[Amherst Bob]

I was floored when I popped open the front bumper tow eye cap expecting to find a taped receiver for the shipping tow eye. I then learned that the 2020 Highlander does not have such a thing and there is no place to screw in the tow eye bolt. In fact, when you take off the plastic cap there is an empty cavity and at the back of it, where there should be the threaded receiver for the shipping tow eye, there is a back wall of what looks like sheet galvanized metal. This would never be strong enough to hold a tow eye bolt.
So.... how does Toyota secure the front end of the car when shipping it? If not through the area where this cap is then why is the cap even there?
I want to have a secure tow connection spot in the front end using the tow eye bolts for my upcoming trip from New Hampshire to Prudhoe Bay Alaska. How do I do this?

 

[Chuy]

Don't know how Toyota does it. Get yourself a soft shackle and go under the front end to see where to attach it, probably around the LCA. You want a low point so the tow/recovery strap does not tear off the bumper cover.

 

[lightfreak]

The cap is there for the Euro market where the front tow hook is mandatory. Euro Highlanders have the threaded receiver behind the cap and tow hook in the trunk. They're made on the same assembly line as North American Highlanders.

Transport trucks secure the frame from underneath by chain at 4 holes, one near each wheel, these holes are then filled by a rubber body plug which the dealer usually forgets to put in when you take delivery.

 

[whoa]

As @lightfreak said above, those holes are used to hold the vehicle down during transit.

Mystery part I found under my Highlander.

I saw this part under my car after I pulled out if my driveway. Can anyone identify it?

www.toyotanation.com

 

[Amherst Bob]

Great! Thanks! I'll crawl under tomorrow and take a look!

 

[Sporan]

Yep. I checked mine to be sure those plugs were in place. I'm a unsure if those would be a suitable place for tow hook use...strength, angle of pull... My Subaru Ascent had a specific tow eye on the front underside in addition to the tie-down holes.

 

[Snack]

Hello all, I also had this same question. Here's what I found out... You can also do a quick Google search and you'll find other threads talking about this. Those vehicles that are manufactured and imported from outside the US (say, Japan) will have a tow-eye bolt provided and the metal behind the plastic bumper threaded. Those that are manufactured in the States will not have this provided; however those areas will still have the plastic covers provided, but no holes/threads provided.

With that said, for those that do have this tow-eye and tow-eye bolt... A word of warning and PSA! Although people think that this (so called) tow-eye is for towing, it is NEVER to be used as a recovery attachment!!!

Please, please, please watch these videos and read comments from the author/publisher. This could very well, save your life!!!

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

That's right, for a flat tow only, or the most easiest of extractions from a ditch or snow bank, something where there is almost no resistance given slow steady pulling force. No yanking, no run up. Just slow, static pull.

@Amherst Bob , if you really want something, you could look at this guy's gear for off road extraction. He find himself having to hook up to all sorts of vehicles that aren't set up for purpose-built attachment points, and goes over some of the equipment he keeps in his rig and how he uses it on "normal" cars without attachment points. If it's really bothering you, you could look to keep one of those J-hook bridles in your vehicle, and of course get underneath and figure out the best spot you'd be okay with pulling on to get you out of a tricky spot.