2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

I ACCELERATED FROM A STOP SIGN TO 45 MPH. JUST AS I REACHED SPEED I HEARD A POP COME FROM THE FORWARD ENGINE BAY AND GOT ALL DIFFERENT WARNING LIGHTS IN THE DISPLAY. LUCKILY THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ROLL AND I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF IMMEDIATE DANGER. THE LIGHT SAID CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM, CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM, AND CHECK SVS. I GOT VEHICLE TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WERE IT TOOK THEM 3 DAYS TO TELL ME IT WAS THE HYBRID INVERTER WHICH COSTS AROUND $8500. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THERE ARE MANY OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE, SO I CALLED TOYOTA CORPORATE AND FILED A COMPLAINT. *TR

I ENTERED A GAS STATION AND MY CAR JUST STOPPED. IT WOULD NOT RESTART AND WAS TOWED TO NORTHRIDGE TOYOTA (NORTHRIDGE,CA) WHERE I WAS INFORMED THE "INVERTER" FAILED, AND ONLY REPLACEMENT BY A TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER MAY BE MADE DUE TO INTERNAL COMPONENT HIGH VOLTAGE PARTS, AT A COST OF $8,244.00 + LABOR IN THE AMOUNT OF $660.00. I INVESTIGATED ON-LINE AND DISCOVERED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME "INVERTER FAILURE". FOLLOWING UP WITH TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, I WAS INFORMED THEY KNEW OF THE "INVERTER FAILURES IN THE 06-07 MODELS AND ISSUED A RECALL FOR THOSE HYBRID MODELS AFFECTED BY THIS COMPONENT HOWEVER NO FURTHER RECALL HAS OCCURRED TO DATE. I FEEL LUCKY I WASN'T IN AN INTERSECTION OR A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE COMPLETE POWER TRAIN FAILURE CAN OCCUR AT ANY TIME WITH THIS FAILED TOYOTA COMPONENT. *TR

AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT JUST CAME ON AT 73,000 MILES, NO ACCIDENT. TOOK IT TO DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE SPIRAL CABLE ASSEMBLY IN DRIVER AIRBAG AT A COST OF $500 AND EXPLAINED THERE WAS NO RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. I CALLED TOYOTA AND THEY TOLD ME THIS ONLY AFFECTED TACOMA'S, INTERESTING THOUGH, THAT MY 08 HIGHLANDER HAD SAME PROBLEM. *TR

WHILE AT THE TOYOTA DEALER FOR SERVICE, THE DEALER TOOK THE CAR FOR A TEST DRIVE PRIOR TO THE SERVICE AND UPON RETURNING TO THE DEALER LOT THE CAR DIED - NO POWER. DEALER DIAGNOSED AS A BAD INVERTER, BALLPARK REPAIR COST IS $9500. BESIDES BEING A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW A MODERN CAR CAN CONTAIN A CRITICAL COMPONENT THAT COSTS $10K TO REPLACE THAT HAS NO MAINTENANCE IN THE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE OR OTHER DIAGNOSTICS TO ALERT THE DRIVER OF PENDING CATASTROPHIC FAILURE THAT MAY STRAND THEM IN AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE LOCATION (I.E. MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY). I HOPE THAT NHTSA INVESTIGATES THE 2008 HIGHLANDER HYBRID INVERTER FAILURES DOCUMENTED ON THIS SITE AND TOYOTA IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD AND EXTREMELY COSTLY DEFECT. *TR

LOW OIL NOTICE CAME ON. DRIVE 1/4 MILE TO OIL CHANGE FACILITY. WAS TOLD ALMOST NO OIL ON DIPSTICK. OIL REFILLED AND DROVE APPRO 5 MILES TO DEALERSHIP- STAR TOYOTA , LEAGUE CITY, TX. HAVE RESEARCHED AND NOTED TSB ISSUED ON 3/11/2011- NHTSA REFERENCE # 10033553 WITH THIS EXACT REPAIR PROBLEM INCLUSIVE OF MY VEHICLES EXACT FAILURE WAS NOT NOTIFIED BY STAR TOYOTA DEALERSHIP OF THIS DEFECT WHILE UNDER WARRANTY. VEHICLE WITHIN 5-6 MONTHS OF BASIC WARRANTY; 5 YEAR OF 60,000 MILES. *TR

AS WAS PULLING OUT PARKING SPACE, CAR STOPPED MOVING EVEN THOUGH ENGINE RUNNING. HAD TOWED TO DEALERSHIP, DIAGNOSED WITH FAILURE OF HYBRID INVERTER. *TR

WE HAD JUST PASSED THROUGH A TOLLBOOTH ON A FREEWAY AND WERE ACCELERATING TO MERGE WITH TRAFFIC WHEN THE CAR SHUDDERED AND SLOWED AND STEERING BECAME DIFFICULT. A NUMBER OF WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON TELLING US TO STOP DRIVING THE CAR IMMEDIATELY AND TO CALL THE DEALERSHIP. THERE WERE THREE WARNING LIGHTS WHICH WERE SOMETHING LIKE: 'CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM', 'CHECK BRAKES' AND 'CHECK VSC'. WE WERE CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN AND WERE LUCKILY ABLE TO PULL OFF INTO IT AND TURNED OFF THE CAR. WHEN WE TURNED IT BACK ON THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD OR BACKWARD AND WE HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED HOME. WE HAVE SINCE HAD IT TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAVE TOLD US THAT WE NEED A NEW INVERTER BATTERY. WE UNDERSTAND THAT TOYOTA HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS PART IN THE PAST FOR THE 2006 AND 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS AND WANTED TO REPORT THE PROBLEM BECAUSE OURS IS A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. *TR

DRIVER SIDE SUN VISOR DEFECTIVE - IT DOES NOT STAY IN UP POSITION, DROPS DOWN SUDDENLY & BLOCKING THE VISIBILITY OF THE ROAD; DEALER SAID IT IS A COMMON ISSUE BUT NOT ENOUGH COMPLAINS FOR A RECALL. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT PRONE ISSUE THAT WILL CUT OFF THE DRIVER'S VISIBILITY SUDDENLY. *TR

AIR BAGS THE SPIRAL CABLE WENT BAD CAUSING THE AIR BAG LIGHT TO COME ON MAKING THE AIRBAGS INOPERABLE. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND COST WAS $560 TO REPAIR WITH PARTS AND LABOR. VIEW DETAILS. *TR

MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER WERE DRIVING ON A BUSY HIGHWAY WHEN THEY HEARD A "POP" NOISE FROM THE ENGINE. THE CAR STALLED ON THE ROAD. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, THEY WERE ABLE TO DRIFT TO THE SIDE AND DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT. NEXT DAY, THE DEALER INFORMED THAT THE ISSUE WAS WITH THE HYBRID SYSTEM - THE INVERSION PART. THE COST FOR REPAIR WOULD BE $11,000! WE LIVE ABOUT AN HOUR FROM OUR WORKPLACES AND THUS PUT A GOOD MANY MILES ON OUR CAR - THE 125,000 MILES ON THE CAR PUT THE DRIVETRAIN OUT OF WARRANTY. WE HAVE HAD ALL RECALL SERVICES PERFORMED AT THE DEALER, AND KEPT REGULAR MAINTENANCE. NOT ONCE WERE WE ADVISED BY TOYOTA THAT THE HYBRID SYSTEM WAS SHOWING WEAR AND MAY BE IN NEED OF SERVICE. THERE WAS NO INDICATION (WARNING LIGHTS, ETC.,) THAT THE HYBRID SYSTEM NEEDED ATTENTION - NO FORE WARNING AT ALL PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. IN DOING RESEARCH, WE REALLY GOT UPSET TO FIND TOYOTA HAD RECALLED 06 AND 07 MODELS FOR THE VERY SAME HYBRID ISSUE. WE ALSO NOTICED THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WITH COMPLAINTS ON THE SAME ISSUE IN VARIOUS ONLINE FORUMS. TO CAP IT OFF -- AFTER THE DEALER TOLD US THE REPAIR BILL IS $11,000, WE WERE ADVISED TO DISCUSS WITH A TOYOTA CASE MANAGER. WE DID AND THEIR OFFER? $1,500 TOWARD A NEW TOYOTA PURCHASE. WE WERE HIGHLY FRUSTRATED BY THIS RESPONSE. WE FEEL THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND SHOULD PROVIDE BETTER WARNINGS TO USERS AND BETTER RESOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM - AND RECALL ALL EFFECTED HYBRIDS! *TR