Probably a lot more info on a Lexus site , it's been used by them for a few years now

 

I might be wrong but have read this is the first year for the 2.4 Turbo in the Highlander, if i am wrong i apologize now.
If i am right any negative feed back on it here. reason i ask is i am a Tacoma guy and we will be getting that engine in 2024. my 2016 Tacoma, first year for the 3.5 V6. lot's of negative things showed up, like timing chain cover leaks, they have to pull the engine to fix. Also transmission shifting issues and lack of power from a stop unless you floor it.
getting a years preview of the 2.4 Turbo would be helpful.

thanks

It depends how Toyota tunes it. I think the Lexus 450h has a 400hp tuning package on the 2.4l turbo. Their new engine provides better mid range on the Highlander vs the V6.

 

. . . the Lexus 450h has a 400hp tuning package on the 2.4l turbo.

The Lexus version of this engine also requires 91 octane fuel because of the higher output.

 

Interesting. I have not considered or researched any Lexus products. Thanks for the info.

I still wonder if a '23 Highlander 4 cyl gas owner would find more performance when using '91 octane?

 

no. if there is any difference totally negligible. Same as the old days when there was Ethyl, and Super (pre 1985 in the USA, actually mostly for the cars before than but that is about when the USA did the drastic no-lead change). if you had a car requiring super, it would run horrible and damage an engine that required it. But, if you had low performing Pinto, or older 38 HP VW, adding the 100 octane did nothing but waste money. There were actual instances of people damaging their plugs and engines from running the very high octane in some cars and bikes. Also, Europe was 10 years behind in the conversion from leaded gas to non-leaded because they had higher performance engines for faster running cars and roads like in Germany. It was usually the compression ratio that determined the level of lead, before the formulas in fuel changed to for most engines accepted no lead, or low lead. The materials and engines changed to allow new formulas to run without the bad effects on engines. The lead helped slow the pre-ignition, where the infamous engine rattle came from with the wrong octane. The ignition came long before tdc of the piston and also there are hot spots in the cylinder that would pre-ignite the fuel. There are instances where the conditions driven might benefits for the slight boost in octane. Say from 87 to 89. Or 89 to 92. But, if the car says 89, then use 89. If that leaves questions, then if your engine and car is a sporty version with the turbo, or higher performance engine, non standard but an option with performance increase, or higher than 9:1 compression than it is safe to assume it will need a bump up in octane. if the engine rattles when accelerating, or a has after run after turning off than it might need the next octane up. It is much easier to just go with the what manufacturer says. If you have a performance car, you will know it without question. There are cases of some fuel at some gas stations may be of better quality, Top Tier gas. That can also be of benefit in choosing your car's gas to use. IMHO

 

YES, Top Tier for sure! No rot-gut fuel from places such as Walmart, Maverick, etc. Don't mean to open a can of worms here, but truly one takes their chances if not Top Tier.

 

Top Tier Station Finder

 

Engines tuned for 87 get no benefit from any higher octane. Many engines tuned for 91 can detect knock and will adjust for 87 putting out less power. Just follow the manufacturer's recommendation. You won't damage anything and won't spend money needlessly.

 

It is a know fact that some brands/models (NOT ALL) will have higher horse power when running 91 than when running 89. FACT

I don't know if Toyota's 2.4L Turbo is the same. Toyota may advertise it with 89 Octane so folks don't fear needing to use the higher priced 91 Octane. Often Luxury brands will advertise the higher HP and recommend the higher Octane, as luxury buyers want the higher HP bragging rights, and many don't care about the extra cost of fuel... Ultimately, all that is necessary is to use no lower than the manufacturer's RECOMMENDED octane.

One example:
Mazda CX5 Octane


"If you have 2021 Mazda CX-5 with a 2.5-liter Skyactiv-G turbo-four, premium fuel is recommended for optimal horsepower and torque, but it is not necessary to function. All 2021 CX-5 models operate safely on regular gas. Trims that come with the turbocharged engine are the Carbon Edition, Grand Touring, Grand Touring Reserve, and Signature. With premium fuel, the engine produces 250 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque. On regular fuel, the engine pumps out 227 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque."

 

I owned twin turbo z talked to chemical.engineers for fuel, researched a ton on gas grades. If car calls for 87 run 87 no way you get more power from.91 or 93. Actually higher octane is harder to.ignite and burn fully. The reason my tt required 91 or 93 was to ward off pre detonation. The heat and boost pressures would easily.ignite 87 before plug fired so the rattling is explosion before tdc and it actually tries to.push piston back down.on upstroke. That is pinging you hear is piston rattling due to.pre ignition of charge. High compression and super and turbo.charged engines need high octane so.it will not ignite from heat and pressure of turbo and supercharged motors. 91 in car that is designed for 87.is a waste and will.lise mileage as charge does not fully burn and messes with emissions. Lower the octane the lower the flash point, perfect for 90% of street cars. Follow manufacturers recommendations they have many engineers smarter than you and your mechanic or hot rod guru at speed shop. I trust the fellas who designed than damn engine to know what is best for.it.

 

Unbelievable. A tiny 2.4 engine in that big truck of yours, what the hell was Toyota thinking.

Your turbo is going to die from overuse.

 

There's no substitute for cubes, but at least Toyota had enough brains to install an intercoolrer with seperate coolant reservoir to extend the life of the turbo's center bearing.

 

The modern engines particularly turbos with the higher compression ratios designed for 91 octane which specify 89 minimum (some do not) will run just fine one both. But there's a price to pay in mileage and available h.p. Using 89 in those 91s will instantly trigger the knock sensors to retard the spark and/or valve timing to prevent overheating or piston damage which results in less power. Case in point was the tiny displacement engines e.g. 2.0 turbo in my old Malibu where I could actually feel the octane related difference in performance.

 

Regarding your question of dependability, there is so much to be said about the L4 potential as a powerhouse even for a truck. There’s a few concerns with a mean hesitation from a stop that seems to be hit or miss per vehicle. Plus the 8 speed transmission doesn’t help when coming to a quick stop and go since it needs a second to find the right gear. The octane issue was addressed to Toyota engineers regarding the new Grand Highlander, and they acknowledged better performance with 91 And they listed this as baseline for testing. Again (as mentioned earlier) the power plant is still fine provided they don’t over compensate for EPA standard. There is a large posting string of this topic under Highlander surging If you’re interested in a lot of additional information.
One last thought, when driving in Nevada, no problems. Driving in California, (where I live) hesitation issues started…yes fuel has a large effect on this engine.

 

We have a 2023 Platinum with the 2.4T engine. I can confirm that it has a noticeable turbo lag from a stop. It also sounds coarse and unrefined under moderate acceleration. It doesn't make the Highlander go fast, but once the turbo spools up, it has a decent amount of torque. When cruising, the engine is fairly smooth and quiet. No issues with the engine or transmission so far. We've been filling up with 87 gas. Will try 93 with the next tank and see if it makes any difference. I've rented a V6 Highlander on a trip before (same body style but not sure what year). While it wouldn't win any races, either, it was smoother and quieter.

 

I have zero turbo lag in my 2023 limited. stomping it to the floor from a start and then quickly shifts from 1st to 2nd then 3rd gear shifts out at about 80 miles an hour. I would Dump this thing if this little turbo had significant or any turbo lag. That’s just my how my Highlander performs.

 

You expressed what this whole posting is about in a nutshell. I wish I pickup the 22 Platinum since we have been a consistent owner for 3 generations of this model without any problem. I will deal with this issue as so many others until a patch/fix arrives or trade out back to a GX or Telluride. I did the gas thing with no substantial improvement so, post your results if possible. Also, what state do you live in since gas in California (where I live) has so many additives, and can be adding to this equation.

 

I live in Texas. We usually go to Costco for gas for all our cars. When that's not available, we typically go to name-brand gas stations like Exxon. Will report back once I have run the car through a tank of premium.

I have zero turbo lag in my 2023 limited. stomping it to the floor from a start and then quickly shifts from 1st to 2nd then 3rd gear shifts out at about 80 miles an hour. I would Dump this thing if this little turbo had significant or any turbo lag. That’s just my how my Highlander performs.

You are lucky! Maybe the lag varies depending on the gas quality and/or when the car was built. Ours was built in March 2023. I think every turbo engine will have some lag before it spools up. That's just how they work. The smaller the turbo, the faster it spools up, the less noticeable the lag. It also depends on the sensitivity of the driver. My wife drives the Highlander mostly and she doesn't even know what I mean by a "lag". But when I drive it, I find it hard to launch the car smoothly from a stop. My daily driver (not a Toyota) has a 2.0L turbo engine. It also has a slight lag but it's much less noticeable.

 

You are lucky! Maybe the lag varies depending on the gas quality and/or when the car was built. Ours was built in March 2023. I think every turbo engine will have some lag before it spools up. That's just how they work. The smaller the turbo, the faster it spools up, the less noticeable the lag. It also depends on the sensitivity of the driver. My wife drives the Highlander mostly and she doesn't even know what I mean by a "lag". But when I drive it, I find it hard to launch the car smoothly from a stop. My daily driver (not a Toyota) has a 2.0L turbo engine. It also has a slight lag but it's much less noticeable.

I run Quick trip premium gas in Georgia. It is top tier. On the road I use Exxon or Sunoco. Up north I use Sheets or Wa Wa. I don’t know if Sheets or WaWa are top tier but the places are safe and clean with decent quick food inside.

 

Top Tier licensed fuels have nothing to do with the octane rating - it's just a 'certification' that the cleaning/detergent additives meet a higher standard than what is required by regulation.

About - TOP TIER™ (toptiergas.com)

 

I have definitely logged more boost and timing with 93 vs 87. Around 13-14lbs on 87 and 15-16lbs on 93. Timing also up a couple degrees. Still haven't hit the 17lbs reported on the Lexus forums tho. Same turbo as the Lexus, same part number. Still trying to log knock, if anyone finds out the pid id let me know!

 

Finally we ran the last tank to almost empty and filled up with 15 gallons of premium (93). Side note, this car has a tiny gas tank for an SUV. I can report with certainty that the 2.4L engine now runs better. There is significantly less lag when accelerating from a full stop. And I no longer feel the bucking and surging sensation when modulating the throttle. Not only that, I feel the engine is less buzzy and provides a more linear acceleration when the car is in motion. Now this last part is more subtle and subjective, as my wife said she sensed no difference.

 

I bought a brand new 2024 GH 2.4 Turbo no hybrid. It probably came with a full tank of premium from the dealer .. I put the last 2 tanks in with regular and absolutely noticed a difference in smoothness of the engine on the highway and idle. I just filled with premium 93 and I’ll bet it’s gonna go back to like it was when I drove it off the lot. No big deal if that helps and what it needs for me.
I know other folks who have a turbo engine and they report the same issues - turbos need higher octane ..
we shall see …

 

I'm pretty sure that the way Toyota implemented this engine that it can run on any gas(87-93) with power reduction if low octane. But they can't tell it - you can't tell Lexus owners that they can put regular in their cars and you can't tell HY owners that car performs better on premium (people buying car that supposed to perform on regular.)

 

I saw a few videos of discussions with Toyota reps on this and you can see they skirt around just saying USE PREMIUM because it will kill sales. But you can also see under the grin that YOU SHOULD USE PREMIUM.