One problem related to vehicle shudder has been reported for the 2005 Toyota Highlander. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Toyota Highlander based on all problems reported for the 2005 Highlander.
My 2005 Toyota Highlander has chronic transmission problems. When accelerating, the engine revs but the transmission hesitates noticeably before going into gear. Sometimes the hesitation lasts so long that it interferes with my ability to merge onto the freeway and those are very scary situations. Sometimes the transmission cannot decide what gear to be in and when it does engage the whole car bucks or shudders. Everyone who drives my car experiences the same problem. Even the passengers notice. The Toyota dealer claims that there is no problem with the vehicle and that the problem is my driving and that I have not adjusted to the car's "drive by wire" system. One mechanic did admit that there were issues with the transmission's computer for this model year. Other than that, Toyota insists that there is no problem and that I have to learn how to drive the car.