NHTSA Complaint #11700421 — 2021 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

To whom it may concern I hope I've chosen the proper avenue for my problem. I purchased and new 2021 Toyota Highlander. I chose Toyota for it reputation of high standards of dependability. However I took the vehicle in at 20,611 miles (9/22/2021) into the dealership for multiple transmission issues. When passing it would kick down into a lower gear and race the motor. There was also chunky shifting and a small whining noise. (service Ref #XXX). The service manager only wrote down the first symptom. Upon doing a computer diagnostic without driving the vehicle the service manager told me to just drive it more that it probably needed more breaking in. The downshifting and chunky shifting did go away for the most part, but the whining persistently got worse. Finally at 115,000 miles it got much worse and I took it back to the dealership. They informed me that the transmission needed replaced at over $9,000. I reached out to Toyota upon finding out there was a in company TSB alert for this very symptom (Case #XXX). Toyota informed me there was nothing they were willing to do since it was out of warranty even though I reported the problem with no resolution when it was in warranty. My wife and I are in our [XXX] and don't have cash like that. we don't feel we should be responsible for the repair, especially when the issue was report properly before the warranty expired. How can you help? Thank you for your attention. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)