I leased a 2018 LE Highalander after my neighbor kept rumbling by me in his Toyota Tacoma with 325k miles on it. He sort of chuckled at my german car obsession and said I should consider it. I happend to start my own business, and so i was drving a ton, i threw on a Hitch and between the skiing and the small boat towing the thing just kept going. I replaced the battery three times, followed the Dealer servoce plan pretty much to the T, and did my tires at Town Fair tire here in CT. To say the car has performed is totally fair, no major issues other than wear and tear, nothing. If you own a German car you would know, this is a totally different experience.
On my last trip skiing (CT based, VT bound all the time) the light for service came on, it was snowing and I was switching the car through all the different modes which I have grown to love. Brought back to orginal dealer, and sure enough, they said the Torque converter and Transmission needed replacing, 7k and 12k each. OUCH! The car hit 200k this weekend. I am constantly loading gear in and out and have cracked the radio unit 2x. Including once again.
What I learned - The highlander is the real deal, the known transmission issues did not effect me, i didnt even know until this happpened. Dealer Service, albeit expensive has been great, I just followed the book. I spray the car off and clean it once a week, to keep the grime off, I feel thats super important here in the NE.
What I need input on - I had a local shop look at the transmission, they did a service, ran the tests and said its running well. But, they said, failure codes are flags and I should I be aware, maybe not drive to VT all the time. 1. Any comments on on this?
2. To carry on or not - I have two kids in HS, and its college time, cash is short and I want to hold on to the car, what would you do - love the car, but its time to assess?