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Do I really have an AWD Highlander?

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highlander awd
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22K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  Mjhedin921  
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#1 ·
Okay.. this sounds like a really stupid question, but here's my situation. A few weeks ago, I was a day away from writing a check to CarMax.com for a 2014 Highlander Limited Platinum AWD. I was scheduled to go in and had all my paperwork ready. The night before, I check on Craigslist and find almost the same identical car with the same mileage and same features, same price, BUT Hybrid AND from a Toyota dealer. I really wasn't looking for a hybrid, but thought the Craigslist deal would be better for the long-run so I canceled my CarMax order and went with the Hybrid.

So here's what I noticed the other day. Nowhere on the car says "AWD." Not even the sales sticker on the car had "AWD" on it. The only place that I noticed "AWD" was on the Craigslist ad, and the CarFax report.

I notice online on the non-hybrid Limited AWD, there's the words "Limited AWD" on the bottom right of the rear hatch. But I don't have that. Also I don't seem to have the "DAC" and "Snow" buttons that the non-hybrids have.

How can I tell that I really have an AWD Highlander?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Look under the vehicle inside and behind the rear wheels there should be a CV shaft going from the center rear to each of the rear wheels... If not and it only has the 2 up front then it's a 2WD.

This is a CV Axle... It's about 3.5-4 feet long and about 1" thick at the shaft.
Image


Installed it will look something like this...
Image



Sometimes when a vehicle has been repainted due to cosmetic or crash damage not all of the badges get put back on as they should. Check the rear of the vehicle real close for signs of body work (off color paint, overspary, sanding marks, orange peel, or tape lines).
 
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#4 ·
If it is a 2014 hybrid, then the rear tires are driven by the electric motors. So it is an AWD, but some people think it doesn't count as a real AWD because the electric power might not always be there. It has great torque, but I've read where people have needed AWD going up mountains in snow for extended periods and didn't get the power they needed. I've been told the batteries can be drained enough that it's not constant power to the rear tires. But I don't really know if that is true, as I've only heard stores and I rarely need my Highlanders AWD function for extended periods. I do know it can rip a big boat out of the water on a steep slick ramp. And it can get through soft sand that would stop most fwd cars
 
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#6 · (Edited)
Recent purchase of a 2017 Highlander Hyrbid XLE - my vehicle has two badges, one on each side just above the rocker panel labeled AWD-i.

Also, I don't think the Hybid was ever available as FWD only.

You should be able to just look at the Energy Monitor animated graphic on the main display and see that it shows an electric motor connected to the rear wheels.

Image
 
#7 ·
lloyd123 said:
Also, I don't think the Hybid was ever available as FWD only.

.

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Click to expand...
Not that it really matters to this discussion, but my 2006 Highlander Hybrid was only 2wd. There were no rear electric motors. However, there was a 4wd version that had a third electric motor for the rear wheels.
 
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