2007 Toyota Highlander

Why does my 07 Highlander hesitate on acceleration? - dealer says it is an inherent problem due to emmission control system

Sounds like the dealer doesn’t want to fix something covered by your warranty.

If the vehicle in question had been manufactured during the '70s, that answer would probably be valid. For a modern vehicle, the answer is BOGUS.

Agreed. Ask to test drive another '07 Highlander and verify this for yourself.

They will have one on their used car lot.

If I punch the gas on my wife’s 2006 Sienna from a stand still, there seems to be a slight pause/delay before the van starts to accelerate. Once the van starts to move there is no hesitation. Punching the gas when driving, there is a slight delay before the van downshifts to accelerate. I think it is due to emissions, however there no hesitation under normal driving conditions so it’s not an issue with me or the Missus.

If it hesistates or bogs down during acceleration you have a problem. Ask the dealer if you can drive another Highlander for comparison.

Ed B.

there have been reports of slight delay due to computer in accelerating the later Highlanders, and as a result sometimes the hesitation causes driver to really mash the accelerator and they get into trouble, especially in left turns with traffic coming. This ws generally programmed out of the system. See ifyour dealer has a computer update available for this.