trailer TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2023 User Guide

1904-1. Before driving
The gross trailer weight must
never exceed 5000 lb. (2200
kg).
 The gross combination weight
must never exceed the follow-
ing:
• 2WD models: 10600 lb. (4805 kg)
• AWD models: 10600 lb. (4805 kg)
The gross vehicle weight
must never exceed the
GVWR indicated on the Certi-
fication Label. ( P.474)
 The gross axle weight on
each axle must never exceed
the GAWR indicated on the
Certification Label. ( P.474)
 If the gross trailer weight is
over the unbraked TWR,
trailer service brakes are
required.
 If the gross trailer weight is
over 2000 lb. (900 kg), a sway
control device with sufficient
capacity is required.
 If the gross trailer weight is
over 5000 lb. (2200 kg), a
weight distributing hitch with
sufficient capacity is required.
Confirm that the gross trailer
weight, gross combination
weight, gross vehicle weight,
gross axle weight and tongue weight are all within the limits.
■GCWR*
2WD models: 10600 lb. (4805
kg)
AWD models: 10600 lb. (4805
kg)
■TWR*
5000 lb. (2200 kg)
■Unbraked TWR*
1000 lb. (450 kg)
*: These models meet the tow-vehi-
cle trailering requirement of SAE
International per SAE J2807.
 A recommended tongue
weight varies in accordance
with the types of trailers or
towing as described below.
 To ensure the recommended
values shown below, the
trailer must be loaded by
referring to the following
instructions.
• Tongue Weight
The gross trailer weight should be
distributed so that the tongue
weight is 9% to 11%.
(Tongue weight/Gross trailer weight
x 100 = 9% to 11%)
Weight limits
GCWR, TWR and
Unbraked TWR
Trailer Tongue Weight

1914-1. Before driving
4
Driving
Gross trailer weight
Tongue weight
If using a weight distributing hitch
when towing, return the front axle to
the same weight as before the
trailer connection.
If front axle weight cannot be mea-
sured directly, measure the front
fender height above the front axle
before connection. Adjust weight
distributing hitch torque until front
fender is returned to the same
height as before connection.
The gross trailer weight, gross axle
weight and tongue weight can be
measured with platform scales
found at a highway weighing sta-
tion, building supply company,
trucking company, junk yard, etc.
Trailer hitch assemblies have
different weight capacities. Toy-
ota recommends the use of Toy-
ota hitch/bracket for your
vehicle. For details, contact your
Toyota dealer.
 If you wish to install a trailer
hitch, contact your Toyota
dealer.
 Use only a hitch that con- forms to the gross trailer
weight requirement of your
vehicle.
 Follow the directions supplied
by the hitch manufacturer.
 Lubricate the hitch ball with a
light coating of grease.
 Remove the hitch ball when-
ever you are not towing a
trailer. Remove the trailer
hitch if you do not need it.
After removing the hitch, seal
any mounting hole in the vehi-
cle body to prevent entry of
any substances into the vehi-
cle.
Hitch
WARNING
■Hitch
Trailer hitch assemblies have dif-
ferent weight capacities estab-
lished by the hitch manufacturer.
Even though the vehicle may be
physically capable of towing a
higher weight, the operator must
determine the maximum weight
rating of the particular hitch
assembly and never exceed the
maximum weight rating specified
for the trailer-hitch. Exceeding the
maximum weight rating set by the
trailer-hitch manufacturer can
cause an accident resulting in
death or serious personal injuries.
NOTICE
■When installing a trailer hitch
Use only the position recom-
mended by your Toyota dealer.
Do not install the trailer hitch on
the bumper; this may cause body
damage.

1924-1. Before driving
Use the correct trailer ball for
your application.Trailer ball load rating
Matches or exceeds the gross
trailer weight rat ing of the trailer.
Ball diameter
Matches the size of the trailer cou-
pler. Most couplers are stamped
with the required tr ailer ball size.
Shank length
Protrudes beyond the bottom of the
lock washer and nut at least 2
threads.
Shank diameter
Matches the ball mount hole diame-
ter size.
Weight carrying ball position:
50.7 in. (1289 mm)
Use the wire harness stored in
the rear end under body.
Please consult your dealer
when installing trailer lights, as
incorrect installation may cause
damage to the vehicle’s lights.
Please take care to comply with
your state’s laws when install-
ing trailer lights.
■Auto current cut-off function
In case of over current, the auto
cut-off function stops the power
flowing to the trailer lights to prevent
damage to the vehicle’s electrical
system.
Selecting trailer ball
Trailer classTypical trailer ball size
IV2 5/16 in.
II and III2 in.
I1 7/8 in.
Positions for towing hitch
ball
Connecting trailer lights

1934-1. Before driving
4
Driving
This function is activated when the
rated current of any of the following
trailer light circuit components is
exceeded:
●Tail lights: maximum 4.5 A
●Stop/turn signal light (right): maxi-
mum 7.8 A
●Stop/turn signal light (left): maxi-
mum 4.5 A
■When the auto current cut func-
tion is activated
If a trailer light d oes not come on
due to the activation of the auto cur-
rent cut function , the light system
will need to be reset.
Follow the reset procedure shown
below.
●If a tail light doe s not come on,
turn off the headlight switch.
●If the right-side stop/turn signal
light does not com e on, put the
turn signal in the off position or
remove foot from t he brake pedal.
●If the left-side stop/turn signal light
does not come on, put the turn
signal in the off position or remove
foot from the brake pedal.
If the emergency flashers do not
operate, press the emergency
flasher switch to turn them off.
After the light syst em is reset, oper-
ate the light switches again to see if
the lights operate normally.
If the lights do not operate normally,
have the vehicle inspected by your
Toyota dealer.
Your vehicle will handle differ-
ently when towing a trailer. Help
to avoid an accident, death or
serious injury, keep the following
in mind when towing:
 Speed limits for towing a
trailer vary by state or prov-
ince. Do not exceed the
posted towing speed limit.
 Toyota recommends that the
vehicle-trailer speed limit is 65
mph (104 km/h) on a flat,
straight, dry road. Do not
exceed this limit, the posted
towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as
set forth in your trailer owner’s
manual, whichever is lowest.
Instability of the towing vehi-
cle-trailer combination (trailer
sway) increases as speed
increases. Exceeding speed
limits may cause loss of con-
trol.
 Before starting out, check the
trailer lights, tires and the
vehicle-trailer connections.
Recheck after driving a short
distance.
 Practice turning, stopping and
reversing with the trailer
attached in an area away
from traffic until you become
accustomed to the feel of the
vehicle-trailer combination.
 Reversing with a trailer
attached is difficult and
NOTICE
■Do not directly splice trailer
lights
Do not directly splice trailer lights.
Directly splicing trailer lights may
damage your vehicle’s electrical
system and cause a malfunction.
Trailer towing tips

1944-1. Before driving
requires practice. Grip the
bottom of the steering wheel
and move your hand to the
left to move the trailer to the
left. Move your hand to the
right to move the trailer to
right. (This is generally oppo-
site to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp
or prolonged turning. Have
someone guide you when
reversing to reduce the risk of
an accident.
 As stopping distance is
increased when towing a
trailer, vehicle-to vehicle dis-
tance should be increased.
For each 10 mph (16 km/h) of
speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you
may skid, resulting in the
trailer jackknifing and a loss of
vehicle control. This is espe-
cially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden
acceleration.
 Avoid jerky steering and
sharp turns, and slow down
before making turn.
 Note that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be
closer than the vehicle wheels
to the inside of the turn. Com-
pensate by making a wider
than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a turn, in cross winds, on wet or
slippery surfaces, etc.
Increasing vehicle speed can
destabilize the trailer.
 Take care when passing other
vehicles. Passing requires
considerable distance. After
passing a vehicle, do not for-
get the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty
of room before changing
lanes.
 To maintain engine braking
efficiency and charging sys-
tem performance when using
engine braking, do not put the
transmission in D. If in the M
mode, the transmission shift
range position must be in 6 or
lower. ( P.201)
 Instability happens more fre-
quently when descending
steep or long downhill grades.
Before descending, slow
down and downshift. Do not
make sudden downshifts
while descending steep or
long downhill grades.
 Avoid holding the brake pedal
down too long or applying the
brakes too frequently. This
could cause the brakes to
overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency.
 Due to the added load of the
trailer, your vehicle’s engine
may overheat on hot days (at
temperatures over 85°F
[30°C]) when driving up a long

1954-1. Before driving
4
Driving
or steep grade. If the engine
coolant temperature gauge
indicates overheating, imme-
diately turn off the air condi-
tioning (if in use), pull your
vehicle off the road and stop
in a safe spot. (P.469)
 Always place wheel blocks
under both the vehicle’s and
the trailer’s wheels when
parking. Put the transmission
in P and apply the parking
brake. Avoid parking on a
slope, but if unavoidable, do
so only after performing the
following:
1 Apply the brakes and keep
them applied.
2 Have someone place wheel
blocks under both the vehi-
cle’s and trailer’s wheels.
3 When the wheel blocks are in
place, release the brakes
slowly until the blocks absorb
the load.
4 Shift into P and apply the
parking brake.
5 Turn off the engine.
 When restarting after parking
on a slope:
1 With the transmission in P,
start the engine. Be sure to
keep the brake pedal
depressed.
2 Shift into a forward gear. If
reversing, shift into R. 3
If the parking brake is in man-
ual mode, release the park-
ing brake. ( P.205)
4 Release the brake pedal, and
slowly pull or back away from
the wheel blocks. Stop and
apply the brakes.
5 Have someone retrieve the
blocks.

2144-3. Operating the lights and wipers
from around a curve
• When the vehicle is cut in front of by another vehicle
• When vehicles ahead cannot be detected due to repeated curves,
road dividers or roadside trees
• When vehicles ahead appear in a faraway lane on a wide road
• When the lights of vehicles ahead
are not on
●The high beams may be turned off
if a vehicle ahead that is using fog
lights without its headlights turned
on is detected.
●House lights, street lights, traffic
signals, and illumi nated billboards
or signs and other reflective
objects may cause the high
beams to change to the low
beams, or the low beams to
remain on.
●The following factors may affect
the amount of time taken for the
high beams to turn on or off:
• The brightness of the headlights, fog lights, and ta il lights of vehi-
cles ahead
• The movement and direction of vehicles ahead
• When a vehicle ahead only has
operational lights on one side
• When a vehicle ahead is a two-wheeled vehicle
• The condition of the road (gradi-
ent, curve, condi tion of the road
surface, etc.)
• The number of passengers and amount of luggage in the vehicle
●The high beams may turn on or off
unexpectedly.
●Bicycles or similar vehicles may
not be detected.
●In the following situations the sys-
tem may not be abl e to correctly
detect the surrounding brightness
level. This may cause the low
beams to remain on or the high
beams to flash or dazzle pedestri-
ans or vehicles ahead. In such a
case, it is necess ary to manually
switch between the high and low
beams. • When driving in inclement weather
(heavy rain, snow, fog, sand-
storms, etc.)
• When the windshi eld is obscured
by fog, mist, ice, dirt, etc.
• When the windshield is cracked or
damaged
• When the camera sensor is deformed or dirty
• When the temperature of the cam- era sensor is extremely high
• When the surrounding brightness
level is equal to that of headlights,
tail lights or fog lights
• When headlights or tail lights of
vehicles ahead are turned off,
dirty, changing color, or not aimed
properly
• When the vehicle is hit by water,
snow, dust, etc. from a preceding
vehicle
• When driving through an area of intermittently changing brightness
and darkness
• When frequently and repeatedly driving ascending/descending
roads, or roads with rough, bumpy
or uneven surfaces (such as
stone-paved roads, gravel roads,
etc.)
• When frequently and repeatedly taking curves or driving on a wind-
ing road
• When there is a h ighly reflective
object ahead of the vehicle, such
as a sign or mirror
• When the back of a preceding vehicle is highly reflective, such as
a container on a truck
• When the vehicle’s headlights are damaged or dirty, or are not aimed
properly
• When the vehicle is listing or titling due to a flat tire, a trailer being
towed, etc.
• When the headlights are changed between the high beams and low
beams repeatedly in an abnormal
manner
• When the driver believes that the high beams may be flashing or
dazzling pedestrians or other driv-
ers

2374-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
• When part of a detectable object is hidden by an object, such as
large baggage, an umbrella, or
guardrail
• When there are many things which can reflect the radio waves
of the radar in the vicinity (tunnels,
truss bridges, gravel roads, snow
covered road that have tracks,
etc.)
• When there is an effect on the radio waves to the radar that is
installed on another vehicle
• When multiple detectable objects are close together
• If the sun or other light is shining directly on a detectable object
• When a detectable object is a
shade of white and looks
extremely bright
• When a detectable object appears
to be nearly the same color or
brightness as its surroundings
• If a detectable object cuts or sud-
denly emerges in front of your
vehicle
• When the front of your vehicle is
hit by water, snow, dust, etc.
• When a very bright light ahead, such as the sun or the headlights
of oncoming traffic, shines directly
into the front camera
• When approaching the side or
front of a vehicle ahead
• If a vehicle ahead is a motorcycle
• If a vehicle ahead is narrow, such as a personal mobility vehicle
• If a preceding vehicle has a small rear end, such as an unloaded
truck
• If a preceding vehicle has a low rear end, such as a low bed trailer
• If a vehicle ahead has extremely high ground clearance • If a vehicle ahead is carrying a
load which protrudes past its rear
bumper
• If a vehicle ahead is irregularly shaped, such as a tractor or side
car
• If a vehicle ahead is a child sized bicycle, a bicycle that is carrying a
large load, a bicycle ridden by
more than one person, or a
uniquely shaped bicycle (bicycle
with a child seat, tandem bicycle,
etc.)
• If a pedestrian/or the riding height of a bicyclist ahead is shorter than
approximately 3.2 ft. (1 m) or taller
than approximate ly 6.5 ft. (2 m)
• If a pedestrian/bic yclist is wearing
oversized clothing (a rain coat,
long skirt, etc.), making their sil-
houette obscure
• If a pedestrian is bending forward or squatting or bicyclist is bending
forward
• If a pedestrian/bicyclist is moving fast
• If a pedestrian is pushing a
stroller, wheelchair, bicycle or
other vehicle
• When driving in inclement weather
such as heavy rain, fog, snow or a
sandstorm
• When driving through steam or
smoke
• When the surrounding area is dim, such as at dawn or dusk, or while
at night or in a tunnel, making a
detectable object appear to be
nearly the same co lor as its sur-
roundings
• When driving in a place where the surrounding brightness changes
suddenly, such as at the entrance
or exit of a tunnel
• After the engine has started the

2404-5. Using the driving support systems
WARNING
■Before using LTA system
●Do not rely solely upon the LTA
system. The LTA system does
not automatically drive the vehi-
cle or reduce the amount of
attention that must be paid to
the area in front of the vehicle.
The driver must always assume
full responsibility for driving
safely by paying careful atten-
tion to the surrounding condi-
tions and operating the steering
wheel to correct the path of the
vehicle. Also, the driver must
take adequate breaks when
fatigued, such as from driving
for a long period of time.
●Failure to perform appropriate
driving operations and pay care-
ful attention may lead to an
accident, resulting in death or
serious injury.
■Situations unsuitable for LTA
system
In the following situations, use the
LTA switch to turn the system off.
Failure to do so may lead to an
accident, resulting in death or
serious injury.
●Vehicle is driven on a road sur-
face which is slippery due to
rainy weather, fallen snow,
freezing, etc.
●Vehicle is driven on a snow-cov-
ered road.
●White (yellow) lines are difficult
to see due to rain, snow, fog,
dust, etc.
●Vehicle is driven in a temporary
lane or restricted lane due to
construction work.
●Vehicle is driven in a construc-
tion zone.
●A spare tire, tire chains, etc. are
equipped.
●When the tires have been
excessively worn, or when the
tire inflation p ressure is low.
●When your vehicle is towing a
trailer or during emergency tow-
ing.
■Preventing LTA system mal-
functions and operations per-
formed by mistake
●Do not modify the headlights or
place stickers, etc. on the sur-
face of the lights.
●Do not modify the suspension
etc. If the suspension etc. needs
to be replaced, contact your
Toyota dealer.
●Do not install or place anything
on the hood or grille. Also, do
not install a gr ille guard (bull
bars, kangaroo bar, etc.).
●If your windshield needs
repairs, contact your Toyota
dealer.
■Conditions in which functions
may not operate properly
In the following situations, the
functions may not operate prop-
erly and the vehicle may depart
from its lane. Drive safely by
always paying careful attention to
your surroundings and operate
the steering wheel to correct the
path of the vehicle without relying
solely on the functions.

2514-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
WARNING
●Assisting the driver to measure
following distance
The dynamic radar cruise control
with full-speed range is only
intended to help the driver in
determining the following distance
between the driver’s own vehicle
and a designated vehicle traveling
ahead. It is not a mechanism that
allows careless or inattentive driv-
ing, and it is not a system that can
assist the driver in low-visibility
conditions.
It is still necessary for driver to
pay close attention to the vehi-
cle’s surroundings.
●Assisting the driver to judge
proper following distance
The dynamic radar cruise control
with full-speed range determines
whether the follo wing distance
between the driver’s own vehicle
and a designated vehicle traveling
ahead is within a set range. It is
not capable of making any other
type of judgement. Therefore, it is
absolutely necessary for the
driver to remain vigilant and to
determine whether or not there is
a possibility of danger in any
given situation.
●Assisting the driver to operate
the vehicle
The dynamic radar cruise control
with full-speed range does not
include function s which will pre-
vent or avoid collisions with vehi-
cles ahead of your vehicle.
Therefore, if there is ever any
possibility of da nger, the driver
must take immediate and direct
control of the vehicle and act
appropriately in order to ensure
the safety of all involved.
■Situations unsuitable for
dynamic radar cruise control
with full-speed range
Do not use dynamic radar cruise
control with full-speed range in
any of the following situations.
Doing so may result in inappropri-
ate speed control and could
cause an accident resulting in
death or serious injury.
●Roads where there are pedes-
trians, cyclists, etc.
●In heavy traffic
●On roads with sharp bends
●On winding roads
●On slippery roads, such as
those covered with rain, ice or
snow
●On steep downhills, or where
there are sudden changes
between sharp up and down
gradients
Vehicle speed may exceed the
set speed when d riving down a
steep hill.
●At entrances to freeways and
highways
●When weather conditions are
bad enough that they may pre-
vent the sensors from detecting
correctly (fog, snow, sand-
storm, heavy rain, etc.)
●When there is rain, snow, etc.
on the front surface of the radar
or front camera
●In traffic conditions that require
frequent repeated acceleration
and deceleration
●When your vehicle is towing a
trailer or during emergency tow-
ing
●When an approach warning
buzzer is heard often