Problems with 2001 Toyota Highlander POWER TRAIN

On wed, 4 sep 2013 at approximately 12:00, i parked my car in the driveway and got out of the car to pick up mail. after picking up the mail, i returned to the car and leaned over the car to retrieve my purse from the passenger seat when my suv started rolling backwards. my car which was on an incline in my driveway kept rolling backwards. i fell on my back on the concrete driveway and the front tire of my car rolled over my left thigh. the car rolled back and stopped in the middle of the street. my neighbor across the street called 911. *js

As my wife was slowing the vehicle to a stop in a parking lot, the vehicle seemed to experience an acceleration on its own. she felt as if the accelerator got stuck so she immediately pressed brake with her left foot and accelerator with the right foot in an effort to 'release' the accelerator pedal. this was a reflex move on her part because it happened so fast. the vehicle hopped over the parking lot curb, landed on the grass and came to a stop. i was standing 50 feet from the car when this happened. the only thing i noticed was a braking sound and when i turned around the car had hopped and was on the grass. we took the car to the local dealership who couldn't find the cause or replicate the problem. they said there's no problem with the car. a month has gone by since the incident and there hasn't been anything unusual with the car since. *tr

I was backing out of the garage when the car accelerated. i kept hitting the brake and it finally stopped. i put the car back into drive and it accelerated again. i tried hitting the brake and it wouldn't stop until it hit the garage door. i don't know how fast it was going, but it seemed like it was going at an excessive speed. *kb

When shifted to reverse gear from parked condition car accelerated and caused crash to the rear of the car to wall. *cn

2001 toyota highlander, v6 engine, auto transmission. there is a definite hesitation/lag/delay in shifting and acceleration. this condition happens almost all of the time and creates a real safety concern. moderate acceleration will produce this condition. toyota is aware of this condition but is doing nothing to correct it. *jb

I bought my 2001 toyota highlander in august 2001..........at 15 months/50,000 miles my transmission started leaking and when it started slipping toyota rapidly replaced my transmission. a leak was determined within weeks of the replacement and the torque converter seal (tcs) had to be replaced. upon replacing the tcs the drive shaft was found to be damaged and had to be replaced. has the highlander required transmission replacements?*jb

Speedometer stopped (went to zero) while car operating at 65 mph. registered complaint with toyota, who advised it was acceptable defect, and would not fix the problem.

I own a 2001 toyota highlander, 85000 miles. 3 weeks ago the transmission failed. i called the toyota dealership and was told they could not help me. i had a transmission shop rebuild the transmission and when taking it apart, they found 4 planetary gears that had sustained random breaking and chipping. this appears to be a quality issue. i have reported this to toyota at corporate and dealership levels and requested i be informed of any secret warranties that exist to cover this expense. i have not yet received a response.

Harmonic noise from beneath car at 30 mph with power applied, similar noise, of lessened magitude at 60 mph. dealer replaced rear differential and then transmission. noise remains. dealer says lexus rx300, with same transmission, has had same problem. unknown cause as yet. *ak

The design of the automatic shifter places it almost directly over the cup holders of the center console. using the cupholders makes accidential contact with the shift lever very likely, and when this happens the shifter can be easily knocked out of drive and into neutral. there is no detent or other restriction to keep a slight brush with the shifter from allowing the lever to move from drive to neutral. this has happend to me three times, even though i am trying to avoid this accidental contact.*ak

Defective transmission from date of purchase. it took toyota 2 months to finally fix it. i am not satisfied with the service from toyota. *ak

Hard gear change, drag when coasting (like gear down), poor acceleration. toyota ignores the problem; they say it is acceptable. *ak