Going to the dark side.

[bigdude2468]

I will soon be the owner of 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid. First time (in over 50 years) that I will have a vehicle that is not from the big three. While my 2014 XLT has been good and very reliable the "goofy" things that Ford did with the internal water pump and a PTU that doesn't have a drain plug made no sense. I do all my own maintenance and took meticulous care. Oil changes were no more than 5000 miles and often my at least every six months meant substantially less. At about 85,000 miles I changed the water pump and all of the timing components. Once a year I sucked out what I could from the PTU and replaced it. Also once a year I drained the transmission fluid and replaced it. I fought the dragging brakes by cleaning the pad clips at least once a year and the dealer could never fix the shuttering power windows. There is a front end clunk that two dealers were never able to identify even after throwing parts at it. I may have considered an Explorer but Ford in their infinite wisdom decided that they won't offer a hybrid version in the 2025. The 2.3 liter AWD Ex gets 20 city 28 highway. For about $1,600 I can the hybrid in a Grand Highlander that gets 36 city and 32 highway. Highlanders are made in Indiana so at least its not produced off shore.

 

[peterk9]

Thanks for being a forum member and your contributions to the forum. All the best with your Highlander. I had tthree of them 2011, 2016 and 2019 all Limiteds and they were all great.

Peter

 

[Rick]

Best of luck with your new ride.

 

[mountaineer2004]

My grandfather loved fords, as did my father, and so do I, but all my children bought foreign cars, times are changing and it's not only you.

Good luck, your Highlander is the perfect vehicle, minus the CVT, at least for me.

 

[bigdude2468]

My grandfather loved fords, as did my father, and so do I, but all my children bought foreign cars, times are changing and it's not only you.

Good luck, your Highlander is the perfect vehicle, minus the CVT, at least for me.

View attachment 450864
^ Grandfather with his Model A Ford

The Toyota ECVT has little, actually no resemblance to a traditional CVT, no steel belt or cones that move to change the ratio. The Toyota Synergy Drive has two electric motors / generators as part of the ECVT, hence the E designation. Several good videos on YouTube that describes how it works.

 

[Sixonemale]

After having owned a Lexus and now an Acura, both were and are my wife’s vehicles, I have to say unequivocally that Japanese automotive technology is second to none, heads and tails better than Ford. I owned a first-generation Eddie Bauer Explorer back in ’90 or ’91 and then a redesigned ’02, both were reasonable. Unfortunately, the 5th generation Explorer is a can of worms. It was built solely for CAFE standards with maintenance and safety being after thoughts, sad.

I also had clunk up front and/or underneath my Explorer. I replaced both strut bearings and evaluated replacing many other parts and can't recall exactly which ones I replaced up front. It wasn't until I replaced the subframe bushings that finally made the clunk disappear.

I believe you’ll have a great experience on the dark side.