Hi Scotty I have a 2022 Highlander with 870 miles on it. It shifts pretty harsh at times in lower gears. When I am decelerating from 25 to 20 miles an hour and I give it gas the car shakes at times at I have had the transmission make a klunking sound 5 or 6 times.
I took it in to Toyota and I showed the tech during a test drive. I had to duplicate the process so I accelerated and decelerated then gave it gas and the harsh shift occurred. I did this 3 times. THERE WERE NO CODES FOUND. The tech told the service manager that it was the way I drive. I was asked to duplicate this occurrence and I'm getting the run around. The service manager said it the way I drive. He says I am catching the transmission between gears.
I ride the brake and then give it a slight bit of gas. But in the black box it says I am giving it alot of gas. I asked the manager if they could adjust the sensors they said no.
I have been driving cars for 30 years. I was also told that it has to do with the accelerator being driven by sensors instead of a cable. I hardly give it gas yet the transmission shifts hard. They pulled the black box and said that I was driving the car hard. I was not. I am barely touching the accelerator when the harsh shift occurs.
I honestly think Toyota is trying to cover up for their EXCESSIVE use of technology causing a harsher ride.. What are your thoughts?
So here's the thing; dealerships don't make profit off of warranty work so they'll try telling you it's normal or it's how you drive it etc. Now the new Highlander does not shift harsh or have a harsh ride; I don't own one myself but have driven a friend's 2022 Highlander and it's super smooth. So it might be an issue with only the unit you received which in this case take it to your trusted independent mechanic and have them check it out for you. Once you have the diagnosis take it back to the dealership and demand that they fix it.
The word demand should be in capital letters. Good call @fjcruiser2014.
"DEMAND" in capital and bold for sure.
He can demand all he wants, and they'll laugh in his face because he already bought the thing and has no leverage. At this stage, he has to PURSUADE them to help. That will require cleverly outmaneuvering of all their excuses and outsmarting them. Good luck.
It depends on where he lives. In my state actually demanding works because they know if there is a problem and they don't fix it then it will be pursued using lemon law and something like this he will win.
They'll just use the classic "it's normal". Lemon law doesn't work until you can prove it's a defect. He should do everything possible NOT to end up in court.
You didn't notice it while test driving before you bought it?
If possible, test drive similar car from the same dealer to show them the hard shift is not normal.
Get them to replace the transmission to make it shift right,
It doesn't matter how much you're pushing the gas - it should always be reasonably smooth.
Realize that this transmission, the "Toyota UA80" has been around for a while, it's a popular choice on BMW, Lexus, MINI, some Cadilacs, ALL PSA products, and on most Volvo cars. Late model years shift quickly, softly and nicely.
The Peugeot 3008 is basically a European equivalent Highlander and it has the same AISIN AWF8F35/45 transmission, shifts are quick, SMOOTH, and effortless - there's no "catching the transmission between gears".
Here's a video of the internet how that one shifts, and how yours should too:
Toyota designed the Highlander in a matter that would make the lives of transmission repair shop miserable, and now they're just getting a taste of their own medicine.
According to their own procedures, pulling it out requires dropping the subframe, only the disassembly costs thousands. These are the kinds of things you'd only see on Porsches
(It's very different from how on some trucks you could separate the body from the frame)
THERE WERE NO CODES FOUND
First of all, Codes are not an indication as far as IF there's an issue.
When you feel an issue, you check for codes and they might suggest what's the cause.
What does that he even mean?
This isn't a 2000s Toyota Automated manual - it's an automatic, it's always in gear!
And even on those, when you floor it while it's free-wheeling it still wouldn't shutter or stutter.
Go to someone who isn't a clown (it's hard to find a dealer than isn't one)
