NHTSA Complaint #10121231 — 2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

I OWN A 2004 HIGHLANDER LIMITED, V6, 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC. WHEN DECELERATING AND THEN ACCELERATING, THERE IS A 1 TO 2 SECOND HESITATION BEFORE THE CAR MOVES AGAIN. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME. THIS INACTION BY THE VEHICLE IS A SAFETY HAZARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN MERGING ONTO A FAST-MOVING FREEWAY. NOTE: THIS HESITATION DOES NOT OCCUR IF YOU COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I DID A WEB SEARCH TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM, AND I FOUND A LOT OF COMPLAINTS (YOU NEED TO ADD "WEB SEARCH" TO YOUR "SOURCE" LIST BELOW). SO IT'S NOT JUST MY VEHICLE. THIS DESIGN FAULT IS EVIDENT ON ALL TOYOTAS WITH THE 3.3 LITER, 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC. EVIDENTLY THE LEXUS ES330 AND RX330 HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I ALSO HAVE A FRIEND WITH A 2004 SIENNA THAT HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. WHEN I TOOK MY CAR INTO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP TO COMPLAIN, THEY SAID IT WAS THE ELECTRONICALLY-CONTROLLED TRANSMISSION, AND THAT "IT WAS DESIGNED THAT WAY." I ASKED ABOUT REPROGRAMMING THE FLASH MEMORY OF THE CONTROLLER INVOLVED AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NO UPDATED SOFTWARE, THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. SO, I GUESS IT'S UP TO YOU TO GET TOYOTA TO DO SOMETHING. I SEE HERE ON YOUR SITE, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. THIS IS A REPEATABLE, MEASURABLE SYSTEM FAULT. JUST TAKE A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WITH A V6 OUT FOR A DRIVE. THEN SLOW DOWN A BIT, THEN ACCELERATE AS YOU WOULD NORMALLY. THE CAR WILL HESITATE. EVERY TIME. NOW DO THIS WHILE YOU'RE MERGING ONTO A FAST-MOVING FREEWAY. WHEN IT HESITATES, YOU'LL DO AN "OH,?!@#$%" AND ACCELERATE HARDER, AT WHICH POINT THE TRANSMISSION WILL HESITATE SLIGHTLY AGAIN, THEN SHIFT DOWN. THE ENGINE WILL REV UP AND YOU'LL ROAR OUT ONTO THE FREEWAY LIKE AN IDIOT. PLEASE. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT, IF IT HASN'T HAPPENED ALREADY. *TR