Problems towing a 19 0r 21 with a Toyota Highlander?

[infinity]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Depends on the model. It’s a shame that Toyota doesn’t wire the Highlander like the 4Runner. 7 pin at the rear is stock and plug pigtail into the harness under dash for brake controller. Really simple.

Yeah, the 4Runner would be a nice choice if it has been updated. The Highlander serves better as a daily driver and occasional tow vehicle. I’m probably going to do the 7-pin installation myself ... it really is too bad Toyota doesn’t offer it as an option. My dealer says they don’t offer the 7pin on the Highlander to discourage towing heavy loads. Personally I think it’s an Apple play; it would take away sales from the 4Runner and maybe even Tacoma.

[Kingfish]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

I also added a ScanGauge to monitor the tranny temperature & gear the tranny is actually in. And when I saw that pulling the trailer up some of our Colorado mountain passes heated up the tranny a bit, I had a tranny cooler added. I also shift the tranny myself before it would otherwise need to do a "hard shift" under power. All's happy.

That's exactly how I equipped and drive my 4 Runner, except that I also added Timbren spring helpers on the rear. My tranny never went above 200 degrees on even the longest and steepest mountain passes.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by infinity

My dealer says they don’t offer the 7pin on the Highlander to discourage towing heavy loads.

That's BS on the dealer's part. Highlander is rated to tow 5,000 lbs.
My salesperson delivered the vehicle to Burnaby Hitch and picked it up after installation of brake controller and wiring. I only paid for it.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by infinity

Yeah, the 4Runner would be a nice choice if it has been updated. The Highlander serves better as a daily driver and occasional tow vehicle. I’m probably going to do the 7-pin installation myself ... it really is too bad Toyota doesn’t offer it as an option. My dealer says they don’t offer the 7pin on the Highlander to discourage towing heavy loads. Personally I think it’s an Apple play; it would take away sales from the 4Runner and maybe even Tacoma.

I was waiting for the service Department at my Toyota dealer to finish some service on our 2012 Highlander in about March of 2018. In the waiting area was a large portrait oriented picture of a 2018 Highlander towing a very large boat on a triple axle trailer. The caption was something like “Highlander can handle the big towing jobs.” Or something similar. I have a good mind for remembering photos or scenes that interest me. A couple months later we decided to buy a 2018 Highlander. As I perused the vehicles on the lot I noticed three or four 4Runners and the same number of Sequoias.
Talking to my salesman I told him I was disappointed that the Highlander did come fully equipped to tow. He said “ Well they aren’t really meant to tow.”
I asked him if he ever walked through the waiting area and looked at the advertising on the walls?
A 5000 pound tow rating, 500 pound tongue weight ain’t meant for just hauling a weekly load of groceries home from the store or towing a plastic Kayak.
YMMV. I’m going to be busy after lunch tying a few things down, 70mph wind coming in later today.
Iowa Dave

[infinity]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

That's BS on the dealer's part. Highlander is rated to tow 5,000 lbs.
My salesperson delivered the vehicle to Burnaby Hitch and picked it up after installation of brake controller and wiring. I only paid for it.

How long ago was this and how much did you pay? Seems like a half day job and I’m wondering if I should pay someone else to do the 7-pin upgrade. Although I already have the wireless rf brake controller, a wired brake controller might be only marginally more work.

[rjreeves]

Originally Posted by bobwirtz

Tacoma with a covered bed for storage.

FYI you can't really put much weight in the Tacoma bed as most of the bed is behind the rear axle (differs somewhat between the 5' and 6' bed) and you are already pushing capacity limits with an empty bed towing a '21 (and probably a '19).

[gbaglo]

I got the Highlander in Aug. 2020. I bought the P2 from Burnaby Hitch. Canadian dollars in Canada, so I think you need to talk to your local shop.

[rjreeves]

Originally Posted by Doug2000

Many forum members have towed a 21 with a mid size truck or SUV, but many end up with a full size pickup.

This. I tolerate towing my '21 with a Tacoma because I generally love my truck, but if I were buying new I would get more capacity in the TV. I don't white knuckle it with the Tacoma but it's definitely an exercise in paying attention and driving conservative.

[rjreeves]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The only vehicle I've ever owned that I felt should have a backup to provide reliable transportation is our 1979 Triumph Spitfire.

As the current owner of a 1979 MG midget I feel your pain. Most days I won't drive it much farther than I'm willing to walk.

[EscapeBoulder]

Originally Posted by infinity

Very smart monitoring system you have! Do you mind posting a picture of the transmission temp gauge you have added? How much was the transmission cooler upgrade?

I think the tranny cooler install was in the range of $250 - $350.

Here's a picture of the Highlander "cockpit":

iPhone: It's a retired iPhone with only a speedometer app. It works as a heads up display for speed which is far easier to see (and more accurate) than the Highlander's analog speedometer.

ScanGauge: Is set for MPH, MPG, Tranny temperature and the gear the transmission is actually in. I like to know what gear I'm in preparing to ascend or descent our Colorado passes as I like to use engine braking where reasonable and prevent hard shifts under power when climbing.

TST Tire Monitor: It keeps an eye on all eight tires (4 Highlander, 4 Escape) pressure and temperature. It has a low pressure (& high temperature) alarm, so I don't need to see it, as it peeps if it senses an issue.

[infinity]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

I think the tranny cooler install was in the range of $250 - $350.

Here's a picture of the Highlander "cockpit":

iPhone: It's a retired iPhone with only a speedometer app. It works as a heads up display for speed which is far easier to see (and more accurate) than the Highlander's analog speedometer.

ScanGauge: Is set for MPH, MPG, Tranny temperature and the gear the transmission is actually in. I like to know what gear I'm in preparing to ascend or descent our Colorado passes as I like to use engine braking where reasonable and prevent hard shifts under power when climbing.

TST Tire Monitor: It keeps an eye on all eight tires (4 Highlander, 4 Escape) pressure and temperature. It has a low pressure (& high temperature) alarm, so I don't need to see it, as it peeps if it senses an issue.

I also like to use the paddle shifters to slow down before turns on the decline of mountain passes. The Metris I drive has the engine temperature but not the transmission temp. How much of a difference does your transmission cooler make when putting more work and stress? How does the monitor system connect to your vehicle? Do you need to install a.l Probe?

[Kingfish]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

I think the tranny cooler install was in the range of $250 - $350.

If you have the aptitude to do it yourself it's a $100 to $150. Videos probably available on YouTube. I found it to be simple but a bit time consuming on my 4Runner.

[EscapeBoulder]

Originally Posted by infinity

I also like to use the paddle shifters to slow down before turns on the decline of mountain passes. The Metris I drive has the engine temperature but not the transmission temp. How much of a difference does your transmission cooler make when putting more work and stress? How does the monitor system connect to your vehicle? Do you need to install a.l Probe?

The ScanGauge is connected to the OBI (?) port. One need to download codes from ScanGauge's website to program in each function. It's not hard.

The tranny cooler seems to be keeping the tranny 30 ish degrees cooler. But that's just a guess.

[freetodream]

Originally Posted by infinity

How long ago was this and how much did you pay? Seems like a half day job and I’m wondering if I should pay someone else to do the 7-pin upgrade. Although I already have the wireless rf brake controller, a wired brake controller might be only marginally more work.

About 3 years ago the U haul mechanic near us installed 7 pin wiring along with a wired controller I had previously purchased on my Highlander for about $350.00. It took him 3-4 hours working at a steady pace. He didn't particularly enjoy doing it, but was willing do it for me.

[LeonW]

I have been towing our classic 21 around the country with a 2014 Highlander for 7 years. We travel mostly in the western US (and Canada before the pandemic came). We have 91,000 miles on the Highlander. Probably 40,000 - 50,000 of those are towing the trailer. yes, that is our rig in the foreground of the photo that Dave posted. We have been over more mountain passes than I can count. When we picked the trailer up, We ended up crossing the continental divide 5 times on the way home.

So far I have been pleased with our towing experience. I have been able to go uphill just as fast I wanted to, and more importantly to gear down and go downhill as slowly as I wanted to. But the really difficult parts of towing aren't the mountain passes -- they are beating into a 50 MPH headwind across N.D and Eastern MT. all day.

The only extraordinary maintenance we have had is two solenoids that failed, within 50 miles of each other. They control the oil flowing into and out of the manifolds. The service manager said they just fail, often because of dirt in the system. Since this happened less than 200 miles after an oil change, my suspicion is that something was problematic with the oil change.

We prefer secondary roads and drive at 55-65 mph. Even on the freeways I rarely go faster than 65. So that is our experience, but as Donna always says, YMMV

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

The ScanGauge is connected to the OBI (?) port.

Close... it's the OBD (OnBoard Diagnostics) port.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Close... it's the OBD (OnBoard Diagnostics) port.

Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra
La-la how their life goes on
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra
La-la how their life goes on