NHTSA Complaint #10149501 — 2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

I HAVE A 2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WITH A 3.3L V6 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE THAT WAS PURCHASED NEW FROM THE MANUFACTURER, I NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO HESITATE WHEN ACCELERATING AT LOW SPEEDS. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED AND I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE. THE DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM OR FIND ANYTHING WRONG. NOW THE CAR HAS ALMOST 20,000 MILES ON IT, I'VE TAKEN THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER A FEW TIMES AS THE HESITATION HAS GOTTEN WORSE AND THEY CONTINUE TO TELL ME THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. I RARELY DRIVE THE CAR NOW SINCE I HAVE COME VERY CLOSE TO HAVING A MAJOR ACCIDENTS NUMEROUS TIMES. IN EACH CASE, I WILL TRY AND MERGE ONTO A FREEWAY. GOING UP THE RAMP (OR DOWN) AND ACCELERATING TO GET UP TO SPEED, THE TRANSMISSION WILL DELAY FOR 2-3 SECONDS. I THEN PUSH THE GAS PEDAL DOWN A BIT MORE AND THE RPM'S WILL SHOOT UP, THE CAR WILL JERK, AND SPEED AHEAD. IF I DON'T APPLY THE EXTRA GAS, IT LEAVES ME IN A SITUATION WHERE I MIGHT BE HIT FROM BEHIND BY OTHER CARS. WHEN THE CAR JERKS AHEAD, I'VE COME CLOSE TO SLAMMING INTO CARS AHEAD OF ME. I'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH ON THE WEB AND HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS OTHER TOYOTA OWNERS WITH THIS SAME EXACT PROBLEM. I HOPE NO ONE HAS BEEN KILLED OR INJURED FROM THIS DEFECT THAT TOYOTA IS UNWILLING TO ADDRESS, AND THAT THE NHTSA WILL INVESTIGATE THIS BEFORE ANYONE IS KILLED OR INJURED. *NM