NHTSA Complaint #11129582 — 2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

2017 HIGHLANDER LIMITED. 11,800 MILES. OVER THE LAST 30 DAYS THE VEHICLE HAS HAD 3 SIMILAR EVENTS OF VEHICLE HESITATION OR STUMBLING FROM A FULL STOP, WHEN APPLYING FULL ACCELERATOR PEDAL TRAVEL. THE VEHICLE SEEMS TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY FOR A SECOND OR TWO, THEN JUST SEEMS TO HANG AT 5-10 MPH. PUMPING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL QUICKLY FULL UP, FULL DOWN MAY HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM, I'M NOT REALLY SURE, BUT THAT IS WHAT I DID.THE VEHICLE OPERATES NORMALLY AFTER THAT.IN THE LAST AND MOST FRIGHTENING EPISODE, I WAS AT A STOP,ON A SIDE STREET WAITING TO TURN ONTO A FRONTAGE ROAD WHERE TYPICAL SPEEDS ARE 60 MPH. I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL FULL DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND TURNED ONTO THE FRONTAGE ROAD. THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY FOR 1-2 SECONDS, THEN AS BEFORE, JUST STAYED AT 5-10 MPH WITH A CAR COMING UPON MY REAR AT 60 MPH. FORTUNATELY FOR ME HE WAS ABLE TO CHANGE LANES AND AVOID RUNNING INTO ME. I PUMPED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AS DESCRIBED. THE VEHICLE THAN RESPONDED NORMALLY. I DON'T REMEMBER IF THE VEHICLE WAS IN POWER OR ECONOMY MODE. I TYPICALLY PUT IT INTO POWER MODE BEFORE ENTERING THE HIGHWAY (WHICH I WAS ABOUT TO DO ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE FRONTAGE ROAD) IF I REMEMBER. AS YOU MAY IMAGINE THIS LAST EPISODE LEFT ME QUITE DISTURBED. I ALWAYS USE REGULAR GRADE GASOLINE FROM TOP NAME GAS STATIONS. THESE EVENTS HAPPENED WITH DIFFERENT TANKS OF GAS FROM DIFFERENT STATIONS. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO READ ANY ERROR CODES FROM THE COMPUTER, AND WERE UNABLE TO REPEAT THE PROBLEM IN A TEST DRIVE. THEY HAVE ESCALATED THE CASE TO THE TOYOTA ENGINEERING TEAM.