Toyota Highlander Transmission problems

So yesterday I took my car into my local transmission shop to get a minor transmission leak fixed. I also had this wierd steering clunk that didnt exhibit the signs of a bad cv joint. Anyway the transmission leak was the least of my problems. I also have a transfer case failed gasket that requires the tranny and exhaust system to be pulled from the car to replace (the gasket is around $10 the labour is 18 hours). The steering issue turned out to be bad bushings on the steering rack and pinion, as it turns out toyota doesnt sell these bushings individually for my car but they are part of a larger part that costs $1500 and to replace the bushings will take 16 hours although the shop hopes to half that considering the work on the transfer case. The manager is hoping once he has the steering rack out he can measure the bushings and find another toyota car that has the same bushings. I was hoping that by buying an import I would of avoided some of these sorts of problems. The car has only done 149K

Immediate second opinion. Now.
18 fucking hours. LoL!

This was my 2nd opinion, Toyota was between 6-10K to fix this. Also same labour estimate.

Sounds about right. If it's leaking between the tcase and trans it all needs to come out so that seal can be replaced. If it's just a drip every time you park and not absolutely pissing I'd leave it, but that's me.

Oh and as far as rack bushings, that labour time is way off. Is your highlander a hybrid? If it's a gas then the rack comes out easy. I was a tech at Toyota for about 4 years and specifically remember doing a gas highlander rack in 3ish hours when the book time was an assload more. For parts availability try calling a Toyota dealership directly and see if they can find rack bushings for your vehicle.

So, $10 part + 18 hour labour ($3K) + $1500 parts + 16 hour (almost another $3K)

So, $7500+ to fix?

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Originally Posted by C4S

So, $10 part + 18 hour labour ($3K) + $1500 parts + 16 hour (almost another $3K)

So, $7500+ to fix?

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Well my transmission shop quoted me between 3 and 4k so I think the 16 hour job is going to be alot less and he hopes to use bushings from another similar toyota to do the job not the 1500$ part. Im just hoping I get my car back within 2 weeks.

Don't you tow a trailer with this thing? Might be a sign that you should get something that's more suited to the job.

I'll sell ya a truck.

There is no way the entire exhaust system from a 150,000km vehicle is going to come off and on for 0$ in parts.
Something is going to break (stud, flange, etc.) and youll end up forking out 100s of bucks more.
Too bad you cant just cut the exhaust area and reweld - or slip on slightly larger pipe back on the pipe.

Also, they will no doubt find other things wrong, that are easy to replace at the time, which will also add to the project.

Buying an import does NOT mean specific vehicles wont have specific problems. It just means ON AVERAGE (compared to American vehicles) that you will have less, but they can cost more when they go wrong.

I would strongly advise to consult a HIGHLANDER forum/discussion group as ALL of these issues have likely been solved and discussed in the past.

https://www.toyotanation.com/threads...r-case.577537/

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Originally Posted by cjblair

Don't you tow a trailer with this thing? Might be a sign that you should get something that's more suited to the job.

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yeah but i can tow up to 5k and the trailer is 2900. Cant see the wife wanting to shell out another 30-40k for a truck or some large domestic SUV when this one is already paid off.

I don't know these very well, is the transmission a common weak point? Is thee evidence of damage due to overheating or "working too hard" or any other sign as to what caused this?

I'd be nervous as hell if I thought that towing was causing the issue. Would make future trips extra stressful.

It's just a leaky seal, they go with age. Winter is especially hard on them.

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Originally Posted by Sentry

It's just a leaky seal, they go with age. Winter is especially hard on them.

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So this many thousands of dollar problem is common? Wouldn't that ruin the reputation for reliability of this model?

I would think many owners would refuse the repair and just sell the car for scrap. If this was an insurance claim it would write most of these off!

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Originally Posted by nzwasp

yeah but i can tow up to 5k and the trailer is 2900. Cant see the wife wanting to shell out another 30-40k for a truck or some large domestic SUV when this one is already paid off.

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Have you weighed your entire setup, fully loaded?

Either way, private sale cost +$4g might get you into a nice used 4runner.

Nvm not helpful

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Originally Posted by ExtraSlow

I don't know these very well, is the transmission a common weak point? Is thee evidence of damage due to overheating or "working too hard" or any other sign as to what caused this?

I'd be nervous as hell if I thought that towing was causing the issue. Would make future trips extra stressful.

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Owning the Lexus version of this, I have heard that the transmissions are not particularly happy with towing. I've towed a tiny bit with mine, but only a few times and that's it. It's not a truck. It's an AWD car that has enough power to tow, but I wouldn't dream of towing with it for prolonged journeys, consistently as if it were a truck. There's just not enough tranny cooling to make that reliable.
In this case, I'd change the fluid (look up the cold fluid change procedure on Highlander forums) and add Stop Leak fluid. My guess is 90% problem solved. In the past I've put Kotex Pads on leaks to avoid fixing if the fix was 1/4 this quoted cost!
Put an old floor mat under it to avoid fucking the driveway with oil.
It's a no-brainer to not fix a $20 issue that'll cost thousands to fix. Note how burnt the fluid may be upon changing to see how abused this Highlander may have been.
Sorry I don't have a better solution.

I had the same problem with my Sienna AWD. Didn't tow. It is very expensive to fix as they're somewhat poorly designed.

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Originally Posted by nzwasp

yeah but i can tow up to 5k and the trailer is 2900. Cant see the wife wanting to shell out another 30-40k for a truck or some large domestic SUV when this one is already paid off.

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Just cause the sticker says 5k doesn't mean it isn't hard on the vehicle.

And you can find plenty of vehicles more capable of towing for much less than 40k.

Or pull a mar and ignore the advice in the thread.