2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

IN AUGUST OF 2017 WE WERE DRIVING OUR 20088 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID AND ALL OF SUDDEN THE DISPLAY WARNED OF ABS VSC MALFUNCTION AND TO PULL OVER OR TAKE CAR TO NEAREST DEALER, THE BRAKE PEDALS LOST COMPRESSION OR PRESSURE AND THE BRAKE WAS NOT WORKING HARDLY. TOOK TO THE MECHANIC SHOP THAT HAS BEEN DOING THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE, THEY PERFORMED DIAGNOSTICS AND STATED ABS MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THEY ADVISE CAR WAS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. CHECKED THIS WEBSITE AND CARCOMPLAINTS TO SEE MANY OTHER USERS SAME ISSUE, CONTACTED TOYOTA, THEY STATED THEY HAD NO RECALLS, ITS OUT OF WARRANTY, WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY THE $4000 TO HAVE FIXED, WE PAID FOR THE REPAIR OUT OF POCKET, WHICH WAS A FINANCIAL HIT FOR US. CONTACTED TOYOTA TODAY ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIR COST, SAID THEY DONT HAVE IT RECALLED OR A CAMPAIGN FOR THE ISSUE, I STATED THIS WEBSITE WITH THE COMPLAINTS AND OTHER SITES, WAS BASICALLY TOLD UNTIL A RECALL IS ON THE ISSUE, WOULDNT BE REFUNDED.

WHILE DRIVING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, VEHICLE WARNING LIGHTS FOR ABS BRAKES, PARKING BRAKE, VSC AND BRAKE MALFUNCTION ALL ILLUMINATED WITH MESSAGE TO STOP VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY IN A SAFE LOCATION AND CONTACT DEALER. DEALER DIAGNOSTIC DISCOVERED CODE C1391 "ACCUMULATOR LEAK", WHICH IS AN INTERNAL LEAK AND NOT VISIBLE FROM EXTERNAL INSPECTION - I HAD JUST BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN TO THE DEALER FOR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE 3 WEEKS PRIOR. DEALER SERVICE DEPT SAID ABS SYSTEM HAD FAILED AND RECOMMENDED REMOVING AND REPLACING BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY AT A COST OF $4,622! AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE, I LEARNED ABS BRAKING SYSTEM FAILURES ARE A WIDESPREAD AND COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE HIGHLANDER. TOYOTA ISSUED RECALLS FOR 2006, 2007 MODELS FOR ABS BRAKE ACTUATOR, BUT NOT FOR 2008 HIGHLANDER. TOYOTA KNOWS THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE (SERVCO SERVICE DEPT IN HAWAII STATED THEY HAVE SEEN MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF THIS BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILURE). NOTE MY 2008 HIGHLANDER IS UNDER 80K MILES. TOYOTA NEEDS TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND ADD THE 2008 HIGHLANDER MODEL TO THE CURRENT BRAKE ACTUATOR RECALL SO THAT THIS SAFETY CONCERN IS FIXED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WINDOW WOULD SOMETIMES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY AND THERE WAS A BURNING ODOR WHEN UTILIZED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED BEFORE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO STEVE LANDERS TOYOTA (10825 COLONEL GLENN RD, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72204) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER WINDOW MASTER SWITCH FAILED AND WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT REFERENCED NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V689000 (VISIBILITY), BUT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

ABS, VSC LIGHTS CAME ON WHILE ON A BRIDGE ON AT HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH; PULLED OVER SAFELY TO CHECK FUNCTION; BRAKES STILL WORKED, ABS DID NOT; TOOK TO A DEALER NEXT DAY; DEALER ADVISED THE ABS ACCUMULATOR WAS DEFECTIVE AND OTHER ERROR CODES (OVER POWER) INDICATED A LEAK IN THE ABS NETWORK. DEALER ADVISED PARTS ALONE WOULD EXCEED 4800 USD NOT INCLUDING LABOR.

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

THE CAR HAS BEEN METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED BY THE DEALERSHIP SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED NEW AND HAS NEVER BEEN USED FOR TOWING. WE WERE DRIVING NORMALLY WHEN WE BEGAN NOTICING A SERIES OF RECURRING HYDRAULIC-LIKE PULSATIONS AND NOISES WHENEVER DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL EVEN WHEN THE VEHICLE ISN'T MOVING. THE PULSATION SENSATION CAN BE FELT THROUGHOUT THE BRAKE SYSTEM WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED EVEN WHEN NOT MOVING. THE SERIES OF NOISES ARE COMING DIRECTLY FROM THE ABS SYSTEM/ACTUATOR UNDER THE HOOD WHENEVER THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. I BELIEVE THIS IS DUE TO AN ABNORMAL LEAK IN THE ACCUMULATOR. THE VEHICLE PREVIOUSLY SHOWED NO SIGNS OF ANY ISSUES WHEN THE TOYOTA SERVICE TECHNICIAN LAST INSPECTED IT. WE HAVE SINCE PAID A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO HAVE THE BRAKES INSPECTED AND FLUID CHANGED, BUT THAT DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. AFTER DOING RESEARCH WE ARE CONFIDENT THE ISSUE IS EXACTLY AS HUNDREDS OF OTHER OWNERS HAVE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED TO TOYOTA, BBB, AND NHTSA. TOYOTA HAS SINCE ISSUES RECALLS AND WARRANTY EXTENSIONS FOR THE OTHER TOYOTA HYBRID MODEL THAT UTILIZE THE SAME PLATFORM/SYSTEM BUT JUST NOT FOR THE LATER 2008 HIGHLANDER HYBRID. SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP UP AND HOLD TOYOTA ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE SAME FAULTY PARTS THEY CONTINUED TO INSTALL IN THEIR OTHER HYBRID VEHICLES THEY SOLD TO CONSUMERS. THE ABS SYSTEM IS CLEARLY NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY AS HUNDREDS OF CONSUMERS HAVE PREVIOUSLY NOTED. WHY WOULD TOYOTA COVER THE COST OF REPAIR FOR OTHER HYBRIDS WITH THIS SAME DEFECT BUT NOT OTHERS? THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL OR WARRANTY EXTENSION ISSUED FOR THIS MODEL/YEAR AS TOYOTA HAS ISSUED FOR OTHER HYBRID MODELS USING THE SAME PLATFORM. I AM SERIOUSLY CONCERNED AND TROUBLED BY THE SAFETY FACTORS THIS MALFUNCTION PRESENTS ESPECIALLY WHEN TRAVELING AT ANY SPEED. THIS IS CLEARLY A WELL-DOCUMENTED PROBLEM FOR THE 2008 MODELS.

WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE STRAIGHT (SHE BELIEVES SHE WAS TRAVELING UNDER 25 MPH AS SHE CAME TO A RED LIGHT) ON A BUSY ROAD THE VEHICLE MADE A BEEPING ALERT SOUND AND THE DISPLAY ROTATED THROUGH THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES: " (!) CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM- HAVE YOUR VEHICLE CHECKED BY A DEALER, BRAKE BRAKE MALFUNCTION- STOP THE VEHICLE IN A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY AND CONTACT DEALER, ABS CHECK ABS- HAVE YOUR VEHICLE CHECKED BY A DEALER, CHECK VSC SYSTEM- HAVE YOUR VEHICLE CHECKED BY A DEALER." LUCKILY SHE WAS WITHIN A MILE OR TWO OF MY HOME AND WAS ABLE TO GET IT THERE SAFELY. SHE TOOK PHOTOS OF THE WARNING LIGHTS WITH HER CELL PHONE. THEY ARE ATTACHED. WE DROVE IT TO A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY INFORMED US THAT THE ABS ACCUMULATOR/ACTUATOR WAS INTERNALLY LEAKING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WE DROVE IT HOME WHERE WE PARKED IT FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. IN THE MEANTIME, I CALLED TOYOTA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXPLAINED THE ISSUE AND THAT I HAD SEEN RECALLS ONLINE FOR THE PREVIOUS TWO YEAR MODELS AND ASKED IF THE REPLACEMENT WOULD BE COVERED ON OUR 2008. THE TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE AGREED TO SUBMIT INFORMATION TO THE LOCAL DEALER TO COVER $1000.00 OF THE COST AS A WARRANTY SERVICE. THEY INFORMED ME THAT IF THERE WERE MANY COMPLAINTS AND A RECALL ISSUED THAT WE COULD LATER BE REIMBURSED FOR THE REMAINING AMOUNT. I UNDERSTOOD THAT MY INFORMING THEM OF THE ISSUE WOULD BE PASSED ON TO THOSE WHO INVESTIGATE THESE MATTERS TO DETERMINE WHAT WOULD BECOME A RECALL ITEM BUT WE NOW SEE THAT OUR COMPLAINT IS NOT LISTED ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE, THUS THE SLOW REPORTING OF THIS ISSUE. THE REPAIR COST WAS $3273.78 FOR PARTS (AFTER THE $1000.00 ASSISTANCE DISCOUNT) AND $490.50 FOR LABOR, PLUS A $40 ENVIRO FEE AND TAX.

VEHICLE WOULD NOT GET OUT OF 1ST GEAR WHEN IN MOTION. WHEN ACCELERATING, IN EITHER MANUAL OR AUTOMATIC, VEHICLE WOULD GO IN NEUTRAL AND COAST WHEN TRYING TO SHIFT INTO ANY OTHER GEAR. REVERSE WORKED FINE. WOULD ALSO NOT START OUT IN A HIGHER GEAR WHEN SHIFTED INTO 2-4 GEARS.

ABS MODULE WENT OUT DURING ICE STORM MAKING CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE. LOOKING ONLINE, I SEE THAT THIS HAS BEEN A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR AND MODEL OF MY PARTICULAR CAR. I WAS LUCKY THAT I LIVE IN HOUSTON WHICH RARELY HAS ICY ROADS

BRAKE BOOSTER AND ACTUATOR PER TOYOTA DEALERSHIP OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS FAILED ON THIS CAR ALTHOUGH SAME SYSTEM USED ON SAME YEAR CAMRY THAT WERE TECALLED