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Maybe Toyota doesn’t want me to get Highlander

8187 Views 42 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  Ruby Red
So in January I had agreed on a price of a 2019 Platinum, when I drove the 30ish miles to see it I was told they couldn’t sale it per a Toyota Stop Sale order.

I have been talking to my local dealers about getting a 2020 Platinum. A few weeks ago one of them emailed to let me know he was getting one in about 2 days. When I emailed 5 days later asking about the status, he said for some reason it is being held at the rail yard about 5 miles from the dealership. He emailed me again today saying it was still at the rail yard wait for inspection.
Should I start taking this personally?
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I believe it’s been discussed that Toyota is trying to clear out the remaining 2019s before releasing many of the 2020s...apparently there are quite a few in limbo at rail depots. 🤷‍♂️


idea if this is actually true or not, but I’ve heard it from different people.
Yeah, I have heard that too. Locally the only 19 Platinums are on the stop sale list.
I don’t know, but this roll out has been a bit annoying.
I may be ble to get a palisade limited faster than a Highlander Platinum!
A stop sale order would normally be because of a mandatory TSB that has to be applied. It might be the case that they know there is a problem, but don't have a fix yet. Or they have to perform an inspection on each vehicle that is affected.
What problem might that be???

The 2019s are off the official web site. But the new sale commercial has a 19 and not a 20 shown. If there is a critical TSB nobody has informed me. Nor have we postings if of some common failure. Aside from a drift issue I had that may or may not be actually fixed and a couple of reports of hard / no start, nothing real comes to mind.

I will have to verify this alleged stop sale order before I believe it. The dealers are getting a few 2020s here and there around here but not the numbers you would typically expect. There are now like 8 Platinums on the site with in 100 miles. Mine runs just fine thank you!
A stop sale is normally for a safety recall, so those 2019's might be caught in the fuel pump recall.
The dealers didn’t tell me direct, but I suspect it is the fuel pump recall.

Since the can’t sell the 19 Platinums I find it odd that 20 Platinums are being held at the depot.
The dealers didn’t tell me direct, but I suspect it is the fuel pump recall.

Since the can’t sell the 19 Platinums I find it odd that 20 Platinums are being held at the depot.
The 2020s are coming at a trickle.....

Maybe they are fixing them before dealer delivery. Maybe still trying to move more 2019s.

Who knows....this is a really strange roll out of a new Gen.....

Now we add in the general slow down of things and the impending end of the world.....nobody really wants new cars.

Back under my rock.
2020 Highlanders are not 2020 Explorers, so nothing to fix between the factory and the dealer.
2020 Highlanders are not 2020 Explorers, so nothing to fix between the factory and the dealer.
There's still not enough Platinum and Limiteds on the lot. OTOH, I see 242 2019s in LA, while there are 673 2020s. IMO, there should be a lot less 19s on the lot. IDK, perhaps a lot of would-be buyers are having a dilemma on whether to get the new one or get the old one for a big discount, which Toyota should be blowing out already.
There's still not enough Platinum and Limiteds on the lot. OTOH, I see 242 2019s in LA, while there are 673 2020s. IMO, there should be a lot less 19s on the lot. IDK, perhaps a lot of would-be buyers are having a dilemma on whether to get the new one or get the old one for a big discount, which Toyota should be blowing out already.
I think a lot of 2019's are left because the word got out that the infotainment with the 2019 Platinums had problems. There were many complaints on that , so people wanted to wait for the new 2020 model. That kept me from getting the 2019.
Are there any specific complaints about 2019 that are worse than previous years? For example, Entune 2.0 has had problems with unexpected rebooting since it was conceived. 2019 HL Platinum has the same software as some other HL models, so there's really no reason for Platinum to be singled out in that situation.

I'm still amazed by the reports that there are 2019's all over the lots in some parts of the country, leading to conspiracy theories about 2020's piled up in rail ports. I guess Highlander just sells better in general in the midwest than on the coasts. Looking at inventory in the Chicago region, there are currently 142 2019's out there (gas and hybrid combined). Interestingly, 41 are gas Platinums, and 22 are hybrid Platinums, so that means almost half are Platinums overall. In contrast, the region shows 685 2020's. A much lower percentage are Platinums - 58 gas and 10 hybrid, so about 10% overall.

I think it's been said here before, and I agree - the people shopping at the high end of the line are likely to be willing to spend the money for the 2020 instead of the 2019. It's not that 2019 is bad, but instead it's that 2020 isn't that much more money for more tech toys. That explains why there are more 2019 Platinums sitting around on lots than 2020 Platinums.
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The dealer near me still has a lot of 2019s left...as they sell them they are replacing them with 2020s, they don’t have any room left on the lot to take on extras. I don’t buy that there is a an issue with something like the fuel injector etc, if there was I’m sure current owners would have received some sort of notice by now.
Are there any specific complaints about 2019 that are worse than previous years? For example, Entune 2.0 has had problems with unexpected rebooting since it was conceived. 2019 HL Platinum has the same software as some other HL models, so there's really no reason for Platinum to be singled out in that situation.

I'm still amazed by the reports that there are 2019's all over the lots in some parts of the country, leading to conspiracy theories about 2020's piled up in rail ports. I guess Highlander just sells better in general in the midwest than on the coasts. Looking at inventory in the Chicago region, there are currently 142 2019's out there (gas and hybrid combined). Interestingly, 41 are gas Platinums, and 22 are hybrid Platinums, so that means almost half are Platinums overall. In contrast, the region shows 685 2020's. A much lower percentage are Platinums - 58 gas and 10 hybrid, so about 10% overall.

I think it's been said here before, and I agree - the people shopping at the high end of the line are likely to be willing to spend the money for the 2020 instead of the 2019. It's not that 2019 is bad, but instead it's that 2020 isn't that much more money for more tech toys. That explains why there are more 2019 Platinums sitting around on lots than 2020 Platinums.
There were specific complaints to the top JBL system that were in the upper Highlander models. Many that had the regular JBL didn't have the issues.
Look for damage or repairs when it finally comes in. Something could have happened during transit.
I think it's been said here before, and I agree - the people shopping at the high end of the line are likely to be willing to spend the money for the 2020 instead of the 2019. It's not that 2019 is bad, but instead it's that 2020 isn't that much more money for more tech toys. That explains why there are more 2019 Platinums sitting around on lots than 2020 Platinums.
I think this is where the Koreans snuck in, and disrupted Toyota's selldown of the "old" Highlander. Their high end versions are well loaded and come with the latest tech, whereas the 2019 HL is dated in comparison. To an older buyer, dated isn't as much of an issue, but for most younger buyers, it is a factor, especially if you are going to keep it 10+ years, with the "older" tech.
I think this is where the Koreans snuck in, and disrupted Toyota's selldown of the "old" Highlander. Their high end versions are well loaded and come with the latest tech, whereas the 2019 HL is dated in comparison. To an older buyer, dated isn't as much of an issue, but for most younger buyers, it is a factor, especially if you are going to keep it 10+ years, with the "older" tech.
This is pretty much us...my wife wanted the 2019 and in many ways I prefer the exterior of the ‘19 but I was like there’s no way we are spending 40k+ on something that doesn’t even have CarPlay. We keep all of our cars until the wheels fall off so I wanted something a bit more future proof.
Seriously. Here we are, middle of March 2020, and its slim pickins for selection on my local dealer lots. By this time of year one should be able to go to even the small dealerships and find a decent selection of the mainstream trims and colors. The way it looks now I'm considering holding out for a 2021 model since my dealer probably won't get what I want until at least the summertime. Hell, many of the other manufacturers will be rolling out 2021s within 6 months, some maybe in 5 months, am I right?
I am not paying much attention to the 2019’s locally(Utah) since all of the platinums are impacted by the stop sale. I would suspect that that may be the same issue in other parts of the country.
Locally they are still listing them(to get leads), heck they are negotiating the price (my experiance only) They just stop you when you actual try to buy one.
I think a lot of 2019's are left because the word got out that the infotainment with the 2019 Platinums had problems. There were many complaints on that , so people wanted to wait for the new 2020 model. That kept me from getting the 2019.
I see gen 3 posts about replacing the head units with a nice Android unit......I am working on this for another old (30 year) vehicle I play with.....but would you want to do that to your new car? Maybe, maybe not, especially if warranty thoughts are included....
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