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Comments
Seach Edmunds for "hesitation".
It is not clear from your post what work specifically toyota performed -- if they have not performed the most recent TSB you may want to have that done. In most states, for lemon law buyback, you have to prove that you gave the manufacturer ample opportunity to fix the problem.
I also think it would be a good idea if you post a complaint about this at www.nhtsa.gov, particularly if you feel this problem presents a safety hazard. They are the agency that can effect a recall if the problem is significant or prevalent (after 4 years of this problem going on, I wouldn't hold my breath for a recall, but it doesn't hurt to give them your complaint).
There are some Edmunds forums actively discussing this problem. Right now, the "Transmission Problems with the Lexus ES300" "Transmission problems with Lexus ES-300 ?" # is getting the most action, but the new forum "Toyota-Lexus transaxle shift delay" <http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.efe9615 was set up specifically for discussing this problem in all of the Toyota-Lexus line.
Brian
2005 Toyota Highlander AWD
18,605 miles
I am sorry to hear about your problem. I wish you the very best luck in getting that resolved. The TSB has been reported as very successful by many people and I would highly recommend you try that route.
Also, you should be aware that the majority of the posts about this issue are by people who don't actually own one of these cars and have never personally driven one to experience the hesitation first hand. They enjoy speculating about the issue and are mostly well intentioned, but it is all based on second hand information.
And finally, there are also some posters with an obvious anti-Toyota agenda who may provide you information that is not exactly unbiased.
There are two million cars on the road with the V6 5 speed drivetrain and those who actually report a problem are a very small minority. I am sorry to hear you are one of them but there is a good chance the TSB will solve your problem.
With that in mind, I hope the TSB gives you the same good results that many have reported.
Good Luck
The 2nd smell is when I turn on the heating vents to blow on the windshield when the windshield is all steamy for example. This isn't s rotten egg smell, but it smells more like some tyoe of chemical. Since I always drive with my 3 yr old these smells are concering me alot.
Can anyone hlp in letting me know what this could be and what I should do?
Thanks
I have had no experience with teh second smell you mention.
Here's some additional info about this rotten egg smell.
I read recently where there's a Class Action Law Suit against Shell about a mistake they made in a huge batch of gasoline that was refined and marketed in a wide area of the northern US and in Canada. Among other things it caused a rotten egg smell from engine exhausts. It also damaged a whole bunch of emission control components in a great many instances. Might be worth a follow up. Look it up on the web. This issue has a lot more to do with fuel than it does with users. It bummed out a ton of owners and got them all steamed up against their automakers to issue TSBs and replace components, but it turns out it wasn't the automaker's fault after all.
A few years ago there was another CA Suit against Shell in Quebec Canada for the same thing. Here's a short news article on that one:
"A class action lawsuit against Shell was authorized for consumers in Québec on July 18, 2003.
From March 2001 to March 2002, Shell included an additive to its regular-grade "Bronze" gasoline that damaged the fuel supply system of many vehicles. Shell estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 consumers bought "Bronze" gas during that period; the exact number of adversely affected vehicles remains unknown, however the number of incidents reported is highly significant. The most commonly damaged vehicles are from the Toyota, Acura, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Volvo brands.
Update:
In July 2004 the Superior Court of Quebec approved a settlement in the class action filed on behalf of consumers who purchased regular-grade Shell gasoline from early 2001 to early 2002. The settlement completed the voluntary reimbursement program undertaken earlier by Shell Canada. The closing date for claims in the Shell class action was November 5, 2004.
Perhaps the windshield defogger chemical smell is due to a coolant leak in the heater core? Open the coolant reserve tank in the engine compartment and see if the smell is the same.
I think upwards of 200,000 owners who had their emission control systems damaged because of bad gasoline (from Shell) might not agree with that claim. The Class Action suit is testimonial to their validity.
Which came first; damaged catalytic converters, or bad fuel?
A couple of folks that have been following this for sometime (wwest, user777) may be able to give you some suggestions. wwest mentioned that he has read of some having the slipping problem after having the TSB performed and had the TSB reversed to eliminate the problem. In that circumstance, you would have to determine which is the least annoying or hazardous problem, the hesitation or the slipping, and just live with it.
It is a fact Scoti1, that fuel additives can and do cause premature damage to emission control components like CO2 sensors, catalytic converters etc.
Not buying Shell fuel does not protect anyone, including you, from that potentiality either.
All refiners use additives, for one thing.
For another, there are only about 5 major corporations providing almost all refining needs for the entire North American continent.
The fuel you buy where you are may not be branded as "Shell", but it stands a 50% chance of being refined by "Shell."
Shell Oil is the largest of them, and supplies a great many independent retailers.
Getting your catalytic converter replaced may indeed have been an unwarranted but generous gift to you, not an admission of culpability by any means.
Consistently blaming the automaker for every issue that comes along isn't always the answer you frequently advocate Scoti1.
But Hylyner is correct in observing that it's hard not to resist a free lunch when it's available for the asking.
I've done it too, but I usually try to remember to say "Thanks" afterward.
there is a forum dedicated to the 4 runner and the issue of sulfer smell. essentially toyota addressed an issue with the 4 runner related to the catalytic convertor. a number of owners were smelling the rotten egg smell. owners were not leaving the side nor back windows (the one in the back hatch) down, nor leaving the sunroof open.
essentially, and I'm sure someone is going to correct me if I don't get this 100% correct: there was a combination of factors: the manufacturer placed the muffler exit in fairly close proximity to the cabin vent (under the bumper if i recall correctly), owners were using the recirculate air setting, after applying heavy acceleration with potentially a marginal catalytic convertor, using certain brands of gasoline, exhaust gases were being pulled into the cabin and detected by the owners.
i'll leave it to readers to determine how the issue was addressed. suffice it to say, a vehicle can be running excessively rich and overwhelming a catalytic convertor, or the convertor itself can be marginal, or there may be a combination of other factors resulting in the owner detecting exhaust gases.
We shouldn't presume to make judgemental comments about motives by others.
That sort of thing is what got us all into trouble in other forums. You know full well the hows and whys about that.
I qualified my piece right at the git go by saying it was a small point of information.
No more, no less.
All I did was set the record straight.
My point is that it's not always the fault of manufacturers.
If anything in these discussions it could be shown we are often too "Hard" on them.
Perhaps because it's a convenient path of least resistance?
The way I see it:
A guy had a problem with a sulfur smell in his car.
I had a similar problem.
Toyota fixed my problem (willingly and graciously) by replacing the catalytic converter.
Their fix was based on a Technical Service Bulletin issued by Toyota to correct the problem of the sulfur/rotten egg smell in the exhaust.
I am trying to help someone who had a similar problem by sharing my remedy. I have re-read my posts and I have in no manner jumped on Toyota about this. I think some people get their kicks from arguing for the sake of arguing. It is possible that some gasoline additive damaged the cat. converter and Toyota replaced it, but whatever they replaced it with is not suffering the same consequences of bad gas because I no longer have the smell. I am happy with my treatment by Toyota on this issue. I only mentioned Shell oil in my reply to Hylyner because that is who Hylyner said was responsible for the bad gas, giving example of a class action lawsuit. I am not sure what, if any, suggestions Pilot130 and Hylyner are giving to the owner suffering this problem. To sue gas companies? To live with it even though Toyota has come up with a solution? sheesh.
Also, if you want to get into a specific discussion about catalytic converters and their issues, then please talk to Mr_Shiftright over in Maintenance & Repair.
No harm was intended.
Your response to the guy was indeed helpful, my post was just meant for info, and I think that's all Hylyner was trying to say too.
Too often we jump all over the first thing we see as a problem.
I was just passing through and saw the bit about bad gasoline, and thought I'd add what I learned about it--actually some time ago.
Your comment says it right: "It is possible that some gasoline additive damaged the cat converter and Toyota replaced it, but whatever they replaced it"
Chill. We don't need animosity in these forums. It just attracts more of the same.
Now his complaint is about a burning rubber smell. I suggest this might be due to various engine components burning off external lubricants, coatings, anti sieze compounds, etc.,which are present during manufacture and assembly. They should disappear over time.
One issue we note on our car whenever the oil filter is replaced. It's located in an awkward spot, and if the technician isn't careful removing the old filter, oil dripped on the exhaused manifold will cook up and cause a burnt oil smell for a short time afterwards.
BTW, when I had the smell, it was not obvious at all times. It seemed to come and go with some unpredictability. I noticed it most often when stopped in traffic. It has been at least a year since I had the TSB performed, and I have not had the sulfur smell since. :shades:
If this poor guy hasn't got enough advice by now, the only choices left to him might be divine intervention--or a gas mask--or all of the above!!
(pardon the pun :P )
Wasn't it the objective right from the opening bell?
Bet you're crackin' up!!
(pun intended!)
http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Toyota/index-issue.html
I see TSBs for '05 Sequoia, Tacoma, 4Runner, Matrix, Corolla, Avalon. Nothing on the Highlander. Question: do any of these vehicles have the same engine / catalytic convertor as the Highlander?
I need some feed-back as to the best tires to replace these with?? About 75% of our driving is in the city, with the other 25% in the mountains of upstate NY and I'm looking for a good all around tire that will give me good traction without sacrificing gas mileage.
Any ideas??
Many thanks.
Thanks, Marcel
If I were you I'd go back to OEM air filters and try a cold air intake system and freer-flowing muffler if you are looking for a few more HP.
Mine is also a '03 HL. The original tires were horrible. I changed them when they got ~15,000 miles. It has been two winters since I got the tires replaced with Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S G051. They are great tires so far. They handle well on snow, in water, and OK on ice. I live in Pittsburgh, PA which is known for hills and older roads. I am very pleased with the performance and low wear of these tires. They are going on 30,000 miles and still got 9/32 left.
Considering the cost, they are very reasonable, $82 on tirerack.com (they were $77 per tire when I bought them 1.5 years ago).
In term of the gas mileage on these tires, they are not bad either. I often drive between Pittsburgh and Toronto with an average between 22-26 miles per gallon depending on the wind (mine is a 2-wheel drive V6). In town, I got 16-17 miles per gallon but cannot blame it on the tires because of the hills and STOP SIGNS everywhere in Pittsburgh.
Hope this is helpful.
John
Looked at Tire Rack, but back in Sept when I ordered these, Discount Tire had them for $72 with a $50 rebate and free shipping. I have used Tire Rack since 1985, before the internet and ordered from ad's in Car & Driver, but with free shipping and the $50 back, they were $59.50 shipped back in Sept. Today Discount tire is $89 free shipping, and Tire Rack is $82 + $36 shipping(to NJ) ($91 per tire shipped).
End of my $.02
I also added a "Tornado" air insert and since then the most I got is 32.1 mpg and my average is 27.5 (i.e. I do a lot of city driving vs. Hwy). Do you or anyone else in the forum here have any experience with the Tornado insert?
I'm always looking for economical ways of improving mileage and would welcome any comments in this respect.
Thanks again, Marcel
Also you can be sure not to use "defrost" mode excessively as this activates your AC---also put a few more pounds of air in your tires (just a few), check your wheel alignment and consider synthetic oil. All of these can give you some very modest increases in MPG.
Another concern of mine about oil-type air filter is how they might place debris on the MAF sensor.
As for the Tornado, it has been extensively tested as well and has been proved to do nothing. More distressing is that I now see the knowledgeable Sam Memmolo from Two Guys Garage hawking this thing. I have lost a lot of respect for him as he knows better. Anything for a buck huh!
Trick is to make sure that something ELSE wasn't also done to the vehicle prior to dyno testing. Even if you modify the air box that the K&N drops into, that can give you maybe 2 HP at very high rpm. Worth the trouble? Well it's your dime.
If there is any restriction to airflow at it will only be at WOT and max engine RPM, Maximum intake airflow. Just how often is your engine in that range of operation?
I'd be willing to bet that the difference between no filter at all and the OEM filer is less that 10%. That means that the K&N can only increase HP by about 5% and then only at WOT and maximum engine RPM.
So on the average the K&N is worthless for anything except the racing venue.
Except for something called an intake butterfly valve which is the major restriction 99.99% of the time. And then downstream of that you have the intake valves. Aren't those closed 75% of the time?
And how many of you have ever heard the intake NOISE from an unrestricted intake path? Maybe pleasent during brief WOT throttle periods, especially for boy-racer personality types, but for most of us a quiet engine compartment is more, MUCH more, desireable.
Except for something called an intake butterfly valve which is the major restriction 99.99% of the time. And then downstream of that you have the intake valves. Aren't those fully closed 75% of the time and only fully open for maybe 3-5% of the time?
And how many of you have ever heard the intake NOISE from an unrestricted intake path? Maybe pleasant during brief WOT throttle periods, especially for boy-racer personality types, but for most of us a quiet engine compartment is more, MUCH more, desirable.
K&N Filter Topic
Now, back to Toyota!