I switched my tires within the first 500 miles from 245 (H rated?) to 255 (V rated). Made a big difference in the ride.

 

It'd be interesting to hear form those who have replaced shocks/struts, but my V6 SE never seemed to be particularly sporty in the handling dept since I bought it new. Odds are that nothing's wrong, rather it's just a product of this being a Toyota instead of a Lexus.

 

Having both a Tacoma and Highlander, I prefer the Tacoma on windy roads specifically because the soft suspension of the highlander lets it roll just like described above. Been this way since new, so I'd say it's by design.

 

Interesting. I'd say perception and expectations have a lot to do with it. I've never considered my Highlander wanting to excessively roll in turns, but that's just me.

 

What tires are you running, and are you on original shocks/struts ?

Is the HL from NE, South, West ?

 

My HL doesn't have much lean going into corners. Perhaps the struts need to be replaced.

 

These aren't meant for handling, even when new'ish, mine really leaned in corners. Get a 3rd gen if you want a sportier ride :lol:

 

You could consider replacing your struts with Highlander Sport struts and possibly Sport rear sway bar(not sure if they are different yet)

 

I would think.. speed might have something to do with the leaning as well.

 

I purchased a 2009 Highlander Sport AWD a few months back with around 80,000 miles. I was expecting it to ride very soft and lean but it actually rides firm and does not lean. I don't know if that's due to the "Sport" suspension or if it might be due to the aftermarket Monroe struts the previous owner put on it. The biggest issue by far I have with this highlander is the twitchy, light steering feel which can be tedious when driving on the highway for a while. I'm hoping that replacing the intermediate steering shaft might make the steering a little heavier/ more firm.

 

While doing the wife's 08 HL Sport oil change/rotate tires today at 205k miles, I took a few minutes to look into this.
Few suggestions:
front/rear - Didn't look up, but I would expect Sport struts/coils to be a little stiffer than the base/limited. I just replaced her struts 2 months ago.
- I haven't looked to see if any aftermarket companies make beefier anti sway bars for the HL. But there might be.

front - anti sway bar is decent size but could be improved by putting poly bushings instead of the worn rubber bushings on the bar

rear - Anti sway bar is pretty thin. Few cars that I have payed attention to, do put smaller ones in the rear.
- but the biggest issue is how the anti sway bar is held. It has a flimsy brackets the hangs down with rubber bushings. You can see it move when jerking the sway bar link. If can find a way to stiffen it up, this should be the one single biggest improvement for the roll.

 

For clarification sake:

There is only 1 type of roll bar for each drivetrain (FWD and AWD), they don't change between trims (sport and not)

Springs are slightly shorter (~1/4") on the sport model and have ~8% spring constant than their equivalent powertrain non-sport trim.

Struts are similar with sport trims having higher (~5%) dampening force (resistance to compression/rebound)

This was the main reason I switch my rear FWD non-sport springs to rear AWD sport trim springs. ~15% stiffer springs, helps with load handling and did help with body roll a bit.

 

For clarification sake:

There is only 1 type of roll bar for each drivetrain (FWD and AWD), they don't change between trims (sport and not)

I didn't expect Toyota to have different bars between the trims, that is why I mentioned aftermarket for the bars and poly bushings.
I know in the Jeep world, there are beefier aftermarket bars, whole poly bushing sets, etc that you can get.

Wife likes the ride her Sport has. I don't, but it's her car. That is why I haven't needed to research many aftermarket products for it. But it also means more money towards the Jeep aftermarket fund.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. The highlander is a limited and it's from IL, now in MN. I'm sure the shocks are factory, but they don't clunk and handles fine driving straight, doesn't float or bounce so I'm not sure it's shocks or struts.

Another example of the poor handling is when you lightly wobble the wheel while drive straight, the car "wiggles" (ha don't know what else to call it!) where the back will sway opposite from the front. I know it's. it a sports car but it's based off a car frame and sits low enough where you'd think it would handle much better than it does. As stated above, my tacoma has hardly any body roll and this highlander is borderline dangerous with how it handles.

 

Although I have not driven a non Sport, non AWD, I would suspect your Highlander may have some part of the suspension in need of repair if it feels "borderline dangerous" in handling. Over the past few months, I have had two close call situations while driving at 70+ mph where I had to swerve and brake hard suddenly to avoid accidents. In both situations, the Highlander was predictable and performed much better than I expected with regard to handling and accident avoidance. The only consequence seems to be slightly warped rotors from what could have been really bad accidents (with my two kids and wife in the car both times). If your Highlander has the "wiggles" like an old station wagon from the 70's, something's probably up with it.

 

I have a 2013 that I bought new, it's the Base Plus version. So coming from a Mazdaspeed 3, and prior to that an Audi S4, the Highlander felt very "leany" in corners. Add the fact that the seats don't hug you like most other cars (mine seem to be made for a much larger person), you can also start sliding around in the seat, which worsens the issue. But over time you just get used to it.

What you describe with the "wobble" is something I've noticed with many cars that have standard suspensions (usually the typical Chrysler rentals), I don't find the Highlander to be any worse. Again, my previous cars were "tight" when doing that wobble while going straight, but they were also sport tuned, to the detriment of feeling every crack in the road. So assuming nothing is busted with your suspension, I wouldn't think there are safety issues.

So it could very well be that you are experiencing normal behavior, it's basically tuned for a "comfortable" ride, to the detriment of precise handling. I do prefer precise handling, but that's why I bought a motorcycle!