general problems of the 2013 Toyota Highlander

A persistent smell of fuel occurred while in slow moving traffic and after vehicle was parked after use. Upon close inspection, the fuel injector fuel rail end cap exhibited a slow fuel leak. This component caused a recall for year model Highlanders for 2014 production year describing the same type of component failure. The component has faulty end cap weldment that fails, causing the same failure mode being observed in my Highlander. This is a fire hazard! fuel rails should not be failing like this. A replacement fuel rail assembly has been order from salinas Toyota. The original component can be made available for inspection/testing. I will also take a video of the leak and provide file upon request.

I purchased the car in 2020 with 73k miles on it. It has sporadically had incidents of unintended acceleration. I happens when I slow for a stop sign, red light, or crosswalk. My foot is on the brake when this occurs, the engine then goes into high gear and no amount of pressure on the brake will stop it. I put the car in park and turn the key off. There are no warning lights. It has happened more frequently in 2024. On [xxx], I tried to come to a stop at a crosswalk in Plymouth MA. The ua occurred, putting the folks in the crosswalk and myself in danger. The next day I contacted the dealer and Toyota. The upshot - they said the car is fine, it must be my mats or shoes or something that is not their fault. I've been driving Toyotas for 40 years, I've never had a mat or shoe problem. There is something faulty with the acceleration/braking system. The last occurrence was [xxx] in plympton MA. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My car will stall with no warning. I have taken my car multiple times to the dealership and the problem has not been able to be repaired. There have been other years of Toyota recalled for this exact same problem however, mine has not been. This is a serious safety concern!.

At 37,500 miles while moving the check engine an tractor off warning light came on. The dealer charged $125. 00 to replace the gas cap. If this is a systemic problem with Toyota I believe it should be recalled. Thank you.

Upon entering into car after it had been parked I smelled gasoline. Wife said she had just filled up before coming home and perhaps spilled some. I got out of vehicle and checked and saw small puddle of gasoline where car had been parked. Moved car away from house and raised hood to vent engine compartment. I removed front skid plate/panel to find leak and allow further air circulation. I power cycled key and saw fuel leak again. After further investigation found were main fuel line was misting onto engine and surrounding parts. Leaks were coming from middle portion of hose and not at connections. Next day I had my car towed to the dealer. They suspected rodent damage. Upon inspection there was no evidence of "chewing" or other type of external damage. A replacement line was ordered and installed. I was charged for the repairs. I have kept the original fuel line for further investigation. Dealer had no explanation of the cause of the failure. I feel blessed that we did stop when we did otherwise it would of resulted in an gasoline fed engine fire because of the gas spraying onto the exhaust and other hot engine parts in a confined area.

Vehicle hesitates when accelerating, usually when making a turn from a stop or moving slowly. It is especially hazardous when trying to make a left turn in front of oncoming traffic. Has happened multiple times, not just the date below. The dealer can not duplicate the problem. We bought the car in early 2014 new, and noticed this problem before 5,000 miles. The car now has 22,000 miles and it still does this intermittently.

Upon acceleration the vehicle hesitates for 3-5 seconds, it has happened numerous times. Went to the dealer and they say nothing wrong. Very dangerous pulling into a highway.

From stop (at traffic light, merging, etc), press on gas pedal for acceleration and vehicle does not go, hesitates, then does accelerate. This has happened multiple times, intermittently, and has been reported to titus will Toyota dealership. Since they have not duplicated it, problem continues intermittently. Never know when this will occur. It is very disconcerting and dangerous. This vehicle has a lot of "computer" glitches with gps mapping, bluetooth, auto lights, etc. Maybe related?.

As I was pulling into a parking space (maybe 5 miles per hour) and put my foot on the brake to stop, my 2013 Toyota Highlander lunged forward so hard that it went over the concrete spacer, a grass median, the curb and into the street beyond the parking lot. I was able to brake and stop the acceleration, but it was so sudden, fast and unexpected that I scraped the passenger side on the vehicle next to me. A by-stander commented "I don't know what happened! all of a sudden your car just raced away!" I have driven for over 45 years without an accident. I have been a loyal Toyota customer, buying one for my son and daughter as well as this vehicle and I thought whatever problems Toyota had were taken care of but now I am afraid to drive my vehicle.

I purchased the 2013 Highlander new from a dealer in vienna, va in July 2013. The auto started a string of engine hesitancy to accelerate problems at around 5,000 miles which was reported to the dealer at the 5,000 mile check-up and again at the 7,500 mile checkup. The service department could not duplicate the problem and gave the engine a clean bill of health. We moved to mn in may 2014 and the hesitancy of the car to move (accelerate) from a stopped position for several seconds after engaging the gas petal continues and is increasing in frequency. The car has been taken in to the local Toyota dealer on three occasions with the same answer that there is no problem with the car. I have been in two near accidents while pulling out in traffic on to a high speed divided highway and consider this a very serious safety issue. It happens randomly, (three times this past week), but a pattern has developed - most incidents occur while idling at intersections for some time waiting for traffic to clear, traffic lights, etc, and then making a left hand turn onto the roadway. The car has exhibited this behavior only a couple times while making a right hand turn from a idling start. The sensation is that the engine stalled and no matter what is done with the gas petal nothing happens for anywhere up to 4-5 seconds. With traffic moving at 60 miles an hour and one is attempting to merge into traffic, a five second delay brings the on-coming traffic almost 450 feet closer to one before the car starts to move requiring more distance in traffic gaps to overcome a potential stall in the roadway. I have come across another local owner with the same problem and note at least 15 other complaints on the web of almost the exact circumstances. What does it take for Toyota to recognize this as a safety issue?.

I purchased a new 2013 Toyota Highlander limited in November 2013. A few days later, upon accelerating from a stop into a left turn, the engine cut off for a few seconds while entering traffic. This happened a couple more times before the first checkup, at which time I informed the service technician, problem was noted on service sheet, but when service was completed, they said they could find no problem. The hesitation continued, quite randomly, and seemed to happen in left turn, accelerating situations. At next service and checkup (different dealer) I told them about the problem and it was written up again with same result, no problem could be found. This has been reported to dealer at least three times, no results, no action taken, no problem found. I consider this a dangerous situation, especially when merging into traffic. Based on information I have seen, it appears that Toyota should address this problem ASAP.

Every time I switch from brake to gas pedal quickly, the car looses power as if to stall. Then it regains power and accelerates. It also happens if I am on the highway and touch the brake pedal before attempting to pass and then I can't get power to pass for a couple seconds. Very scary and dangerous I think. The dealer explained to me that Toyota had made a change to make the computer in charge of deciding if one could accelerate or not rather than a direct link from the gas pedal to the carburetor. The condition is unnerving and I believe potentially dangerous as I have almost been in accidents when I try to accelerate and the car won't respond until it is ready to allow it.

Occasional throttle no response when trying to accelerate moderately from a stop, or from a very low speed (I. E. -coasting around a 90 degree turn with the engine at idle speed. ) I then push heavily on the accelerator pedal, and it revs up, downshifts, and races ahead. It is dangerous, in traffic. I have brought it to the dealer twice, and they cannot reproduce the problem. Two so called factory reps rode around with me the second time, with a computer connected. Diagnostics shows no error codes.