2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. CONSUMER STATES UNINTENDED ACCELERATION CAUSED A CRASH. *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED SHE WAS WAITING IN LINE WITH HER FOOT ON THE BRAKE, WHEN SUDDENLY HER VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF HER. THE OTHER PARTIES IN THE OTHER VEHICLE CLAIMED TO INJURED. *JB

2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER: I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKES. AT SLOWER SPEEDS, THE BRAKES SEEM TO 'RELEASE' AND THEN ENGAGE, ALMOST LIKE A LITTLE SKIP OR COAST BEFORE ENGAGING. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES, THE DEALER COULD NOT REPLICATE THIS, BUT BOTH MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM SEVERAL TIMES SINCE WE BOUGHT THIS CAR. WE THOUGHT IT WAS A HYBRID 'FEATURE', BUT LOOKING ONLINE, OTHERS HAVE NOTICED THIS TOO. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID LIMITED IN SEPTEMBER 2009. FAIRLY OFTEN WHEN I APPLY THE BRAKES AT LOWER SPEEDS, THE SUV SURGES FORWARD LIKE THE BRAKES HAVE RELEASED FOR A MOMENT AND THEN HAVE REAPPLIED. IT IS DANGEROUS AND VERY DISCONCERTING IN CLOSE TRAFFIC OR WHEN GOING AROUND A CORNER OR CIRCLE. ALTHOUGH I HAVE MANAGED NOT TO HAVE A COLLISION, I HAVE COME PRETTY CLOSE WHEN DRIVING WITH A REASONABLE DISTANCE FROM THE CAR IN FRONT. I HAVE DESCRIBED IT TO TOYOTA, WHICH DENIES THERE IS ANY PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD IT SERVICED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES BEING IDENTIFIED. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IS NOTED BY MANY PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET WHO DESCRIBE THE EXACT PROBLEM WITH MY MODEL AS WELL AS OTHER HYBRIDS MANUFACTURED BY TOYOTA. IT IS A DEFECT THAT COULD CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF EMERGENCY BRAKING IS NECESSARY, WHICH AT SOME POINT WE ALL NEED TO DO TO BE SAFE ON THE ROAD. PLEASE ADDRESS THIS WITH TOYOTA. *TR

SUDDEN ACCELERATION OF A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WHILE IN REVERSE RESULTING IN DEATH. UPDATED 04/22/10 *BF *TR UPDATED 07/12/10. *JB UPDATED 9/27/2011*CW

SLIPPERY CONDITION CAUSED TRACTION CONTROL IN VEHICLE TO DEACTIVATE COMPLETE 4WD DRIVE TRAIN, PREVENTING ME FROM BEING ABLE TO AVOID FROM SLIDING DOWN DIRECTLY ONTO A POST. IF IT DIDN'T COMPLETELY DISABLE THE VEHICLE, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE TO MANEUVER AWAY FROM THE OBSTACLE. *TR

REFERENCE: NHTSA ODI NUMBER 10185505 DATED MARCH 14, 2007. THIS IS MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT ABOUT TOYOTA ACCELERATION PROBLEMS THAT HAS BEEN POSTED ON THIS SITE FOR 3 YEARS AND I'VE NEVER HAD ANY RESPONSE OF ANY KIND. I HAD TAKEN THE CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALER A TOTAL OF 3 TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIX IT AND SAID THAT IS JUST THE WAY TOYOTAS ACT. I LIVE IN FLORIDA AND UNDER FLORIDA LAW A LEMON IS A CAR THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR 3 TIMES AND NOT FIXED ... GUESS I GOT A LEMON. NOW I NEVER HEARD FROM YOU SO I GUESS YOU REALLY DON'T EITHER. *TR

BRAKES RELEASE FOR A SPLIT SECOND. IT SEEMS TO OCCUR IF APPLYING OVER A ROUGH SURFACE BUT NOT 100% CERTAIN OF THIS. WE'VE NOTICED THIS BEHAVIOR EVER SINCE WE PURCHASED THE HIGHLANDER IN 2006. NOT UNTIL HEARING OF SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THE PRIUS DID WE FEEL IT NECESSARY TO REPORT. *TR

I HAD A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. IN FEBRUARY OF 2007, I TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP BECAUSE I HAD EXPERIENCED THE CAR SURGING/ACCELERATING UPON BRAKING AND WAS UNPREDICTABLE AS TO WHEN IT MAY OCCUR. THE TECH DIDN'T EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE/ALSO RAN DIAGNOSTICS WHICH CAME BACK AS "NO CODES FOUND". SINCE I CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE, AND AFTER LEARNING OF SIMILAR ISSUES OCCURRING IN OTHER TOYOTA MODELS AND NOW THE RECALLS, I TOOK IT BACK, AND AGAIN THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE AND GOT THE SAME "NO CODES FOUND" WHEN DIAGNOSTICS WERE APPLIED. AFTER THESE EXPERIENCES, AND READING ABOUT OTHER 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID ISSUES, I DECIDED I NO LONGER FELT SAFE DRIVING MY VEHICLE AND SINCE THE DEALERSHIP WAS UNABLE TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE, EVEN WHILE UNDER WARRANTY, I DECIDED TO TRADE MY VEHICLE. *TR

2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID CRASHED AFTER SUDDEN UNBREAKABLE ACCELERATION WITH $13,500 DAMAGE. TOYOTA INVESTIGATED AND SAID DRIVER HIT GAS INSTEAD OF BRAKE DESPITE VEHEMENT DENIALS BY DRIVER. *TR

DRIVER STARTED TO BACK UP A 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID IN A PARKING LOT. IT SHOT BACK AT MAXIMUM ACCELERATION JUMPING A CURB AND STRIKING A PEDESTRIAN. BY THEN, DRIVER HAD BRAKES ON AND SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. SHE PUT THE CAR INTO DRIVE AND IT AGAIN ACCELERATED TO THE MAXIMUM STRIKING HER HUSBAND. AT THE TIME, WE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. WE ASSUMED, SOMEHOW THE DRIVER, WHO HAD AN IMPECCABLE RECORD, HAD DONE SOMETHING WRONG. NOW, WITH ALL THE PUBLICITY, WE BELIEVE IT WAS CAUSED BY THE ELECTRONIC CONTROLS. NOTHING ELSE SEEMS AS LIKELY BECAUSE WE HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE THERE WAS AN ELECTRONIC FAILURE, NOTHING WAS DONE. *TR