2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 1 MPH, WHEN THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE AND A BEDROOM. SHE THEN SHIFTED THE VEHICLE INTO REVERSE IT ACCELERATED IN REVERSE. SHE DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO AVOID AN ADDITIONAL INCIDENT, SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL GEAR TO STOP THE VEHICLE FROM ACCELERATING. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND NO POLICE REPORT WAS TAKEN. SHE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP BUT NO ONE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE TO FIND OUT WHY THE FAILURE OCCURRED. SHE HAD NOT SPOKEN WITH THE MANUFACTURER TO-DATE. SHE HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ANY MORE ACCELERATION FAILURES WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 19,000. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,000.

WHEN BRAKING, IF A POTHOLE OR BUMP IN THE ROAD IS HIT, THE CAR SEEMINGLY JERKS FORWARD/ACCELERATES. THIS OCCURS EVERY TIME WHEN BRAKING ON A BUMPY SURFACE. *TR

ABS SYSTEM ON 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER FAILED. RESULTING COST FROM DEALER WILL BE OVER 1500 AND THAT IS WITH A FRIEND IN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT HELPING US OUT. *TR

I HAVE A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHEN BRAKING OVER BUMPY ROADS OR POTHOLES (EVEN SMALL BUMPS), THE SENSATION I GET IS THAT THE BRAKES ARE NO LONGER ENGAGED. THE CAR FEELS TEMPORARILY OUT OF CONTROL. THIS SENSATION IS STRONGER IF THE BUMPS ARE ENCOUNTERED DURING A TURN OR IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE BUMPS ABOUT A FOOT OR TWO APART (AS OFTEN LEFT BY BUSES REPEATEDLY STOPPING IN THE SAME AREAS ON CITY STREETS). ON FAMILIAR ROADS, I KNOW WHERE THE BUMPS ARE AND CAN DRIVE/BRAKE ACCORDINGLY. UNFAMILIAR ROADS MAKE THIS PROBLEM LESS PREDICTABLE AND MORE DANGEROUS. THIS PROBLEMS SOUNDS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEMS WITH TOYOTA PRIUS' BRAKING. MY VEHICLE IS NOT CURRENTLY PART OF THE RECALL AND I WONDER IF TOYOTA IS BEING EVASIVE ABOUT HOW EXTENSIVE THE PROBLEM TRULY IS. TEMPORARY LOSS OF BRAKING OVER BUMPY ROADS HAS EXISTED SINCE I TOOK POSSESSION OF MY NEW HIGHLANDER IN JUNE 2007. I CAN PREDICT OCCURRENCE WITH NEAR 100% ACCURACY ON CERTAIN FAMILIARLY BUMPY ROADS. I SEE ON THIS FORM THAT I MUST PICK A DATE FOR "THE" INCIDENT (THERE HAVE BEEN MANY). I'LL PICK A DATE OF RECENT PARTICULARLY MEMORABLE/SCARY OCCURRENCE. NOTE: THIS ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM REQUIRES ME TO CHOOSE "ELECTRIC BRAKES" OR "HYDRAULIC BRAKES." I DON'T KNOW WHICH TO CHOOSE: I THINK IT IS A HYBRID OF BOTH, SO NEITHER CHOICE IS ACCURATE. NHTSA: YOU CAN DO BETTER! *TR

TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID 2007. THE BRAKES HAD A COMPLETE FAILURE. I WAS DRIVING ON ICE, HIT THE BRAKES, AND THE BRAKE CALIPERS DID NOTHING. I DROVE STRAIGHT INTO A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME AND FORCED ANOTHER ONE TO HIT ME. *TR

I BELIEVE MY 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID HAS THE SAME BRAKING PROBLEMS AS DESCRIBED WITH THE TOYOTA PRIUS. I HAD THIS PROBLEM SINCE DAY ONE OF PURCHASE AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS NORMAL. HERE IS MY DESCRIPTION OF MY BRAKING PROBLEM. WHEN I AM TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY OR CITY DRIVING, WHENEVER I PUSH ON THE BRAKE PEDAL YOU CAN FEEL NORMAL BRAKING ALSO YOU CAN SEE THE DASH GAUGE NEEDLE POINTING TO THE BLUE AS IT RECHARGES THE BATTERIES AND THEN THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP. EVER SO OFTEN, WHEN I AM BRAKING I CAN FEEL THE VEHICLE LETTING UP ON THE BRAKING, HOWEVER I HAVE NOT DECREASED MY FOOT PRESSURE AND THE NEEDLE ON THE DASH GOES FROM THE BLUE TO NORMAL AND THE VEHICLE MOVES FORWARD WITH MOMENTUM AND I MUST INCREASE MY FOOT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL VERY QUICKLY TO RE-GAIN MY ORIGINAL BRAKING PRESSURE. THIS HAPPENS TO ME ABOUT ONCE A WEEK, AND I HAVE LOOKED A THE BATTERY STATUS AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE BATTERY STILL NEEDS MORE CHARGING. IT WAS VERY SCARY AT FIRST BUT NOW I AM USE TO IT. I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS IS NORMAL OR NOT, HOWEVER THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIUS PROBLEMS SOUNDS JUST LIKE MINE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH WHEN STOPPING THE VEHICLE WITH HER FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, THEY BEGAN OPERATING NORMALLY. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED 20 TO 30 TIMES . THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 17,859. UPDATED 3/30/2010 THE CONSUMER STATED OCCASIONALLY WHILE STEPPING ON THE BRAKE AT LOW SPEEDS, IT WOULD FEEL LIKE THE VEHICLE WAS IN NEUTRAL. BUT, JUST A FRACTION OF A SECOND IT HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. UPDATED 05/10/10*JB

FIRST EVENT-PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE-APPLIED THE BRAKE-CAR ACCELERATED AND WENT OVER THE BUMPER GUARD. ONGOING ISSUE-WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE AND HITTING A BUMP IN THE ROAD AT THE SAME TIME, THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD AND THE BRAKE APPEARS TO FAIL. REPORTED TO DEALER-SAID IT WAS POSSIBLY THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM. HAVE HAD THE BRAKES CHECKED NUMEROUS TIMES WITH NO TROUBLE FOUND. *TW

EVERY TIME I APPLY MY BRAKES FROM A SPEED OF ROUGHLY 10MPH OR MORE, THEY APPLY, RELEASE, AND REAPPLY. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE DELAY HAS TO DO WITH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BRAKES AND THE HYBRID COMPUTER CONTROLLER. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN IF I DECELERATE IN NEUTRAL. *TR

I OWN A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. I PURCHASED IT USED 6 MONTHS AGO. SINCE PURCHASE I HAVE NOTED THAT WHEN I AM BRAKING OVER UNEVEN SURFACES SOMETIMES THE CAR ACTUALLY ACCELERATES RATHER THAN DECELERATE. IT IS PARTICULARLY NOTICEABLE WHEN TURNING AT THE TIME OF BRAKING SUCH AS WHEN I AM EXITING THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE ADJUSTED MY DRIVING HABITS SO THAT I DRIVE MUCH SLOWER IN ROADWAYS WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED AND IT HELPS MINIMIZE THE ISSUE; HOWEVER, GIVEN THE NEWS OVER BRAKING ISSUES WITH SOME OTHER HYBRID VEHICLES, I THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH BRINGING THIS ISSUE TO YOUR ATTENTION. IT IS UNCLEAR IF THIS IS A FUNCTION OF THE ABS OR TRACTION CONTROL. *TR