train, Apr 16, 2025
There is a whining noise coming from the power train/transmission. It only happens when the accelerator pedal is pressed. We had a couple of mechanics look at it. The transmission oil was changed twice, with the vehicle less than 78,000 miles. Neither mechanic can find any issue with any other item, including the engine. The noise still persists. There are no warning lights on. We have researched the web. Toyota is aware of the problem and has replaced some transmissions still under warranty. They have issues a TSB (TSB008-21) in February 2021, but did not issue a recall or notify owners of a potential problem.
Power train, Apr 16, 2025
The transmission is making a whining noise at 104;368 miles. We own another 2020 Toyota Highlander and it had to have the transmission replaced for the same reason. It is available for inspection. It’s a safety hazard because it’s a bearings in the transmission that’s failing. The transmission will eventually stop working. The issue was confirmed by a Toyota dealer and one of our transmissions has already had to be replaced. Toyota has a service bulletin out for this known problem. There were no warning signs for the transmission noise.
Power train, Apr 9, 2025
Around 92k miles my transmission started makining a whining noise while driving. Dealership diagnosed a transmission problem and it needed to be replaced. They said eventually the transmission will go bad and stop working, potentially leaving me stranded or causing an accident. Spoke with Toyota HQ who would not offer financial assistance or assist with getting a part. UA80F transmissions are on a nationwide backorder. They also would not acknowledge that there is a problem.
Power train, Mar 29, 2025
Transmission going out afraid it will come apart or lose power while driving. Toyota dealership told me that we could put new transmission in but it will be the same as the one that is in it and that problem with them has not been corrected and it probably won't hold up long either. Our vehicle only has 71000 miles and we bought it new.
Power train, Mar 29, 2025
The 8-speed automatic transmission was making a whirring, whining noise. Transmission could failed completely and stranded occupants including children. Vehicle has been serviced every 5,000 miles and no warning lights or indicators ever came on. Dealer inspected and diagnosed an internal component failure necessitating complete transmission replacement. Vehicle is 4 years and 2 months old with 65,000 miles on it.
Power train, Mar 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was making an abnormal whining sound. The contact stated that the failure occurred at various speeds. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: T-SB-0008-21 Whine Or Grind Noise from Transmission (Power Train). The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
Power train, Engine, Feb 25, 2025
At 76000 miles my 2020 Highlander water pump began to fail. 20 days after the water pump was replaced at Kings Toyota dealership, the transmission is now failing at 79000 miles. The warranty only covers repairs on each up to 60000 miles. This car has been maintained by the dealership and no engine light ever came on. The water pump was $1200 to repair and I’m being quoted $10K to repair the transmission. I also don’t trust that dealership didn’t accidentally cause the transmission to fail bc they surprisingly have a new transmission in stock the day I came in. If it truly failed today, then Toyota needs to recall this car for safety reasons. It went from fine to not fine in just a few days of driving.
Power train, Feb 25, 2025
Complete transmission and transfer assembly failure at 72,000. Just outside manufacturer warranty. Toyota Dealership and Corporate refused to acknowledge responsibility, stating that the transmission and transfer assembly met warranty requirements, and that they would not entertain assistance.
Power train, Feb 16, 2025
The transmission is starting to whine at 108,000 miles. Toyota service told me the only fix is a replacement and they have seen two failures within the same week. They also said this is a known issue with this model year. A Reddit thread shows many owners in the US and Canada with the same issue. If this is resulting in failures of the transmission in operation this is a safety issue and a reasonable recall being a known defect for this line of transmissions. The recommendation from the service department since this vehicle is paid off is to run it to failure.