Revealed: Real Owner's Thoughts on 2024  

Thank you for the comment sir! I intend to be as authentic as possible. Have an awesome day!

I thank you for the comment and I appreciate your perspective on the hybrid Max. As far as gas mileage what have you been getting?

@@SoarAndMore I was getting 27/28 during winter, but getting 31/32 now in summer

Thank you for watching. I actually have some more things that I don’t like about it. Coming in a different video.

Glad I could help. More to come! Doing one on infotainment

Not that I know of, but I will look out for it. We haven't had a road trip in it yet. We are planning on one soon. I will definitely look out for that. I also plan on real honest thoughts about taking in on a drive for over a few hundred miles and having it packed to the brim with my wife, mother-in-law, two son's, and me. I really appreciate your input and thank you for watching.

@@SoarAndMore Thanks

I hope I helped out!

Thank you for reaching out and thank you for the comment. I’m sorry to hear about you losing your Highlander. If you look, I also made a video about how we got the deal on our 2024 grand Highlander. I hope it helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

He said from 53k to 59 plus 6 k more😅

We haven’t had any issues with noise inside the cabin. I have heard of reports that people have heard issues inside while driving. I’m not aware with any issues on the CVT hybrid version. It is a relatively new system, so I’m sure some recalls will happen. Even my 2006 Toyota Tacoma had recalls. I assume someone will come down the pike…

@@jakepthsd trust me I tried to convince the wife.

Great question, I’m making a video covering my impressions of being in the 3rd row for an hour. It covers many points like that. I haven’t noticed anything different than the regular Highlander.

Sure! I did a whole video on it! Here: #Toyota Grand Highlander: Family Review & Upgrades ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GLpsdw8U3Ho.html

Thanks! I too am a little annoyed third row doesn't have anchors behind all three seats, not sure why because all other third-row mid-size SUV's do. still wouldn't change my choice.

Sounds like a great idea for a video! So the electric portion of the motor (hybrid) starts moving the car from a stand still. Electric motor torque is by far more powerful than a gas motor. Then at a specific speed the 2.4 l gas turbo takes over using the additional 265 HP. To from what I gather the hybrid portion adds 97Hp. I’m not sure exactly but I’ll look into it! Thank you for watching.

@@SoarAndMore I'll wait for that video

Parallel Hybrid systems also found in 24' Tacoma, 24' LC250, 22' to current Tundra and the Grand Highlander...

Great idea and I will make it specifically for you

Great question. Hybrid was more money. Didn’t need it. Lexus TX has a better track record. If you want a hybrid with a similar chassis the Lexus is the way to go BUT you will pay more for it. Wife wanted the “Grand Highlander” which is a Toyota. I am waiting for the Hybrid Max branded engines to be in the market for a few years as they are new and having issues with the tundra. They are very new and I don’t want to pay to get into Toyotas research and development. (Some tundra engines have blown and left people stranded). As far as SUVs- the only ones I would consider after extensive research would be the Honda Pilot, Grand highlander, Highlander (have had them both now). All the American SUVs seem to have gotten cheaper feeling. I love the way Dodge products look however I am not willing to pay such a crazy price for them. I recently rented a Chevy Tahoe and it only had 15,000 miles on it and one of the speakers didn’t work. And that was a basically new car. So I can only imagine with the problems that you would deal with if you were an owner. You would pay an extreme premium for a Chevy Tahoe. I think I’ve seen them on the market well over $60,000. Thank you for the great questions and thank you for watching

@@SoarAndMore Of course you know that Lexus is Toyota, right? What I mean really is, if your wife wanted a Toyota, the TX IS a Toyota. But you probably know that. :)

@@HunterXray yep! When I made Capt, I’m sure she’ll want the Lexus

You better get that if you’re paying the hybrid price! They’re actually more cons that I am starting to find as we are owning the vehicle. Kind of sucks, but Toyota is kind of starting to decline and quality.

@@SoarAndMore $53,000 out the door. Ruby Red, Floor Mats. Cargo Protector, Panoview, Running Boards, Roof rails, seems lie a fair price based on todays market, but your right, I'm the only one who has to be ok with the price and what we got for it.. Hell if the Mazda CX90 would have been the same size (97 or so sq ft) that might be in our door yard, or if the Lexus TX came with this Base Hybrid, that would be in the dooryard, but instead we got this. It's now 3 months old and has 8300 miles on it, with a trip from Maine NY coming up, and 2 weeks after that a trip to Indianapolis, then 2 weeks after that a trip to NY, OH, ID, WI, MI and back to Maine, so we will know what we think of it, by the end of the year for sure (should have about 25,000 miles on it by then.

@@yahooskip I severely doubt you got it for $53k out the door. But please prove me wrong with a video. Show the actual dealer slip. Show the final price. If I'm wrong I will gladly commend you because that information will help a ton of people save money. Which is what I am all about. Usually when I call people out about making a video and proving it. - they don't. These RU-vid videos are alot of work and people can say very strong words (and lies) when hiding behind a key board.

@@SoarAndMore I do stand corrected. My wife pointed out that we made the check out for $53045.60, BUT that we had put down a $1500.00 deposit

@@yahooskip regardless that is a damn good deal! Is there any information or knowledge that you could share to help people making a hybrid purchase? I get tons of questions on those all the time.

We haven’t. I’ll be on the lookout for that. Thank you for sharing!

That is useful for many viewers or owners. How much is the true reserve and how much fuel one can fill when the fuel light comes on ?Does the gas tank issue affect both gas and hybrid models or specific to hybrids only? Hope you will find out and post it soon.

I have over 10,000 on my GH hybrid max and the computer indicates the tank is empty and 13 gallons is the most I’ve ever put in the tank. The computer indicated 22mpg and it’s really getting 26mpg. I hope there is a update to correct these problems. Please join me in a write in campaign to Toyota to remedy these issues.

I agree with you, it is only 17 gallons and I see that it uses a lot of gas, filling the tank to the top gives me 317 miles, I have a 2024 Camry It has the same engine as the Grand Highlander and it gives me 430 miles, I think I will change it In the future, Kia will have better gas consumption.

Great question. It’s not like the regular highlander at all. It does move out but I think our old highlander had more kick for sure- rumor is that there may be a V6 offering in 2025… not sure though. Thanks for watching.

Possibly trim, it’s a 2.4L

You know you really have to look at how much you drive and you would have to see if it was worth it to get the small hybrid and not the hybrid max model to save on gas. I think at the end of the day the cost versus the amount of money you would save on gas my break, even and then you’re dealing with a new engine and a new hybrid system that we don’t know the problems of…. Don’t get me wrong. I’m thoroughly impressed by using a hybrid to make more power for a motor however, we just don’t know how long the batteries will last and the condition of the 2.4 L turbo and it will hold up.

I have the regular hybrid, just went 1015 miles and average 36 mpgs

Thanks for the input. All I know is the hybrid max has more power does nothing for gas savings. Reg hybrid gets better gas mileage. Regardless I’m not too confident with either one of them as of right now since they are relatively new engine applications for a brand new type of car. The point I was trying to make is that you are buying a car helping Toyota do research and development and that to me is not worth my money or my time. Thank you for the clarification. I’m sure it’ll help somebody.

@@SoarAndMore All good and thanks for your quick response. The Atkinson 2.5 hybrid is the same engine that's in the regular Highlander, Camry, Rav4, and Venza hybrid applications, so while this is a pretty big application for the engine I'd be fairly confident in the reliability. Power, I hear, ranges from "good enough" to "ok", which isn't terribly inspiring but "fine.", lol. The Hybrid Max on the other hand, yep that's the one I'd be least confident in also, it's only in use in the GH and the new Crown, and while I haven't heard anything crazy about it, it's only been out for a year. Presumably since it uses the same 2.4L turbo anything that breaks on the gas version would also break on the HyMax. They're using that 2.4 in a bunch of stuff but longevity will still be a ?? until it isn't... I got a hybrid max anyway, because I wanted the power, but they won't let me take it home from the dealer until Thursday. I agree the wifi connect plan is BS - on my '24 corolla, when I subscribed to it for a month and canceled it, it ended my trials for all the other connect features, which is extremely annoying. I don't plan to keep the corolla and didn't use most of that stuff, but it still ground my gears. Tether configuration, right there with you, I wish they'd put one on each side in the way-back instead of both right next to each other. Hope they add the opening back window in the next model year or refresh. Missed opportunity, especially since they're bringing back the roll-down rear window in the Land Cruiser. I wonder if someone on the GH forums will be able to mod one in, but I don't want to go to that much hassle just yet. Thanks again for the video, well thought out and very valid criticisms.

@@reality-warp such a great viewpoint I really appreciate comments like these. Thank you so much for your time and your input. What do you think about their possibly being a V6 option for 2025? because I know the Lexus version of the Highlander is going to be offering a V6 option. What are your thoughts on that?

@@SoarAndMore A v6 option is unlikely to be offered next year simply because it's a minor model refresh. The lexus version of the GH, the TX, does have the V6 in the current model year but only on the high-end plug-in hybrid version. I'm curious why they chose to go with the V6 for the PHEV instead of the 2.4L - the current TX500H versions that aren't plug-ins have the same powertrain as GH Hybrid Max. The 6cyl phev option is currently the capstone and I would expect it or a 4-cyl PHEV to become available in the GH eventually -- but I expect we'll be seeing a plug in hybrid or BEV (full electric) vehicle in this form factor at the major model. I expect we'll probably see an announcement on 2025 GH as an upcoming vehicle in the next 2-3 months. Since it'll be a minor model change in only the second year, I don't expect drivetrain options to change just yet unfortunately, but we'll probably see some of the bigger complaints fixed. I doubt they'll add the rear window, but the LATCH attachment point complaint was pretty common from what I hear, and I suspect we'll see some adjustment to the fuel tank. Beyond that most of the major concerns I'd heard about were fixed in-line over the model year - some early production ones I heard had some front axle issues, transmission shifting issues on the Hybrid Max's 6-speed (which is the same 6-speed used in older highlanders, it's being used instead of the 8-speed because it can handle the extra torque better). Both those issues got fixed pretty early on based on what I've been seeing, and 3-4 friends and coworkers have GH vehicles in various trims and colors, most bought in the last 3 months, and none have had any major concerns.

Obviously if they DO add the v6, I'll be pleasantly surprised -- but I'm locked into the GH HyMax Plat until '27 and by then we'll probably all be driving either spaceships or Flintstones cars, depending on how inflation goes...

For the Toyota App yes through cell service. Not your key fobs.

I believe so, just $50 month to me plus another $25 for WiFi hotspot is getting crazy. Just my opinion.

I wanted one- wife was like HELL NO! she hates minivans. Oh well!

I know… so so much money was printed and went straight to the big corporations..

I believe it’s a Toyota wide thing

@@SoarAndMore No Toyota is 60 months 60k miles the dealer you purchased it from may offer that deal but not5 toyota

@@valerieharvey8719 yep I made a video

Thanks for watching!

Highlander has good protection though crossover SUV'S are better since they don't use alota gas and can do stuff that a body on frame SUV can do too if it's capable of handling it.

My wife loves the car mom but she loves her new grand highlander more!

The space between the Chevy and this isn’t all that different. If I recall correctly, there is only 0.1 cubic feet difference between this and the new Traverse, which isn’t all that noticeable. In terms of legroom, the third row is would consider massive, and I am living with a 2020 Highlander, and having sat in the third row of that for hours long vs this is a huge difference.

I don’t agree. These new hybrids are made by a completely different manufacturer and they are not made by Toyota. The new Toyota tundras have been having a rash of issues with their new engines and the hybrid systems. I would be very cautious on buying a new 2024 Tacoma with the new hybrid max and a grand Highlander with the hybrid max system.

It was the same in our 2018 grand highlander… wife has long legs

Help a brother out then man, to my understanding there are 2 drive trains. One hybrid that is just a hybrid then the hybrid max which is for more power.

Didn’t pay that much lol. Got a deal!

We love em! Very comfortable.

We didn’t pay 60k! Thanks for watching!

I appreciate your honesty lol! Thanks for watching.