41 problems related to automatic transmission have been reported for the 2004 Toyota Highlander. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Toyota Highlander based on all problems reported for the 2004 Highlander.
Hesitation upon acceleration. Happens each time air conditioner is on. . . Not just an isolated case.
2004 Toyota Highlander hesitates on acceleration making driving in traffic extremely hazardous. It is impossible to merge into traffic and adds more risk to being rear ended. Toyota acknowledges the problem but has no fix. After several attempts to have it repaired I was told there isn't a way to repair it, yet the dealer refuses to refund the cost of a 4 month old car with 5000 miles on it.
The vehicle has a dangerous hesitation on low speed acceleration. When slowly rolling forward, and then accelerating, such as to pull out from a side street, the vehicle will often hesitate for 1 second or more. This sometimes results in almost getting into a side impact crash, as the vehicle will not pull across the lane out of the way of on coming traffic.
Bought a new '04 Toyota Highlander may 3. Within a few weeks driving it became dangerous because of hesitation upon acceleration. It is unsafe to drive in heavy/fast traffic. The dealership said they could find no problem until I insisted repeatedly. Then they 'found the problem' but there is no fix. This is dangerous because it will eventually cause someone to be killed. Why isn't Toyota responsible for fixing this problem on a $30,000 vehicle??.
I have a 2004 Toyota Highlander, v6, fwd. The transmission seems to downshift somewhat unexpectedly, but worse, when I need to accelerate quickly such as merging in to traffic on and interstate highway, there is a hesitation or lag before the vehicle starts to accelerate. This problem started when we purchased the vehicle in April and happens on a continuing basis.
The automatic transmission electronics get confused at street speeds, not allowing me to accelerate, especially when making a left across traffic. I have been nearly t-boned on numerous occasions. I talked to the Toyota dealership about a year ago, and the technician said that he was aware of the problem and expects Toyota to come up with a software update to fix the problem. Recently, I left a message with the same technician asking what progress has been made, and I received no reply. It is extremely scary to find this 'dead spot' in acceleration. This is our fourth Toyota, and might be the last if Toyota does not address this accident waiting to happen.