2009 Toyota Highlander Specs
3 powertrain configurations on federal record for the 2009 Toyota Highlander: 3.5L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline; 2.7L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline, in Front-Wheel Drive and 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive, rated up to 22 MPG combined by the EPA.
Source: EPA federal records (fueleconomy.gov) · Updated 2026-10-26 · By CarWhere Research
| Engine | Transmission | Drivetrain | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline | Automatic (S5) | Front-Wheel Drive | 18 | 24 | 20 |
| 3.5L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline | Automatic (S5) | 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive | 17 | 23 | 19 |
| 2.7L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline | Automatic (S6) | Front-Wheel Drive | 20 | 27 | 22 |
Highlander by year
Buying a used Highlander? Specs are the easy half.
Check which Highlander years to avoid (federal complaint and recall records), see the live Highlander value by year, then check the specific car: the Full VIN Report shows that VIN's factory build, recall record, and market history before you pay for it.
Frequently asked questions
What engines does the 2009 Toyota Highlander have?
2 engines on federal record: 3.5L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline; 2.7L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline, offered with Automatic (S5), Automatic (S6) and Front-Wheel Drive or 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive. The full per-configuration table is above.
What gas mileage does the 2009 Toyota Highlander get?
EPA combined ratings run 19–22 MPG depending on configuration — the table above shows city/highway/combined for each engine, transmission, and drivetrain.
Is 2009 a good year for the Toyota Highlander?
Specs don't answer that — the federal complaint and recall record does. See the Toyota Highlander year-by-year reliability verdicts at carwhere.com/research/years-to-avoid/toyota/highlander, built from NHTSA data.
How do I get the specs for my exact VIN?
These are the federal-record configurations for the 2009 Toyota Highlander overall. For one specific vehicle — its exact engine, trim, factory options, and original window sticker — decode the 17-character VIN free at carwhere.com/tools/vin-decoder.
Where does this data come from?
The U.S. EPA's public vehicle dataset (fueleconomy.gov) — the federal record of every US-market configuration since 1984 — refreshed 2026-10-26. Public-domain data; republish with attribution to CarWhere (carwhere.com).