2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID Complaints

I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY BREAKS NOT WORKING! IM AN EXTREMELY SCARED TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE NOW I DONT WANT MY FAMILY HURT OR OTHERS IN THE ROAD IT IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN THAT TOYOTA NEEDS TO ADDRESS UNTIL IT HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON ALL VEHICLES! TOYOTA HAS DIAGNOSED IT AS THE BREAK ACCUMULATER AS DEFECTIVE! THE COST IS 3000 I JUST CAN BELIVE THIS HASN'T BEEN FIXED ON ALL VEHICLES!. I REALLY HOPE WE CAN GET THIS DONE SOON SO I CAN DRIVE MY VEHICLE AGAIN!

I WAS PREGNANT AND DRIVING WITH 2 SMALL CHILDREN WHEN THE LIGHTS ON MY DASHBOARD CAME ON ABOUT VSC AND A LOUD RINGING HAPPENED AND THEN I TRIED TO BRAKE AT THE STOP LIGHT AND THEY WERE SO DIFFICULT TO PUSH I BARELY STOPPED IN TIME TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. WAS TOLD IT WAS THE ABS SYSTEM AND THAT TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS BUT PUT STIPULATIONS ON AN EXTENDED WARRANTY RATHER THAN RECALL SO IT'S TOO LATE FOR MOST TO GET FIXED AND BE COVERED. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AND EXPENSIVE FIX TOYOTA NEEDS TO STAND BEHIND.

MY BRAKES BEGAN MAKING A LOT OF NOISE WHILE PARKED OR STATIONARY. THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER DIAGNOSED THE MALFUNCTION AS THE BRAKE ACTUARY ASSEMBLY. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND IT TURNS OUT THIS IS A RECOGNIZED PROBLEM WITH 2006-7 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRIDS AND IN RESPONSE TOYOTA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY PERIOD UNTIL DECEMBER 2017 TO COMPENSATE. HOWEVER, I WASN'T AWARE OF THIS DEFECT UNTIL RECENTLY, JUST A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE END OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY PERIOD. WHY WASN'T A RECALL ISSUED FOR SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT TO SAFETY AS THE BRAKES?

CAR HAS 84,000 MILES ON IT. AFTER A 40 MINUTE HIUGHWAY DRIVE, CAR LOST POWER AND STALLED. ENGINE LIGHTS "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" "CHECK ABS" AND "CHECK VCS" CAME ON. TOWED TO DEALER, DIAGNOSTIC CHECK SAID THE PROBLEM WAS WITH A WIRING HARNESS FOR THE HYBRID ELECTRICAL CABLE, WHICH SUFFERED FROM CORROSION AND THUS WAS LEAKING VOLTAGE. COST TO FIX MINIMUM OF $3500. FAULTY DESIGN??

I PURCHASED A 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID FWD IN FEB 2018 FROM HERCULES POLICE DEPARTMENT. FAIRLY OFTEN WHEN I APPLY THE BRAKES AT LOWER SPEEDS 20-30MPH , 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 THEY DENIES THERE IS ANY PROBLEM SINCE THERE IS NO RECALL WAS DONE. I HAVE HAD IT DIAGNOSED 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.

MECHANIC PUT NEW BRAKES ON ALL FOUR WHEELS. WHEN DONE THE : MAINTENANCE VSC MESSAGE; TRACTION CONTROL; ABS; AND BRAKE LIGHTS CAME ON. THREE OTHER MECHANICS LOOKED AT IT AND CONCLUDED THAT THE ACCUMULATOR WAS NOT WORKING PROPERTY. I WAS ABLE TO CONFIRM THIS DIAGNOSTIC THROUGH MANY EXACT SAME COMPLAINTS ON YOUR SITE.. ALSO, ALL THE BRAKE COMPONENTS WERE SEVERELY RUSTED CAUSING AN ADDED TIME TO DO THE PARTS OUT. TO DATE THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN ACCIDENT; BUT THE PROBLEM IN NEW YORK IS CAR WON'T PASS YEARLY INSPECTION BECAUSE OF OTHER FILED COMPLAINTS THE NEXT STOP IS THE DEALERSHIP APPARENTLY IF I CAN GET THERE SAFELY. (I'M ANOTHER PERSON ON SOCIAL SECURITY WITHOUT LARGE AMOUNTS OF CASH ~$2000 - $5000 TO SPEND ON A CAR THAT IS NOW DEPRECIATED TO ~ $4500.) THIS SAFETY ISSUE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL

MY VEHICLE IS A HIGHLANDER HYBRID LIMITED. THE LIMITED HAS A TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY TO CONTROL THE ONBOARD GPS, SOUND SYSTEM, MAINTENANCE REMINDERS, AND CLIMATE CONTROL. I BRING THIS UP BECAUSE A FEW MONTHS AGO THE DISPLAY WOULD INTERMITTENTLY GO BLACK. THE ONLY BUTTON THAT WOULD RESPOND WAS THE MAP BUTTON WHICH CAUSED THE SCREEN TO DISPLAY A MESSAGE STATING THAT IT WAS DISCONNECTED FROM THE EXTERNAL SYSTEM. INITIALLY, THE SCREEN WOULD GO BLACK ONLY AFTER I STARTED TO MOVE, BUT LATER I REALIZED THAT THE MOVEMENT WASN'T A FACTOR BUT THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN OPERATION.ONLY A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER IGNITION. AS TIME WENT BY THE SCREEN HAS NOW BECOME PERMANENTLY BLACK. MY CONCERN IS THAT I NOW NO LONGER HAVE CONTROL OF THE CLIMATE CONTROL WHICH COULD LEAD TO MAJOR SAFETY ISSUES DUE TO POTENTIAL LACK OF VISIBILITY. THE REAR DEFROSTER HAS ITS OWN INDEPENDENT BUTTON, SEPARATE FROM THE DISPLAY, BUT THAT ALSO DOES NOT RESPOND. I'VE READ THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE AMONG FIRST-GENERATION HIGHLANDER LIMITEDS AND THAT THE COST COULD BE UPWARDS OF $2000 TO REPAIR. THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS CAUSED BY USER ERROR OR MISUSE, IT'S SOMETHING RELATED TO THE MANUFACTURE OF THE CAR. THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT THE CONSUMER SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR OUT OF POCKET. ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS I READ WAS THAT THIS COULD BE CAUSED BY A TRIPPED FUSE SO I CHECKED EVERYONE (EXCEPT THE ONES THAT COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE INVOLVED) AND NOT ONE FUSE WAS BAD.

2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID, CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM, CHECK VSC LIGHT, BRAKE AND ABS LIGHT ALL ON PERMANENTLY AND MY BRAKES AREN'T WORKING. I WAS FORTUNATE NOONE GOT HURT.. IT WAS REALLY DANGEROUS WHEN YOU PRESS THE BRAKE AND IT DOESN'T STOP. ... FROM WHAT I READ ABS ACCUMULATOR WHICH COST 3K+ TO REPLACE AND THE HYBRID INVERTER WHICH COST 5K+ TO REPLACE. NHTSA PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS ISSUES.

BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY IS MALFUNCTIONING, AND IS CAUSING THE VEHICLE CHARGING SYSTEM LIGHT TO ACTIVATE WHICH IN TURN DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO START THE VEHICLE. I WAS TOLD THAT IF I WAS TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH THE MALFUNCTION, I COULD LOSE MY BREAKING SYSTEM WHILE DRIVING. TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, AND REFUSES TO DO A RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. THE COST TO REPAIR IS OVER $2100. FAULTY BRAKING SYSTEM SHOULD BE A PRIORITY FOR TOYOTA.

MOST OF DASHBOARD LIGHTS WENT ON AND BRAKES FAILED TO ENGAGE WHEN 17 Y/O SON DRIVING VEHICLE AS PULLING INTO PARKING SPOT. ABLE TO USE EMERGENCY BRAKE AS IN PARKING LOT AND STOP THE VEHICLE. TOOK TO TOYOTA AND TOLD ACTUATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED TO COST OF ABOUT $2400. THIS OCCURRED ON 01/09/2018. WE FOUND OUT AFTER THE FACT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS EXPIRED ON 12/31/2017 JUST 9 DAYS BEFORE OUR SON HAD THIS INCIDENT. LUCKILY IN PARKING LOT AS WE LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND COULD HAVE BEEN A FATALITY/SERIOUS INJURY IN ANOTHER SETTING. WE HAVE FILED COMPLAINT W/ TOYOTA.