Toyota Highlander Transmission Problems
blondie6180
Member Posts: 2
in Toyota
My '05 Highlander transmission seems to be geared wrong. When I slow down the car seems to slip into a higher gear and speed up. It is worse when the air conditioning is on. Anyone else have this problem?
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Comments
Read some of the transaxle hesitations posts for more info.
Steve, Host
Steve, Host
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tidester, host
There are over two million Toyotas on the road with the V6 5 speed drivetrain and you will be hard pressed to find enough complaints anywhere to add up to even one tenth of one percent of those vehicles. It is by no means the serious widespread issue that some in these forums would like for you to believe.
There are some people who report a problem, but beware, there are others in these forums with the clear and obvious intent to amplify this issue and use it to smear Toyota for personal reasons. Test drive the cars and decide for yourself.
Seems that you're a little too invested in hyping Toyota. These are just vehicles. For the amount of money we pay for them, they should drive properly. The problems we have experienced do not necessarily show up in a test drive. They are sporadic and unpredictable.
I have watched during that last year and these forums have become a mix of sincere owners like yourself looking for a fix, and others with the motivations I mentioned above. The latter group has often posted distortions, exaggerations and flat out untruths in their continuing quest to use this issue to their advantage. I am not at all invested it hyping any brand, but I feel it only fair to post both sides of the equation.
Good luck, and hopefully the TSB will help your situation.
When I dropped my Kluger in for a service last week, I mentioned that it had been rough shifting from second to third a few times. This was cured in short term by three hard acceleration runs from stopped to 100kmh (60mph).
Dealer flashed the Transmission Memory with a revised mapping and transmission is now behaving markedly differently. Change points have been modified and tends to downshift as you slow below 10kmh.
Much more aggressive feel to transmission and seems to have solved the issues that many posters have complained of. However fuel consumption is up a bit. I won't have a definite fix on fuel economy until I drive a standard route but seems to be about 5% worse
Cheers
Graham
Long-story short, it took 45 minutes, no charge (always nice), and it now runs, accelerates, and shifts so differently I'd swear it's not the same vehicle! Smooth, quick, correctly-timed shifts, no "hunting" for gears or "bogging" when I stomp on it at low speed or when de-accelerating. Thank you folks at one fabulous dealership service center (I supposed I can't plug their name here, but I'd like to)!
Just wanted to thank you for your post. I am going through the same experience with my 2005 Highlander Limited. When I first contacted the dealer I was blown off by the same tactics as other owners. (This is the way the fly-by-wiring works, the vehicle needs to get used to your driving style, there was no TSB.) Anyway I took in the article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette from April 2005 stating Toyota had updated computer software to help alleviate the hesitation along with a copy of your post. I specifically pointed out your last paragraph and said that's how I wanted to feel about my dealership.
After a 15 minute wait I was shown there WAS a TSB on this and my Highlander will be going in June 1st to be checked. Supposedly there are vehicles with certain numbers (of what I don't really know) but if mine has one of these numbers it would take approximately 2 hours for the service. Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks again!
You'll be happy to know that after receiving my HL from the performed hesitation TSB the problem was 90% alleviated. YEAH! However, I need to take it back tomorrow morning because now it's as if the HL goes into cruise control with any speed lower than 33-34 mph. It performs fine with de-accelerating, as it's supposed to, from higher speeds until it hits the magic numbers above. Where ever I break or accelerate between 0-33 or 34 mph is where the HL will remain. Craziest thing I've ever experienced on a vehicle. The service writer also thought that was very strange. The other issue is a very noticeable downshift just before coming to a dead stop. Never did that before the TSB was performed. We'll see what service dept. says tomorrow. Will keep you "posted".
I'm hoping you can help me out with a few questions...did you ever have the reflash done on your vehicle...how long now has it been since you've been using high test and pulled the ECU-B fuse (approximate time and mileage please)...can the fuse be pulled using regular grade fuel and get the same results ...will the fuse need period pulling for the life of the vehicle, in your opinion..?
I'm still holding out some hope Toyota will properly fix the hesitation problem. This is my sixth Toyota; the HL is the first vehicle with ANY problems.
First, I've discovered the new problem doesn't exist while the engine is cool. Second, the tech who went out with the vehicle did notice some of what I experienced but felt it would dissipate with driving and keep an eye on it for a couple of weeks. Should I notice anything out of the ordinary to bring it back in. It was better yesterday so we'll see...
Keep us posted should the hesitation return and how your dealership handles it. Thanks.
On second thought it now looks as if the complaints are based on the AWD version of the AWD GS series. In that case the problem may remain with FWD based vehicles only provided the AWD GS used the standard transaxle based AWD system.
Anyone know?
I am going for a test drive this Saturday.
How do I test or find out if the HL has a transmission problem? What are the symptoms? Should I drive on the highway or city driving is good enough?
Help!
It's been a month since the reflash on the HL has been done and I am noticing the hesitation gradually returning. Just wanted to check in to see if you are still achieving success with having pulled the ECU-B fuse along with using high octane fuel. Have you had to do anything else or pull the fuse again? I'm concerned about voiding the warranty by pulling the fuse myself. Any opinion on this?
Moving forward...hesitantly.
I have a 2 month old Highlander and have the same problems that you have mentioned. I have not contacted the dealer yet, could you please let me know how you made out at the dealership regarding your problems, what did they do for you are your problems resolved?
Back long ago, say in the fifties when Ford starting building more cars with automatic transmissions, many of us learned that if we wanted the transmission to upshift more quickly than otherwise, normal, we could just momentarily lift the accelerator pedal slightly.
There are now lots of indications that this delay/hesitation "symptom" has something to do with the way we "treat" the accelerator pedal.
Suppose, as the driver, I'm looking ahead and see a stop sign coming up, as a rule I would lift the accelerator pedal completely. That should be a "message" to the engine/transaxle ECU that I DO NOT wish to enter cruise mode, rather that I either wish to coastdown to a lower speed or come to a full stop.
But now lets suppose that just by happenstance I keep just the slightest level of pressure on the accelerator pedal during the time I'm coasting down to stop at the upcoming intersection.
Might the ECU just "sit" there in a "what do I do now" stage or would it look to my past driving history for a clue? My guess is that it would "upshift", thinking that my real intent was to enter "cruise mode".
Quite a number of posters have indicated that foot placement seems to help to alleviate this symptom. The higher you place your foot on the accelerator pedal the more foot pressure it will take for a given position of the throttle. Obviously that would make it more difficult to "feather" the throttle, hold the accelerator in a slightly throttle open position.
High foot placement would therefore likely result in less "confusion" on the part of the engine/transaxle ECU.
So, for those of you with these experiences, try this.
When, or while, you are certain you wish to come to a full stop, remove your foot fully from the accelerator pedal. Do the same when you have the need to slow, say in the merging situation, lift the throttle completely until or unless you reach the point wherein you make the decision that actual acceleration is needed.
And let us know....