Automatic Transmission Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 2

Transmission seems to shift at random times. At a stop it will not engage immediately and the Highlander will coast to speed, at other times I touch the accelerator and the car launch off like a race car. When coasting it seems to shift at random times and some times speed up when I want to slow down by hitting brakes. This seems to risk a collision.

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2006 Toyota Highlander 4wd. The transmission is a 5 speed and it continuously downshifts even on throttle when uphill and on flat road highways the vehicle is continuously gear hunting. When I need it to move with full throttle it seems even to shift into high gear and always get a feeling I may get rear ended. If the throttle is pushed further the vehicle bucks into high gear making it very uncomfortable and unpredictable as to the response to higher throttle.

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After only 64,000 miles, the transmission on my 2003 Toyota Highlander started skipping. When I accelerated, the car would jump/skip. This could have easily caused a wreck.

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I bought this car 6 months ago and have the following problem. There is a unpredictable 2-3 second hesitation on acceleration when entering traffic stream from a parking lot or attempting to pass another vehicle when I am driving relatively slow and want to accelerate. When I have to scoot it stumbles before picking up speed so I am not scooting as well as I should be to keep from interfering with other oncoming traffic. It acts as if the ignition has been turned off for an instant causing me to lurch forward momentarily as the car decelerates before the engine catches and lunges forward in acceleration. This hesitation throws off my balance and timing causing a sensation of stalling in traffic and becoming a safety concern for me and is a problem. Today I took it to the Toyota dealer and explained the problem as the vehicle is still under warranty. The service invoice states: "customer states there is a hesitation upon acceleration as if the vehicle cuts off and then it lunges ?????????" they said there is nothing wrong as this is an inherent Toyota design feature because it has electronic throttle and they could have saved me a trip to see them if I had called and told them the problem. The service invoice states: "test drove vehicle, performed diagnostic test. No defect of parts or craftsmanship of this vehicle. " they said I have just a few thousand miles on the car and the computer is learning my driving habits and may settle down after a while. I have owned many cars over the years and think I am aware of when a car tends to hesitate on acceleration. I asked them what they will tell me when I come back in a few weeks and tell them I still have the same problem and they said they will tell me the same thing. If what they say is true then all Toyotas should be immediately recalled as a safety hazard. What are my options?.

I cannot believe Toyota is finally being held to task. In 2007 I sent you a complaint about transmission hesitation problems in the Toyota Highlander. It was so severe, my wife refused to drive it, fearing a collision on highway entry as the car held back and then lurched forward. Despite hundreds of complaints on the internet under transmission hesitation for Toyota, Toyota refused to admit there was a problem and still does! with other problems now coming to light, I hope you will re-look at this issue before someone is killed because of it, since that seems to be the only thing that generates these investigations as are now going on. Please look into this. A simple internet search will show you hundreds of complaints and they are all exactly the same- not likely if the problem isn't real.

I purchased a Toyota Highlander sport 4 months ago. I bought the v6 engine. I became concerned about a hesitation problem where the car holds back when starting from a stop and then lurches. This is dangerous at stop lights and entering freeways. The Toyota dealer says the car does this on purpose but they don't know why. This sounds like an excise for a flaw in the design. . Read more...

I own a 2005 Toyota Highlander v6. I'm experiencing a pause or hesitation shifting into low at very low speeds (2 to 4 mph). The hesitation causes the vehicle to lunge because the gas peddle is depressed before the low gear engages. I feel it is an unsafe design because in slow traffic or near pedestrians I need to keep my left foot on the brake to prevent the car from lunging. Toyota has informed me that the vehicle is "operating as designed".

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Transmission shift hesitation on acceleration at lower speeds. Just enough lag time to scare me a few times that I wouldn't make it across traffic.

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2007 Toyota Highlander - uncontrolled transmission surges cause vehicle to move forward unexpectedly. Transmission always shifting down to 5th gear at very slow speeds, pushing car forward unexpectedly when not desired. Taking foot off gas pedal, car maintains speed (like on cruise control). Car will drive and maintain speeds without gas pedal input. Driver must fight to slow vehicle down. Slowing down, coming to a stop sign, car still always wants to shift down into 5th gear, pushing car forward faster just before full stop, risking rear end collision with another vehicle. Fighting with car to slow down. Toyota dealer says car is working as designed.

Erratic shifting of transmission,hesitation,searching for gears . Transmission does not idle down when coming to a stop, causing hard braking when it should not be necessary. Toyota replaced the transmission at 9,500 miles, it is having some issues just not as severe as the old transmission.

I noticed hesitation in gear shifting and some lunging when my foot was off the brake after I purchased a new 2006 Highlander in July 2006 and made a mental note to have it checked at the first follow-up service. In October 2006, I was pulling out of a post office parking lot while aware of 2 cars at a safe distance away. When in the intersection, 1 of the 2 cars was traveling much faster than anticipated. When I accelerated quickly, the car just seemed to choke, and the car collided into my rear side (driver's side). I and the other driver had only minor injuries, but the collision was very frightening and it could have been much worse. I also felt that something more serious was wrong with my car than I had thought. After I got my car back from the body repair shop (7 weeks later), I took it into to the dealer and asked them to check the problem. I was told all of the Highlanders have that hesitation if the gas pedal is pressed hard. I was told to press down only gradually. Since then, I continue to notice the problem with my car. It makes me feel very unsafe and am not sure how to resolve the issue other than to sell the car. I am worried however that others may be at risk because of this feature with the transmission.

Toyota fly by wire transmission hesitation problem. Specifically a 2006 Highlander- hesitation from stop or slow speed. Complaint across all models and several years. The approximate incident date means nothing lt is and continues to be a problem since the "fly or drive by wire" system originated. Dealer states this is the way it is supposed to operate. - an accident waiting to happen or have they already happened? what will it take to initiate a fix. This problem seems to be related to the five speed automatic transmission. The internet is full of this type of complaint.

Long hesitation when trying to accelerate from a stop or low speeds.

Summary: 2005 Toyota Highlander has signification hesitation when accelerating. 1. ) events leading to failure: failure is constant since it is present during normal operation of vehicle; 2. Failure and its consequences: if I accelerate (step on the gas pedal), the vehicle hesitates/lags/dies for a few seconds before vehicle will begin moving. The consequences of this failure is that there is constant danger when making a left turn during gaps in oncoming traffic. Although a margin of safety is always used, I am afraid that one day, something may happen to reduce this margin, e. G. Oncoming car is accelerating very quickly or the hesitation worsens from a few seconds to several seconds; 3. ) what was done to correct the failure: nothing. Contacted two Toyota dealers, don davis Toyota and freeman Toyota, and was told by john and tim, service dept advisors, that this is normal for Toyotas since adopting fly-by or drive-by wire. Both authorized Toyota service department employees say that Toyota is aware of this complaint but that there is nothing to be done; this is normal operating procedure and falls within their design parameters. No parts will be repaired or replaced. This seems to be a dangerous design flaw by Toyota. While they acknowledge the existence of the problem, they do not feel they need to resolve and offer no solution.

2006-Toyota Highlander-3. 3v-6 with 5-speed automatic transmission erratic shifting and hesitation at slow speed when letting off accelerator and then reapplying transmission. Vehicle stays in between gears and hesitates. Once it gets into gear the vehicle lunges forward, making it necessary to apply the brakes hard. This is particularly dangerous in stop and go traffic. I get nervous when trying to merge into highway traffic because I don't know how the accelerator will respond at any given moment. It is an accident waiting to happen. I notified Toyota and they told me to work through the dealer. I notified the dealer and they are going to take a look at it. After reading the many posts on the internet about the same problem, it seems Toyota and the dealer service departments are telling customers that the vehicle was designed to act this way. The dealerships that try to reprogram the chip that controls acceleration are not having any luck fixing the problem. The problem returns sometimes worse than it was before. At present there is no recall and no TSB. The 'fix' seems to be based on experimentation not fact. I will give the dealer a chance but I have been down this road before. Since there is no fix and Toyota is not willing to admit to defect, I fear I will be facing many visits to the dealer getting a lot of lip service without any action. I am surprised that Toyota, the beacon of quality, is ignoring this potentially serious safety problem. Lets not wait for the accident to spurn a recall or investigation. How about car companies get proactive for a change.

Let me start by saying I am a die-hard Toyota owner, my current vehicle being the 3rd Toyota we own. I own a 2004 Toyota Highlander, v6, 5 speed automatic with awd. This vehicle has a very serious hesitation problem which is dangerous. Upon acceleration from a stop or at speed, there is a very serious lag in throttle response. Many times leaving a stop or accelerating from a slow speed I. E. Parking lot driving, the vehicle will lag with no response, then lurch & accelerate suddenly. Merging into traffic, safe passing, starts at lights and safe driving in parking lots and around pedestrians can be hazardous. Thousands of owners across the nation are affected by this defect. From my recent research it apparently is not restricted to the Highlander, but affects many Toyota vehicles with "drive by wire" as opposed to mechanical transmission & throttle linkage. I took the vehicle back to the dealer right after my purchase in November of 2004 and was told they could find nothing wrong, now recent research tells me they were well aware of the problem at that time. I love Toyota but there methods of dealing with problems like this is deceptive at best and just short of criminal at worst. Please "google" Toyota Highlander hesitation problem and also visit tundrasolutions. Com for more evidence of what I am talking about. Toyota has not devoted enough resources to this problem or a permanent fix would have already been developed. Please contact Toyota and urge them to take care of this matter with all the thousands of owners across the u. S. That are having to deal with this matter. I will be following this matter with keen interest to see if anything is being done and am advising aaa of the issues as well as my state and federal representatives. Toyota commands a premium price for what are otherwise exceptional vehicles and their customers and the nations drivers deserve a better more responsible response from Toyota.

Unexplained vehicle acceleration with inability to stop before hitting vehicle in front of me. Pulled off of road behind truck to park. Lifted foot from gas pedal to put on brake so as to put vehicle into park. There was then an extreme vehicle acceleration which was uncontrollable with brake. Slammed into truck. Toyota corp claims no errors logged in computer system, and that if foot would have been on brake pedal, the filament would have broken. I can't be certain the braking happened before the accident-it was very fast. I am certain foot was on brake and not on gas!! there has been a previous denial of a petition to investigate numerous instances of this identical situation with other Toyota's-(NHTSA action # dp05002). Nhtsa please investigate this!! there are too many complaints of this happening-do something before there are deaths! is Toyota immune from safety recalls? I'm sorry you couldn't find evidence of a defect, but there is something seriously wrong. Severe hesitation, sudden acceleration=possible deaths. I've received my repaired vehicle, and when I went to trade it in, I was offered thousands less than trade in is supposed to be! if Toyota really believes there's nothing wrong with their car, what's the problem? again they're not being held accountable!.

Automatic transmission on my 2006 Toyota Highlander w/ 3. 4 liter engine has hesitation when shifting down to 2nd or 1st gear, e. G. , stepping on the gas from a complete stop to turn against on-coming traffic. There is a disconcerting moment of hesitation before the transmission seems to engage. Dealer told me it is normal due to the fly-by-wire technology. I don't believe it and I am concerned about it's safety. I am also worried that I waited this long to bring it up because the car has 35,550 miles on it and the warranty is about to run out. I have heard this from other Highlander owners too.

2006-Toyota Highlander-3. 3v-6 with 5-speed auto-erratic shifting and hesitation at slow speed when letting off accelerator and then reapplying transmission is in between gears and hesitates then slams into gear and takes off,generally a lot faster than you wanted to. Also under acceleration it sometimes acts like it don't know what gear it wants to be in. From complaints of other customers and after talking to tech. This is a common complaint with this engine and trans. Package since 2004 and still no fix. I was told Toyota programmed it this way cause they got the best mpg, heck with the driver having complete control and feeling confident that when you push the accelerator it's going to go.

Toyota hilander limited. I have a hesitation when I accelerate. I have had it back to Toyota at least 3 times concerning this problem. They tell me that's the way it's supposed to be. It's dangerous if you are trying to get on an interstate and don't have the acceleration you need.

Multiple times, I have tried to accelerate the vehicle and there has been "hesitation" when I depressed the gas pedal--the car seemed to be in neutral, there was no response. This has happened many times at different speeds/gears--it is not predictable. I have almost been rear ended once; in that instance the car actually "bucked" and stopped. I had to turn off the engine, restart, and drive a short distance to a safe place to stop. At other times, I have been on a relatively empty street and it has not been as much of a problem since no one was behind me. However, this is an accident waiting to happen as I have a long commute to work (and bought this car because of what I thought was its safety and reliability). On my first visit to the dealer, Toyota made a fix according to a technical bulletin. On the second visit, they did nothing because they could not replicate the problem--even though they were told that the problem happens intermittently. On this second visit, they merely test drove the vehicle and we were told we could rent a loaner vehicle from them at their cost because there was no problem with the vehicle.

I have a 2004 Toyota Highlander with a 3. 3l v6 automatic transmission. Within the first week of driving the vehicle that was purchased new from the manufacturer, I noticed that the transmission seemed to hesitate when accelerating at low speeds. The problem persisted and I took the vehicle in for service. The dealer said they could not reproduce the problem or find anything wrong. Now the car has almost 20,000 miles on it, I've taken the car back to the dealer a few times as the hesitation has gotten worse and they continue to tell me there is nothing wrong with the car. I rarely drive the car now since I have come very close to having a major accidents numerous times. In each case, I will try and merge onto a freeway. Going up the ramp (or down) and accelerating to get up to speed, the transmission will delay for 2-3 seconds. I then push the gas pedal down a bit more and the rpm's will shoot up, the car will jerk, and speed ahead. If I don't apply the extra gas, it leaves me in a situation where I might be hit from behind by other cars. When the car jerks ahead, I've come close to slamming into cars ahead of me. I've done some research on the web and have found numerous other Toyota owners with this same exact problem. I hope no one has been killed or injured from this defect that Toyota is unwilling to address, and that the NHTSA will investigate this before anyone is killed or injured.

: the contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the transmission momentarily hesitates before properly selecting the correct gear to engage. The vehicle was taken to the dealership several times for inspection. The dealership mechanic reset the software three times, but this did not correct the problem. Diagnostic testing were performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and sent a representative to inspect the vehicle. The representative drove the vehicle and experienced the hesitation and explained, this is a flaw in the design and the vehicle is free-wheeling. The representative would contact the engineers and try to solve the problem. Updated 03/17/06.

Car is a 2005 Toyota Highlander ltd. V-6 4wd with 5-sp auto. Engine hesitates severely when asked to accelerate hard at speeds seemingly between 15 and 70 mph. (these are speeds I've noticed it) when you "floor" the throttle to quicky merge with traffic or turn across a line of oncoming traffic, there is a rather long delay before vehicle begins to accelerate. This behavior also occurs exactly the same way in my wife's 2004 Lexus RX-330, which has the same powertrain. I complained to Lexus shortly after the purchase (bought new) and they said they found nothing wrong. I've been on several Toyota Highlander newsgroups and this problem is being widely reported. I have had several "close calls" because of this delayed acceleration. In the time that the car decides to downshift and accelerate, traffic has closed in on you enough that several accidents have been narrowly avoided. I have not reported this to Toyota as yet, but feel that they will say the same as Lexus did.

Recurring issue: while traveling at both highway and city street speeds, the driver attempted to pass by fully depressing the accelerator and the vehicle failed to accelerate for approximately 1-2 seconds. This has resulted in near-miss accident/injury incidents. The dealer was contacted and stated this was a routine complaint for this vehicle and the Lexus RX-330. The manufacturer, Toyota corporate, was contacted and the individual stated this was not a known issue. No mediation was provided from either contact. This issue seems to be related to existing odi id numbers: 10113278, 10114325, 10115243, 10120592, 10128880, 10129705, 10131894, 10132578, 10137651, 10145021.

2004 Toyota Highlander limited developed a hesitation after around 10,000 miles. The hesitation is followed by a head-jerking surge. This situation is very hazardous when attempting to make a right or left-hand turn, or fast acceleration merge, in high traffic situations. I am very concerned about my 15-yr-old twins who are learning to drive in this vehicle. I don't understand why this issue has not been addressed by the NHTSA considering the very large number of complaints about this issue, here and on the web. Are you waiting for a death? my dealer says there is nothing they can do.

I have made numerous complaints about the functioning of the transmission in my 2005 Toyota Highlander. It began one month after I purchased the new car. The problems have progressively grown worse and are more frequent. The dealership indicates that the hesitation and jerking of the transmission is normal and a result of the electronic controlling of the transmission. Even after the dealership updated the software, the transmission continues to have problems. The dealership nor Toyota have not offered any solutions.

Automatic transmission hesitation - when needing to accelerate quickly (as when entering a freeway) after slowing down or coasting, the transmission has downshifted to a too-low gear or neutral. The engine speeds up to approximately 5000 rpm without increasing the car speed. Letting up on the gas and accelerating more easily allows the vehicle speed to increase. So far, this hesitation has not caused me to be rear-ended. The dealer says this operation is "normal. ".

On our 2005 Toyota Highlander with a 4 cylinder engine, and electronic transmission. On several occasions, when taking off from a stop, letting off on the accelerator, and immediately pushing the accelerator rather hard to attempt to merge into traffic, the vehicle's engine increases rpm's, but no power goes to the wheels. It is as if the transmission computer cannot determine what gear to shift into. You have to let off the accelerator, and let the rpm's come back down, and then the vehicle finally determines what gear to shift into, and you can then press down on the accelerator to regain forward momentum. When you are trying to merge into traffic, you need to know that when you step on the accelerator, the car is going to shift into the proper gear, and move forward accordingly. Very dangerous situation in my opinion. Toyota dealership said there is nothing wrong with the transmission. This loss of transmission acceleration has happened on numerous occasions, not just once.

Engine hesitation when accelerating from low speeds; transmission shifts hard at low speeds causing the vehicle to hesitate and then surge when accelerating.

2004 Toyota Highlander automatic transmission had experienced a dangerous hesitation while trying to downshift.

1-merging into traffic on interstate, and making a turn and merging inot traffic 2-engine hesitation for a few seconds, then vehicle responds with surge in speed. Cars coming behind me had to brake/change lanes to keep from hitting me. 3-I didn't try to have the problem fixed, because I undrstand that Toyota is saying this is normal, and not a porblem.

2005 Toyota Highlander. Issues with automatic transmission shifting properly. Shift lags severely when gas pedal is engaged causing vehicle to lag behind and not catch up to the proper speed. Vehicles behind it are in a position to severely impact the rear bumper because vehicle is not moving. Have had car to dealer and they claim there's nothing they can do. Have asked them to check service bulletins and see about resetting the computer which Toyota claims is the problem. Resetting the computer doesn't work.

I own a 2004 Highlander limited, v6, 5-speed automatic. When decelerating and then accelerating, there is a 1 to 2 second hesitation before the car moves again. This happens every time. This inaction by the vehicle is a safety hazard, especially when merging onto a fast-moving freeway. Note: this hesitation does not occur if you come to a complete stop. I did a web search to see if anyone else experienced the same problem, and I found a lot of complaints (you need to add "web search" to your "source" list below). So it's not just my vehicle. This design fault is evident on all Toyotas with the 3. 3 liter, 5-speed automatic. Evidently the Lexus es330 and rx330 have the same problem. I also have a friend with a 2004 sienna that has the same problem. When I took my car into the Toyota dealership to complain, they said it was the electronically-controlled transmission, and that "it was designed that way. " I asked about reprogramming the flash memory of the controller involved and they said there was no updated software, there was nothing they could do. So, I guess it's up to you to get Toyota to do something. I see here on your site, that there have been a lot of other similar complaints. This is a repeatable, measurable system fault. Just take a Toyota Highlander with a v6 out for a drive. Then slow down a bit, then accelerate as you would normally. The car will hesitate. Every time. Now do this while you're merging onto a fast-moving freeway. When it hesitates, you'll do an "OH,?!@#$%" and accelerate harder, at which point the transmission will hesitate slightly again, then shift down. The engine will rev up and you'll roar out onto the freeway like an idiot. Please. Do something about this before someone gets hurt, if it hasn't happened already.

Hesitation when accelerating. Complaint filed with dealer on 8/10/05. I was advised that this is normal. This is a constant condition and not safe.