Forum Discussion

mrad's avatar
mrad
Explorer II
Apr 22, 2016

Toyota Highlander Hybrid with CVT towing capabilities

We are looking at replacing my wife's daily commuter vehicle. One thing we would like is for the new vehicle to be capable of towing our boat 2-3 times a year that we pull the TT to a lake site.

My boat, trailer and motor weigh in at about 2,700 lbs. The highlander lists towing capacity for the hybrid at 3,500 lbs.

My concerns are the following:

Toyota gas engines will easily go 300,000 relatively maintenance free miles. Will the electric motor on the hybrid be as reliable?

What is the durability of CVT transmissions? Should this be a concern for towing?

Again, the vehicle would not see a lot of towing 2-3 trips with a round trip distance of under 120 miles usually.

Any thoughts?
Tow Vehicles

6 Replies

  • Greene728's avatar
    Greene728
    Explorer
    Apr 23, 2016
    mrad wrote:
    Greene728 wrote:
    I wouldn't do it but that's just me. Pulling up the boat ramp is what would concern me. Could it do it? Probably. Is it gonna do it well without taking a toll on the vehicle? Probably not.


    I should have been a bit more clear. The highlander would only tow on the road. Once the boat was at the site, the Excursion would be used to load/unload at the boat landing.


    Gotcha! I do agree with others that the Highlander is a fine vehicle! Just smooth easy towing on the roadway and no strenuous pulls up the ramp go for it! My MIL had one that was a great trouble free vehicle for many miles (near 200,000 if memory serves me when replaced) but she didn't tow with either. But no troubles with it at all! Good luck with your decision!
  • xtech's avatar
    xtech
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2016
    Retired 3 years ago after 22 years with Toyota as a technician, never ever saw one problem with the hybrid powertrain, it is an amazingly simple ingenious invention. I would not be concerned at all about pulling that weight with one. last two winters down in Mesa there is a gentleman from Minnesota that pulls a enclosed trailer with his motorcycle in it down there each year. Bottom line it is not a fragile vehicle, the Priuses run hundreds of thousands of miles as taxis without problems.
  • rjstractor's avatar
    rjstractor
    Nomad
    Apr 22, 2016
    I wouldn't hesitate to tow that boat with a Highlander hybrid. If it was AWD I wouldn't hesitate to even launch with it. As far as reliability goes, Toyota has been making hybrids for over 15 years. When they first came out naysayers were saying that batteries would only last 50,000 and cost many thousands to replace. The reality is more along the lines of 200,000+ miles and about $2500, at least for the Prius. The Highlander uses similar technology so I would expect similar reliability.
  • coolmom42's avatar
    coolmom42
    Explorer II
    Apr 22, 2016
    I would do some investigating on the Toyota forums, and read the specs on the Highlander carefully. Check what the standard equipment includes---is there a transmission cooler? Can you manually put the tranny in a lower forward gear and leave it there? Or should you just let the CVT do its thing?

    An owner's manual for the model you are looking at should give some details on towing with the vehicle. It would be worth a visit to a dealer to try and dig up some info.
  • mrad's avatar
    mrad
    Explorer II
    Apr 22, 2016
    Greene728 wrote:
    I wouldn't do it but that's just me. Pulling up the boat ramp is what would concern me. Could it do it? Probably. Is it gonna do it well without taking a toll on the vehicle? Probably not.


    I should have been a bit more clear. The highlander would only tow on the road. Once the boat was at the site, the Excursion would be used to load/unload at the boat landing.
  • Greene728's avatar
    Greene728
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2016
    I wouldn't do it but that's just me. Pulling up the boat ramp is what would concern me. Could it do it? Probably. Is it gonna do it well without taking a toll on the vehicle? Probably not.

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