2005 Toyota Highlander Engine Problems

“I'm the original owner & sole driver of the vehicle & ever since I test drove it the day I purchased it this car's had issues with jerky/delayed acceleration. During the test drive I was told that the car adjusts to how I drive & it'll get better. This happens pretty much every time I accelerate the vehicle after it's been stopped or the speed slowed substantially. Each & every time I try to gently accelerate the vehicle from a stop, there's a tiny delay in vehicle response from what I am inputting to the accelerator pedal. …”

“I am the original owner of the vehicle and throughout my ownership since 2/2005 when it was bought this car has issues with acceleration. It usually occurs when you are sitting at a stop and try to accelerate the vehicle. The car does not recognize when you are pushing the acceleration pedal and has a delay when it finally responds. There have been numerous incidents where I have tried to cross a busy intersection or pull out into traffic and the vehicle hesitates when trying to accelerate, ending with a jerk of the vehicle. …”

“My wife was driving our 2005 Toyota within the city limits at a low rate of speed and noticed smoke coming out of the front engine hood area. There were no trouble lights showing for the engine at the time, nor was the temperature gauge showing a high temperature. She pulled over and found the grill area and front engine hood were melting and scortched. She called police / fire to respond to the scene. The fire department was unable to open the front hood, since it appeared that the release cable had melted from the extreme heat. …”

“My 2025 Acura MDX (under 10,000 miles) has failed to restart after the automatic idle stop engaged at stoplights and drive-thru lines at least 7 separate times. When I release the brake, the engine often remains off and the vehicle will not move, leaving me stopped in traffic. I have not yet required a jump start, but on several occasions the vehicle came very close to not restarting at all. This most recently occurred at a sandwich shop drive-thru. These incidents occurred in normal drive mode and in normal weather conditions. …”

“Engine/transmission is very jerky and on again off again with acceleration and deceleration. This has almost caused me to have several accidents, and I am considering getting rid of the car. It seems that Toyota has known about this problem with Highlander for some period of time. And I feel that they should honor the hard working citizens that buy their vehicles and provide a recall to repair the afore mentioned problems.”