2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Complaints

I WAS DRIVING IN TRAFFIC AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE INFORMATION SCREEN INDICATED THERE HAD BEEN A BRAKE MALFUNCTION AND THAT I SHOULD PULL OVER AND CALL THE DEALER. I NOTICED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT WAS LIT SO I THOUGHT I HAD SOMEHOW BEEN DRIVING WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ON. IN KIND OF A PANIC I THEN PUSHED DOWN THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ABOUT HALF WAY IN AN EFFORT TO TURN IT OFF. THIS CAUSED THE CAR TO SLOW DOWN PRECIPITIOUSLY AND WE ALMOST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT. IT TURNS OUT THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY CORROSION IN ONE OF THE WHEEL SENSORS THAT DETECTS SLIPPAGE. THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS NEVER ENGAGED. TOYOTA SHOULD NOT ILLUMINATE THAT LIGHT WHEN THIS HAPPENS TO PREVENT DRIVERS FROM THINKING THEIR EMERGENCY BRAKE IS ENGAGED WHEN INFACT IT IS NOT. TOYOTA SHOULD RECALL THE 2008 HIGHLANDER TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO CORROSION SINCE THE MESSAGE ON THE INFORMATIONAL DISPLAY IS SO DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER.

DRIVING MY NEW 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER LEASED DEC. 2008. ON 4-5 SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON I ACCELERATED AND THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY WENT TO FULL RACE. PEDAL WAS NOT STUCK. COULD NOT TURN OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL. SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL CAUSED UNCONTROLLED MAXIMUM RPMS. TURNING THE KEY OFF AND BACK ON NUMEROUS TIMES DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. EVENTUALLY AFTER ABOUT 20-30 SECONDS THE PROBLEM RESOLVED, ENGINE SLOWED WITH NO SIGN THERE HAD EVER BEEN A PROBLEM. THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN SINCE SPRING 2009 BUT THAT SPRING THE 4-5 EPISODES HAPPENED WITHIN A FEW WEEKS.

I OWN A 2008 TOYOTA HYBRID HIGHLANDER.I HAVE EXPERIENCED A "LAG" BEFORE THE BRAKES KICK IN AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE CAR IS ACCELERATING AS I AM BRAKING. IT IFEELS AS IF WHEN IT HAPPENS I AM HITTING THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDAL AT THE SAME TIME. IT IS SOMEWHAT FRIGHTENING. IT HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 5 TIMES SINCE I HAVE OWNED THE CAR. I BELIEVE IT IS THE SAME ISSUE AS THE PREIUS. IT FEELS LIKE A BRIEF SURGE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AS TOYOTA IS NOT RECALLING THE HYBRID HIGHLANDER. I BELIEVE IT IS THE SAME TECHNOLOGY AND ISSUE THE PREIUS IS EXPERIENCING

MY WIFE'S 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER SPORT WITH 19" RIMS CAME WITH BRIDGESTONE DUELER H/L 400 TIRES. THIS TIRE HAPPENS TO BE THE ONLY TIRE MADE TO FIT THIS RIM OTHER THAN A TOYOTA OPEN COUNTRY WHICH APPARENTLY WAS STANDARD ON THE HYBRID MODEL. WE FOUND THIS TIRE TO BE UNFIT AND UNSAFE FOR A 4,500 LB VEHICLE OF THIS SCALE. THESE TIRES HYDROPLAN IN RAIN FROM THE MOMENT THEY WERE NEW, AND THEY HANDLED TERRIBLY IN ANY AMOUNT OF SNOW, CAUSING THE REAR OF OUR 4WD VEHICLE TO SLIDE SIDEWAYS WHEN STARTING FROM SIMPLE STOPS. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WE HELD OUR BREATH AS WE SLID TOWARD VEHICLES AND PROPERTY WHILE THE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM TRIED IN VAIN TO OVERCOME THE TIRE'S VERY POOR HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS. IF YOU GO TO TIRERACK.COM YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS TIRE IS RATED EXTREMELY POORLY BY MANY MANY OWNERS OF HIGHLANDERS AND OTHER CARS THAT THEY CAME STANDARD ON. WHEN I CONTACTED TOYOTA ABOUT THIS, THEY BALKED AT ME, AND COPPED AN ATTITUDE WHEN THEY ASKED IF I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT TOYOTA WAS GOING TO REPLACE MY TIRES FOR ME. THESE TIRES ARE UNSAFE FOR ANY VEHICLE WHICH WILL TRAVEL IN SNOW OR RAIN. THE FINAL INSULT OF THESE TIRES IS THAT THEY WERE MORE THAN THREE-QUARTERS WORN OUT BY 15,000 MILES. WE MILKED THESE TIRES UNTIL ALMOST 30,000 MILES SINCE I REFUSED TO BUY THE SAME TIRE AGAIN, HOPING SOME OTHER MANUFACTURER WOULD COME ALONG WITH A SIMILAR SIZED TIRE - 245/55-19. THAT NEVER HAPPENED, SO I WENT WITH A 255 WIDTH TIRE AND BROUGHT A WELL RATED HANKOOK. I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER. I AM JUST INCENSED THAT TOYOTA COLLUDED WITH BRIDGESTONE TO INSTALL SUCH TERRIBLY CHEAP AND UNSAFE TIRES ON THOUSANDS OF HIGHLANDERS, STRANDING ALL THOSE OWNERS TO SUFFER THE SAME INSTABILITY ISSUES AS WE DID, WHILE THEY DID NOT WORK WITH ANY OTHER TIRE VENDORS TO SUPPLY THIS DISTINCTIVE TIRE DESIGN. I AM NOT SURE WHO I HOLD IN MORE CONTEMPT - BRIDGESTONE OR TOYOTA. I DO NOT DOUBT THAT YOU COULD RESEARCH VEHICLE CRASHES INVOLVING HIGHLANDERS AND FIND MANY CAUSED BY POOR TRACTION. *TW

BRAKE FAILURE ON 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER: I TURNED CAR ON & SHIFTED INTO REVERSE TO BACK OUT OF PARKING SPACE. THERE WAS NO RESISTANCE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. CAR ROLLED BACKWARD & WOULD NOT STOP. I APPLIED EMERGENCY BRAKE AND CAR STOPPED. WHEN E-BRAKE WAS ON I TESTED TO SEE IF THERE WAS PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL - THERE WAS NONE. AT THIS POINT I PUT CAR INTO PARK AND TURNED OFF ENGINE, WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND RESTARTED ENGINE. STILL NO BRAKE PRESSURE AND SHIFTER WOULD NOT COME OUT OF PARK POSITION. I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AND RELEASED EMERGENCY BRAKE. AT THIS POINT THE CAR SHIFTED OUT OF PARK AND THERE WAS PRESSURE IN THE BRAKE PEDAL. I DROVE VEHICLE SAFELY TO NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP (WHERE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED). COMPUTER CHECK INDICATED NO PROBLEM WITH BRAKES. MANUAL/VISUAL CHECK REVEALED A GAP LEAKING BRAKE FLUID BETWEEN THE MASTER CYLINDER AND THE BRAKE BOOSTER , BOTH OF WHICH WERE SUBSEQUENTLY REPLACED BY THE DEALERSHIP. *TW

TOYO A20 OPEN COUNTRY TIRES IN 245/55R19 SIZE WEAR PREMATURELY WITH POTENTIAL LOSS OF TRACTION AND CONTROL. DRIVERS UNAWARE OF THE FACT THESE TIRES WEAR OUT IN LESS THAN 20,000 MILES MAY FAIL TO CHECK THEM FOR WEAR SOON ENOUGH. THESE TIRES ARE THE OEM TIRES USED ON THE 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER SPORT MODEL AND PROBABLY SOME OTHER TOYOTA MODELS AND MODEL YEARS AS WELL. THE 2008 VEHICLE OWNERS WILL BE THE FIRST TO REPORT PROBLEMS. THIS BLOG ON CONSUMER REPORTS DETAILS THE PROBLEMS. HTTP://BLOGS.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG/CARS/2009/04/TOYOTA-HIGHLANDER-HOW-TO-CHOOSE-THE-BEST-REPLACEMENT-TIRE-.HTML TOYOTA DEALERS ARE OFFERING NO COMPENSATION OR REPLACEMENT ASSISTANCE AND THIS SIZE TIRE IS UNIQUE SO THAT ONLY TWO FIRMS OFFER REPLACEMENTS - TOYO AND BRIDGESTONE. THE BRIDGESTONE OEM TIRES IN THIS SIZE MAY HAVE THE SAME WEAR AND TRACTION PROBLEMS. *CN

I AM LEASING TWO TOYOTA VEHICLES ... A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND A 2009 TOYOTA CAMRY. DURING DECEMBER 2009 I EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH THE 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER TRANSMISSION AND SUDDEN ACCELERATION WHILE BRAKING. DETAILS INCLUDE A TRANSMISSION NOISE RATTLE WHILE DRIVING ON A CALIFORNIA FREEWAY AT ABOUT 60 MPH. THIS TRANSMISSION NOISE CONTINUED FOR 3-4 MINUTES, SOUNDING LOUDER AS IF A PART WAS LOOSE INSIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION. I SHIFTED THE TRANSMISSION ON THE 2008 HIGHLANDER BETWEEN GEARS AND THE NOISE EVENTUALLY STOPPED. THE SECOND COMPLAINT ON THE 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 5, 2009, WHILE I WAS PARKING THE VEHICLE. AS I APPROACHED THE PARKING PLACE, WITH MY FOOT COVERING THE BRAKE PEDAL, I EXPERIENCED UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION WHILE BRAKING. THE 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER SUDDENLY LURCHED WITHOUT WARNING AND WOULD HAVE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE THROUGH A PLATE GLASS WINDOW AT THE BANK IF I DIDN'T APPLY FULL FORCE OF THE BRAKE! I WAS ABLE TO APPLY THE BRAKE FIRMLY ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE IN TIME. CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA TOYOTA OF CARLSBAD WAS NOTIFIED ON DECEMBER 9, 2009 IN WRITING REGARDING THESE TWO ISSUES. I HAD PERSONALLY DELIVERED A TWO PAGE DOCUMENT DETAILING BOTH OF THESE COMPLAINTS TO THE TOYOTA OF CARLSBAD SERVICE DEPARTMENT. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RESPONSE FROM MY COMPLAINT BY TOYOTA OF CARLSBAD OR THE TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION. *TR

TOYOTA 2008 HIGHLANDER-BRAKING SYSTEM HESITATES LIKE THE PRIUS IS DESCRIBED. IT FREEZES UP AND DOESN'T REACT AS QUICKLY AS IT IS PUSHED. THIS IS ONGOING. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. EVER SINCE IT WAS NEW, IT HAS INCONSISTENT BRAKING AT SLOW SPEEDS, AROUND 25 MPH AND SLOWER. WHEN BRAKING AT SLOW SPEEDS, HITTING A SMALL BUMP OR POTHOLE WILL SHUT DOWN THE REGEN BRAKES, THE BRAKES MOMENTARILY RELEASE, AND THEN WILL REAPPLY WITH THE HYDRAULIC BRAKES ACTIVATED, BUT WILL REQUIRE MUCH GREATER PEDAL PRESSURE TO GET THE SAME BRAKING FORCE. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. EVER SINCE IT WAS NEW, IT HAS INCONSISTENT BRAKING AT SLOW SPEEDS, LIKE 20 MPH AND SLOWER. WHEN BRAKING AT SLOW SPEEDS, IF I HIT EVEN A SMALL BUMP OR POTHOLE, THE BRAKES MOMENTARILY RELEASE, AND THEN WILL RE-APPLY BUT WILL REQUIRE MUCH GREATER PEDAL PRESSURE TO GET THE SAME BRAKING FORCE. I HAD THE DEALER LOOK AT IT BUT SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG. *JB