I am having same issue I hear others having: car hesitates upon acceleration both from decel as well as complete stop, whether gunning it or not. Also feels like it kicks itself into neutral and won't accelerate...has happened twice while on interstate. Dealer looks at me like I'm crazy because I have taken it in twice and they say they can't mimic the problem. Other drivers/passengers in my car have felt it. It almost got me hit with my kid in the car yesterday. Going to try to clean the MAF. Any other suggestions that have actually worked long term? Because if that doesn't work, trading it in for a Nissan, and after reading that so many others have same issue and Toyota is ignoring, I will never trust another Toyota again.
2014 Corolla Hesitation
- Thread starter Angie W.
- Start date
From your summary description, the list of possible cause is too long to hope for a diagnostic on forums: MAF or its sensor ring leaking, air intake clogged or leaking, throttle sensor, temp sensor, air filter, bad gas, fuel pump/filter/pressure, injection, spark plugs, catalytic converter, misaligned timing chain, Valvematic firmware or physical glitch, bad/low CVT fluid, CVT solenoid, ECU glitch, a dying battery/alternator having a hard time providing electricity to those systems. Even your foot touching slightly the brake pedal at the same time as the accelerator. 
Do you have a CEL? OBD codes? Is it random or regular/frequent? Under specific conditions (car hot, car cold, outside temp…)? How long does it last when the car seems in neutral? Has your MPG changed? Have you had the Valvematic firmware update done when there was a service campaign a few years ago ? All those informations will help the mechanic.
Since you mention knowing “so many others” having this issue (I don’t), they are probably the best people to help you by sharing the diagnostic they got. But what you need more is a good mechanic: dealer not able to mimic the problem is baloney. You already told them the problem. What they should do is check all possibilities one by one after reading the OBD codes if any.
Do you have a CEL? OBD codes? Is it random or regular/frequent? Under specific conditions (car hot, car cold, outside temp…)? How long does it last when the car seems in neutral? Has your MPG changed? Have you had the Valvematic firmware update done when there was a service campaign a few years ago ? All those informations will help the mechanic.
Since you mention knowing “so many others” having this issue (I don’t), they are probably the best people to help you by sharing the diagnostic they got. But what you need more is a good mechanic: dealer not able to mimic the problem is baloney. You already told them the problem. What they should do is check all possibilities one by one after reading the OBD codes if any.
The hesitation from a dead stop (if your acceleration is stomping the gas or even pressing harder than a normal accel) in a completely stock Corolla is more than likely engine lag and a delay in throttle response (Toyota has this set for optimized fuel economy). You can thank the CVT for giving you this feeling of "Why aren't you going TRD Rolla with my foot mashed into the pedal?" If your hesitation is what I just described, then there are products out there that will take away most of the throttle response delay (or add more for those speed maniacs), if not, then definitely have a 3rd party mechanic scan the car for any issues like jolly specified above..
Note: I had my car "hesitate" like that to me the other day, but it was the power steering yelling at me when I tried flooring it from a rolling stop into a pretty sharp turn, and seemed to be more of a torque steer feel in my case, but after straightening out a little bit it didn't seem like I had any hesitation in acceleration..your case does seem to be odd though and should be looked at by someone other than the dealership
Note: I had my car "hesitate" like that to me the other day, but it was the power steering yelling at me when I tried flooring it from a rolling stop into a pretty sharp turn, and seemed to be more of a torque steer feel in my case, but after straightening out a little bit it didn't seem like I had any hesitation in acceleration..your case does seem to be odd though and should be looked at by someone other than the dealership
You're right mentioning it. I didn't since OP says the behavior only started a few months ago but it's a fact that those car (particularly in CVT/Valvematic combo, despite being a full second "faster" than other variants by the numbers) aren't designed for "pedal to metal". Trying to accelerate faster with a heavy foot will only produce a slight delay (some would say CVT jerking, or CVT lazyness ) and torque steer. Actually, avoiding using the pedal as only an on-off switch gives not only better MPG but acceleration also. Since OP doesn't mention how "long" is the perceived delay or under which circumstances, it's impossible to say but maybe that explains the "so many others" have the trouble reference.
) and torque steer. Actually, avoiding using the pedal as only an on-off switch gives not only better MPG but acceleration also. Since OP doesn't mention how "long" is the perceived delay or under which circumstances, it's impossible to say but maybe that explains the "so many others" have the trouble reference.I've noticed something interesting the other day I was at the dealership. I've noticed that on my door sticker where it gives you all the weight parameters and where vehicle was manufactured, even though my car was assembled in Mississippi plant, there is a line on that sticker on the bottom which tells you where you cvt transmission was made. Mine says MADE IN USA. I've noticed that on the new corollas at the dealership One was MADE IN JAPAN, the other in CANADA I think. I'm curious if the very few units that have failed, if there is a correlation between where it was made? If you can, please share where you CVT was made if you're having or had problems.
I'm assuming your talking about the MADE IN CANADA line in the VIN in this picture:
That states where the car was made, not where the CVT was built. It says made in Canada because the car was built at TMMC while on your car, it says it was built in the USA since it was built in Mississippi. The Japan one you saw is I'm assuming an iM since they are all made in Japan.
That states where the car was made, not where the CVT was built. It says made in Canada because the car was built at TMMC while on your car, it says it was built in the USA since it was built in Mississippi. The Japan one you saw is I'm assuming an iM since they are all made in Japan.