2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

ON JUNE 15TH, 2016 WHILE OVER 200 MILES FROM HOME ON A FAMILY TRIP WITH MY PREGNANT WIFE AND 2 YEAR OLD SON IN THE CAR DRIVING DOWN A 2 LANE HIGHWAY WITH A SEMI TRUCK BEHIND US AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH CONSTANT SPEED OUR 2008 HIGHLANDER HYBRID BRAKES LOCKED UP, A WARNING TONE SOUNDED, SEVERAL LIGHTS LIT UP ON THE DASH INCLUDING BRAKES, ABS, VSC, (((!))), AND /!\, AND THE CAR STOPPED COMPLETELY IN THE HIGHWAY WITH THE ENGINE STILL RUNNING. THE LCD DISPLAYED SEVERAL ALTERNATING MESSAGES ABOUT THE BRAKES, ABS, AND VSC AND ALSO ABOUT NEEDING TO HAVE THE VEHICLE CHECKED BY A DEALER. AS OUR CAR WAS ABOUT TO BE SMASHED BY A SEMI TRUCK I PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR. THE BRAKES WERE COMPLETELY LOCKED UP, BUT FORTUNATELY THE CAR INCHED FORWARD AT LESS THAN 5 MPH WITH WIDE OPEN/FULL THROTTLE TO PULL OFF OF THE ROAD BEFORE THE SEMI TRUCK COULD HIT US FROM BEHIND. THE SITUATION WAS TERRIFYING. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER. THEY DO NOT KNOW THE REASON FOR THE ISSUE. THEY WANT $500 TO TROUBLE SHOOT AND GENERATE A REPAIR ESTIMATE. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE ABS ACTUATORS ARE COMMONLY $3,000. I HAVE NOTED MANY SIMILAR PROBLEMS ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE FOR THE 2008 HIGHLANDER HYBRID AND OTHER TOYOTA HYBRID VEHICLES IN WHICH THE BRAKES, ABS, AND VSC LIGHTS ILLUMINATE AND BRAKING ISSUES OCCUR.

CAR DOME LIGHT WAS LEFT ON AND BATTERY DIED. BATTERY WAS 3 YEARS OLD SO I REPLACED WITH NEW BATTERY AND CAR STARTED AND DROVE SHORT DISTANCE. COUPLE OF DAYS LATER I ATTEMPTED TO START CAR BUT IT WOULD NOT START. CHECKED BATTERY AND IT WAS GOOD. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START CAR, I GET MESSAGES ABOUT CONTACTING DEALER FOR THE PROBLEM ALONG WITH BRAKE WARNING ETC.

FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS OR LONGER, THE CRUISE CONTROL ON THIS CAR HAS BEEN OPERATING ERRATICALLY, WHEN IT WANTS TO IT SEEMS. THE PROBLEM ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE THAT I COULDN'T TURN THE SYSTEM ON. NOW, HOWEVER, WHEN I AM SOMETIMES ABLE TO TURN IT ON, AND SET THE SPEED, THE PROBLEM BECOMES THAT THE STALK ON THE LOWER RIGHT SIDE OF THE STEERING WHEEL WILL LOSE IT'S CONNECTION AND THE MOVEMENTS OF THE STALK BECOME INACTIVE. THIS IS VERY SURPRISING IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO SLOW DOWN, SPEED UP OR MORE IMPORTANTLY HIT THE CANCEL BUTTON. THE ONLY THING TO DO IS HIT THE BRAKES. THIS IS VERY DISTRACTING AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS.

AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY A WARNING ALARM CAME ON AND ON THE DISPLAY SCREEN 3 MESSAGES FLASHED. THE FIRST MESSAGE SAID, "BREAK MALFUNCTION - PLEASE PULL OVER SAFELY AND CONTACT YOUR SERVICE DEALER IMMEDIATELY". THE SECOND MESSAGE SAID, "CHECK VSC" AND THIRD SAID, "CHECK ABS". ON TOP OF THAT ALL OF THE WARNING DEVICE LIGHTS CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. THIS WAS ALARMING AND DISCONCERTING. I HAD TO DRIVE ABOUT 10 MORE MILES BEFORE I COULD PULL OVER AND STOP SAFELY. THE WARNING SIGNS HAVE NOT GONE AWAY AND I WILL HAVE TO TAKE IT TO THE TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER. I HAVE NOTICED MULTIPLE OTHER COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE SAME ISSUE. SEEMS TO HAPPEN OFTEN WITH THE 2008 MODEL.

FAILED ABS ACTUATOR SYSTEM. BRAKES DO NOT WORK. THEY "GRAB" AND OR DO NOT WORK WHEN YOU NEED THEM. HAVE TO PUMP MANY TIMES TO STOP VEHICLE.

THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR DOES NOT STAY IN ITS UPRIGHT FLAT POSITION. IT FALLS PARTWAY DOWN TO THE POINT OF BEING AIMED DIRECTLY AT THE FOREHEAD. THIS NOT ONLY IMPEDES VISIBILITY BUT ALSO IS DANGEROUS IF YOU INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHICH WOULD THROW YOU FORWARD. IT ALSO WILL NOT STAY DOWN AND PUSHED ALL THE WAY FORWARD IN ORDER TO AVOID THE HAZARD OF HAVING IT ANGLED AT YOUR FOREHEAD. HAVING THE VEHICLE IN MOTION ON STATIONARY HAS NOT EFFECT OF THIS PROBLEM.

AT 61.614 MILES NOV.9 2013, DIAGNOSED CODE C1391, ABNORMAL LEAK IN ACCUMULATOR. VERIFIED BY DEALER WHERE IT WAS BOUGHT. ABS MODULE DIAGNOSED WITH INTERNAL DAMAGES. ACTUATOR ASSY, BR, PART NUM. 44050-48320 WAS REPLACED UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY, FOR $3,102.71 PLUS BRAKE FLUID, FOR $3,118.25 AFTER THE SYSTEM WAS BLED ALSO (SEE INVOICE OF THAT DATE). PROBLEM RETURNED INVOLVING SAME PART 44050-48320, PLUS PART NUM. 47070-48020 PUMP ASSY, BRAKE DEFECTIVE AT 84,687 MILES, JUST 23,073 MILES LATER, LAST DECEMBER 17, 2015; WAS TAKEN TO ANOTHER DEALER, BRAULIO AGOSTO TOYOTA IN RIO PIEDRAS, PUERTO RICO AS REPRINT SHOWS, FROM DEC.17 2015 (REPRINT DATE WAS DEC.31 2015). ALSO INCLUDED PHOTOS SHOWING EXACT MILEAGE OF 84,687 MILES, EASY TO VERIFY WITH REPRINT, AND WARNING MESSAGES DISPLAYED INSIDE THE VEHICLE, SAME MESSAGES APPEARED LAST NOV. 9 2013. VEHICLE HAS EXCELLENT MAINTENANCE AT 2 DIFFERENT DEALERS; I AM INCLUDING RELATED INVOICES: JUNE 7 2013 AT 55,586 MILES:1ST REAR BRAKE PADS REPLACEMENT, TURNING OF ROTORS PERFORMED, 1ST PROBLEM ON NOV. 9 2013 JUST 5 MONTHS 2 DAYS LATER; PDF INVOICE DEC.19 2014 AT 72,436 MILES, WHEN FRONT BRAKE PADS WERE REPLACED AT OUR REQUEST, DUE TO EXCESSIVE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVEL; OCT/15/15 AT 82,379 MILES LEFT CALIPER BASE WAS REPLACED, PART 4722-48140; 47717-48150 PLATE PAD SUPPORT AT 83.025 MILES ON OCT/29/15. PARTS PRICES FOR SAME 2ND REPAIR INCLUDED, LOCAL COMPLAINT, INSPECTION, RESULT AND PHOTOS. UNSAFE CONDITION EVIDENT SINCE DEC.17 2015: INVERTED BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, NOT SHOWN WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED YET, BUT UNSAFE TO DRIVE NORMALLY BECAUSE THERE IS NO GUARANTEE IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AT SPEED. LOCAL CONSUMER DEPARTMENT (DACO) HAS THE CASE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE EVALUATION AFTER CONFIRMING THE PROBLEM TODAY, FEB 23 2016 AT 3RD DEALER WITH US REPRESENTED BY PABLO E. ROSADO, MY BROTHER.SEE ALL DOCUMENTS, SOME IN SPANISH.

I WAS STATIONARY AND PARKED IN A DRIVEWAY ON AN UPHILL SLOPE, BUT WHEN I STARTED MY 2008 HIGHLANDER HYBRID, IT ROLLED BACKWARDS TOWARDS THE CITY STREET EVEN THOUGH MY FOOT WAS STILL PRESSED FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND I KEPT PRESSING AS FAR AS IT WOULD GO. WHEN I EVENTUALLY LIFTED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL AND PRESSED IT AGAIN, THE CAR SLOWED AND STOPPED JUST AS IT ENTERED THE STREET. THE DASHBOARD WARNING CONSOLE INDICATED 'BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE', 'CHECK VSC' AND 'CHECK ABS'. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO GET MY CAR CHECKED. THIS ROLLING PROBLEM HAPPENED TWO MORE TIMES BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF MY TOYOTA DEALER TOLD ME THAT MY BRAKE ACTUATOR AND BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. THIS COST ME $3742 FOR THE BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY AND $2010 FOR THE BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP ASSEMBLY.

I HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER THAT HAS NEVER BEEN IN A CRASH. ON THURSDAY, FEB.11,2016 AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY THE AIRBAG WARNINGS LIGHT CAME ON. THE INFO SCREEN SAID TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY AND THERE WERE 2 WARNING SIGNALS ON THE DASH AS WELL. MY CAR HAS 88,000 MILES ON IT. I CALLED OUR LOCAL DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR BRAND NEW. ATKINSON TOYOTA IN BRYAN, TEXAS. I SPOKE TO CHRIS IN SERVICE AND HE SAID HOW QUICK CAN I GET IT THERE. NATURALLY MY HUSBAND WAS OUT OF TOWN SO I SAID IT WOULD BE MONDAY, FEB15,2016 BEFORE I COULD GET IT IN. I HAVE SINCE DONE RESEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS, INJURIES AND BEWILDERMENT AS TO WHY THIS ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED. THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN I SPOKE TO GAVE ME NO INFORMATION AS TO THIS PROBLEM OCCURRING IN OTHER HIGHLANDERS,SAID HE WOULD NEED MY CAR FOR AN ENTIRE DAY AND THAT I COULD RENT A CAR ONSITE AT MY ON EXPENSE. I FEEL THAT TOYOTA IS BEING EXTREMELY NEGLIGENT AND PUTTING PASSENGERS LIVES AT STAKE. I PLAN TO CALL THE DEALER TOMORROW. PLEASE REPORT THIS PROBLEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED BECAUSE THEIR AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I WOULD CALL THIS GROSS NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF TOYOTA AS IT IS CLEARLY EVIDENT THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THANK YOU.

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE HAS SURGED FORWARD WHILE TRAVELING AT LOW SPEED AND APPLYING THE BRAKE. TONIGHT, AND ON AT LEAST TWO OTHER OCCASIONS, IT HAS OCCURRED WHILE EXITING THE LOCAL WENDY'S RESTAURANT. THE EXIT SLOPES DOWNWARD FOR TEN FEET OR SO BEFORE REACHING THE MULTI-LANE ONE WAY ROAD. TONIGHT, AS I WAS COMING DOWN THE EXIT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE ONCE AGAIN SURGED FORWARD AND OUT INTO THE ROAD. I ALMOST RAN INTO THE SIDES OF SEVERAL CARS THAT WERE PASSING BY, BUT I WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE STOPPED RIGHT BEFORE IT GOT FAR ENOUGH OUT IN THE ROAD TO HIT THEM. I DON'T KNOW HOW CLOSE MY FRONT END WAS TO HITTING THEM, BUT IT WAS VERY CLOSE. THAT'S WHY I'M FILING THIS COMPLAINT. I'VE CHECKED THE MAT AND IT'S NOT THE MAT. I BELIEVE IT IS SOMETHING IN THE ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROL, BUT AS YOU KNOW, TESTS HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED ON TOYOTA VEHICLES BEFORE FOR THIS ISSUE, AND NOTHING WAS FOUND THAT I'M AWARE OF. BUT I'M TELLING YOU NOW, AND I HAVE A DEGREE IN ASTRONOMY (I'M TECHNICALLY MINDED), THERE IS SOMETHING MORE THAN MATS AND DRIVER ERROR GOING ON WITH UNINTENDED VEHICLE ACCELERATION AND TOYOTA VEHICLES. I DID A SEARCH TONIGHT ONLINE, AND I FOUND A NUMBER OF REPORTS FROM OTHER OWNERS OF 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS, NOT TO MENTION A MYRIAD OF OTHER REPORTS FROM OWNERS OF OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLES. MY VEHICLE HAS ALSO SURGED FORWARD WHILE TURNING INTO PARKING SPACES AT GROCERY STORES, ONCE AGAIN WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. SO FAR, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE BEFORE IT RAN OVER THE PARKING BLOCK OR HIT ANOTHER CAR, BUT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND AS YOU KNOW TOYOTA IS NO HELP WITH THIS ISSUE. MY VEHICLE IS PAID FOR, AND I CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER ONE RIGHT NOW OR I WOULD TRADE IT IN. BUT EVEN THEN, I WOULD FEEL UNEASY NOT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NEXT OWNER. PLEASE DO SOMETHING NOW BEFORE MORE PEOPLE ARE HURT OR KILLED.