Highlander owners: question

[Defenestrator]

Not "outsmart" exactly. The point is that it's just sluggish and unpredictable enough that it's difficult to work with it instead of against it. There's a lot of different AWD systems of various quality (sometimes even varying from the same manufacturer), and the one on the Highlander is just not very good. Probably one of the worst ones on any modern vehicle. At low speeds it's better than nothing, but the way it interacts with torque steer is arguably worse than not having it at all.

[CamperDude]

Jane,

Do you mind telling me what year is the Highlander XLE that you purchased? I didn't see a factory hitch as an option on the Toyota site. Can you tell me if you purchased a 2020 Highlander with the factory tow hitch and if it is compatible with a weight distribution system.

Thanks,
Camper Dude

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by CamperDude

Do you mind telling me what year is the Highlander XLE that you purchased? I didn't see a factory hitch as an option on the Toyota site. Can you tell me if you purchased a 2020 Highlander with the factory tow hitch and if it is compatible with a weight distribution system.

My guess is that you didn't see a hitch option on the 2020 Toyota Highlander because it is standard equipment, at least with some variants and trim levels, or because they forgot to list it. For an example, I used the online build tool and selected an LE V6 AWD, and there were no towing packages available and no hitch as an accessory, but there was a ball mount as an accessory, implying that the vehicle now comes with the hitch. The brochure lists "Tow hitch receiver" as an accessory, rather than as a package or option (which usually means that it is dealer-installed, not factory-installed). The Toyota OEM hitch was optional in at least some earlier years; I don't know if it was installed by the factory or dealer.

Fortunately, Toyota freely offers its owners manuals online, via their Owners site. The 2020 Highlander manual says that a weight distribution system is not required for any trailer weight within the Highlander's limit (which is 5000 pounds), but allows the use of a weight distribution system. I would suggest checking the label on the Toyota hitch to see what it says about weight-carrying and weight-distributing hitch weight limits.

[CamperDude]

Thank you sir,

I appreciate your advice.

[JaneM.]

Hello Camper Dude,
We purchased a 2019 Highlander XLE with the tow prep package (4 pin wiring and hitch receiver). It was an option that I wanted because the after market hitch receivers are lower to the ground and I was concerned about clearance. We then took our Highlander to our local hitch expert and had the 7 pin wiring installed and our weight distribution system adjusted for the new tow vehicle. I hope this helps.
Jane

[CamperDude]

Thank you very much Jane. I appreciate the explanation. It was very helpful.

Clay

[elongest]

I was looking at Highlanders last month. I saw a bunch of 2019's with factory hitches. I have not seen a 2020 on the lot or on line with a hitch. I have found when shopping online for 19 &20 Highlanders, hitches are rarely listed in the on line listings. You have to look at the pictures of the rear of the vehicles. I also found the AWD models are rarely stocked in FL. If you find a used AWD the history shows it came from up north.
Eddie

[EscapeBoulder]

One thing you might consider... The back passenger seats being either BENCH style or CAPTAIN'S CHAIRS. When we looked at 2018 Highlanders (Limited) there was a choice. We decided on the bench passenger seats so that folded down we have much more room to keep the ancillary camping stuff. BTW we purchased the 2018 Highlander, and it tows our 4,400# Escape 19'er just fine.

[CamperDude]

Originally Posted by elongest

I was looking at Highlanders last month. I saw a bunch of 2019's with factory hitches. I have not seen a 2020 on the lot or on line with a hitch. I have found when shopping online for 19 &20 Highlanders, hitches are rarely listed in the on line listings. You have to look at the pictures of the rear of the vehicles. I also found the AWD models are rarely stocked in FL. If you find a used AWD the history shows it came from up north.
Eddie

Thank you for the info.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by elongest

I was looking at Highlanders last month. I saw a bunch of 2019's with factory hitches. I have not seen a 2020 on the lot or on line with a hitch. I have found when shopping online for 19 &20 Highlanders, hitches are rarely listed in the on line listings. You have to look at the pictures of the rear of the vehicles. I also found the AWD models are rarely stocked in FL. If you find a used AWD the history shows it came from up north.
Eddie

If you add Tow Hitch to Key Words on Cars.Com it will show you models with the Factory Hitch. No shortage of them in California both 2019 & 2020 models.

[Bill_75]

Another alternative......and the one we used, was buy a Highlander XLE w/o the factory hitch(as none were in the nearby inventories(long story)), then order the factory hitch from Amazon :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And have it installed....took about 1.5 hours.....by the local Toyota dealership. Seemed like, at the time, the cost was comparable to having it as an installed option on a new Highlander. Worked for us in 2016.

[CamperDude]

Thank you so much. I saw the factory tow hitch in the pictures and search as you suggested.

Camper Dude

[slateriver]

I was looking at the 2020 highlander and the factory hitch is still there as a dealer installed option but for some reason costs about $300 more than previous years. I foolishly asked the salesperson why and he thought it took longer to install.
I installed the factory hitch myself just a couple days ago on our 2018 and it wasn't too bad of a job. Hardest part for me was trying to unclip the skinny trim piece on the bottom of the bumper that gets replaced. I was impressed at how well the hitch mounts to the subframe, held on by 10 bolts where aftermarket hitches use 6 bolts. Now to tackle the wiring.

[elongest]

2020 Highlander hitch issue info. Found out this info yesterday.
https://www.torquenews.com/6626/why-...hlander-models

[slateriver]

Very interesting article...It reinforces the sad fact that Toyota really doesn't want to promote the highlander as a tow vehicle. They already don't offer plug and play brake control wiring or a 7 pin receptacle , for a vehicle with a 5,000 lb tow rating . But I'm still a Toyota guy..still have the first one I bought new in 1980 , an FJ40

[Rossue]

If you read the article the Limited & Platinum trims have an auto rear hatch that opens when you swing your foot underneath. Evidently the location of the sensors are the reason for no factory hitch.

Have that on my tow vehicle and the thing has opened on me while hitching up- a PITA so just looked at how to disable it on my Expedition and just did by unplugging antenna underneath the bumper. Thanks for reminding me!

[ChuckBC]

It seems you are able to inspect the Highlander models on the lot? Take a look at the tag inside the driver's door to compare the specs on the various optioned models. You may find they aren't all equal even though they are tagged XE and SLE models. Example payload may be less for one over the other.

[Iowa Dave]

When I bought the 2018 Highlander I looked at the door sticker and the weight shown was good with me. I had the Toyota Hitch installed as part of our deal. When they installed the hitch they put a second sticker on the door frame which reduced the cargo capacity by 17 Lbs. The Highlander we have is an XLE AWD
Here’s a picture of the stickers I just took today. No reason for me to tout the capability of the Highlanders as tow rig, nearing 100,000 trouble free miles. Everybody knows where I stand on just about everything.
Iowa Dave

[slateriver]

Have never seen a sticker like that. I wonder why they don't include one with the hitch packaging unless they assume it's only the dealer that would actually put it on. I have no concerns at all about the highlander's ability to tow a trailer, especially the 17B. It's just too bad they aren't easier to wire.

[Rossue]

Since you will need a charge wire for the 7-pin- if I were needing to do this again(after doing it on a 2013 Highlander w/factory hitch & 4 pin) I think I would get a harness from etrailer. Definitely that vs. trying to install a factory 4-pin harness then adding a charge wire. I did that with a Murano and it was a big PITA even for the dealer to do it- they had the headliner out even! After that went to my hitch shop and they told me the aftermarket harnesses are way easier to work with.