It's new. Definitely have it documented and addressed by the dealer.

 

that's the plan. to do so at the 5k service.

 

I have same gap on my 2022 XLE, since day 1. I have looked at other Highlanders and some of them have this gap to varying degrees. I thought that as long as the rubber molding is attached to the bottom of the windshield and to the plastic cowl below it, it should be okay. Looks like the rubber molding does have holes in it for water to drain through. I haven't noticed any water leakage problems. But I have not been completely happy with it and attribute it to a "fit and finish" issue. I plan to have a dealer look at it at my first oil change. Not sure it's worth them taking to much apart and put back together again (sometimes that doesn't work out to well).

 

interesting that some are affected by this while others aren't. sucks when manufacturing doesn't produce a consistent product across the board--a bit worrisome (and speaks a bit to the quality in this day and age). I live in the east coast so one of my concerns is when it snows during winter and snow freezes through that gap what next (more expansion? plastic cracking? something even more substantially damaging behind the dashboard and instrument clusters?) ....

 

I don't know about a Highlander, but I had a Sienna in the shop last week for front struts and we had to take that piece off.... and when we put it back on we found that there is a series of tabs that go under the bottom edge of the glass to hold the plastic wiper transmission cover in place.

If I were a betting man I'd say the tabs are no longer under the glass on yours.... easy enough fix, pull the clips, and the wiper arms to reset it

 

thank you all for your contributions. i'll have it evaluated by the dealership at the 5k service and report back here.

 

No gap on mine 2021 Limited with just under 20k miles. I do have a rattle that comes and goes tho! Passenger thinks it coming from drivers side and vice versa for driver. Given up trying to chase it. Turning up the radio.

 

Those holes in front of the wipers are letting air into that area, which then goes through the heat/ac when set to fresh. That air goes through a raised opening to keep water from entering the hvac. Any water going through this gap will drain with the rest of it.

Not anything to worry about.

 

Those holes in front of the wipers are letting air into that area, which then goes through the heat/ac when set to fresh. That air goes through a raised opening to keep water from entering the hvac. Any water going through this gap will drain with the rest of it.

Not anything to worry about.

I was talking about the gap between the cowl and the bottom of the windshield (it's circled in red in the picture), not the vents/grille in front of the wipers which I think is what you are referring to. Correct me if I'm wrong though. The gap I'm referring to runs from one end of plastic cowl to opposite end, the full length of the bottom of the windshield.

 

Good to know this. I have tried pulling it towards windshield and momentarily the gap becomes smaller but it just settles back to its now wider-gap position. Yeah, certainly one area where quality control can be improved--what causes this and why some highlanders are affected by this but not others is still a mystery.

 

So dealership evaluated this issue and basically the cowl was deformed thereby leading to that gap. Parts had to be ordered and were replaced.

 

Thanks for the update! I'll bring it to the attention of my dealer. I hope I get the same response?

 

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