During very smooth acceleration at any speed, steering vibration is felt which seems to come from bad engine support absorbers. Dealer said this is normal due to powerful V6 engine. Also hear disturbing exhaust sound when accelerating. Wonder if these conditions are related to steering vibration?
View 1 RepliesWife is 5' tall and can't see out the windshield sitting in the passenger seat. No ability to raise seat, can go back and forth but not up. We had a 2010 Highlander SE and did not have this problem. Now she hates this car.
View 1 RepliesI proudly purchased my new 2015 Highlander AWD XLT last year and brought it in for scheduled maintenance last month for an oil change and tire rotation. With 9,000 miles, I was told there was a fluid leak at the crank shaft and I would have to leave the car. 8 days later the car was ready after they lifted the engine and replaced every gasket on the engine block. I was given a loaner during this period.
One month later the 'check engine' light goes on and the car is flashing 'check AWD' 'TRAC off' . The service rep says I should not drive the car and have it towed into the shop. It took two days to get my car in and the Service Rep doesn't offer a loaner because he says the car is still drivable?
I went from Honda to owning my first Toyota and it's off to a really bad start.
We just purchased a 2015 Highlander to replace our 2005 Highlander that was totaled. We used to use a Garmin with the 2005 Highlander. When we purchased the 2005 the moon roof was an option. Now, it only comes with the XLE or above. The only features of the XLE we were interested in were the Navigation system and the moon roof. Otherwise, we would have been happy with a simple LE with no options.
This weekend we took our first road trip with the 2015. While the navigation system itself seems to be ok (it didn't send us the wrong way or anything), the design of the user interface really is horrible (at least when compared to the Garmin).
My wife was driving so I thought I would take our old Garmin and program in a few addresses into the new 2015 navigation system. I couldn't figure out how so I called up the dealership and found out that we can't do so while the vehicle is driving. In fact, I don't think you can do it while its in park either. We were told that the voice recognition system could be used to enter a destination (but not other addresses for future use).
Well, the voice recognition system was something we weren't very excited about when we first tried to use it to make calls a couple of days earlier. Nonetheless, we tried. It literally took us 30 minutes for the system to recognize the address: 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California.
While the instruction indicate that you should say the entire address as above, the system was unable to figure it out. (We don't have any accents and we had trained the system earlier in the week.) The system had all sorts of problems. Finally, we got the system to understand the destination by first stating the city and state, and then stating the street and street number. I don't understand why the directions would not tell you to do that to begin with. I can see that the voice recognition system is going to take a lot of getting used to.
But, my biggest complaint is that the navigation system will not allow you to enter new addresses unless the car is in accessory mode (the engine is turned off). My wife was driving and so I could have easily done so without any safety issues. In addition, when we were trying to find a restaurant at our destination, it would only list about 7 or so restaurants. It stated that additional restaurants could be seen only when the car was no longer moving. That is simply ridiculous. So, apparently, we are now required to stop the car and turn the engine off before we can determine where we want to eat at a place we may have never been to before!!!!
The problem is that there are a ton of touch-screen options that you can still do with the navigation system and Entune while the car is moving that are just as distracting or more. So, the designers have not in any way made the car safer to drive. Only more annoying. Moreover, the car already has a sensor that knows when there is a passenger. So, it should allow full access if it notices a person in the passenger seat (at a minimum).
The cost difference between the LE and XLE was $5k. There is no way I would have purchased the XLE had I know how clumsy the user interface to the navigation system is. The voice recognition system sucks and does not in anyway improve the safety of the passengers. It just increases their frustration level with the system.
My recommendation is that if the navigation system is the reason for you to consider the XLE, don't!!! Get the LE and buy a Garmin for less than $200, which is much easier to operate, has more customization options, and does not prevent you from doing things have no relationship with safety when a passenger is onboard.
Oh... also, the navigation system will only accommodate 100 addresses. In this day and age when you can get a tiny 64GB secure digital hard drive, such a limitation makes no sense. The Garmin also let me change the navigation voice to a male Australian accent that my wife (the primary driver of the car) like more. No such luck with the Toyota navigation system (at least that I could find).
There are actually a whole bunch of other little things about the navigation system and Entune that I can harp about, but those are my biggest complaints. Another one is that once I entered some addresses, I found that it would only sort by name or date. Date??? Why would I want to sort by Date? What about distance from current location??? Wouldn't that be more relevant? But that is not an option.
Otherwise, the 2015 Highlander itself is very nice.
I have a 2001 Toyota Echo which developed severe vibration feedback to the steering wheel when the car was driven at low speed or stopped at a traffic sign or signal.
I took the car to the Toyota dealer and they checked the brakes, replaced the front rotors. They also checked the fuel pump and other engine components. The spark plugs and PCV vale were replaced, as well as the crank seal.
When I left the garage, the vibration reappeared after driving about five minutes. I immediately went back to the garage and waited while the mechanic checked the car. He came to the waiting room and said I would not believe what they found. I went to the garage with him and the hood on the car was raised. He started the car and there was no unusual vibration.
He closed the hood and the vibration started again. The problem was that the underhood reinforcement panel had come unwelded (or unglued) and it was vibrating. A mechanic came from the body shop and put a sealer/filler at the loose spots, we let the car sit for a while, the mechanic said the sealer/filler would expand to close the gap, and I drove the car home. The vibration had stopped.
I have a 2002 Toyota Highlander that sort of chokes. At random times while driving, the car hesitates on acceleration, chokes a little, and then continues to accelerate. It is an automatic transmission but it feels like I can feel the shift in gears. usually happens at low speeds (20 mph). no matter time of day or warm up period. I have been having regular maintenance at dealer. there was a caution note that I would need spark plugs replaced... is this it? a result o f needing new spark plugs? or something else?
View 6 RepliesMy 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid makes an intermittent noise when I accelerate from a stop or decelerate to a stop. My best description of the sound is a sharp thud or a dull knock (maybe a dull pop). It happens almost exclusively when I accelerate from a full stop or from moving very slowly. A similar sound happens when I decelerate to a full or near stop. I'm very certain that the sound is coming from the rear suspension or drive train of the vehicle, but I have not proven it. When I'm moving along at normal speeds, I don't hear any sounds and the car feels solid. By pure luck, going over the right sort of bumps causes a somewhat similar noise, but that might be a read herring.
Trips to two separate Toyota dealers have not fixed the issue since it is not easily repeatable. The first dealer tried tightening some bolts. The second replaced one of the front(!) struts, tightened bolts and lubricated things. I have managed to reproduce the issue for the second dealer, but the noise wasn't persistent enough for them to track it down.
This type of SUV should be regarded as all-wheel-drive, but power is mostly delivered by the front tires. The rear tires are driven by an independent electric motor and differential. The front and rear drive trains operate separately; the only mechanical connection between them is the rest of the vehicle. I'm wondering if the electric motor could be slipping a little bit.
2003 Toyota RAV4, approx 130K.
A month ago I put a new set of Goodyear tires on my RAV. I drive on the highway 35-40 miles each way to and from work every day. Immediately after the new tires go on, I notice a vibration from the steering wheel at highway speed, above 60 mph. I took the car back to the tire shop (an independent tire shop, not a chain) and asked them to rebalance the tires. They did, and I took the car home. Drive to work the next day, vibration is worse. Next day, my dad and I switch cars so he can take it in. The tire shop says the front end alignment is off, and adjusts it. Small improvement, but vibration is still there.
I took it in for the 3rd time this weekend, and they swap the front and back tires at my request, thinking this might isolate the problem. The shop also checks my struts and says they are ok. (I don't even know what struts are, but apparently they are ok.) Now the vibration has moved out of the steering wheel and is coming from the rear and the floor. It does not happen when I apply the brakes or am on city streets. What this would be? Bad tire or tires? Something else going on altogether? What should I ask them to do?
So far my pos 04 v8 has had a stepper motor changed, CD changer replaced and 4 new tires at 12000 miles! It's in the shop now for a new airbag harness
The steering wheel vibrates at speeds above 70mph on relatively smooth highways (my Wrx and the crappy Jetta rental I drove today showed no vibration to 90 mph on the same road.). The vibration is slight, but definitely there and noticeable if you take your hands off the wheel not a great way to drive at 75mph.
The dealership says they found no problem with steering wheel vibration.
My question is: is some vibration normal in this vehicle, given vehicle size, tire size, and crappy construction? I'm just not used to seeing any based on the Japanese cars I've always driven.
I purchased a used 2006 Toyota Highlander AWD about 4 months ago. Ever since I bought it, it has had a vibration / wobble from the front end that can be felt through the steering wheel and acceleration petal. Only happens between 40-45 mph. I have brought it to the dealer many times and every time they balance the tires. Last time they said it was a faulty motor mount and replaced it. The problem has not been fixed with this repair.
View 1 RepliesI just bought an 2008 Highlander Base 2WD yesterday and have noticed a vibration while driving during certain instances. Unfortunately it is not constant and I haven't been able to make it happen on purpose. When it does happen, it occurs a second or two after I accelerate and take my foot off the pedal (when I'm not pushing the gas or slowing down). It's like the car is deciding which gear to be in...the whole thing just vibrates for 2-3 seconds.
View 28 RepliesJust had front Rotors and 4 brake pads replaced. Afterward, I noticed after the car has been in motion for a few minutes, a low rumble sound and vibration occurs randomly and usually at low RPM 1500-2500. Vehicle is a 2009 Highlander 4 cyl at 72000 miles.
Toyota service dealer ran diagnostic check and could not find anything.
Second opinion - mechanic swears it's coming from transmission drum and beginning of trans going.
Third opinion- shocks are starting to go and likely root cause on the sound/sensation.
Fourth opinion, wheel alignment or warped rotor likely the cause.
Performed wheel alignment, slight improvement but rumble is still evident. One replaced rotor has a pronounced groove on exterior. Serviceman suggested we won the lottery and the groove came from a rock from the street hitting the rotor.
Finally, it was determined we need to replace intermediate drive shaft due to knocking sound when turning the steering wheel. Not likely related to the low rumble.
My '05 Highlander transmission seems to be geared wrong. When I slow down the car seems to slip into a higher gear and speed up. It is worse when the air conditioning is on.
View 30 RepliesI have a 2001 Toyota highlander with 160000 miles on it. I recently got new tires and alignment. The problem is when I reach 65 my steering wheel starts to shimmy. The wheels were balanced and the shimmering last for ten to fifteen minutes. What might be causing this?
View 5 RepliesI have a 2005 toyota Highlander with 88,000 miles. Every now and then my steering wheel locks up when I am turning left under 10 mph in the rain. What would be causing this and is it going to cost an arm and a leg to fix the problem?
View 4 RepliesMy problem is this: if I accelerate quickly (either flooring it or close to it), then once I reach about 55-65mph the car suddenly jerks horribly. Sometimes it's one big jerk, other times it's several small jerking movements. ECO transmission ...
It's not a problem at speeds under 50mph, but it seems once I cross that 50-55mph threshold, I can't put my foot all the way down or I will get the jerking. It will also occur if I'm going say, 60mph and need to quickly get to 75-80mph. The first time this happened, I was accelerating onto a highway and the car jerked so badly that I thought I had gotten rear-ended.
I just purchased a new 2015 F250 SC 8ft bed 4X4 2 weeks ago. I am experiencing a vibration on soft acceleration (I feel it through the floor), by that I mean when there is power going through the driveway, not coasting. I plan on making an appointment with the dealer. New F250 SC LB 4x4 truck.
View 8 RepliesI just bought a 2015 Camry LE 2 weeks ago and noticed a slight annoying steering wheel vibration when you hit 40 kph and above. You can also feel it on the floor and when you hold the door. Brought it to the dealership and they balanced the wheel. It seemed to have made a difference and you can now feel the vibrations from 80 kph and above. Did a road test with the mechanic and the service manager but they couldn't feel anything and told me it was normal road vibrations. Was advised to go to another dealership for a 2nd opinion. 2nd dealership found a slight excessive loaded runout on the LF tire and road force balanced it.
After 2 days i can again feel a vibration, but this time now at 115 kph and above.I thought I was just being paranoid so I drove a Maxima for 2 days and never felt a vibration.
I drive a 16 sonata sport with 2300 miles. Dealer says it is normal but at 80+ mph, there are vibrations that can be felt in the steering wheel and seats. At low speeds car is smooth but starts to shake at 80+.
View 13 RepliesUnder acceleration between 65-80 on the highway I get a serious vibration in my steering wheel. I can feel it in the floor of the car too. When I let off the throttle it goes away. I have new tires, wheels, and new axles too. I thought it was the inner cv's but i was wrong. I was thinking possibly motor mounts, but I am not 100% sure. Specs 2004 Jetta GLI, ecs 10mm spacers in the front, coilovers dropped 2 inches, otherwise everything else is stock in the bushing mount department.
View 11 Replies2004 F350 single rear wheel with 8" suspension (springs) lift and 37" tires all put on in 2005. Having low speed vibration 15-20 mph on accel and decel. Recently put on thick aluminum rear dif cover and vibration seems to have come since that install. Used Mobile synthetic fluid and 4 oz of Motorcraft antifriction additive and 4 oz of off brand. The Mobile fluid and antifriction have been in my barn for over 5 years in the winter and summer. I just changed the carrier bearing and all U-joints look good. Any chance the fluid and antifriction additive could be causing this? Truck has 66k miles.
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