2021 Toyota Highlander

The transmission whining started 70,000 miles and it is progressively gotten worse, there has been some sudden shifting at times. The manufacturer has known about this 8 speed transmission. Problem since 2017 and they haven’t done anything to improve it. Isn’t is something that the warranty only covers the drivetrain and. Transmission till 60,000. And know they are telling us that we have to pay anywhere from $7,000-$12,000 to,have it replaced. We have taken it to the Toyota dealership Thayer Toyota in bowling green,oh and they checked it out. And said that the front part of the transmission is ok it’s but the rear differential is the one that is going bad. We are hoping that there will an investigation on this UA80 transmission to see how many of the toyota models that have this transmission in it, have been reported and if any after the 60,000mile they have covered to be repaired at there cost. We understand that there is a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against this transmission. We would appreciate any help that you can get us. We can be contacted at [XXX] or phone number [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

1. The car makes a squeaky sound when I accelerate. The faster I go the louder the noise becomes. I took the car to the Toyota dealership and was told that the transmission needs to be replaced. The car is only 5 years old. I checked online and noticed a lot of other people are also complaining about the same issue with their 2021 Toyota Highlander. 2. While driving on the Turnpike a few months ago, the driver side front door suddenly popped open on me. I had to hold it with my left hand, switched lane to pull safely to the shoulder lane in order to close it. The door was completely closed prior to this incident. When that happened, I was already driving on the road for over 1 hour. There was no previous signal that it was opened. It just popped open out of nowhere.

Toyota has known that the UA80 transmissions are faulty & they have not issued a recall. Mine failed at 60,500 miles just outside of the warranty period. I paid over $5,000 to have it replaced & the dealer confirmed that it required replacement due to a faulty transmission assembly. Toyota refuses to issue a recall or cover full costs for replacement.

The car's transmission is failing. •The "Whine of Death": The most common early warning sign is a high-pitched, airplane-like whining noise that rises in pitch with vehicle speed/engine RPM, especially once the transmission reaches operating temperature. •Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs): Toyota has issued internal bulletins (such as T-SB-0008-21 and related updates) addressing abnormal transmission noises and replacement protocols for affected V6 models. •No Formal Safety Recall (as of mid-2026): While the issue has spurred class-action lawsuits and high NHTSA complaint volumes, there has not been a mandatory safety recall for widespread replacement, leaving post-warranty owners to rely on goodwill assistance or third-party warranties.

I made my last payment on my Toyota in June and the week I made my payment my mechanic confirmed a whining that had just started to be a transmission failure. After taking to another specialty transmission shop my transmission is failing. The internal bearings are failing just like the recall in other 2021 models. I’ve been told my VIN isn’t part of the recall but it is the same problem. I am having to pay $8500 on a transmission for a just paid off Toyota. I was so excited to be debt free. This is unacceptable. A Toyota transmission should not fail the minute it’s paid off. I’m very disappointed in Toyota. I contacted the dealership and the warranty help team to try to get part or all paid for and got nowhere. My car needs to be included in the recall of Highlanders with the internal bearing failure.

Bought my 2021 Toyota Highlander XLE AWD 3 years ago due to supposed safety and reliability. Transmission went out right after warranty at 64,000 miles. Was not made aware that this is a common issue. Vehicle hard shifted and suddenly lost power when driving home with my 4 year old while making a left turn, and we were almost hit by oncoming traffic. Have not had prior issues in the past to suspect this would happen, so it was very sudden and unexpected. There has been no recalls or awareness for this which could have seriously injured my child and I. Went to take it to the closest mechanic right away to troubleshoot since the vehicle was not throwing any codes.

This vehicle experienced transmission failure at 43,000 miles. There is a technical bulletin regarding a known manufacturer defect for this Make/Model/Year (TSB-008-21) and we were told by our Toyota service technician that our vehicle displayed all of the same symptoms as those identified in the technical bulletin. Unfortunately the serial number for our vehicle was not included in the bulletin and we were four months outside of the power train warranty, therefore Toyota refused to cover the costs of replacing the transmission. We are requesting that TSB-008-21 is reviewed and expanded to cover additional vehicles including ours that were affected by this manufacturer defect that caused both a safety risk as well as a financial hardship for our family.

At around 75000 miles (less than 5 year old vehicle) the transmission exhibited a noticeable whine. After further research I presented the vehicle to the local Toyota dealer service department. An active technical service bulletin T-SB-0008-21 that describes a manufacturing defect with the front carrier assembly pinion shaft (essentially a catastrophic transmission failure) was matched to the symptom the vehicle was exhibiting. Further, my transmission serial number is directly within the affected production defect list. Failure to replace this transmission at significant cost (should not normally be routine maintenance on a highway driven vehicle at this age and mileage) could result in total loss of power and control causing the potential for a severe traffic hazard or accident.