2023 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

I've had the car for 6 months. After a few months we noticed a "bucking" during acceleration and a "hesitation" when pressing the accelerator. Under medium to hard acceleration the car will exhibit these traits almost consistantly and now after 3500 miles it has become so noticeable that it is dangerous! The hesitation is "off the line" from a dead stop. There is at least a couple second delay sometimes when leaving a stop. And then as the car climbs in RPM's you can feel the engine struggling almost like a car with bad spark plug wires. It tends to "spit and buck" as it is accelerating. We have tried different fuels, fuel cleaners, different octanes, and nothing seems to curb the problem. We took the car to our local dealer and they confirm the problem but have stated that there is nothing they can do as it appears to be a software issue with the car. I have requested from Toyota using their "Brand engagement center" to provide an engineer to evaluate the car and so far have not heard back from them in almost a week.

The vehicle hesitates and stutters upon light to moderate acceleration. This can happen either from a dead stop or while moving in traffic. The concern was present when vehicle was purchased new in Feb 2023. Initially the dealership thought the symptoms were related to the transmission learning algorithm, but this was later determined not to be the case and the dealership was able to reproduce the drivability concern. The dealership was also advised that running 91 octane fuel eliminated the symptoms, however the engine is designed to run on 87 octane. Subsequently, the dealership was advised by Toyota to replace several parts associated with the VVT (variable valve timing) on the exhaust camshaft which did not resolve the concern. Toyota subsequently agreed to replace the vehicle after filing a lemon law complaint with NCDS. This drivability concern is a safety concern as the hesitation and stutter could occur during a traffic maneuver and cause an accident due to the engine not properly responding to driver input. No check engine or other warning lamps present when this occurs, which is most of the time though more pronounced when ambient temperatures are above 75F degrees.

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.

Vehicle hesitates when accelerating. Very noticable when accelerating from stop. Also when passing a vehicle and accelerating to pass there is hesitation and the vehicle stutters at times also.

At about 3500 miles the car has started lagging really bad. I have almost been hit in stop and go traffic and have almost hit the car in front of me because I never know if when I put my foot on the gas if I’m going to go or not. When pulling out into on coming traffic I have to make sure the cars are really far away because again I never know if the car is going to actually get up and go. It lags, shakes like of it has no power. Once you get going it ok but to actually get going it’s awful. I’m really nervous the almost getting hit or hitting someone is actually going to happen because you have to floor it to get it to actually go and randomly sometimes it actually does get power that when it does take off it’s to much. There is no smooth to this car. Dealership says nothing wrong.

I purchased a 2023 Toyota Highlander 2.5 turbo in June of 2023. This car was bought for my wife so I had not noticed a operation issue until I had a opportunity to drive it, at about 1,500 miles on the odometer. Upon accelerating from a stop, the car slightly hesitates then surges followed by slight bucking. My wife acknowledged the issue when I mentioned it. I have to state that the problem does not exist from every acceleration from a stop. I took the car to the dealer where I bought the car to investigate the issue. They said the mechanic did not experience the issue. I've read of many like minded comments from owners on toyotanation.com. I do believe this issue if not resolved may eventually lead to a accident.

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.

My 2023 highlander limited hesitates and lags when pulling out into the roads and highways! I almost have gotten hit several times. It has so called been inspected three times and they all tell me it doesn’t show on our computer so it’s fine ! No messages or warnings ever come up. This is so very dangerous and I could be killed along with others

Sudden engine coolant temperature high warning comes on. Temperature jumps from normal to maximum on gage. Needle hunts from normal to high. Sometimes needle stays at high. Outside air temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Similar incident happened on 7/5/2023 when temperature was in the 90s.. Toyota dealer could find nothing wrong with the vehicle. This time I took a picture of the panel with the warning showing.