2019 Toyota Highlander Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 205 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the 2019 Toyota Highlander, 41% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 64,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “whining noise” (20% of reports).
- 205power train complaints
- 64,000median miles at failure
- 0mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $10,000typical repair cost reported by owners
- 32%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Whining noise: mentioned in 40 of 205 complaints (20%)
- Transmission failed: mentioned in 18 of 205 complaints (9%)
- High pitched: mentioned in 12 of 205 complaints (6%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical power train repair on the 2019 Toyota Highlander at $10,000, and half of them between $8,000 and $11,350.
Based on 31 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2023–2026), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 31 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
None of the 205 complaints report a crash, fire or injury.
Toyota Highlander power train complaints by model year
| Model year | Power Train complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Highlander | 1 | 25% | — |
| 2024 Highlander | 3 | 7% | — |
| 2023 Highlander | 20 | 11% | — |
| 2022 Highlander | 54 | 21% | 98,000 |
| 2021 Highlander | 227 | 43% | 59,674 |
| 2020 Highlander | 126 | 39% | 73,000 |
| 2019 Highlander | 205 | 41% | 64,000 |
| 2018 Highlander | 68 | 25% | 95,170 |
| 2017 Highlander | 76 | 28% | 20,000 |
| 2016 Highlander | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2015 Highlander | 7 | 4% | 80,000 |
| 2014 Highlander | 9 | 7% | 53,622 |
| 2013 Highlander | 11 | 5% | 16,000 |
| 2012 Highlander | 7 | 4% | 12,500 |
| 2011 Highlander | 16 | 9% | 17,000 |
| 2010 Highlander | 6 | 3% | 66,000 |
| 2009 Highlander | 7 | 5% | 7,824 |
| 2008 Highlander | 18 | 4% | 12,000 |
| 2007 Highlander | 8 | 6% | 14,045 |
| 2006 Highlander | 22 | 8% | 42,195 |
| 2005 Highlander | 51 | 23% | 45,000 |
| 2004 Highlander | 58 | 20% | 10,000 |
| 2003 Highlander | 13 | 5% | 65,725 |
| 2002 Highlander | 14 | 5% | 107,000 |
| 2001 Highlander | 13 | 9% | 70,750 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists power train for the 2019 Toyota Highlander. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Transmission had problems with shifting gears - can hear a banging noise while shifting gears. Reported to dealer and they indicated diagnostics report showed purge valve issues. Nothing showing transmission errors. 9/20/26 significant transmission Issues occurring with eco mode turning on and off…
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that driving the vehicle lost power and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was an abnormal whining sound coming from the transmission and the vehicle lunged forward and unintendedly accelerated…
While driving along, the car suddenly begun not too shift in the middle of an intersection. Fortunately for me, this occurred in the middle of the night when there were not many cars around, otherwise serious injury would likely have occurred since it was in a busy area. I had the car towed to an…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2019 Toyota Highlanders have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 205 owner complaints about power train for the 2019 Toyota Highlander (41% of the 495 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2019 Toyota Highlander power train?
No recall currently lists power train for this vehicle.
At what mileage do power train problems start?
The median reported mileage is 64,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix power train problems on the 2019 Toyota Highlander?
Owners report a typical cost of $10,000 (half paid between $8,000 and $11,350), from 31 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about power train problems on the 2019 Toyota Highlander?
The most frequent phrase is “whining noise”, in 40 of 205 complaints, followed by “transmission failed” (18).
Other 2019 Toyota Highlander problems
See all 2019 Toyota Highlander problems or power train problems across all Highlander years.