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Just so you know..... I actually do own a Toyota that I am in the middle of a battle with Toyota over right now. I'm not taking the side of Toyota, which is why I said I am not an advocate for them. If you had said "I got rid of the 4runner and my new vehicle doesn't do this" then I'd be able to believe it's a manufacturer specific issue (like the issue we are having) but when you say your new vehicle which is a different manufacturer has the same problems maybe you're looking in the wrong place for the culprit.
Drive by wire systems are not the same as cable. Think about it. The acceleration between a carbureted engine driven by a cable, and the acceleration of a fuel injected engine driven by cable are night and day different. The acceleration from a fuel injected engine driven by cable and one driven by a complex system of computers to tell it when to activate a solenoid are also going to be different. The computer has to react to the input you give it. It's electronic feedback, not mechanical as you have with older vehicles.
Well, thank you for being a little more kind than your last post in which you suggested it might either be all in my head or something wrong with the way I push down an accelerator pedal
Quote:
OP maybe it's you and not the car.
If there is any confusion as to the past history let me try to clear it up: my wife owned a 2010 4-Runner. We had some problems with it but they were not performance-related problems (rear hydraulic hatch door malfunctioned and lifted into our sliding underground gate causing the glass to shatter---glass and module had to be replaced cost: $1500.--among other things) As long as the motor itself and related functions like the accelerator were working we were satisfied, knowing that while Toyota's quality had slipped drastically in the last decade, at least ours was performing safely. But after so many miles 100,000+ it's time to think about replacing. We had no idea problems were surfacing with the accelerator lag. Had we known we never would have bought the 2015. As to my Tundra, I had no problems specifically; I was just losing confidence in the Toyota label reading about all the recalls and the problem with the accelerator that was making headlines so when it came time I traded it in for a Ridgeline because I'd always wanted one.
Now as to what you're describing to me (drive-by-wire system) I have no idea how that works. If it's new technology the ball is in Toyota's court to make sure the technology is perfected and ready for the consumer to use safely. Clearly there are problems with the system and I don't give Toyota a free pass just because they're introducing new technology. The problem is 95% (as others on the 4-runner thread have described) taking the foot off the pedal when going around a corner or similar and then reapplying pressure to the accelerator to try to reaccelerate. The car just lags; it doesn't move; there's a definite drop in RPM's even when pressure is being put on the pedal. As I said and I reiterate: during one of these incidences I tested the problem by putting the pedal to the floor during one of these lags and held it there for 5 seconds before deciding the car was never going to move unless I released and then reapplied pressure. When I do this the car bucks forward as you'd expect a car to do with a driver who likes jackrabbit starts. I ask you a question in all sincerity does this sound like me and not the 4-runner? I mean does a driver need a PhD to know how to put a pedal down and make it go, especially when the driver has 40+ years experience behind a wheel? No, I don't think so. We can safely say it's not me, it's the auto.
This would all be academic if the dealership would step up to the plate and take responsibility. But Toyota doesn't want any more trouble making the headlines so the policy is "Deny, deny, deny" until a serious accident occurs in which there are fatalities and then they move into "damage control" mode and either try to quash the publicity and/or reach a quiet settlement for a pittance to make the problem go away. Far as directly dealing with the problem I have two choices: 1. sell the car at a loss and buy something more reliable, preferably one that relies on older proven technology of acceleration or 2. live with it and take my life and my wife's life in our hands. I'm trying to convince my wife to dump this lemon and move onto something else, but she won't. Obviously she's not as concerned about the problem as I am. But that's not to say it's me and not the auto. She does mostly freeway driving so she doesn't deal with it as much as I do when I surface drive to fill up her tank. My concern is that the accelerator doesn't give out entirely along the way after the warranty has run out.
My warning to others contemplating buying this piece of $#it is "BEWARE"!
Well, thank you for being a little more kind than your last post in which you suggested it might either be all in my head or something wrong with the way I push down an accelerator pedal
If there is any confusion as to the past history let me try to clear it up: my wife owned a 2010 4-Runner. We had some problems with it but they were not performance-related problems (rear hydraulic hatch door malfunctioned and lifted into our sliding underground gate causing the glass to shatter---glass and module had to be replaced cost: $1500.--among other things) As long as the motor itself and related functions like the accelerator were working we were satisfied, knowing that while Toyota's quality had slipped drastically in the last decade, at least ours was performing safely. But after so many miles 100,000+ it's time to think about replacing. We had no idea problems were surfacing with the accelerator lag. Had we known we never would have bought the 2015. As to my Tundra, I had no problems specifically; I was just losing confidence in the Toyota label reading about all the recalls and the problem with the accelerator that was making headlines so when it came time I traded it in for a Ridgeline because I'd always wanted one.
Now as to what you're describing to me (drive-by-wire system) I have no idea how that works. If it's new technology the ball is in Toyota's court to make sure the technology is perfected and ready for the consumer to use safely. Clearly there are problems with the system and I don't give Toyota a free pass just because they're introducing new technology. The problem is 95% (as others on the 4-runner thread have described) taking the foot off the pedal when going around a corner or similar and then reapplying pressure to the accelerator to try to reaccelerate. The car just lags; it doesn't move; there's a definite drop in RPM's even when pressure is being put on the pedal. As I said and I reiterate: during one of these incidences I tested the problem by putting the pedal to the floor during one of these lags and held it there for 5 seconds before deciding the car was never going to move unless I released and then reapplied pressure. When I do this the car bucks forward as you'd expect a car to do with a driver who likes jackrabbit starts. I ask you a question in all sincerity does this sound like me and not the 4-runner? I mean does a driver need a PhD to know how to put a pedal down and make it go, especially when the driver has 40+ years experience behind a wheel? No, I don't think so. We can safely say it's not me, it's the auto.
This would all be academic if the dealership would step up to the plate and take responsibility. But Toyota doesn't want any more trouble making the headlines so the policy is "Deny, deny, deny" until a serious accident occurs in which there are fatalities and then they move into "damage control" mode and either try to quash the publicity and/or reach a quiet settlement for a pittance to make the problem go away. Far as directly dealing with the problem I have two choices: 1. sell the car at a loss and buy something more reliable, preferably one that relies on older proven technology of acceleration or 2. live with it and take my life and my wife's life in our hands. I'm trying to convince my wife to dump this lemon and move onto something else, but she won't. Obviously she's not as concerned about the problem as I am. But that's not to say it's me and not the auto. She does mostly freeway driving so she doesn't deal with it as much as I do when I surface drive to fill up her tank. My concern is that the accelerator doesn't give out entirely along the way after the warranty has run out.
My warning to others contemplating buying this piece of $#it is "BEWARE"!
All new vehicles use drive by wire technology. There's no getting away from it. Computers control everything. And I do mean everything. We just drove a 2013 and 2015 4runner last week to see if we wanted to trade in our Venza towards one. I didn't notice any issues whatsoever with the throttle response. It was actually more responsive than my F250 so it caught me off guard. The only issues we found with it were that the seats were like riding on a cinder block. After fighting with Toyota for so long over our Venza and corporate bobbing and weaving like Mohammad Ali, we decided to mark Toyota off the list for us altogether. I do agree that their quality has slipped from what it used to be, but honestly that's the same for just about every manufacturer. Everyone has that brand that's their Achilles heel. For us... it has become Toyota. For others it's Ford (which consequently has been our most reliable vehicles), GM, Chrysler, etc....
Does that mean they don't make vehicles that fit a specific group of people? Not at all. They just don't fit us and our driving style/habits.
One other consideration is that you are trying to move an extremely heavy vehicle very quickly with either a 4 or 6 cylinder engine. They're not geared for acceleration. You have to look somewhere else for that. Maybe try looking at something such as a smaller car with a V6, or an SUV with a V8 if you want more pep. Trying to throw out some suggestions.
All new vehicles use drive by wire technology. There's no getting away from it. Computers control everything. And I do mean everything. We just drove a 2013 and 2015 4runner last week to see if we wanted to trade in our Venza towards one. I didn't notice any issues whatsoever with the throttle response. It was actually more responsive than my F250 so it caught me off guard. The only issues we found with it were that the seats were like riding on a cinder block. After fighting with Toyota for so long over our Venza and corporate bobbing and weaving like Mohammad Ali, we decided to mark Toyota off the list for us altogether. I do agree that their quality has slipped from what it used to be, but honestly that's the same for just about every manufacturer. Everyone has that brand that's their Achilles heel. For us... it has become Toyota. For others it's Ford (which consequently has been our most reliable vehicles), GM, Chrysler, etc....
Does that mean they don't make vehicles that fit a specific group of people? Not at all. They just don't fit us and our driving style/habits.
One other consideration is that you are trying to move an extremely heavy vehicle very quickly with either a 4 or 6 cylinder engine. They're not geared for acceleration. You have to look somewhere else for that. Maybe try looking at something such as a smaller car with a V6, or an SUV with a V8 if you want more pep. Trying to throw out some suggestions.
And I appreciate that very much.
American autos are out. Has nothing to do with being non-patriotic; I just believe in calling a spade a spade: they generally make a lousy product. So that leave a handful of Consumer Guide-recommended manufactures, of which Honda/Acura seem to score the highest in satisfaction. The only SUV made by Honda is the Pilot so I'll try to talk her into at least test-driving it, but I think she's determined to see this thing out to 100K miles again. I couldn't do it. I curse a blue streak out loud every time I drive the *&^% thing. Also noticing that the Ridgeline has jumped from 21K when I bought it in 2010 to 30K for the 2016. I'll be holding onto this one for a long long time, especially since I only have 27K miles on it and it drives like a charm.
I wouldn't say American autos are all lousy. We actually traded our Toyota in this weekend for an Expedition due to some glass issues it was having that the dealer couldn't fix. We have never had any issues with the Expeditions or F150s we have owned. I also had a Chevy Avalanche that never gave me any issues either.
The Pilot has its share of issues as well, so something to think about. Our neighbor trades theirs every year for the new one because their old one has issues (mostly A/C and few other electrical gremlins).
American autos are out. Has nothing to do with being non-patriotic; I just believe in calling a spade a spade: they generally make a lousy product. So that leave a handful of Consumer Guide-recommended manufactures, of which Honda/Acura seem to score the highest in satisfaction. The only SUV made by Honda is the Pilot so I'll try to talk her into at least test-driving it, but I think she's determined to see this thing out to 100K miles again. I couldn't do it. I curse a blue streak out loud every time I drive the *&^% thing. Also noticing that the Ridgeline has jumped from 21K when I bought it in 2010 to 30K for the 2016. I'll be holding onto this one for a long long time, especially since I only have 27K miles on it and it drives like a charm.
But earlier you said it has the same lag as the 4Runner. Why keep one and get rid of the other when both are doing the same thing? Are you sure it is not you? Sounds like it.
I was given a used 4Runner to use for a couple hours while my Prius was being serviced a few months ago and noticed the gas pedal was "jerky". Iirc its mileage was around 40K, so I blamed it (in my mind) on a worn part. I even mentioned it to my wife. It was the pits. If this is what you're experiencing with your new car, I don't blame you for being upset.
The one I drove was actually very sensitive as I was used to my F250 where you have to give it a good bit of throttle to get it going. The sensors between different makes and models are different and the vehicles react different. Once you learn how to drive it (and it learns your driving style) my experience has always gotten much better.
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