Might consider taking it to another dealer and don't supply any details, just take them for a ride and let them diagonoise another bad trans?

 

The "other" dealer will likely run the VIN find the history of the vehicle and come up with the same diagnosis.

 

Check transfer case fluid and level. Might be best to just change it.

Check ATF level.

Sounds like a ujoint or driveshaft issue...or maybe axle/CV problem caused by R&R

Get a 2nd opinion from another dealer.

 

A quick update.

The dealership drove the vehicle for over 100 miles, over several days, and claimed they could not hear/feel the vibration. This finding is contrary to the Toyota Field/Regional Rep's earlier finding. He observed the transmission vibration/rumble and claimed the issue was due to the soft rubber on the Blizzak snow tires. The vehicle currently has new Firestone all-seasons tires (properly balanced) and the transmission vibration remains. (Last winter, the dealership installed wheels/tires from another Highlander. It would seem the transmission vibration is not due to the wheels/tires.)

(The dealership discovered the rear differential had recently started to leak. They replaced the gasket and added fluid under Platinum extended warranty - VSA.)

Current Status:
1) On the recent drive home from the dealership, the transmission vibration/rumble was immediately present and quite pronounced on the interstate. (It is surprising the dealership could not re-validate the vibration after 100 miles driven.)

2) The transmission whine was present from 60 mph through at least 80 mph. Sometimes the whine is present at less than 60 mph. (The dealership admitted they observed the whine between roughly 70 and 75 mph.)

3) The transmission seemed as if it did not lock the torque converter in overdrive, evidenced by high RPM at ~65 MPH and 200-400 RPM drop when foot lifted off the accelerator pedal. I was eventually able to manually lockup the torque converter (overdrive). After I moved the gear selector from "Drive" to "Sport" and back to "Drive," the torque converter locked and rpm did not fluctuate with accelerator position (overdrive). (This appears to be yet another symptom to the same transmission issue.)

Toyota claimed that the transmission whine noise is "normal." This position directly contradicts Toyota's T-SB-0097-13, which is titled "Abnormal Whine Noise Above 35 MPH" and the dealership's replacement of the original/new transmission (under the same T-SB).

The vehicle currently has ~75K miles. The vehicle's Platinum VSA has just expired.

Has anyone experienced similar issues after major transmission service or R&R of a transmission? Any ideas? Thanks again.

 

They didn't hear anything abnormal is because they didn't want to handle the problem. Just wishing it away. Maybe the problem is with the installation/balance of the driveshaft? Maybe have another dealership look at it. The fact that the xfer case leaked after the work likely meant shoddy workmanship. I wouldn't want to touch a late model year HL with a 10 ft pole. >

There might also be a reputable ATRA automatic tranmission rebuilders assoc. member shop nearby just in case.
http://www.atra.com/shopfinder

A quick update.

The dealership drove the vehicle for over 100 miles, over several days, and claimed they could not hear/feel the vibration. This finding is contrary to the Toyota Field/Regional Rep's earlier finding. He observed the transmission vibration/rumble and claimed the issue was due to the soft rubber on the Blizzak snow tires. The vehicle currently has new Firestone all-seasons tires (properly balanced) and the transmission vibration remains. (Last winter, the dealership installed wheels/tires from another Highlander. It would seem the transmission vibration is not due to the wheels/tires.)

(The dealership discovered the rear transfer case had recently started to leak. They replaced the gasket and added fluid under Platinum extended warranty - VSA.)

Current Status:
1) On the recent drive home from the dealership, the transmission vibration/rumble was immediately present and quite pronounced on the interstate. (It is surprising the dealership could not re-validate the vibration after 100 miles driven.)

2) The transmission whine was present from 60 mph through at least 80 mph. Sometimes the whine is present at less than 60 mph. (The dealership admitted they observed the whine between roughly 70 and 75 mph.)

3) The transmission seemed as if it did not lock the torque converter in overdrive, evidenced by high RPM at ~65 MPH and 200-400 RPM drop when foot lifted off the accelerator pedal. I was eventually able to manually lockup the torque converter (overdrive). After I moved the gear selector from "Drive" to "Sport" and back to "Drive," the torque converter locked and rpm did not fluctuate with accelerator position (overdrive). (This appears to be yet another symptom to the same transmission issue.)

Toyota claimed that the transmission whine noise is "normal." This position directly contradicts Toyota's T-SB-0097-13, which is titled "Abnormal Whine Noise Above 35 MPH" and the dealership's replacement of the original/new transmission (under the same T-SB).

The vehicle currently has ~75K miles. The vehicle's Platinum VSA has just expired.

Has anyone experienced similar issues after major transmission service or R&R of a transmission? Any ideas? Thanks again.

 

I just deal with the whine at @130K now and no issues whatsoever.
Had the noise since we bought it.

 

^This. Mine has done it since I bought it with ~35k miles. Now at 175k its still the same...You tune it out eventually. From what I understand its just an improperly honned final drive gear.

And I have to be going on very flat ground for the torque converter to stay locked at 65+ Any kind of hill or acceleration usually causes it to unlock. What you described sounds normal.

 

If it is a whine, mine does it as well. However like the others said it will not get any worse so I chose to live with it as opposed to let someone take it apart and create other problems.

If iit is a vibration, I would-
1) Check the exhaust to make sure it is not hitting or hanging to close to the chassis.
2) Find someone who can put it on a lift which supports the chassis, put it in gear, rev the engine so the speedometer reads the speed when you hear the problem and walk around the car listening for a rumble / vibration. Did this with my Explorer and found out I had a bad CV joint. I found this is the best way to identify which is the bad wheel bearing etc.

 

When I was looking a few months ago for a vehicle I did test drive a 2012 Limited HL w/tow package and factory hitch. It had a noticeable wine while driving it normally. No heavy pedal etc.

I didn't buy it but got this one from a dealer who sold it to the previous owner & also serviced it during the time. Traded in on a new Toyota. No whine whats so ever. Only concern was the rumble/shudder when the engine was around 1100RPM's in either N or D which seems to occur on a number of them I am finding. I am not concerned at this time since I have warranty on it if it becomes an issue later.

I don't like brand new vehicles. I have found I spend every 2-3 weeks at the dealer after buy a new vehicle getting things fixed that should not be a problem. All down to cheap parts, engineering, some design overlooked when looking at them. Its gotten so much harder to find a make/model/build that its good and above average these days.

 

Happy New Year! I sincerely appreciate the responses.

After a lengthy drive last night in the cold weather-
1) The vibration/rumble was quite pronounced and overpowered any minor “whine” that may have been present. The vibration was felt in the steering wheel, seat, and floorboard. The entire vehicle seemed to shudder. For the flyers, the vibration feels similar to that experienced immediately after takeoff (main wheels still rolling and vibrating/shuddering the aircraft, just prior to wheels-up).
2) The torque converter did not seem to be an issue. The vehicle probably “learned” the dealership technician’s (more aggressive?) driving habits and temporarily changed shift points accordingly.

To clarify-
- This vibration/rumble began immediately after the dealership replaced the original/new transmission (Feb ’16). The dealership’s master technician performed the R&R.
- In Summer '17, the dealership claimed they checked the wheel bearings.
- In Dec '17, the dealership claimed the rear differential was seeping and had lost perhaps half of the fluid (since Summer ’17). Good on them for catching/repairing this issue. Was this seal failure related to the transmission R&R?

To add to dcm0123’s point, if I had a better grasp of the risks involved with the TSB, I would have avoided major surgery on the vehicle. Other than the transmission whine (original transmission) and now vibration/rumble (since the transmission was replaced two years ago), the 2009 Highlander has been a solid vehicle. I would gladly trade the current situation for the original "whiny" transmission. Does a transmission R&R require the driveshaft to be re-balanced?

Edit: The rear differential (not the transfer case) had leaked. Sorry for any potential confusion.

 

Hi HLandeR and TNers,

Not sure this will help with the questionable rebuilt transmission problem. Possibly though it can bring focus to other underlying problems that the dealer may have missed or simply did/does not want to deal with it.

This is my story with repairs on 3 TSBs in Oct 2016.

TSB-0097-13 Abnormal Whine Noise Above 35 MPH
TSB-0034-13 Steering Intermediate Shaft Noise
TSB-0200-10 False Security Alarm Operation

2011 HL Ltd with 126K kms (78K mi) in Oct 2016 (now at 142K kms (88K mi)).

Covered by Toyota's 6 yr, 200K kms ECP warranty that expired August 2017. I bought this HL used from a Toyota dealer with 105K kms in Jan 2015 - the service record and ECP is what sold me on this other wise high mileage HL.

All these problems existed for several months before I started to chase them down. From research on TN and some help to get hold of the TSBs, I went to the dealer.

A short test drive with the mechanic confirmed the tranny whine and popping steering.

Further shop checks concluded the tranny was the problem (but only part of it - as you will see later) and it was replaced with a rebuilt one. Also, the steering shaft was replaced.

The alarm problem was sort of confirmed with the next step to replace the hood latch mechanism, as the defective switch is not dealer replaceable and the latch is not covered by the ECP. I declined the replacement as I had found on TN a post with a promising YouTube video of the Panasonic switch to order and a DIY switch replacement. Since then the switch has been bypassed and only yesterday did I get to order the switch as suggested in the YT video.

After replacing the tranny, a further road test diagnosed "INTERMITTENT VIBRATION WHEN DRIVING - PROPELLER SHAFT" and the shaft replaced. Further road testing/diagnosis with the new shaft revealed "REAR PASSENGER WHEEL BEARING NOISY ABOVE 80K KMS" (50 MPH), and it was replaced.

All this took 3 days (parts needed ordering) with 15 hours labor and total ECP costs of $9.3K CAD ($7.5K USD at today's rates). My costs were a wheel alignment for less than $100.

Kudos to the Dealer, the Service Advisor and Tech/Mechanic with all that was done.

Many thanks to sweeneyp :thanks:

and several posters:thanks:

without whose help I would not still be driving my HL.

...André :canada:

Hope this is useful.

 

I would no think so as it couples to the output which is likely a spline.

I would return it to the servicing dealer and get a tech to go with you to see the problem on the road with you. If there is no resolution call Toyota and escalate the issue for a factory inspector to get involved.

This does not reflect well on the dealers repair skills and quality Toyota advertises at great expense promoting their dealerships mechanics. It should be 100% the first time round. You might want to skip straight to calling Toyota and opening a case for resolutions ASAP.

 

I know this is not the same vehicle but had similar issue on my 1994 Grand Cherokee with Quadra-Trac (full time all wheel drive) with the whine/slight vibration in the 35 - 45 mph range.
Bought it used (24k miles) but had 75k warranty on it, so it went in multiple times to different dealerships (moving in the military). One said they could not reproduce the sound, others I needed the mechanic to go for a drive with me.
They rebuilt the axles, rebuilt the transmission and still had the issue. Wasn't until I noticed that the transfer case drive shafts had slop in them (front vs rear) compared to the other used GCs on the lot. Then they finally replaced the transfer case.
Whine was better ,but by this time the front axle was messed up again from it so they replaced it around the 75k mile range. Issue never returned for over 150k or so miles afterwards.

 

Wow. I can not believe all that was wrong with your 2009 Highlander. Furthermore, I'm amazed that your dealership went out of their way to find all the things that were wrong! Normally they fix one specific issue and then call it a day. Then they wait until the owner complains about something else, and the process is repeat.

 

I was under clear impression that this power train was solid/reliable. 3.5 & 5 Speed in these 2nd gens. Touching wood here you're is not the norm.