Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Toyota Highlander - part 1

The screen is going out. The back tailgate hangs up and doesn’t go down.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I have noticed speed issues or high idling with this vehicle for a while. I committed a rear end collision with a vehicle on July 4, 2025, at approximately 2pm. My car rear ended his truck while it was stopped behind another vehicle. My vehicle sustained total damage to the front end. I was ticketed for not reducing speed to prevent a accident. The only warning light was that it need maintenance, which comes on prior to an oil change. My safety was put at risk because the car is idled too fast for the type of driving I do, which is small town and rural road driving. Due to the speed of this vehicle during normal driving, it's difficult to stop quickly to avoid an accident. If it was rainy and slippery, the situation could have been much worse.

See all problems of the 2015 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I had just driven up a steep driveway and made a slightly sharper than 90 degree turn at a very low speed to pull into a home parking spot when the car lunged forward suddenly and slammed into the stone wall of the house at a high speed. The section of this driveway after the turn is only 2. 5 car lengths, but the car picked up enough speed to smash the front of the car in. The car was totaled and driver and side curtain airbags all deployed. I do not know why this happened as there is no way I would have hit the gas hard while pulling up to a building to stop. I also would not have slammed on the gas thinking it was the brake since there would have been no reason to slam on the brake when I was only going 5-10 miles per hour max around the tight turn. My shoe was not caught on a pedal, both sandals were still on my feet after the accident. I am not a two footed driver. I feel that it was an accelerator malfunction, as the gas pedal had always been a little strange with a delayed response, but may have also involved the transmission after driving up the steep hill and then returning to a short but flat stretch leading up to the house. I was very bruised up, particularly my shins and ankles. Two months later, I still have some visible bruising. I also had injuries from the seat belt on my chest and what appeared to be a powder burn from the airbags. I was quite traumatized by the sudden acceleration and violence of the crash and not understanding how or why it happened. If someone had been standing in front of the house to greet me on my return, they would have been killed. The car was towed away and totaled by the insurance company, so the problem hasn't been reproduced or confirmed. There were no warning lamps or messages that I'm aware of prior to the incident, except that the gas pedal has always felt inconsistent concerning when it engages. My phone self-dialed 911 and law enforcement came out to do an accident report.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

When I attempt to accelerate from a stop, or slowly rolling, there is a 2-3 second delay, sometimes longer, prior to the vehicle moving forward. During the delay, when accelerator is pressed, the engine does not rev, nothing happens at all. It's scary. The Highlander has less than 9k miles on it. This has been happening more and more frequently. I have contacted Toyota, they have yet to provide a response or solution for this safety issue.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

My vehicle about a year ago started to display the dash lights for the vsc, abs, and emergency brake however there was no indication from the feel of the brakes as they were applied, or any indication that something was wrong with the vehicle. I had my brakes replaced on my rear tires, and for a time the lights went off. In April of 2025, the lights came back on however this time there was a distinct feeling that the brakes weren't working. I had the calipers, pads, rotors, and a tube replaced, however the lights are still on, and the vehicle now violently shakes after reaching speeds of 45 mph (mirroring the complaints from the following site: [xxx] ). Toyota has refused to acknowledge this and put consumers out thousands of dollars. This is clearly something Toyota needs to honor. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

On [xxx] my vehicle suffered an unintended acceleration on a very busy highway of the dominican republic, reaching a speed of 100 mph. I was able to drive the car into the bushes of the highway service road hitting all king of obstacles such as trees, wall, advertising signs and safety barriers. The car damages resulted in a total loss. My life and my family life were in extremely dangerous situation. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Engine check light coming on constantly cylinder 3 misfire reported under diagnostics of advance autoparts 500 rte 291, lee's summit, mo 64063 another workshop said no misfire however now it says engine misfire 1, 3, 5, 6 4 cylinders misfiring as per diagnostic on 02/15/2025.

Driving to take my son to work. Check engine light came on said check and system. Hard shifting put in manual drive and made it to destination.

My wife was pulling into a driveway slowly approximately 5 mph when she went to stop the Toyota Highlander sped up to full speed and smash the tree while my wife was depressing the brake. All airbags were deployed and it looks like they are going to total the Toyota Highlander that has all the maintenance records very lucky to not have somebody seriously injured.

See all problems of the 2020 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The vehicle has erratic acceleration. It will either be extremely slow and jerky or it will jump forward with great speed and force. This is dangerous and may cause an accident. You have no control when it comes to acceleration whether you are leaving a stop light or trying to avoid an accident.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that there was an abnormal winding noise detected while accelerating. The failure increased over time. While her husband was driving at approximately 60 mph attempting to accelerate, the vehicle lost motive power. While shifting to park, there was an abnormally loud, high-pitched winding sound detected. The vehicle was slow to shift from first to second gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined the cv joint needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a transmission center, where the transmission was rebuilt and then it was replaced. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

From a stop or slow roll (0-10 mph), significant hesitation is experienced after pushing the gas. The engine will not respond for a few moments and then all of a sudden it will take off in a jerking manner. Note that this is experienced when the engine auto start/stop is deactivated, so it is not from the delay of the engine starting when activated. This hesitation causes a near miss safety situation in many normal driving activities, but the highest risk is when turning left in front of oncoming traffic. I brought the vehicle to a Toyota dealership for the condition, noting Toyota's service bulletin t-sb-0087-23 for this exact issue, but after 3 days and 40 miles of the dealership driving it, they stated that they cannot reproduce the issue. There are no warning signs or lamps, and this issue has been occurring since the vehicle had about 1,000 miles, and the vehicle now has 20,000 miles on it.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and was sluggish while responding. There was an abnormal humming noise detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the transmission was replaced, but the failure recurred. While driving 71 mph and merging into traffic while accelerating, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact was able to veer to the shoulder. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. There were no fault codes retrieved. The mechanic at the dealer reported that during the test drive, there was hesitation while downshifting. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

Hesitation/non-linear acceleration from a stop. Reprogramming the ecm completely resolved the issue. This needs to be sent out to affected vehicles but I had to investigate and pretty much demand a resolution. I fear what this could later do to our engines, etc.

I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage. As I was pulling in, the car unintentionally had a rapid acceleration event and crashed into a cement pillar causing the car to be a total loss.

While accelerating onto the freeway the vehicle suddenly loses power creating a serious safety issue. A check-engine light comes on but the safefy issue is that the vehicle goes into a power loss mode on the freeway. A truck nearly rear-ended me the first time it happened. Toyota service was unable to duplicate and so said national Toyota advised them to release the vehicle back to me. The same issue happened to my boyfriend and his son - total loss of power while accelerating onto the freeway. Then a mechanic recreated the issue 5 additional times (usually in the dawn hours when traffic was light due to safety concerns). Was unable to find the cause of the issue but a loss of power in a vehicle is as serious a concern as an unwanted acceleration. I am frustrated that Toyota is not taking this seriously.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

When coming to a stop the vehicle will often lurch forward. The lurch is powerful and could easily cause a collision. This problem occurs both when stopping in traffic and pulling into parking spaces. We were told by the dealer that the problem is caused by hybrid cars but we've had hybrid cars before that did not exhibit this behavior. It sounds like the dealership is aware of the problem but Toyota is not addressing it. This issue certainly poses a safety issue, especially for vehicles in front of the affected vehicle when attempting to stop.

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.

My relatives remembered the 2002-2011 recall of 80,000 Toyotas, 90 deaths due to unintended acceleration and said that seems exactly what happened to me last month. Near fatal collision due to sticky pedal 2018 Toyota Highlander 10/10 slowly backed out of parking space in large, empty commercial lot: sunny day, 3pm ? tapped pedal into drive ? car sped off at 50+mph with my foot off pedal ? sped around lot for approximately 3minutes ? holding brake down and down-shifting did nothing except cause sheer terror with my uncontrollable vehicle ? hit pole and vehicle came to a stop after near-complete destruction of passenger-side bumper ? no injury except sheer mental terror ? no witnesses do not blame the victim. Dealer says all-weather floormat could never have been or be involved.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

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.

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.

According to Toyota, the wire harness needs to be replaced due to damages caused by animals (rodents). My main concern is, this vehicle is not safe to drive. Because if a midsize animal could find its way inside the engine compartment and caused so much damages to a car I drive every day, what would happen if a snake or a rat shows up inside the cabin while driving at 65 or 70 mph. Secondly, what types of materials are used to make these wires and other components in the vehicle? why are these animals attracted to them in the first place? as much as the news was chocking to me because it was the first time that I have heard of that kind of stuff, when I went online in some Toyota owners forums, that issue is prevalent in Toyotas. Even the rep. From Toyota whom I spoke to earlier stated that her cousin who owns a Toyota had to deal with the same issue. Why nothing has been done to fix the problem?.

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.

The contact owns a 2022 Toyota highland. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,000.

My 2008 Toyota Highlander gas pedal must be lose. Because I barley push the gas and it takes on fast. I was driving home on the highway and the truck just died . The battery dies I couldn't turn my wheel I could not press the break.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Unwanted acceleration happen more the 5 to 6 times. While driving in highway exit ramp my vehicle lurched forward while I was trying to slowdown. Dealership had the vehicle for more than 2 days and unable to duplicate the issue. Currently Toyota dealership informed they don't any know issues or condition like this. I am not very confident in driving this vehicle due to this experience.

While driving at a constant speed of approximately 45 mph the vehicle suddenly skidded sideways and launched to the right, causing us to nearly hit a guardrail. I dropped speed to 30 mph and this continued to occur at random for the next 10 miles until destination was reached. Road conditions were patchy snow up to fully covered in snow. Other vehicles passed at 50+ mph with no issues. No warning lights/messages or traction control light turned on. Today the same issue occurred while driving 15mph that caused the vehicle to almost run into a parked car. This has occurred at random over the past two days. All instances occurred while driving at a constant speed, no brakes were being applied and while driving in a straight line. This isn’t the first time the vehicle has been driven in these road conditions but first time problem has occurred. This is a safety hazard for my wife and child due to the fact the driver looses control at random and vehicle veers off to the side. Putting them at risk of impacting objects near the road or veering into oncoming traffic, putting other drivers at risk. Car was brought to the Toyota dealer 11/14. They plugged it into their computer and no codes were active. No open recalls either. I went for a drive , was given 5 minutes of their time, with the shop manager and the problem didn’t present itself. They said there was nothing else they could do. There was a recall on the vsc, vehicle stability control, but that was fixed on this vehicle in July 2022. Vehicle acts like a sensor or module isn’t calibrated correctly and causes either/or braking and acceleration to be applied in a manor that will result in a crash. Vehicle is not safe to drive.

1. The engine was on while the 'hold' feature was enabled. I've used this feature numerous times before. This time, the 'hold' feature was on for about 5+ minutes, I heard 3 consecutive beeps out of nowhere followed by the engine restarting on it's own as if the push start button was pressed. At that time, the vehicle lunged forward causing me to brake, missing the vehicle in front of me. This happened while waiting at the school drop off lane. Vehicle also lags during acceleration and stalls especially when getting up to speed on the freeway/highway. 2. My children and I could have rear ended the vehicle in front of us which in turn, could have caused a chain reaction with thr vehicles all in front of us (at least 15+ vehicles before mine). We could have been seriously injured, families / staff walking in and out of the parking lot could have been hurt. Regarding the acceleration lag and stalling, we could potentially be at risk of getting hit waiting for the vehicle to pick up speed. 3. My vehicle is at the dealership currently, waiting to hear back from them as there are other numerous reoccurring issues with this vehicle which the dealership I purchased from failed to fix three times prior. 4. The issues have only been 'looked' by the dealership only. The initial dealership failed to have the regional engineer come onsite to investigate. I was told my issues were non concerning. 5. Regarding the vehicle lunging, in that instance, the only warning were the three consecutive beeps, no error lights or errors were observed. Regarding acceleration problems, there are no errors or sounds indicating problems thus far when the issue takes place. I have a list documenting the various issues I have experienced thus far with the first problem starting after owning the vehicle for about 3 months.

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that after slowing down to come to a stop, the vehicle would inadvertently surged forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure had since become more frequent. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage is 36,009.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 70 mph the check engine light illuminated. , informing him that the all-wheel-drive system and stability were disabled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they diagnosed the failure of the sub assemble and the water temperature sensor needed replacement. The contact stated that he was informed the onboard computer disable the system due to the weather. The dealer informed the contact that the parts were on national backorder. The dealer did a temporary repair by placing plastic on the grill to keep cold air out; however, the failure has occurred several times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that the parts were not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.

Varias veces mientras conduzco en la ruta la velocidad permitida, el carro frena, pierde potencia el motor, el sistema DE aceleración no responde, esas veces me salve DE accidentes mortales junto a mi familia, reclame a Toyota corporación indicar eso y para ellos no paso nada nunca tomaron en serio, mientras que el carro para reparar eso, paso más DE 25 días en las veces que se daño xq prácticamente el carro no ES seguro para manejar.

On December 29, 2021, while backing up my 2012 Toyota Highlander accelerated at speed that I was unable to control. One car that was packed in the driveway was damaged beyond repair. An office building where I was working was damaged and has been accessed with a loss of over $100,000. I contacted Toyota after knowing that there was a recall regarding unintended acceleration in some Toyota cars. Toyota sent an inspection team to geico insurance company which had taken over possession of the car. The inspection team and the Toyota representative assured me a final report would be sent to me within a month after the inspection had been completed but even up to this moment Toyota has not responded to my email requesting for the report. You can reach out to Toyota and reference file # 220105001224. For the six years I owned the car, I have never been informed of any recall. My car was regularly serviced by Toyota ourisman chantilly and ourisman Toyota fairfax.

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

My car would randomly shut off at red lights, one time I was on a hill & thought I was going to roll back into the car in front of me. After restarting it would turn on. The radio would randomly shut off. We eventually replaced the battery. On a fri. (Dec 17th) my car would not start, so my husband drove the kids & I to school, upon my return the car started. He told me the wheel locks & I need to move it. Then on mon. (Dec 20th) driving my daughter to preschool school…I have video from home camera showing your system will not let me attach a video) …my car stalling as I reversed out of the driveway. I loose all control, then you hear that I pulled the emergency break & stop just before two cars pass by. I then restart the car, it goes, I drive 3 houses down I pressed the break to make a left turn onto a side street, my car accelerated & smashed into a telephone pole on the drivers side. You can hear the crash on my home camera. The impact was so hard, it bent my a frame, my airbags did not deploy, my drivers side door would not open. I shifted the pole & cracked the frozen dirt ground around it as seen in the pics. I can provide a copy of the body work repairs. We paid our $1k deductible. The car jpeg image icon does is not show like the other pics attached, so I attached a screen shot as well. We have other pictures & video’s of damage to provide upon request.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I have a 2021 fwd Highlander hybrid, running in eco mode with just over 5k miles. I just had this problem happen this afternoon. Pulling into a parking spot at the grocery store. I was going pretty slow, almost stopped, and then the car engine revs and lurches forward. Thank goodness I had my foot on the brake, otherwise the car would of jumped the curb/parking block. Also, happened to me previously coming out of our neighborhood on to a busy street. I'm stopping at the stop sign, going pretty slow, and then all of a sudden the car engine revs and lurches forward. Quite frankly I consider this a huge safety concern. If my foot was not already on the brake the car would of moved forward into on coming traffic the car was just in for its 5k mile service at the Toyota dealership, and there are no warning lamps or messages displayed when the problem occurs.

I was involved in an accident that I believe was caused by sudden unintended acceleration (sua). In a very busy commercial parking lot, I was pulling into a parking space proceeding at a very slow speed, when there was a sudden surge in acceleration accompanied by a grinding/acceleration sound. I hit the brake to no effect, and the vehicle jumped the curb and hit a building shop and entered the shop. The air bags did not deploy, and I was shaken up but not injured. Thankfully, there was no one at the front desk area of the business. The car was not drivable and was towed to a body shop.