2024 Toyota Highlander Problems

What to check before you buy

• Smell around the engine bay and under the rear of the car for raw fuel.
• On the test drive, accelerate firmly from a stop and up a grade. Stumbling, surging or a flashing check engine light are red flags.
• Fuel pump recalls are common. Check this exact VIN for open recalls before you buy.

Tools that help

What owners said

There is a strong odor of gasoline coming from the car, to the point where the fumes are so strong they’re entering our home and making it very unsafe. We brought the vehicle to the Toyota dealership, and they said they couldn’t do anything about it. Keep in mind the car is still under warranty. Upon doing further research from Reddit…Owner complaint, filed 2026

Strong smell of fuel after a hot day. This is a new vehicle purchased new on 2024. No warning lights On dashboard. After reading a few threads about the same situation on newer highlanders it seems like it's being ignored.Owner complaint, filed 2025

What to check before you buy

• The pedal should feel firm and the car should stop straight without pulling, grinding or a pulsing pedal.
• The ABS and stability control lights should go out after startup and stay out.
• Look through the wheels at the rotors. A deep lip on the edge means brakes are due soon, which is a fair thing to negotiate on.

Tools that help

What owners said

BRAKING SYSTEM WHEN APPLYING BRAKES, ESPECIALLY WHEN APPLYING DOWNHILL, TEMPORARILY RELEASES AND ACTS AS THOUGH BRAKES ARE NOT APPLIED ANY LONGER FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF A FEW SECONDS THEN REAPPLIES. IT DOES SO THAT IT IS VERY OBVIOUS WITHIN THE CAR. THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID BRAKING SYSTEM AND IT SEEMS THAT…Owner complaint, filed 2026

Ours has pulsing brakes and brakes feeling "off" at low speeds, potentially due to the interaction of regenerative and conventional braking. The brake pedal will also suddenly jolt the car forward when switching between braking systems. The system is unsafe.Owner complaint, filed 2025

What to check before you buy

• Test every switch: windows, locks, mirrors, seat heaters, the screen, the backup camera, Bluetooth and every USB port.
• Watch the dash at startup. Every warning light should come on briefly and then go out.
• Have the battery and charging system tested. A weak alternator or battery drain shows up here.

Tools that help

What owners said

On or about Oct, 3rd, 2025 , my vehicle experienced the 'Check Engine' light and all the warning lights lit up, the hybrid system failed to engage, the vehicle would say “park somewhere safe /take to dealer” . I immediately took the vehicle to the authorized Toyota dealership, Wonderies Toyota Alhambra , for diagnosis. They said they…Owner complaint, filed 2025

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the instrument cluster was blinking. The contact expressed that she was concerned that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The contact received the recall notices of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V744000 (Back Over Prevention) and 25V595000…Owner complaint, filed 2025, at 13,357 miles

What to check before you buy

• Ask the seller not to warm the car up, and start it cold. Listen for ticking, knocking or a rough idle in the first minute.
• Pull the oil dipstick and the oil cap. Low oil, a gasoline smell or a milky film on the cap are reasons to walk away or get an inspection.
• Plug in an OBD2 scanner. Stored or pending codes matter, and so do readiness monitors that show "not ready", which usually means the codes were cleared right before the sale.
• Ask for oil change records. A gap in the records on a model known for engine complaints is a negotiating point at minimum.

Tools that help

What owners said

Driving the vehicle a strong smell of fuel vapor is noticeable coming from rear driver side of vehicle by rear door and fuel cap area. This happens when car is driven for long periods of time or on hot days. I drive my car daily and it happens every day. Smell gets so bad it gets in to the cabin area. Causing me to get headaches or light…Owner complaint, filed 2026

The vehicle started stalling out randomly on the highway even with it being automatic, after getting home and parking it , it would not back up or drive . Took it to Toyota dealership and they said it’s an internal failure of the transmission which is a UA80 model , it only has 92,000 miles on it they can’t figure out what caused it .…Owner complaint, filed 2026

What to check before you buy

• Look underneath with a flashlight. Utah road salt is hard on frames, brake lines and the bottoms of doors.
• Open and close every door, the hood and the liftgate, and lock and unlock each one.
• Use a paint thickness gauge and compare panels. A panel that reads very differently from the rest has likely been repaired.

Tools that help

What owners said

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that there was a leak coming from the roof rack of the vehicle. The contact stated that previous model years since 2021 had experienced similar failures, which caused damage to the SRS air bag module. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The…Owner complaint, filed 2026, at 155,590 miles

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while placing groceries in the trunk, the lift gate violently fell on her head. While in the trunk, the liftgate came down, and her cousin was able to stop the liftgate from closing on the contact. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had a continuous…Owner complaint, filed 2024

What to check before you buy

• Drive it from cold if you can. Shifts should be smooth in every gear, including reverse.
• Feel for slipping (revs rise without the car speeding up), shudder at low speed and a delay when you put it in gear.
• Listen for whining, which is a common CVT complaint, and clunks when you go from drive to reverse.
• If it has 4WD or AWD, engage it on the test drive and ask when the transmission and differential fluids were last changed.

Tools that help

What owners said

Detailed Description of the Incident: I am reporting a recurring powertrain safety issue regarding the 8-speed automatic transmission (UA80-series) in my vehicle. [Symptoms] During cold-start conditions (outside temperatures below 30°F), the vehicle consistently experiences a violent jerk/shock and an audible clicking noise during the…Owner complaint, filed 2026

While slowing down, the vehicle will suddenly lunge forward, as if It hit a patch of ice and then slow again. This started happening around 30,000 miles. The dealer said this is because of a transition between hydraulic braking and regenerative braking and is "NORMAL". This did not start until 30k miles. I have owned 4 hybrid vehicles…Owner complaint, filed 2025

What to check before you buy

• Pull out and latch every seat belt, and let each one retract on its own.
• Try every seat adjuster, and watch for a passenger air bag "off" light when an adult is in the seat.

Tools that help

What owners said

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Highlander. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V128000 (Seats); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while lowering the 2nd-row seat, the seats failed to remain locked in place as intended. The local dealer was contacted. The…Owner complaint, filed 2026, at 10,000 miles

The third row seat belts in the 2024 Highlander are very difficult to latch. I had to bring my Highlander to the dealership twice over the seatbelt buckles in the third row. The buckle part does not lift up high enough to grab the buckle to latch it. Anytime a child old enough to be in the third row sits back there an adult has to Buckle…Owner complaint, filed 2026

What to check before you buy

• Where it is safe, try the adaptive cruise and lane keeping on the test drive and watch for sudden braking or warnings with nothing there.
• Check the windshield in front of the camera and the bumper sensors for cracks, chips or poor repairs.
• Ask whether the windshield has been replaced. The camera has to be recalibrated afterward, and many shops skip it.

Tools that help

What owners said

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the instrument cluster was blinking. The contact expressed that she was concerned that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The contact received the recall notices of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V744000 (Back Over Prevention) and 25V595000…Owner complaint, filed 2025, at 13,357 miles

I was driving on road going speed limit during the day, came around a curve, vehicle was stopped, slammed on brakes and turned wheel but still hit rear of vehicle. No collision warning or auto brakes engaged.Owner complaint, filed 2025

What to check before you buy

• Drive over a few bumps and potholes slowly with the radio off and listen for clunks or rattles.
• Check the tires for uneven wear on the inside or outside edges, a sign of alignment or suspension trouble.
• Look behind the wheels for oily, wet shocks or struts.

Tools that help

What owners said

UNKNOWN - 2024 Toyota Highlander makes a drumming or hooting sound when driving over normal to slightly rough roads. It is not related to expansion joints in the road. 1st dealer said it was a rt. wheel bearing, changed it and it did not work. He then said it was in all Toyota's with 20" wheels. I paid to change tires and wheel to no…Owner complaint, filed 2025

What to check before you buy

• On the test drive, press the gas gently and firmly. The response should be smooth with no lag or surge.
• Set the cruise control, then use resume and cancel to make sure each one works.

Tools that help

What owners said

when I attempt to accelerate from a stop, or slowly rolling, there is a 2-3 second delay, sometimes longer, prior to the vehicle moving forward. during the delay, when accelerator is pressed, the engine does not rev, nothing happens at all. it's scary. the highlander has less than 9k miles on it. this has been happening more and more…Owner complaint, filed 2025

What to check before you buy

• Check every light: headlights on low and high, fog lights, brake lights, turn signals and reverse lights.
• Run the wipers on every speed with washer fluid, and run the defroster front and back.

Tools that help

What owners said

When driving at highway speeds (over 40mph) the driver side mirror excessively shakes/vibrates, negatively impacting visibility.Owner complaint, filed 2024

What to check before you buy

• Read the four-digit DOT date on each tire. Tires older than about six years should be replaced, whatever the tread looks like.
• Check tread depth on all four. On AWD vehicles all four tires should match.
• The tire pressure light should go out after startup.

Tools that help

What owners said

The tires have not “failed,” but they are dry rotting on both the sidewalls and inside the tread. These came as the OE tires, size is 235/65 R18. This is a daily driven car with almost 30,000 miles on the odometer. There is no reason the tires should be dry rotting. This is a severe safety hazard, as most tire shops wouldn’t mount…Owner complaint, filed 2026