Ever since buying this 2004 Toyota Highlander V6 off the dealer's lot in Feb, 2005, we have experienced a lag or hesitation in accelerating from a stoplight or when trying to pass another car. The car will lag and then suddenly respond which makes it "jump", unless you like to accelerate slowly or push down the accelerator gently. So you have to be very careful not to "punch" the gas pedal or the engine won't respond and then if you are holding down the gas it will suddenly respond after a 1 second delay (which is forever when you are trying to make a lane change or pull out to make a left turn). When the engine finally responds you then have the engine revving very high and/or downshifting because at that point you have pushed the pedal down harder trying to get it to respond. I can simulate this issue when I'm driving down the road by quickly depressing & releasing the gas pedal. Unlike a mechanical linkage where the engine would rev for a moment when you pushed down on the gas, when I do this in the Highlander I can watch the Tachometer and it makes NO change, and that's with a quick push of the pedal to the floor (if I release it immediately). If I keep it held down then the engine suddenly revs, the transmission downshifts and zoom, you get hard acceleration. The real problem comes in when pushing down the pedal a certain amount doesn't get a response and you then push harder which makes it harder to control the vehicle when it finally does respond. The result is that I drive the vehicle like a grandma when taking off from stoplights (easing in the gas pedal) and same thing when passing, I have to allow lots of space or just not try to make any quick maneuvers, since the acceleration won't respond as quickly as it should. Although the V6 has lots of power, you have to drive the car like it's a really weak econobox when you are in acceleration situations. The only "cure" is to start pushing the accelerator earlier than you want and ease into the gas pedal, then you can avoid the lag. The lag or hesitation comes when you are making a sudden change in accelerator pressure (whether at a stop/start, or when cruising and you want to suddenly go faster to pass someone, for example).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Ever since buying this 2004 Toyota Highlander V6 off the dealer's lot in Feb, 2005, we have experienced a lag or hesitation in accelerating from a stoplight or when trying to pass another car. The car will lag and then suddenly respond which makes it "jump", unless you like to accelerate slowly or push down the accelerator gently. So you have to be very careful not to "punch" the gas pedal or the engine won't respond and then if you are holding down the gas it will suddenly respond after a 1 second delay (which is forever when you are trying to make a lane change or pull out to make a left turn). When the engine finally responds you then have the engine revving very high and/or downshifting because at that point you have pushed the pedal down harder trying to get it to respond. I can simulate this issue when I'm driving down the road by quickly depressing & releasing the gas pedal. Unlike a mechanical linkage where the engine would rev for a moment when you pushed down on the gas, when I do this in the Highlander I can watch the Tachometer and it makes NO change, and that's with a quick push of the pedal to the floor (if I release it immediately). If I keep it held down then the engine suddenly revs, the transmission downshifts and zoom, you get hard acceleration. The real problem comes in when pushing down the pedal a certain amount doesn't get a response and you then push harder which makes it harder to control the vehicle when it finally does respond. The result is that I drive the vehicle like a grandma when taking off from stoplights (easing in the gas pedal) and same thing when passing, I have to allow lots of space or just not try to make any quick maneuvers, since the acceleration won't respond as quickly as it should. Although the V6 has lots of power, you have to drive the car like it's a really weak econobox when you are in acceleration situations. The only "cure" is to start pushing the accelerator earlier than you want and ease into the gas pedal, then you can avoid the lag. The lag or hesitation comes when you are making a sudden change in accelerator pressure (whether at a stop/start, or when cruising and you want to suddenly go faster to pass someone, for example).
- coltschiefstitans, Omaha, NE, US