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After my ECM was reflashed, I thought I was seeing a further problem. Then circumstances forced me to accelerate at maximum power from zero to 100kmh (62mph) rapidly in succession.
Transmission behavious changed rapidly. Might be worth trying this and shifing to a premium fuel from a reputable supplier (Shell etc.)
Cheers
Graham
As for the "fix", I had that done to my Highlander in between getting it repaired from the accident, and trading it in. When a sales person from a dealer was driving my Highlander so that he could give me a trade in price, he returned and asked if I had been having any trouble with my car. He said he had a severe hesitation, and then the car just took off like it was turbocharged!! So much for the fix!
It's too late for me, but I sincerley hope owners of these vehicles get their cars fixed before someone gets killed! :mad:
But think they told the next buyer...?
Ford has the answer.....!
From the new 2007 Ford Edge PR..
"The electronically shift controlled transmission also features a variable displacement pump, which matches the amount of fluid that gets pushed through the transmission to driver demand, making it more efficient."
At full lift-throttle all of the FWD Toyota/lexus vehicles begin an upshift just as the engine RPM drops to idle. With the engine at idle the upshift will exhaust/use most, or possibly all, of the pressurized ATF.
Now if you happen to re-apply foot pressure to the accelerator pedal just as the upshift begins the engine/transaxle ECU will "know" to delay the onset of engine until the low engine "idle" RPM can build enough ATF pressure to complete the corresponding downshift.
The most obvious answer would be to increase the volume of the fixed volume ATF pump so enough pressure/flow could be provided for two sequential QUICK shifts with the engine at idle. But then most of that added volume would be bypassed, disapated as heat, as the engine RPM rises above idle.
Ford's answer, apparently, is to have a variable displacement ATF pump so it can be switched to high volume when quick/SOLID shifting is required with the engine at idle. Makes me wonder if that allowed them to eliminate the ATF pressure bypass relief spring/valve also.
That would REALLY increase transaxle efficiency.
A second option would havre been to have an ATF pressure storage accumulator (like the ABS pumpmotor asembly). But putting one of those in an already "crowded" six-speed transaxle is probably out of the question.
Anyone know if any of the newer Toyota/Lexus transaxles have either? Absent one or the other the delay/hesitation issue will undoubtedly continue.
The Highlander is now, and has always been, made in Japan.
Happened to me twice in ~10 years both times in rental cars.
However, I noticed a hesitation when cleaned the trotle body - a vacuum leak and clogged air passages could cause hesitation. Funny, but my 1MZ-FE stops with air pipes removed from the trotle body, when old 5S-FE runs ok.
I'd recommend to check intake, trotle body, vacuum lines and EGR. It could be as simple as loose or swapped vacuum lines.
Good luck.
The cruise is another problem. It overshoots by 5 miles/hr at times when you put the vehicle on "resume".
Transmission – can’t find correct gear. Driver always fighting to slow the car down without the help of transmission.
Examples:
City driving. At 900 RPM, 25 MPH, car is in 5th gear! Taking foot off gas does not slow down vehicle. Will maintain speed! Constantly fighting car to slow down.
City driving, coming to a stop sign. Transmission downshifting, but driver must fight with excessive breaking to slow vehicle. Car surges forward from 3rd, to 2nd, to 1st.
Pulling into garage at home. At 10 mph, 900 RPM, car still in 3rd gear as I pull into my garage. Needs excessive breaking. Then just before I stop, car finally shifts to 2nd, then 1st, with a nice surge forward. Must apply more braking.
Can you change the shifting characteristics of this transmission? Less shifting!
It has never, NEVER EVER, been a good idea to use engine compression braking for slowing the forward motion of a FWD or front biased AWD vehicle, not even with a manual transmission, but most especially so with an automatic one.
Back quite a few years ago now the AAA started recommending that owners of FWD or..., vehicles practice quickly shifting their transmission into neutral in preparation for the day when that practice might pay off and save lives.
I strongly suspect, and would be willing to bet money, that late in the last century the automotive insurance companies went to the automotive manufacturers and disclosed the statistically FACT that FWD or.., were more prone to accidents in adverse weather conditions that their RWD or rear torque biased AWD "brothers" (and sisters?/).
The 99 RX300 is subject to premature transaxle failures simply because the transaxle firmware was revised to accomodate a shift pattern that resulted in more frequent upshifts. By 2001 Toyota had realized their mistake and adopted a higher capacity ATF pump so teh new "safer" shift pattern could remain. When that also turned out to be a mistake they went back to the lower capacity ATF pump, but with DBW, e-throttle, to prevent the engine from developing torque until the transaxle could be properly downshifted.
Of recent note...
Ford has just received a patent in which two techniques are described that while applying only directly to their hybrid series speak VOLUMES about the hazards of engine compression braking on FWD or.., vehicles.
Ford hybrids, Escape and Mariner, use regenerative braking to (re)charge the hybrid battery. The patent describes a technique wherein the level of regenerative braking to be used is reduced substantially if the prevailing outside temperature is hovering around or below freezing.
GET IT...??
Regenerative braking (engine compression braking{??}), is potentially HAZARDOUS, especially so when the probability of encountering a low traction roadbed surface is elevated by climatic conditions.
The second technique involves disabling regenerative braking the instant the brakes are applied so as to prevent regenerative braking from interfering with the anti-lock braking system's ability to keep those front, stearing, wheels rolling.
Will we soon see Toyota and/or Lexus FWD vehicles that allow/use engine compression braking when the prevailing temperatures are above freezing?
Not on your life...!
Another recent development..
Ford has announced that the new Ford Edge will have a variable displacement ATF pump in the transaxle to improve overall efficiency.
It will certainly, undoubtedly, do that.
But the reasons, the real reasons, go a bit beyond that explanation. Ford has its own history of 1-2 throttle lag, downshifting delay/hesitation in their FWD and front torque biased AWD vehicles.
With a variable displacement ATF pump the pump capacity can be adjusted, dynamically, to fit the situation. If a lot of pressure/flow is needed for a quick downshift with the engine at idle the ATF pump can be adjusted to provide same. When the engine RPM is at a cruising level, or even on the high side, and no shifting is required, the ATF pump's displacement can be minimized.
I'm will to bet that Toyota and Lexus FWD or.., vehicles already use teh variable displacement ATF pump, at least as of the 2007 model year.
Gary
If you wish to "feel" the effects of engine compression braking go test drive a BMW X3 with an automatic transmission.
Keep in mind that engine compression braking on a FWD or front biased AWD vehicle can be very hazardous if you happen to encounter the right (wrong!) roadbed circumstances. Even in everyday driving it is entirely possible that engine compression braking will interfere with your anti-lock braking system and thereby result in an accident.
Perhaps sometime in the future Toyota will adopt, license, the Ford patented technique but I have my doubts, that would only cover adverse roadbed conditions due to freezing.
But only you, as the driver, can know, be reasonably sure of the road conditions you are currently driving on. Since the design engineers cannot possibly know or predict the roadbed conditions they have defaulted (FINALLY) into the safest procedure available for a FWD or front torque biased AWD vehicle.
I only wish they would use the same thinking with regards the defrost/demist/defog mode of their automatic climate control systems.
Engine compression braking on a FWD vehicle has been a serious safety issue ever since the original Olds Toronado was introduced back in the late sixties. Its about time something positive was done about that.
You should drive the vehicle in a variety of situations to see if you notice a problem. I wonder how big an issue the "shift problem" is on the 5spd. In the Consumer Report New Car Preview for 2007 the reliability history for the 4spd and 5spd transmissions are still very good (2001-2006). The CR reliability report for the 06 hybrid transmission was excellent.
You might also want to drive another car with a CVT so you can compare the driving feel.
My sense after driving the 5spd was that it would be slightly annoying in some situations. It was not the main reason we did not get the 6/5spd. The lower cost ($3K), nimble feel, better mpg and color won out.
Sorry I cannot help you more with the Hybrid. Did not even drive it. The floor model was $35K or so, way beyond what we wanted to pay for a vehicle.
To my knowledge Toyota has NOT changed anything with the drive by wire/ECU on the V6 engines. Investigate '07 V6 Camry's and you will find many people are having hesitation issues so I have to assume the V6 '07 Highlanders will also.
It's so dicey as to whether you will get one that will hesitate or not. My HL did not hesitate until about 30 days after purchase. The TSB worked for about 6 months with hesitation gradually returning plus it now bogs 0-30 mph. For the past year I have suffered daily with this vehicle and am very seriously considering trading the HL in on a '07 Hyundai Santa Fe. Now that's a strong statement after having owned 7 Toyota's over 21 consecutive years. However, I'm not willing to risk obtaining another one that hesitates.
If you are set on a HL my recommendation is the 4 cylinder. But for the hesitation issue Toyota is still a great product. Best of luck on your decision.
We liked ours so much we recently got a 2007 so both my wife and I would have these wonderful, safe cars to drive. Based on Toyota's published sales data there are way over two million Toyotas on the road with this exact drivetrain, and you will be hard pressed to find enough people with complaints to total even one tenth of one percent of those cars.
I am happy you found a car that you like. We love our Highlander and would highly recommend it to anyone.
To add insult to injury, after 21 years of loyalty I was highly dismayed at the lack of respect Toyota Motor Corp. demonstrated toward me. This idea the vehicle needs to get used to your driving habits is ludicrous. The dealership denial across the country (and I liked my dealership very much until this) where one has to show evidence this is not just your vehicle and there really is a TSB available is shameful.
Thankfully you have not had this very real problem. It is an accident involving a death waiting to happen. As I stated earlier, Toyota IS a GREAT product WHEN it runs correctly. All the best with your new HL.
Luckily only maybe 3 out of ~3000 crashed as a result.
So every HL out there can be defective, seriously so, while most might never encounter the circumstances wherein that defect becomes critical to normal operations.
however - there is ample evidence people need to exercise caution w.r.t. purchasing these advanced vehicles with "smart/adaptive" controls. even people that have test driven units which were fine at the time of purchase have ended up having issues later.
the manufacturer and dealerships' ability to address these issues and completely satisfy the customer remain important.
That's the design limitation the Toyota engineers hare been trying to get around since ~2000 for most modern FWD or front torque biased AWD vehicles.
Not a simple task and insofar as I can see Ford (Edge) is the only marque having solved it, seemingly, so far.
The AAA is on record suggesting that vehicle owners with automatic transmissions practice quickly moving the shift level to neutral in preparation for times, as above, when this capability might mean avoiding an accident
Engine compression braking can also interfere with ABS' ability to keep the front wheels rolling ever so slightly in some instances like the above.
Since the manufacturers of these FWD vehicle cannot predict, forecast, or have a vehicle system(***) to detect these circumstances the best thing they can do is prevent engine compression braking on their FWD vehicles altogether, ALL the time.
To that end late in the last century most manufacturers of FWD and front torque biased AWD vehicle modified the transaxle shift pattern. What now happens is when you lift the throttle, especially a FULL lift throttle, to enter a period of coastdown the transaxle will automatically upshift to alleviate any substantive level of engine compression braking.
No big deal, right...?
Wrong....!
What if, just at the precise moment the transaxle BEGINS the upshift, you see an upcoming opening in traffic into which you wish to merge.
So you FLOOR the gas pedal...
1001, 1002, 1003....
Oops, that "spot" in traffic just went by...
What happened...??
First, the transaxle had to complete the upshift, which undoubtedly would take 500 to 700 milliseconds. But now with the engine at idle there is no ATF pressure "reserve" to support a quick second sequential DOWN shift. So DBW was adopted to "protect the drive train". Allow enough time, again with the engine idling, for the ATF pump to build enough pressure to support, and complete, the upcoming downshift.
Only then will DBW allow you to go forward.
*** Ford was just granted a US patent over/for this very issue. The patented technique involves significantly reducing the level of regenerative braking of a hybrid vehicle (presumably applied to the FWD/AWD Escape and Mariner) if the OAT is near to or below freezing. The second technique involves INSTANTLY disabling regenerative braking if actual braking is applied and ABS activates.
Obviously our vehicles could be modified to only perform the upshift sequence if the OAT is close to freezing. But that wouldn't take care of an oil and rain slicked street nor black ice in the shadow of a tree line at 10 AM.
Just as obvious, the upshift would be too late and too slow if ABS were to activate during braking.
Ford has also announced that the new Ford Edge has a variable displacement ATF pump. Presumably to allow a HIGH volume of ATF pressure/flow at engine idle if needed/required while at the same time not being HORRIBLY wasteful of FE by continuing to PUMP HIGH volumes of ATF at 6000 RPM.
toyota should know when "enough is enough" and give a good customer a break.
i'm not sure this person has had someone check the fluid level in the transmission. if it were grossly off, i could see how the inconsistent behavior could arise...
possibly even some bad shift solenoids...
but, otherwise, it doesn't seem like a transmission control computer programming/flash issue, or wiring problem. it also doesn't seem accelerator sensor or throttle position sensor related either.
if they haven't done anything for the customer, you'd think they'd replace the transmission. they've been doing that for some of the owners of new camrys (at least).
TSB for either RWD or..?
Anyone...??
Too many times, I have stepped on the gas & the car just goes into a time lag before it finally shifts.
I have taken it to Toyota & they tell me mall is well, and that it shifts, not on a preset pattern, but based on a sensor that determines your velocity & if you are trying to increase or decrease. It is a very poor explanation and even poorer transmission.
My wife has a 2002 Highlander with electronic transmission & it learns your driving pattern & adjusts accordingly. It is great. What happened Toyota?
Jim
video tape what your car is doing and diplomatically, with the help of a lawyer, suggest to toyota that either they fix the vehicle, buy you out, or you post it.
toyota needs to be shamed a whole lot more i guess into "moving forward" and taking care of it's owners with shifting problems in their brand new rides.
your dealer is giving you the party line.
you may need a TSB, and that might help some, but more likely, you have a defective part in one of these areas:
torque convertor,
transmission,
throttle body assembly,
accelerator pedal assembly
Shortly after I purchased the car I took the car back to the Toyota Dealer and told them about this erratic throttling/shifting problem and they insist "its normal". This explanation is basically baloney and indicates to me that Toyota executives know they have a problem. The Toyota company have apparently instructed the dealers to use this standard line "Its normal". They even made me sign a statement when I picked up the car that the 3 problems I had complants about were "Normal". So the dealer refused to do anything about the problem. The salesman also indicated this is "Normal". Same lingo (how strange).
The car is dangerous because the throttle speeed is set to high and I am very apprehensive regarding winter weather (approaching) with the car accelerating when I want to slow down.
The car I purchased was masde in Newark, New Jersey and I bring up this point to warn any one who is contemplating purchasing a New Toyota Highlander should be extremely cautious if they discover the car was manufactured in Newark, NJ. Drive the car alone and test drive it at least twice because the problems aren't readily noticeable all the time.
I have now had the car about 7 months and its a lemon and also very very dangerous. I pray I won't get into a terrible accident this winter when throttling and shifting problems could become a potential "death trap".
Dave