wheel besrings? Ujoints? Cv joints? transfer case? Rear differential? transmission?

Some tires cause issues nonmatter how well they are aligned or balanced.
.
Tire brand/model, alignment or tire tech competence, tire balancer type.. cant fix nothing.

 

Is yours 4WD? If yes, I suspect it could be the seized U-joints on the prop shaft. Same symptoms as what I had on my RAV4. To confirm it, loosen the shaft at the x-fer care and rear diff, and check if the U-joints move freely...

 

Ok. Will check the u-joints and come back with my findings. It is AWD.

Did you change the U-joints in your case and did it fix the issue?

 

Many comments have pointed to the torque converter, but I have no way of confirming it. My mechanic doed not think so.

 

Just for the hell of it, check the drive shaft. I had my 2013 undercoated and the local fools under coated half the drive shaft which put it out of balance. They ended up scraping the under coating off the drive shaft and all was well.

 

The car shudders still persist. My research points me in the direction of this Service Bulletin for Toyota Camry that describes the exact problem I am experiencing - http://media.fixed-ops.com/Toy_ServiceBulletins/sb0034t14.pdf

Please does anyone know if Toyota released a similar Bulletin for Highlander?? Or if you experienced the same in your 2013 Highlander car.

Any suggestion will really be appreciated. Thanks.

 

My 2010 highlander also has that kind of shudder. 180k with no trans fluid change before.
If I let off the gas, the vibration is gone. If I switch to 4th gear in S mode, a shudder never occurs.
I should try the addictive you mention below too.

 

I am ecstatic to inform you that the car shuddering and vidration has totally stopped. I bought the Lubegard 63010 Platinum ATF Protectant and added it to the transmission oil. Drove the car for about 200miles and it did the magic. No more shuddering. Thanks everyone for the suggestions above.

 

Hey, did the shutter ever come back after adding the Lubegard???

 

If Lubegard Platinum solved your problem, that tells me that your ATF was toast.
Time for a 15 quart cooler line flush. Good time to change the ATF filter too.

 

I would second that you need a ATF change if the additive made that big of an improvement.

 

You stick snake oil in you're only MAYBE masking an issue temporarily but causing others.