2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID Complaints

INCIDENT DATE: 6-6-15. STARTED VEHICLE AND DASH WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON FOR ABS, VSC AND BRAKES. ALSO THE WORD, "BRAKE" IN RED CAME ON. TOYOTA DEALER DIAGNOSED A CODE 1391 (ABNORMAL LEAK DETECTED IN ACCUMULATOR) AND TESTED BRAKE SYSTEM AND FOUND ABS ACTUATOR/PUMP INTERNAL FAILURE/LEAK. DEALER REPLACED ABS ACTUATOR, PART #44050-48320, AND ABS PUMP ASSEMBLY, PART #47070-48020. ORIGINAL ESTIMATE TO REPAIR WAS $5,388. AFTER COMPLAINING TO TOYOTA'S NATIONAL CUSTOMER CARE, THE BILL WAS REDUCED TO $1,556.

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT I HEARD A LOUD WARNING INDICATOR INSIDE THE CAR AND IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THAT I LOST ABILITY TO BRAKE. I WAS ONLY TRAVELING 10 MPH OR LESS WHEN THIS OCCURRED AND WAS ABLE TO SLOWLY ROLL INTO A PARKING SPACE. THE ABS, VSC, AND STABILITY CONTROL LIGHTS WERE ALREADY ON, AND HAD BEEN FOR MONTHS. FRED HAAS TOYOTA DEALER IN HOUSTON, TX AREA RECOMMENDED HAVING THE ABS ACTUATOR REPLACED AT A COST OF $2700 FOR THE PART PLUS TAX AND LABOR. THE BRAKING SEEMED TO WORK FINE SO I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THIS LATEST INCIDENT DISABLED THE BRAKES ALMOST ENTIRELY SO I HAD TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. NOW FRED HAAS TOYOTA SAYS ITS THE BRAKE PUMP AND WORN BRAKE PADS. THESE WERE REPLACED AT OVER $2600 AND THE BRAKES SEEM TO BE WORKING AS WELL AS BEFORE. BUT OF COURSE, ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS HAVE NOW TURNED BACK ON AND FRED HAAS STILL WANTS TO REPLACE THE ABS ACTUATOR AT $2700 PLUS TAX AND LABOR. I SEE THAT THE WORLD WIDE WEB HAS HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF CONSUMERS IN MY PREDICAMENT AND EVEN A FEW COMPLAINTS OVER THE YEARS ON THIS SITE. CAN THIS FINALLY BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED PLEASE? *TR

DRIVER'S SUN VISOR DOES NOT STAY UP, FALLING WITHOUT WARNING AT ANYTIME AND BLOCKING THE DRIVER'S VIEW. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAFETY CONCERN POSTED ONLINE. TOYOTA HAS REDESIGNED THE REPLACEMENT VISOR TO CORRECT THIS KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE; HOWEVER HAS NOT OFFERED A RECALL. *TR

THE BATTERY IS IN NEW CONDITION. WHILE I WAS MAKING A CALL IN MY CAR FOR 20 MINUTES, THE WHOLE SYSTEM SHUTDOWN, THE 12V BATTERY HAD TO BE JUMPED AND RECHARGED. CONCERNED THIS COULD HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING ETC. *TR

1-WHILE TRAVELING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, AUTO ENGINE STILL RUNNING BUT NO POWER TO WHEELS. FORTUNATELY NEAR A RAMP- COASTED OFF RAMP AND INTO A PARKING LOT. MESSAGE - CHECK BRAKING SYSTEM- CONTACT DEALER. AFTER SEVERAL TRIES, RE-ENGAGED ENGINE, JABBED BRAKES REPEATEDLY IN BETWEEN SEVERAL FAILURES UNTIL TROUBLE CAME CLEAR. NOTHING FOUND ON EXAMINATION BY DEALER. 2- 8/14 CHECK BRAKING SYSTEM MESSAGE APPEARED. AUTO WOULD NOT MOVE ALTHOUGH ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WORKING. ROCKED CAR REPEATEDLY TO TRY TO CLEAR MESSAGE. CONNECTED EMERGENCY BATTERY TO BATTERY- SYSTEM CAME CLEAR. 3- 11/14 CHECK BRAKING SYSTEM MESSAGE APPEARED. SAME AS #2. ALSO HAD CHECK AIR-BAG SYSTEM MESSAGE. ALL THREE INSTANCES OCCURRED ON PAVEMENT BUT SHORTLY AFTER BEING PARKED ON GRASS. ALTHOUGH THE LAST TWO WERE CLEARED BY BRIEFLY CONNECTING AN EMERGENCY BATTERY, AVAILABILITY OF HEADLIGHTS INDICATED CAR BATTERY HAD SUFFICIENT VOLTAGE TO OPERATE CAR'S SYSTEMS. *TR

DRIVING AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH AND SLOWING DOWN FOR A STOP SIGN. VSC, ABS, AND BRAKE MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. BRAKES FUNCTIONED, BUT DEALER SAID THAT THE ACCUMULATOR AND BOOSTER ASSEMBLIES NEED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON ABOUT BRAKES AND INSTRUCTIONS TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE REPAIR REQUIRED A REPLACEMENT OF THE ACTUATOR FOR ANTI LOCK BRAKES. $3.200.. *TR

AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR (OUR FIRST HYBRID) WE NOTICED THAT THE BRAKES WERE ACTING DIFFERENT WHEN SLOWING; WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO STOP AT A STOP LIGHT OR SIGN OR TO SLOW IN TRAFFIC, IF THE CAR IS UNDER 30 MPH AND HITS A BUMP THE BRAKES WILL RELEASE (WHILE YOUR FOOT IS ON THE BRAKES) AND THE CAR WILL LUNGE FORWARD EVEN THOUGH YOUR FOOT IS PRESSING DOWN AND HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED. THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER THE PAST YEAR AND NO ONE CAN SEEM TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. THE BRAKES ARE NEW AND SEVERAL FORUMS HAVE BEEN READ IN REGARDS TO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE. IT SEEMS THAT SEVERAL HYBRIDS EXPERIENCE THE SAME ISSUES. BRAKING UNDER 30, THE CAR WILL HIT A BUMP, BRAKES WILL RELEASE CAUSING THE CAR TO LUNGE FORWARD AND POSSIBLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. IT HAS HAPPENED ENOUGH THAT OUR FAMILY IS CONSIDERING TRADING IN THE CAR. WE HAVE ALMOST BEEN IN 10 PLUS ACCIDENTS BECAUSE WE ARE ALMOST STOPPED AT THE STOP SIGN AND THE CAR HITS A BUMP AND ACCELERATES INTO TRAFFIC COMING FROM THE LEFT/RIGHT. WITH CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT, THIS IS A HUGE CONCERN. WE HAVE SENT TOYOTA AN EMAIL ASKING FOR INSPECTION, HOWEVER THEY SAID THEY WOULD JUST LIKE TO HAVE OUR DEALER LOOK AT IT, HOWEVER THEY HAVE NOT BEEN NOTED OF THIS ISSUE IN THE PAST, WHEN CLEARLY THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS THAT ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES AND THEY HAVE BEEN IN ACCIDENTS. I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE THAT ACCELERATION/BREAK RELEASE WHEN HITTING A BUMP CAUSING THE CAR TO LUNGE FORWARD INTO MOVING TRAFFIC IS A SAFETY CONCERN WHEN THE BRAKES ARE PERFECTLY GOOD. WE WILL BE TRADING IN THE VEHICLE IF SOMETHING IS NOT DONE ABOUT IT SHORTLY, NOT ONLY ARE WE WORRIED ABOUT OUR FAMILY BUT WE ARE ALSO WORRIED ABOUT OTHERS WHO COULD BE INVOLVED. THIS ISSUE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BRAKES, THEY ARE GOOD, AND THE ISSUE IS STILL RE-OCCURRING. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ALONG AT ABOUT 50 - 55 MPH ALL THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE MOTOR STOPPED ABRUPTLY. THE RESULT WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER AND A BIT DANGEROUS I MIGHT ADD. WE WERE ABLE TO PUSH THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BUT WERE NOT ABLE TO RESTART. AFTER TOWING IT TO A DEALERSHIP WE WERE INFORMED THERE WAS NO DOUBT A LOWER END MOTOR FAILURE. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ONLINE I CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THIS SAME FAILURE IN THE SAME WAY. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS WITH AN ENGINE INVERTER ITEM THAT CAUSES A VERY EXPENSIVE FAILURE WITH NO WARNING. IN FACT THERE WAS EVEN A RECALL ON THE 2007 MODELS BUT THE RECALL UNFORTUNATELY DIDN'T EXTEND INTO THE 2008 YEAR. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE, MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, AND THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. I HAD TO PULL OFF OF THE ROAD QUICKLY TO AVOID BEING HIT IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. I HAD IT TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS A BAD COIL PACK. IF A BAD COIL PACK DISABLES YOUR VEHICLE, THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BECAUSE COIL PACKS CAN GO BAD ANY TIME. IF I HAD BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY INSTEAD, I COULD HAVE BEEN IN A SERIOUSLY ACCIDENT OR EVEN KILLED. *TR