This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Acceleration Issues, engine lag, poor response time and bucking when accelerated is pressed. Dangerous to drive not enough power to merge with traffic and hesitates to go at stop lights. Bought as a family suv and don-??t feel safe with them in the car. RPMs jump when at idle. The car struggles to shift gears especially 2nd gear. Does not preform well under normal circumstances not sure how this car would ever be able to tow anything. I feel very mislead by Toyota and its reputation as this vehicle vehicle is lacking safety and performance. Reached out to Toyota about problems and have not received a remedy for the situation. A special campaign was issued but has not helped the problem. Very disappointed with this purchase as I paid over 50k for the vehicle brand new and don-??t feel safe in the car as it bucks on acceleration and lacks the power to flow with traffic. This suv will cause negative impacts if safety measures aren-??t started quickly.
On 10/21 the vehicle accelerated on its own. At a stoplight behind another automobile, when I only slightly lifted my foot from the brake, the car lurched forward and the auto safety stop system lit up. I never touched the accelerator pedal. I pushed back down on the brake. This was not the first time this happened.
Vehicle is sluggish and will not accelerate from a dead stop for several seconds. The gas pedal often has to be pushed much farther down than usual so then when the vehicle actually starts moving it lurches. It often seem like it can't find the proper gear so it will buck and stutter while driving. The shifting is not smooth at all and you never know how the vehicle will respond making for a very unpredictable driving experience. This all started shortly after reaching the 2000 mile mark. The cruise control has issues reaching and maintaining the speed that is set. I found the Toyota service bulletin, T-SB-0087-23 and have made an appointment with my local dealer to hopefully fix the issue.
From a stop or slow roll (0-10 mph), significant hesitation is experienced after pushing the gas. The engine will not respond for a few moments and then all of a sudden it will take off in a jerking manner. Note that this is experienced when the engine auto start/stop is deactivated, so it is not from the delay of the engine starting when activated. This hesitation causes a near miss safety situation in many normal driving activities, but the highest risk is when turning left in front of oncoming traffic. I brought the vehicle to a Toyota dealership for the condition, noting Toyota's Service Bulletin T-SB-0087-23 for this exact issue, but after 3 days and 40 miles of the dealership driving it, they stated that they cannot reproduce the issue. There are no warning signs or lamps, and this issue has been occurring since the vehicle had about 1,000 miles, and the vehicle now has 20,000 miles on it.
When 87 octane fuel is put into the vehicle, the 2023 highlander is sluggish to start and make jump at times as well. After reading other complaints online, the current fix was putting 93 octane in the vehicle to remedy the issue. Putting 93 octane fuel in the vehicle does help although the vehicle jumps around RPM's when going from ECO mode to normal. All of these issues pose a risk to the car jumping from a start to cause a rear-end accident. I've complained to the dealer and they've stated everything is normal. Folks online stated their dealerships said Toyota was working on a fix.
- Tega Cay, SC, USA
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Upon acceleration, car hesitates then surges. Started after approximately 2000 miles. Occurs most frequently from a dead start. However, continues upon acceleration up to 50 mph. Took to Toyota Dealer, but they were unable to diagnose. Others report similar problems on Toyota Nation Form. Concerned about pulling out into traffic safely
My new Highlander has had issues that I can describe as "power surging" when accelerating from a stop. The car frequently does not respond to accelerator being pushed down for a second or two and then surges from a stop to accelerating with very inconsistent results. The acceleration is not consistent and unreliable. When crossing traffic from a stop I need to think twice and do not have confidence the car will do what I want.
There is a significant hesitation / stuttering when the gas pedal is pressed (i.e. the vehicle doesn't move properly when the gas pedal is pressed). This is especially dangerous when pulling out into traffic, making turns, etc. This appears to be a known problem with this model and Toyota is working on a TSB (supposedly). Doing a Google search for this problem shows that a number of consumers are having a similar issue. A few people have documented the issue here: https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/2023-highlander-2-4-turbo-surging-and-bucking-under-acceleration.1751952/ This is an ongoing problem. It hasn't resulted in an accident yet, but the lag / stutter in accelerating is putting consumers at risk. I just picked one random date below, but it has been ongoing since the vehicle was purchased new and appears to be happening to numerous other people as well as is evidenced by an internet search.
Almost since purchase this vehicle has emitted a shudder when driving. The loss of power has affected ability to evade when making turns, acceleration on highways, and has caused safety concerns while driving with children in the vehicle-this is a brand new vehicle purchased with approximately 7 miles on the odometer. Vehicle has been in the shop at least 3 times, 4 with today's visit. ToyotaNation forum shows that there are MANY vehicles with this issue and that Toyota Master Technicians are aware of the issues.
2023 Toyota Highlander XLE with 2.4 Turbo hesitates for an unacceptable period of time when accelerating from a stop. This could pose a huge safety risk when merging into traffic from a stop sign. The lag / hesitation is present on all eco / normal / sport drive modes. The issue has been occurring since the vehicle was purchased at 70 miles and currently has about 5200 miles. Toyota needs to look into this issue and address it as soon as possible.
The vehicle hesitates when accelerating from a stop. Dealership Technician says he noticed the hesitation when accelerating, but since there are no DTC-??s and No Data found saying that there is a malfunction
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Queen Creek, AZ, USA