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Toyota Highlander Transmission Problems

308 messages,  Last post on Apr 04, 2013 at 8:56 PM

You are in the Toyota Highlander Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Highlander, Transmission, SUV

Messages Page 27 of 32

#253 of 308 THANKYOU EDMUNDS Toyota Highlander hesitation addressed. by miyahira

Jun 09, 2010 (5:42 am)

This site is wonderful! This is what you call consumer advocacy and protection! Information is power and safety!
Got Toyota to address my hesitation problem because of the info i got here!
 
I have a 2008 Highlander. A few months after purchasing my vehicle, I noticed a hesitation in the car auto shifting in lower gears..very dangerous when trying to get onto the highway. Got worse as the year went by.
I took it into my dealer 5 times ( so that i could have a paper trail) in the last 2 years and got the same old story that there was nothing wrong. I knew they had no intention of addressing my problem till the recent fiasco Toyota car deaths has had to deal with. Toyota the company is responsible for this denial. (The dealership I bought my car from has wonderful staff and tries hard to accommodate.)
 
I read what could be done here, took it into my dealer, told them what i read and that i would NOT take no for an answer on fixing this--re program the computer!!!!
 Last week the mechanic took me for a test drive with his laptop and reprogrammed the cars computer and my Highlander drives like new! Funny thing...He knew about this problem all along!
THANK YOU to all of you GREAT PEOPLE out there that share info!!!!!
 
Jessie on Maui

#254 of 308 Re: THANKYOU EDMUNDS Toyota Highlander hesitation addressed. [miyahira] by wwest

Jun 15, 2010 (9:57 am)

Replying to: miyahira (Jun 09, 2010 5:42 am)
Be careful Jessie...
 
The reflash, firmware upgrade, only makes the re-acceleration downshift delay less likely to occur, it does not by any means eliminate it entirely.
 
The new firmware simply "watches" your actions on/with the accelerator pedal. If you release the pedal quickly the system will assume your intent is to use engine compression braking to more rapidly slow the vehicle and reamin in the lower gear you were just using for acceleration. Lift the pedal slow/easy and it will upshift just as it did previously.
 
So the danger from the re-acceleration downshift delay still lies there "quietly" waiting to cause you grief at a time when YOU do not foresee the need for a quick return to acceleration.

#255 of 308 Transmission Leak by deestoyota

Jun 30, 2010 (9:21 am)

I just had my seal replaced this past Saturday, June 26 on my 2005 Highlander with less than 63,000 miles on it. What made me do a double take was the lady right in front of me with a 2004 Highlander had the exact same repair. I was Lucky (?) in that I had purchased the extended Toyota Warranty when I bought the vehicle and I only was required to pay $50.00 of the $1175.00 cost. I am not surprised to see how many of these vehicles are having this problem and it seems that Toyota s/b recalling all of these $25k -$30k + vehicles to correct an obvious problem in the original product.
What I am afraid of, is this going to happen again in another 60,000 miles?

#256 of 308 Re: Transmission Leak [deestoyota] by minnesnowta1

Jun 30, 2010 (4:03 pm)

Replying to: deestoyota (Jun 30, 2010 9:21 am)
Your not alone when it come to vehicle seal issues. And it's not just Toyota. We traded in a 2003 HONDA Pilot EXL with 83k when we bought our 09 Highlander. The problem we had with our Honda happened at 69k. The front steering rack decided to start leaking at the seal that connects the tie rods. Honda did not make this a replaceable seal. It's pressed into the rack sleeve. So, guess what, we had to fork out over $1500 for a brand new rack with installation. I think the rack itself was about $800 or so. Really made me mad that a $20 seal was not replaceable. The repair also called for new inner tie rods that were also shot. We also experienced a leak in one of the radiator block lines. Bad seal again. Another few hundred. Oh, and we also had the struts replaced with the rack. (Leaking). Total bill for all the above was almost 3k. This is a reputable dealer who always show me the problem before any work is done. I called Honda corporate on the rack issue and they offered nothing. We take great care of our cars and live in the suburbs. No off roading or towing. Just normal driving.

#257 of 308 Re: THANKYOU EDMUNDS Toyota Highlander hesitation addressed. [wwest] by miyahira

Jul 01, 2010 (11:52 am)

Replying to: wwest (Jun 15, 2010 9:57 am)
WWEST...Thank you for the warning! I really appreciate all the information. I haven't been on this site since posting the probable fix...
 
TRUE to your prediction....my vehicle is going back to Hesitation again!!
 
In fact, it now noticeably jumps ahead as it shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear!!!!
This is dangerous trying to get on to the highway!!!!!!!! I just put a call into my Toyota dealer.
I'd appreciate any advice.
On top of that my steering column started making a " ga-runging " noise every time I turned about 3 months ago. When i took it in to have them look at it, Toyota ordered parts to fix it and will do so free.
This is horrible! I have a like brand new 2 year old Highlander that started having hesitation problems from the day i drove it off the lot and now steering column defect problems.
I am so sad. I have been a Honda owner all of my life...This is my first Toyota.

#258 of 308 Toyota Highlander transmission seal leak/transfer case leak by sunnyseas

Aug 17, 2010 (8:06 am)

My 2006 Highlander also had the transmission seal leak that the Technical Services Bulletin was issued about. I have 90,000 miles on mine. I contacted Toyota and asked them to meet me halfway on the cost of repair, which was quoted at $1600.00. Didn't hear back when the Toyota rep said they would call, so I called them again and was told there would be no assistance. When I asked how they determined who would be assisted, they replied that it is based on customer service records. "Loyal" customers, those who bring the vehicle to a Toyota dealership for every oil change/mileage preventive maintenance, etc, are considered for assistance. Doesn't matter how many Toyotas have been purchased~~one "loyal" customer in the service dept. trumps someone who has bought a fleet of Toyotas, but had them serviced elsewhere. Bottom line is, they get your service $$ one way or the other. I shopped various Toyota dealers and went with one that did it for $1400 plus gave me a free rental car for two days. It's done, but has left a bad taste in my mouth for a company that is spending thousands of dollars trying to repair it's reputation. Here's a novel idea for Toyota~~do the RIGHT THING and the customers and revenue will follow.

#259 of 308 Re: Toyota Highlander transmission seal leak/transfer case leak [sunnyseas] by minnesnowta1

Aug 17, 2010 (8:17 am)

Replying to: sunnyseas (Aug 17, 2010 8:06 am)
FYI, expect the same from Honda. Rack seal went out on our 04 Honda Pilot last year at 76K. Did the same as you and called customer care. Same result as you. 2k repair I had to eat. Always took my car to the dealer for repairs. So my point is it's not just Toyota that does this sort of thing, they all do.

#260 of 308 Re: Toyota Highlander transmission seal leak/transfer case leak [minnesnowta1] by moonlight293

Aug 18, 2010 (3:59 am)

Replying to: minnesnowta1 (Aug 17, 2010 8:17 am)
It sounds like these decisions were made at the local level. Playing the devil's advocate here . . . one vehicle is a 4-yr old with 90K miles and the other is a 6-yr old with 76K miles. One dealer looked at the mileage and the other looked at the age. IMO.

#261 of 308 Re: Highlander won't downshift to accelerate by mta116

Sep 29, 2010 (1:16 pm)

Replying to: wwest (Jun 15, 2010 9:57 am)
I believe I'm experiencing this re-acceleration issue as well. Below is what I addressed to my dealer. My car is a 2010 highlander 2wd and I've had it into the dealer once already to try to have this fixed; they could not repeat the problem. Do you have any suggestions about what I should instruct my dealer to do to either repeat the problem, or what 'known' fix they should be applying? Description of my problem:
 
My Highlander continues to have periodic issues where it will not down shift. This happened to me again this morning on my way to work. While it is not a consistent problem, I'm finding it to be extremely dangerous. I cannot safely merge with traffic on the highway because it WILL NOT DOWNSHIFT. Today's circumstance: I was slowly accelerating in 5th gear at about 55 miles an hour having just merged from the ramp onto Southbound US 202. I wanted to move into left lane of faster moving traffic, and when I tried to accelerate as I moved into the next lane, nothing happened. I stomped the pedal to the floor, and nothing happened. I released the pedal and stomped it to the floor again, and nothing happened. I moved the transmission stick into tiptronic and pushed back to downshift, and nothing happened. I did it 4 more times and nothing happened all with the pedal all the way on the floor. Then finally, after 10 seconds or so, the car decided to downshift. This is ridiculous and dangerous. It has repeated this at least once per month since I bought the car.
 
I appreciate any input forum members can provide. Thanks.

#262 of 308 Highlander transmission noise, vibration by ldickerson

Oct 24, 2010 (6:57 pm)

At 28,000 miles our 2009 Highlander (Limited, 6 cyl., FWD) transmission began making a vibration noise when the engine is cold and shifted from Park to Drive or Reverse. The noise is not evident in either Park or Neutral. When the engine is warm, the noise and vibration disappear.
Dealer checked for leaks, etc., and said things are okay. I plan to take it back to the dealer, but I would appreciate suggestions and input, etc.

Messages Page 27 of 32

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