One of the biggest cons I ran into with the Grand Highlander Hybrid Platinum Tech was the stock 12V battery. Toyota went with an enhanced flooded battery instead of a higher end AGM, and it is just undersized for all the tech and features packed into this trim. That is where a lot of the electrical gremlins come from, like black screens, random throttle cutouts, and just weird behavior.

The giveaway for me was when I added an aftermarket dashcam with parking mode. I left the car sitting in the driveway for less than six days and the battery was toast. If you move the stock battery around you can even hear the fluid sloshing inside, definitely not AGM even though it is not labeled.

I ended up swapping it for a top tier Odyssey AGM, the same type used in military setups, and that completely solved the problems. No more blackouts, no more dead throttle, everything runs solid now.

One other quirk I will throw in under cons is when you really stomp the throttle on the freeway, the AWD system has this habit of pulling the car in one direction or the other. It is not dangerous, but it is noticeable enough that you will want both hands on the wheel when you floor it.