Sorry about your Accord but it's tough to get stuff fixed without a TSB or something being completely broken. Best of luck with the Highlander. It should require little maintenance and most importantly, no timing belt or VCM. I think you will find a void in performance and fun to drive factor though. It's narrower than the Passport which helps for garage use.
Yep- my wife's Passport won't even fit in our garage- as it's too tall because of the foolish shark fin antenna. The Passport drives larger than it is- it feels really wide... while the Highlander drives smaller than it is. I very much prefer the Highlander... my wife has driven my Highlander around the block- and she said that she prefers her Passport because it feels like you are sitting higher and she says that visibility is better. Both seem to be superior to the other in some ways, and inferior in others.
The problem you mentioned with the stiff brake pedal on startup is a know issue that dealers refuse to fix, but it's an easy fix with the replacement of a check valve at your expense of course. Yet another example of a manufacturer essentially saying that a known problem is normal
Yep- That's why it is so frustrating. I know that they know that it's a common problem- but they all play it like it's not a known issue. With both my Accord and Passport- I've taken video of all of the issues and have played it for them. As I've said- I've also left the vehicles overnight because most of the issues happen when the car is started when cold in the morning. Somehow the problems happen 99% of the time when in my driveway- but never while at the dealer. They just don't want to fix it- pure and simple. Somehow I imagine that as soon as the warranty is up- then they'll suddenly admit that there is a problem and be willing to fix it- while charging their normal hourly rate, of course.
I wonder if my wife's Passport's issue might be different than the one that you describe- as the pedal isn't hard to press at all when the problem happens... the car just doesn't register that you are pressing the pedal. Either way- there are tons of complaints about this online. There's no excuse for dealers to pretend that it's not a problem. Her Passport still has about 26,000 miles left on her bumper-to-bumper warranty- so there's lots of time to debate if we should trade-it in or keep it. I'll say this- if I had to drive it each day- the dang thing would have been traded in a few months ago.
Have you heard of the Car Care Nut Youtube channel? If you want to get up to speed on Toyota's (if you're not already) he's got everything you need to know.
I've gone the Toyota route 3 RAV4's since last summer, really liking these hybrids I'm all in so its a gamble but so far so good.
I like my Passport but it's slow, heavy and a guzzler but like you said, it doesn't hold its value. Looking to trade it in for a Highlander not sure if gas or hybrid or possibly a RAV4 Prime.
I've watched a few of the Car Car Nut's videos. I was happy to watch his video on the current Highlander- which he largely gives the green light to purchase- especially if you avoid 2020 and early 2021 years that had some minor issues.
I strongly debated going for a Highlander Hybrid. My wife and I owned a Camry Hybrid for about 15 years that we loved- and it was extremely reliable. The dealer didn't have any on the lot- they are really hard to find in my area right now. Plus, I'm not sure I'd be okay going from the Accord 2.0t to a Highlander Hybrid, as it's noticeably slower than the 3.5L Highlander. It's hard enough getting used to the lack of initial grunt in the Highlander 3.5L after driving an Accord with the 2.0t. Once it's up to speed, the 3.5L is plenty fast for passing and merging.
My sister has a Rav4 and loves it- but it's just too small for my taste and I'm not really into the styling of the current generation.
One thing that I already love about the Highlander (or really it's something that I thought that I would hate but it turns out that it's fine)... it's auto start-stop system. There's no need to turn it off each time. When the Highlander comes to a stop- the start/stop system on it doesn't automatically engage. A message appears in the instrument cluster that tells you that if you want it to engage, press down harder on the brake pedal. If you don't, it doesn't engage.
