2017 Toyota Highlander Problems: 6 Known Issues

On the 2014-2019 Toyota Highlander, the HVAC blower motor in 3rd-generation Highlanders commonly fails or operates intermittently. The blower motor resistor overheats and burns out, causing the fan to work only on the highest speed setting or stop completely. Moisture intrusion through the cabin air filter housing accelerates corrosion.

On the 2014-2019 Toyota Highlander, third-generation Highlanders with the Entune head unit commonly suffer the multi-function display freezing or going completely blank — the audio cuts out, the touchscreen and side menu buttons stop responding, and sometimes the screen stays dark on startup. Owners report it happening randomly and repeatedly. Toyota issued a Technical Service Bulletin and software updates for Entune lockups, but persistent units sometimes need replacement.

On the 2008-2019 Toyota Highlander, the power liftgate on second- and third-generation Highlanders (and the Hybrid) is prone to the power lift arm/strut breaking away from the gate, which lets the driver-side hinge bow and can leave the hatch stuck open or unable to latch closed. A class action filed in 2025 (Morgan & Morgan) alleges Toyota has known about the defective liftgate since at least 2010 across the XU20, XU40, XU50 and Hybrid MHU28 platforms but never issued a recall; because the failure usually shows up after warranty, owners report paying near $5,000 out of pocket. Owners also report leaky struts, height-sensor faults that cause partial opening with long beeps, and cold-weather failures.

On the 2008-2019 Toyota Highlander, water pools in the rear cargo area, spare-tire well, and behind the rear interior trim because of leaks at the taillight seals/gaskets and the liftgate/hatch weatherstrip, plus secondary paths through the third (high-mount) brake light, the rear air-deflector/spoiler bracket foam gasket, roof-rack mounts, and clogged sunroof/quarter drains. Left wet, it causes musty smell, mold, corrosion of the hatch and rear electrical connectors, and can fog or kill the backup camera. In salt-belt cars the trapped water accelerates hatch and wheel-arch rust.

On the 2014-2021 Toyota Highlander, the front-mounted A/C condenser on the Highlander is built with thin fins/tubes that owners say cannot survive a stray rock, so it develops small refrigerant leaks and loses cooling — and because the condenser sits low and forward, it gets struck more often than on many vehicles. CarComplaints documents A/C condenser damage on the 2020 Highlander, and forum owners report the same on earlier third-gen cars. Repairs almost never hold; the condenser must be replaced.

On the 2014-2019 Toyota Highlander, third-generation (XU50) Highlanders develop a loud squeak, squawk or groan from the rear suspension when the body moves over bumps, speed humps, driveways and parking-lot transitions. The noise is worst in cold weather and can be reproduced by bouncing the rear of the vehicle by hand. The cause is the bushing in the rear trailing arm, not the shocks, sway bar links or springs — which is why owners who replace shocks first get no improvement. Toyota acknowledged the condition in Technical Service Bulletin T-SB-0211-17 (revised to cover 2014-2019 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid) and directs the technician to replace the rear trailing arm assemblies. It affects every XU50 model year and is one of the most-discussed complaints in the 3rd-gen owner community.