Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
SOP.
not on the right front fender. From my discussion with him he acknowledged that his previous 2006 Highlander had the radio antenna on the right front fender and he did have reception problems. I believe that Toyota should acknowledge the flaw and offer to correct it.
and how well it works ? Also, how hard would it to be the install for DYI ?
thanks
I want to tell you that my highlander did a beautiful job in the biggest snow storm Roanoke, VA has seen in a long time. This is my first snow with the Highlander, and it went through the 16 inches of snow on the roadways without any problems ! I recently bought the new HT tires, and they are also great ! Very quiet, and go great through the snow. I feel at ease knowing this great SUV will get me through tough weather. I did not slide or spin at all, and the conditions were very bad as I picked up a friend from work at the worst possible time. To all of you thinking about a Highlander, I highly love this vehicle, and it will do a great job for you. Also, the HT tires are great...less noise, and went beautifully in the snow. I have a 2008 Highlander Limited. Love it...fun to drive....especially in the snow !
Ronn
When my 85lb daughter sits in the front passenger seat the passenger airbag indicator sometimes says 'on' and other times says 'off''. When I questioned the Toyota Service Manager at my local dealer he told me that the air bag will come on when a total of 65lbs are placed in the seat.
Ok can anyone confirm that the airbag turns on at 65lbs?
What is the actual story of the passenger airbag?
2008 Highlander Limited with almost every bell and whistle.
Also how can I get in contact with the Toyota district rep?
Thxs
The safest location for probably anyone, but especially for a child, is rear seat (2nd row for 3 row vehicles), middle position...which puts them farthest possible from any exterior point of the car in case of front, side or rear impact. Also reduces the risk of injury from airbags. Our son always rides in the 2nd row middle of our '09 HL unless we have other passengers or I have the seat split with half down, then the next best position is rear seat, behind the driver (in collision situations, most drivers natural instinct is to steer to keep themselves furthest from impact, resulting in impact on passenger side). Although we have 3 row seating, we rarely use and for the odd ocassion we do, i will opt for an adult to ride back there, even at the risk of comprimising comfort... :-)
In Canada, it is recommended that children 12 and under ride in back. If my wife has her way, she'll have him riding in the back seat until he's 16 and driving! Seriously though, our son is 11, weighs about the same as your daughter and under no circumstance would I let him ride in the front seat of any vehicle at this age, height and weight. If necessary, (ie. cargo is occupied with "stuff", I would simply make other arrangements. But, that's just me...
Perhaps you have a need to put her in the front....I don't know. I would strongly recommend, if at all possible, you consider other alternatives so she can sit in 2nd row.
Cheers.
I would disagree with at least one thinng you said. The safest location for anyone is not in the 2nd row middle but not in a car at all. Since that is utterly impractical how about sticking to the topic which is the airbag system in the Toyota Highlander. If you don't have anything to add to that then don't add anything. That way I won't have to be annoyed at people like you that feel the need to interject where they are not wanted or needed.
But thanks anyway...
You opened the door in your post by mentioning putting an 85 lb child in the front seat, so that became part of the topic. It's a public forum. I felt inclined to comment and did so. It was not intended as a lecture and I am sorry you feel it was. I thought my response was civil, and I certainly was not rude, although your reply certainly was. Perhaps your reaction is an indication of something else?
Frankly, if you don't like the fact that people may post comments that you will not agree with, then perhaps, on-line forums are not for you.
Anyway, to each his/her own.
Cheers.
2009-2010 RAV4
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2010 Highlander
2007-2010 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia
I have an '08 HL LTD 4x4 and have had no accelerator issues either with the factory carpet mats or the WeatherTech ones I use in the winter.
The other issue I have is the current mileage I am getting. I used to get pretty good mileage before putting new tires on. At 45,000 miles I needed new tires as they were severely worn down. After the new tires were put on, the gas mileage went down significantly. Is this normal? Do I use more gas just because it's winter time? My driving routine has not changed. Thanks for any feedback.
Yes, winter driving will always use more gas because of engine warmup and cooldown. The new tires may also have more rolling resistance than the older tires, but check to make sure tires are at proper pressure, the new tires may have not been properly inflated and one cannot use visual means to check the pressure.
Send to: karen@edmunds.com
I do love my HL sport! It has 25,000 miles. We purchased it new and we have been very pleased with it. I have not had any problems.
Cruise control uses a "proportional" calculation to decide how much gas to apply to your engine. It takes the difference between your current speed and your intended speed, and then decides how fast you should accelerate to get to your intended speed. As soon as you turn the control back on, it instantly makes this calculation and applies the acceleration indicated.
So yes, sometimes, it will accelerate faster than others, by design.
I have experienced the same thing you're describing -- i.e. cruise control suddenly puts my car into overdrive, and it may be surprising or even alarming. I've also had this happen when cruising at a constant speed but then as I start going up a steep hill, CC puts the car into overdrive to keep up.
If you think it's something more extraordinary than what I'm describing, by all means, take it to a dealer for checkout!
John
2002 4runner was likely a more simple 4 speed tranny. New ones are six speed....
And I wouldn't use cruise control in traffic anyway, so there's no danger in running up on another car and hitting it. Too dangerous. I only use it on the open road if it's clear.
John
Or is the fix in and we're all out of luck?
Stay tuned.
John
P.S. - Coasting in neutral is called Georgia overdrive. Saves a lot of fuel on those big trucks, although it's not recommended.
Or if firmware is found to be flawed, say software spec'ed and engineered by NipponDenso, Denso US (very highly likely IMMHO), then this might be much more widespread, virtually all vehicles of asian manufacture.
Now that would constitute one hell of shot in the arm for european marques and those in the US, if any, that don't use Denso as a firmware source.
How To Stop a Runaway Vehicle
You seem to be saying that for some manufacturers with PB start/stop there are "unique" procedures for switching off the ignition with the transaxle still engaged vs being in park or neutral.
Wouldn't it then "follow" that there might be unique procedures for "switching" to neutral with the engine under load...??
Just thinking out loud...
Since it would be unusual in the extreme for someone to move the transaxle selection to neutral under the described conditions might the manufacturer have required a special, unique procedure for doing so. Or in the worse case, purely inadvertently, no foresight, not even have made allowance for a switch to neutral with the engine ROARING at WOT and under load..??
Are the shifter switches polled or interrupt driven...??
Put it in neutral and use the brake to slow down. I wouldn't worry about anything else.
I've tested my 04 Corolla and 08 HL LTD, both easily move to neutral under (moderate) load.
With the engine at WOT, operating FULL BORE, and the brakes being applied mightily to the front drive wheels, might so much rotational torque prevent the drum clutch(es) from releasing...??
I drove to a long straight section of interstate highway with little traffic. I slowed to 35mph and then floored the accelerator. I then shifted into neutral and engine revved pretty high. I then turned the ignition to the off position and released the accelerator pedal. Steering and braking were slightly more difficult but I was easily able to coast onto the shoulder and come to a complete stop.
I decided that this process was simple and could be carried out very quickly. I was happy with my performance and felt more confident I could do this again if I needed to.
Next I shifted into Park and then turned the ignition to On and then to Start. To my surprise and horror, the moment the engine started it revved up and stayed at Wide Open Throttle! I depressed the accelerator to the floor and released it again. It had no effect. The engine remained at WOT. I then turned the ignition off, let it sit for a few seconds and restarted. WOT again. I had to turn the ignition off 2 more times while constantly pumping the accelerator through it's full range before it finally started and went to idle.
So what is going on here? I don't see this occurring during normal every day operations as no one should be shifting to neutral and turning the engine off at WOT but it's still scary and should not happen like this. If you start the car with the pedal released it should start at idle, not wide open! I can't help but wonder if this is related to the "stuck pedal" WOT reports that are pouring in.
I'm also wondering what the rev limit is for the 2008 Highlander. It sounded pretty high to me. Does anyone know?
Apparently neither did the folks that specified the firmware.
But I'm just quoting stuff; I certainly have no engineering expertise.
Btw, Shifty pointed out that for the cars that have the 3 second off button (like the Prius), you will travel about the length of a football field in that 3 seconds if you're going around 60 mph.
I don't know what Toyota has for switches in the Highlanders or hybrid Highlander.
As for rev limits, anything above 6500 is gonna be bad if done repeatedly or for more than a few seconds. I understand your desire to simulate a problem and practice a response (good), but cannot for the life of me imagine why you intentionally reved (or quite possibly over-reved) your engine (bad.)
I definitely won't be testing your theory about lifting the pedal at the last second before turning the ignition off. I think I now have the instinct to shift to neutral and turn the ignition off at almost the same instant. I'm pretty sure you can't shift the transmission while it's powered down as it is also a "by wire" system like the throttle.
As for all the people wondering about whether the angular momentum prevents you from shifting to neutral while wide open, I've tried it, it allows you to shift to neutral just fine.
"..angular momentum..." ????
"...I've tried it.."
No, you haven't.
What I was saying is that with all the TORQUE(***) applied to the gear teeth of the two sets of clutch discs inside the transaxle's drum type clutches are they likely to remain engaged even with the hydraulic pressure released..??
*** FWD or F/awd, engine operating at WOT and with the brakes heavily applied.
With RWD or R/awd the brakes would/might probably still lock the front wheels and while the rear wheels might spin-out you would probably be able to bring the car to a stop. And without the FWD vehicle's level of torque on the gearbox you could undoubtedly successfully shift to neutral.
And if your RWD had TC the engine just might get dethrottled automatically.