2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

I HAVE AN 06 HIGHLANDER HYBRID, A HAVE PROBLEM WITH ITS BRAKES IT LOSSES IT GRIP FOR 1 SECOND OR LESS ON LIGHT BRAKING AND SOMETIMES IT SURGES BEFORE THE BRAKES HOLD. THIS HAPPENED USUALLY IN THE MORNING AT COLD STARTS OCCURRING 3-4 TIMES A WEEK. I COMPLAINED TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF THE TRANSITION FROM REGENERATIVE TO TRADITIONAL BRAKING. I JUST FELT NOT SAFE BECAUSE IT MIGHT LEAD TO ACCIDENT. *TR

EVER SINCE WE PURCHASED OUR 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WE HAVE RANDOMLY EXPERIENCED ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. AFTER SLOWING DOWN, WE SLOWLY ACCELERATED AND WOULD EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN THRUST BUT COULD SLOW IT DOWN BY LESSENING THE PRESSURE ON THE GAS PEDAL OR BY BRAKING. THIS WOULD HAPPEN AT RANDOM 2 OR 3 TIMES PER YEAR. WE BOTH THOUGHT IT WAS OUR FAULT UNTIL WE READ ABOUT THE TOYOTA ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. NOW, WE DON'T BELIEVE IT IS OUR FAULT AND IS A BUILT-IN PROBLEM. WE RECENTLY HAVE TALKED TO THE TOYOTA SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY REFERRED US TO THE TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS FOR FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THEM. WE WERE TOLD THIS CAR IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. SINCE OUR PROBLEM DOES NOT SEEM AS BAD AS OTHER YEAR'S CAR, IT MAY BE THAT THIS IS THE YEAR THE PROBLEM DEVELOPED IN TOYOTA AND GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORST AS ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE TO THE CAR'S PROGRAMMING OR ENGINE. THE LAST INCIDENT INVOLVING THIS ACCELERATION WAS IN LATE FEBRUARY OR EARLY MARCH, 2010. WE HOPE THIS INFORMATION MAY BE OF SOME HELP TO YOU AND US IN SOLVING OUR PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS PARKING MY TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WHEN SUDDENLY THE CAR ACCELERATED WHILE I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I BRAKED AS HARD AS I COULD AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD UNTIL I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED OFF THE IGNITION. I MOVED A PARKED CAR COMPLETELY OUT OF THEIR PARKING SPACE AND I WENT OVER HALF WAY THRU THE SAME SPACE BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO STOP MY CAR. MY BRAKES WERE SMOKING AND I LEFT TIRE MARKS ON THE ASPHALT. THIS ALL BEGAN WHEN I WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY STOPPED IN THE PARKING SPACE. *TR

WIFE WAS BACKING UP A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER LIMITED INTO THE GARAGE WHICH SHE HAS BEEN DOING SINCE THE CAR WAS NEW. CAR STARTED TO ACCELERATE AND SHE COULD NOT STOP IT. IT WENT THROUGH THE BACK WALL OF THE GARAGE DESTROYING THE GARAGE WALL AND THE VEHICLE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT SLOW DOWN. SHE SWERVED LEFT TO RIGHT IN AN ATTEMPT TO STOP THE VEHICLE; INSTEAD, THE VEHICLE FLIPPED OVER. THE CONTACT CLIMBED OUT THE FRONT WINDOW AND SUSTAINED HEAD INJURIES AS NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 55,000.

BASICS ARE THE WHEEL ON MY 2006 INNOVA SPLIT INHALF WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT 25KPH. INNOVA WAS MAINTANED BY TOYOTA SO IMPROPER WHEEL INSTALLATION WOULD ALSO BE THEIR PROBLEM. THIS WHEEL WAS RECALLED IN VIETNAM AROUND DEC. 2009, A MECHANIC AT TOYOTA OF PHILIPPINES HAS TOLD ME TOYOTA KNEW OF THE BAD PHILIPPINE WHEELS BUT THEY COULD NOT TRACK THEM AND SAME WHEELS MAY BE IN THE USA! FOR A LONGER STORY AS TO WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND WHAT TOYOTA HAS NOT DONE CAN BE FOUND ON MY OLD SITE. WWW.FILIPINAVISA.COM/INNOVA I AM A RETIRED FAA WG-4749 SO AM WELL VERSED ON METAL FATIGUE AND MUCH MORE. I AM ALSO A 100% SERVICE CONNECTED VET. THERE ARE NO PROPER TESTING LABS IN THE PHILIPPINES. PLEASE GO TO THE ABOVE LINK TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS ONGOING. YOUR FORM DOES NOT LIST THE PROPER MODEL SO I HAD TO SELECT WHAT YOU HAVE. *TR

1. I WAS PARKING ALONGSIDE THE ROAD, BEHIND AN ACQUAINTANCE'S VEHICLE. WHILE ROLLING INTO POSITION BEHIND THEM, I EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN ACCELERATION OF MY VEHICLE. 2. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS OCCURED. I SMASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE CAR PARKED IN FRONT OF ME AT 10MPH OR SO. MINIMLA DAMAGE TO MY SUV, OTHER CAR WILL LIKELY NEED A NEW REAR BUMPER. 3. REPORTED TO TOYOTA AND AWAITING CALLBACK

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH WHEN HE NOTICED THAT, ALTHOUGH HE DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE DRIVING OVER A BUMP IN THE ROAD, THE VEHICLE DID NOT SLOW DOWN. HE ALSO EXPERIENCED THE SAME BRAKE FAILURE WHEN ON FLAT PAVEMENT. ANOTHER DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE ALSO NOTICED THE BRAKE PROBLEM. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULD NOT ASSIST HIM WITH THE REPAIR COSTS. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 36,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 43,000.

ONE MORNING OUR TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID WOULDN'T START. AFTER TRYING TO START IT WITH MY KEY, MY WIFE TRIED USING HERS. IT STILL DIDN'T START. HOWEVER, WE BOTH NOTICED THAT IT WAS MAKING MORE THAN THE USUAL AMOUNT OF BUZZING AND HUMMING SOUNDS. WE BOTH WALKED BACK INTO THE HOUSE, LEAVING THE CAR IN PARK, THE DOORS SHUT BUT THE HOOD UP, TAKING OUR KEYS WITH US. JUST A FEW MINUTES LATER, MY WIFE SAW MOVEMENT OUT THE WINDOW AND WALKED OVER TO SEE WHAT IT WAS. IT WAS THE HIGHLANDER DRIVING ITSELF ACROSS THE LAWN. IT HAD BEEN PARKED ON THE FLAT DRIVEWAY BUT WAS NOW HALFWAY ACROSS THE YARD, HAVING ROLLED OVER A FLOWER PLANTER MADE OF RAILROAD TIES AND WAS HEADED FOR A VERY STEEP HILL. BEFORE EITHER OF US COULD EVEN GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, IT ROLLED OVER THE EDGE OF THE HILL AND DISAPPEARED. A LOUD CRASH LET US KNOW IT HAD COME TO A STOP. (IT HIT A TREE.) THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY AND WHEN WE LOOKED IN THE WINDOW THE GEAR SHIFT WAS IN REVERSE. AFTER BEING TOWED UP THE HILL, IT WAS TAKEN TO A COLLISION REPAIR FACILITY WHERE THE BILL CAME TO ABOUT $11,000. THEN IT WAS TAKEN TO STEVE LOW MIDWEST TOYOTA WHERE WE SOUGHT AN EXPLANATION AND REPAIR. THE DEALER COULD FIND NO DEFECT AND NO REPAIR WAS MADE.

WE'VE OWNED THE CAR FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO MY WIFE AND I BOTH WHILE DRIVING. WHILE BRAKING THE BRAKE PEDAL RISES AGAINST YOUR FOOT AND THE VEHICLE SURGES FORWARD THEN AS YOU APPLY MORE FORCE THE PEDAL GOES DOWN AND THE VEHICLE STOPS SUDDENLY. IT HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY AND THE BRAKE WEAR AND FLUID LEVELS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FINE, IT SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH THE POWER ASSIST TO THE BRAKE MAYBE AS THE HYBRID MODEL ENGINE STARTS BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHEN BRAKING AFTER COASTING SO THE ENGINE WOULD BE OFF BUT AS THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE NORMAL STOP YOU FEEL THE BRAKE PEDAL GET HARD AND THEN NORMAL AGAIN. DURING THE BRAKE PEDAL HARDNESS THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE INCREASES WHICH REACTS IN A HARDER BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE BUT BY THEN THE ASSIST IS BACK AND THE STOP IS SUDDEN. THIS COULD CAUSE BOTH AN ACCIDENT FROM HITTING SOMEONE DURING THE LOSS OF BRAKE AND FROM BEHIND BECAUSE OF THE SUDDEN STOP. *TR