Original google review of Toyota of Greenville
The following is the original google review for Toyota of Greenville regarding my experience with our Grand Highlander and what is called "cabin boom."
I have moved the original review here because I wanted to edit the review with updates but I exceeded the google review character limit.
Buyer beware if you are purchasing a Grand Highlander. We purchased a 2025 Grand Highlander XLE (gas) on May 3, which was a Saturday. Our salesperson was awesome. In fact, everyone at the dealership was great - very nice, courteous, answered our questions, weren't pushy, etc. We test drove the GH on some local roads. The size, seats, features, etc were all that we were looking for. This was the car.
We were mostly done with the sale and I had to leave early so I left my wife to drive the car home. When she arrived home, I asked her how it was. "Everything is great but there is a low, drumming noise that hurts my ears." I immediately took the car for a drive around the neighborhood and heard, and felt, the noise she was talking about. This isn't just cabin noise, or road noise, or a back window open. This feels like the base is turned up and you're literally inside a drum. It actually hurts your ears. This was unacceptable. We called our salesman within hours of purchase and explained the issue and that we couldn't keep this car. By now the dealership was closed but we were told to come back to see a manager first thing Monday morning, which we did. We explained the issue to the manager. I drove the car with the shop foreman and he immediately heard the issue. We told them we couldn't keep this car. The only thing they offered was to buy the car back, with depreciation of course. Mind you, it had only been 48 hours. We test drove two other GHs on the lot that same day and they both exhibited the same problem, although to different degrees. After doing my own research, I discovered that Grand Highlanders have a known issue that some call "cabin boom." Others describe it as "air buffeting." Toyota does not know the cause of the problem and they do not have a fix. But they have known about the problem since the 2024 model per users on Reddit that reported going to their dealer in 2024.
To Toyota of Greenville's credit, they said this was the first time they had heard of this problem. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and believe them. They were genuinely interested in this problem and the shop foreman contacted Toyota and opened a case. They even took the car for a day, took things apart, took measurements, and other things, and reported their findings up the chain. The foreman also test drove other GHs and reported they all exhibited the noise but that mine was worse. I do appreciate Toyota of Greenville taking the time to gather the research. But the fact remains that I was sold a car with a known engineering defect. They will tell you it's a "characteristic" of the GH, but don't be mistaken - it's a defect. No one would buy the car if they heard the noise we hear every single day now. It's been almost two months now and I had almost accepted my fate, until yesterday the cabin boom was so loud I couldn't even hold a conversation with my daughter in the car. That experience has renewed my drive to let other people know about this issue before they end up in the same situation.
For as nice as the people are at Toyota of Greenville, they could of rewound the deal if they wanted to. Knowing that not all GHs have this problem, they could have scoured the earth to find us a like model that doesn't have cabin boom. Instead, we're stuck with a car we don't like to drive. Maybe we'll hear something from Toyota one day, but let's be realistic.
Before you buy a Grand Highlander, google "toyota highlander cabin boom", and test drive the heck out of the car you plan to buy - specifically on neighborhood roads going less than 20 - 25 mph.
Buyer beware if you are purchasing a Grand Highlander. We purchased a 2025 Grand Highlander XLE (gas) on May 3, which was a Saturday. Our salesperson was awesome. In fact, everyone at the dealership was great - very nice, courteous, answered our questions, weren't pushy, etc. We test drove the GH on some local roads. The size, seats, features, etc were all that we were looking for. This was the car.
We were mostly done with the sale and I had to leave early so I left my wife to drive the car home. When she arrived home, I asked her how it was. "Everything is great but there is a low, drumming noise that hurts my ears." I immediately took the car for a drive around the neighborhood and heard, and felt, the noise she was talking about. This isn't just cabin noise, or road noise, or a back window open. This feels like the base is turned up and you're literally inside a drum. It actually hurts your ears. This was unacceptable. We called our salesman within hours of purchase and explained the issue and that we couldn't keep this car. By now the dealership was closed but we were told to come back to see a manager first thing Monday morning, which we did. We explained the issue to the manager. I drove the car with the shop foreman and he immediately heard the issue. We told them we couldn't keep this car. The only thing they offered was to buy the car back, with depreciation of course. Mind you, it had only been 48 hours. We test drove two other GHs on the lot that same day and they both exhibited the same problem, although to different degrees. After doing my own research, I discovered that Grand Highlanders have a known issue that some call "cabin boom." Others describe it as "air buffeting." Toyota does not know the cause of the problem and they do not have a fix. But they have known about the problem since the 2024 model per users on Reddit that reported going to their dealer in 2024.
To Toyota of Greenville's credit, they said this was the first time they had heard of this problem. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and believe them. They were genuinely interested in this problem and the shop foreman contacted Toyota and opened a case. They even took the car for a day, took things apart, took measurements, and other things, and reported their findings up the chain. The foreman also test drove other GHs and reported they all exhibited the noise but that mine was worse. I do appreciate Toyota of Greenville taking the time to gather the research. But the fact remains that I was sold a car with a known engineering defect. They will tell you it's a "characteristic" of the GH, but don't be mistaken - it's a defect. No one would buy the car if they heard the noise we hear every single day now. It's been almost two months now and I had almost accepted my fate, until yesterday the cabin boom was so loud I couldn't even hold a conversation with my daughter in the car. That experience has renewed my drive to let other people know about this issue before they end up in the same situation.
For as nice as the people are at Toyota of Greenville, they could of rewound the deal if they wanted to. Knowing that not all GHs have this problem, they could have scoured the earth to find us a like model that doesn't have cabin boom. Instead, we're stuck with a car we don't like to drive. Maybe we'll hear something from Toyota one day, but let's be realistic.
Before you buy a Grand Highlander, google "toyota highlander cabin boom", and test drive the heck out of the car you plan to buy - specifically on neighborhood roads going less than 20 - 25 mph.
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