Other Fuel System Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 2

The car absolutely reeks of gas after driving for a while on warm days. You can visibly see the fumes around the filler neck. It has been the the dealer multiple times and they say they can't find anything. It seeps into the car causing headaches and dizziness. I personally know of 2 2023 Highlanders and 1 2024 Highlander that have this issue. I am extremely worried this will cause a fire and/or explosion at some point.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

As I was returning to my house and about to pull into our garage I was driving very slowly, riding the brake in fact. I was going less than 1 mph but as I first entered the garage my car engine suddenly roared very loudly and sped inside. I pressed as hard as I could on the brakes and the car skidded towards the left and slammed into the garage wall. I firmly believe that the only thing that kept my car from traveling farther was the garage door frame. Between my braking and then turning off the engine, I came to a stop. There were skid marks on the pavement at the garage entrance from the hard braking and both the driver's door and the passenger door on that side were severely damaged. The car was now angled to the left and not pointed straight into the garage as it should have been. At no time did I press on the accelerator.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The fuel pump system is malfunctioning. This vehicle needs to be part of the current recall on 2018 Highlanders with fuel pump issues. This is putting me and my family at risk, as well as others. The code is coming back to the fuel pump. The check engine light is currently on.

On hot days the evap system does not function properly. You can visibly see gas fumes spewing from the filler neck area. The smell of gas inside and outside of the vehicle is horrible. It has caused headaches, nausea and dizziness to the passengers inside of the vehicle. It is extremely unsafe and Toyota doesn't know how to fix it. They are aware of the problem but refuse to remedy it. I personally know of 3 other Highlanders doing the same thing. Not only is it a personal safety concern, it's also an environmental issue. This problem is with 2023 and newer Highlanders and grand Highlanders.

My vehicle is stalling when driving and other Toyota Highlanders of same model and year were/are having the same issue and have been recalled for the fuel pump. Having my vehicle stall when driving in the busy highways of texas are very dangerous especially when some speed limits go up to 80mph. The problem has been reproduced and witnessed by a mechanic. The Toyota dealership stated that my VIN is not included in the recall so they could not fix it. There was no warning before the first time my vehicle stalled while driving in the highway. Unsure of how dealerships only stick to just the specific vins that are effected when other vins of the same model and year are having the same issue but are not willing to fix the issue.

Acceleration issues, engine lag, poor response time and bucking when accelerated is pressed. Dangerous to drive not enough power to merge with traffic and hesitates to go at stop lights. Bought as a family SUV and don’t feel safe with them in the car. Rpms jump when at idle. The car struggles to shift gears especially 2nd gear. Does not preform well under normal circumstances not sure how this car would ever be able to tow anything. I feel very mislead by Toyota and its reputation as this vehicle vehicle is lacking safety and performance. Reached out to Toyota about problems and have not received a remedy for the situation. A special campaign was issued but has not helped the problem. Very disappointed with this purchase as I paid over 50k for the vehicle brand new and don’t feel safe in the car as it bucks on acceleration and lacks the power to flow with traffic. This SUV will cause negative impacts if safety measures aren’t started quickly.

Driving along interstate 20 west in alabama to mississippi, the Highlander completely shut off - the dash & radio were blank. The steering wheel locked up. Luckily there was no vehicles behind or beside us when this happened. Within seconds, the truck came back on. 15 minutes prior, we were sitting in a parking lot to eat lunch & while in idle, the truck shuddered a few times, like the gas pedal was pressed.

When 87 octane fuel is put into the vehicle, the 2023 Highlander is sluggish to start and make jump at times as well. After reading other complaints online, the current fix was putting 93 octane in the vehicle to remedy the issue. Putting 93 octane fuel in the vehicle does help although the vehicle jumps around rpm's when going from eco mode to normal. All of these issues pose a risk to the car jumping from a start to cause a rear-end accident. I've complained to the dealer and they've stated everything is normal. Folks online stated their dealerships said Toyota was working on a fix.

When the engine is running after hours a gasoline smell and vapor exit the tank by the cap.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

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).

See all problems of the 2013 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I just bought this car and I noticed when the car is sitting and idling it has a strong smell of raw gas in the passenger compartment. I took it to the fire department and they smelled it as soon as they opened the door. They also said this is not safe and I shouldn't be smelling a strong odor of gas in the passenger compartment.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

While depressing the brake pedal the vehicle continues to accelerate before finally slowing to a stop. This happens on bumpy road surfaces as well as level road surfaces. There were no warning lights, alarms or messages prior to or during the failure. This issue started around 35,000 mileage and has progressively gotten worse to current day. (current mileage as of 1/29/2024 is 54,346. ) this issue would cause the vehicle to potentially rear end a vehicle you are following or propel the vehicle into an intersection typically controlled by a traffic signal or device. Local dealer has said there is nothing wrong as they could not replicate the issue.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Driving on 495 n beltway car started stalling and then suddenly stopped accelerating/decelerating while engine was running. Almost was rear ended by fast moving traffic. Carefully glided to the shoulder and called tow tuck incident on 12/18/2023.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Lost power 3 times - each time making a left hand turn at low speed -Nov. 23 2023 -- Dec. 20 2023 & Jan, 30 2024 groove Toyota checked vehicle out on Dec. 21 2023 couldn't find problem - took it to groove Toyota again on Jan. 31 2024 - told to make another appointment to allow full day of testing - safety concern for family and other traffic - no warning prior to loss of power.

This is the second incident with this vehicle in the past 4 months. When going to start my vehicle, it would not start. It gave me this error message: braking power low, stop in a safe place, see owners manual. There is nothing about this in the owners manual. The first time I thought it was battery related and after 3 different chargers on my vehicle, it finally started. Tonight I proceeded to push the button without the foot pedal and the radio came on, so it is definitely not the battery. I've tried several times to start and to no avail. Problem has not been reproduced as I cannot drive my vehicle at this time. No inspection as of yet. No warnings or symptoms prior to failure. Research shows it may have to do with a fuel pump pressure issue. I have paperwork on this issue under a customer support program 23te01. Hoping this can become a recall and I can get this fixed .

Engine intermittently has no power on take off and causes an unsafe condition to turning into traffic where car will just not go until after flooring it and a 3-5 second delay!! engine also looses power and bucks or misses while accelerating through gears. This has caused multiple near miss incidents when turning into or across traffic. Also have issues with the steering assist that it yanks the wheel intermittantly. This cause me to loose control on the wet interstate in a turn when it yanked the wheel to the right while banking left at 65mph. I panicked and pulled the wheel back which cause a skid. The system has been turned off since. Toyota is not doing anything to repair anything and keep giving me the car back saying its fine.

Experience "dead zones" in accelerator pedal movement. Experience "no acceleration" with first 1-2 inches of travel from idle position. This is constant and does not vary noticibly with speed. I was driving in an suburban shopping area in york PA with three lanes of travel in each direction. I intended to move from the laft hand lane to the center lane. I indicated my intentions and waited for an opening. I was travelling about 35-40mph. When an opening came along, I steered into the indended lane, but depressing the accelerator to increase my speed, no acceleration occurred. I then panicked and depressed the pedal quicker, and the ensuing acceleration nearly catapaulted me into the semi truck in the center lane ahead of me. I missed the truck by inches. I have had this issue evaluated at bennett Toyota in lebanon PA, and the lancaster Toyota, the dealer who sold me the vehicle in may of 2023, is aware of the issue. Bennett Toyota service department tried to fix the issue by replacing the brake switch. That did not alleviate the problem. I have had several other instances when pulling into traffic when the delayed acceleration caused me issues but no accidents. I believe this issue is related to the selectable "snow" driving function. I think the system is somehow stuck in the "snow" mode at all times. I may have substantiated this today when I experimented with the "snow" function while driving at about 45 mph. When I select the "snow" mode while driving, the accelerator "dead zone" actually gets worse. Bennett Toyota service response is "it drives like any other Highlander". If that is so - this is truly a huge issue with "drive by wire" tachnology. . . !!! as a note, at bennett Toyota I did drive a 2019 Highlander privately owned by the service manager and it did indeed have the dead zone in the acelerator - a fact that the service manager admitted to me verbally. I have read many instances of this issue in chats online.

Vehicle does not fill above 14 gallons of gas. It says 10 miles until empty, but when you fill it and try to force as much gas in as it will take, it only fills to 14 gallons not the capacity of 17. 8 that is advertised.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Car won’t start after getting gas. Check engine like comes off and on. Rough stopping and getting up to speed. When issue with getting to speed on highway put us in dangers way. Not being able to start vehicle multiple times for long period concerning and frightening for family.

Vehicle is sluggish and will not accelerate from a dead stop for several seconds. The gas pedal often has to be pushed much farther down than usual so then when the vehicle actually starts moving it lurches. It often seem like it can't find the proper gear so it will buck and stutter while driving. The shifting is not smooth at all and you never know how the vehicle will respond making for a very unpredictable driving experience. This all started shortly after reaching the 2000 mile mark. The cruise control has issues reaching and maintaining the speed that is set. I found the Toyota service bulletin, t-sb-0087-23 and have made an appointment with my local dealer to hopefully fix the issue.

Car started to not start after getting fuel. Come to find out the purge valve was remaining stuck open. Dealer told me that this was concerning as it was allowing vapor to gather in my engine. Vehicle was confirmed by two different Toyota dealerships to have faulty purge valve. The purge valve would cause all the warning lights to come on in the Highlander, telling you your awd system was bad to other warning lights. In doing research this seems to be a problem in various years of Toyota Highlanders. Concerning that something related to controlling fuel vapor could be this common and leading to a build up that could cause something more serious to happen.

2023 Toyota Highlander xle with 2. 4 turbo hesitates for an unacceptable period of time when accelerating from a stop. This could pose a huge safety risk when merging into traffic from a stop sign. The lag / hesitation is present on all eco / normal / sport drive modes. The issue has been occurring since the vehicle was purchased at 70 miles and currently has about 5200 miles. Toyota needs to look into this issue and address it as soon as possible.

I've had the car for 6 months. After a few months we noticed a "bucking" during acceleration and a "hesitation" when pressing the accelerator. Under medium to hard acceleration the car will exhibit these traits almost consistantly and now after 3500 miles it has become so noticeable that it is dangerous! the hesitation is "off the line" from a dead stop. There is at least a couple second delay sometimes when leaving a stop. And then as the car climbs in rpm's you can feel the engine struggling almost like a car with bad spark plug wires. It tends to "spit and buck" as it is accelerating. We have tried different fuels, fuel cleaners, different octanes, and nothing seems to curb the problem. We took the car to our local dealer and they confirm the problem but have stated that there is nothing they can do as it appears to be a software issue with the car. I have requested from Toyota using their "brand engagement center" to provide an engineer to evaluate the car and so far have not heard back from them in almost a week.

There is a significant hesitation / stuttering when the gas pedal is pressed (I. E. The vehicle doesn't move properly when the gas pedal is pressed). This is especially dangerous when pulling out into traffic, making turns, etc. This appears to be a known problem with this model and Toyota is working on a TSB (supposedly). Doing a google search for this problem shows that a number of consumers are having a similar issue. . Read more...

I was driving to work when my car didn't want to accelerate and then stalled. I had it towed to Toyota dealership in battle creek mi. They called me today and said my low pressure fuel pump needed to be replaced. I checked online and saw Toyota had done a recall in 2020 for this part on the 2017-2019 Highlander and I have the 2017 Highlander. When I had the VIN # checked it does not show my car as one to be recalled. My question is why not? when it shows this is a part that people are having problems with . I thankfully was not pulling out in traffic when it went out!.

Upon acceleration, car hesitates then surges. Started after approximately 2000 miles. Occurs most frequently from a dead start. However, continues upon acceleration up to 50 mph. Took to Toyota dealer, but they were unable to diagnose. Others report similar problems on Toyota nation form. Concerned about pulling out into traffic safely.

Vehicle check engine turned on to check awd system after about 2 days when filling with gas the engine wouldn't start and had low brake power message on dashboard. Checked code and got p0171 and p0174 which mean engine's air/fuel mixture becomes too lean for the engine control module (ecm) to correct within its normal operating range there are many posts and threads about same issue on Highlanders as old as 2017 please look into this issue that could potentially cause a hazard. Will take vehicle in for inspection 06/13/23 at Toyota of naperville.

The breaking system doesn’t take effect in speed and turn and when you leave the acceleration and the speed increase and loose control . Also the electrical system is damage not with seven month of brand new Highlander hybrid . The rear cross traffic control and blind spot warning are coming . These is a serious electrical problem under 11,000 miles brand new vechile.

Car refused to start. Multiple cranking that had to be stopped by turning car off. Car was not receiving fuel. Waited one day and tried again. Car started on third time but ran very rough, with smoke and odor until it evened out. Drove with initial engine hesitation episodes to dealer. Asked for fuel pump replacement under customer support program but dealer refuses because they cannot duplicate the problem. I am afraid to drive this car because I feel it’s unsafe. I am afraid the car will stall while driving causing an accident. I transport by grandchildren daily so a safe car is imperative. Called Toyota twice to resolve this but if the dealer doesn’t experience the same issue they will not replace my fuel pump even though this is a known issue. My car is not on the recall list yet. Looking back I have had hesitation issues upon acceleration for years. I feel the pump is to blame and should be replaced.

Vehicle unpredictably hesitates during light to moderate acceleration in all driving modes (sport, normal, and eco). This is especially dangerous when crossing in front of oncoming traffic from a stop or slow speed. Had a certified mechanic drive the car and verify the problem, but the car's systems don't report that there is a problem, so he had no answers.

When 87 fuel is put into the vehicle, the 2023 Highlander is jerky/has hesitation, rpms jump around. Trying to slow down to a yield then go again it jerks and almost feels like engine is cutting out. Seems worse when car is being driven on warm day with a/c on or under a “load”. Very dangerous in intersections. Current fix is to put 93 octane in the vehicle to remedy the issue. Putting 93 octane fuel in the vehicle does help. All of these issues pose a risk to the car jumping from a start to cause a rear-end accident. I've complained to the dealer and they've stated everything is normal when they test drive and no codes are showing even explaining a TSB was issued they refuse to fix. Started at 500 miles on odometer, still happening at over 13,000 miles.

My fuel pump has started going out causing my engine to slightly knock and my fuel gauge and range to read improperly.

I went out into my garage 3:30 in the morning and heard a motor running very faintly tried tracking down the noise finally located under the car at the rear. It was the fuel pump running. I went in. Got my key started the vehicle let it run about a half a minute shut it off. The noise was gone. I’m worried about this pump running for hours or possibly days then catching the car on fire the garage and the house I know there have been issues. With fuel pumps in these Toyotas, but I haven’t found this particular problem online. Possibly there may be a problem with the fuel pump relay?.

Within 6 months of purchasing this car used at a Toyota dealership, the check engine, exclamation light, and "go to dealership/check awd" lights came on. I took it to the dealership who told me it would cost $250 just to check the lights. I took it to a car parts store who said "it's throwing a bunch of old codes". The dealership also suggested during oil change about $800 worth of work needing to be done and said my warranty I purchased would not cover it so I left. I had the fuel system flush done somewhere else. The lights went off for about a week and then came back on. About a month later. . . . While driving down the highway at a speed of approximately 60 mph, the rpm's and speedometer went haywire - jiggling and then decreased (and a weird sound like the car revving) even though foot was on gas, the car rapidly lost power and had to pull over on side of highway at night - this is of course very unsafe. Had to pull over and turn off car. Would not start right away but did after a few minutes. Took to mechanic - they could not find anything wrong. Could not reproduce. A few days later, after getting gas, car would not start. Had to wait an hour and then it did. Took back to mechanic, discovered water on spark plugs so had spark plugs replaced. Four days later, all the warning lights back on and car running roughly (like maybe lightly missing?). Component or system failure cause still unknown and yes it is available for inspection. Very frustrated and frankly a bit terrified to drive this very expensive vehicle.

The hybrid inverter failed on the car instantly stopping the car without any sort of warning what so ever. Car did not have a limp mode or any way to get the car off to the side of the road. It stopped in the traffic lane and had to be pushed out of harm's way. A search shows like it's becoming a common problem, $12,000. 00 to fix it is another problem.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander 🔎.