2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID Complaints

2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID LIMITED TIRE ISSUE!!!! I MAINTAIN MY VEHICLE VERY WELL ROTATE MY TIRES SINCE I BOUGHT IT IN 2007 NEW! I HAVE APPROX. 81000 MILES CURRENTLY AND HAVE JUST PUT MY (4TH) SET OF TIRES ON THIS VEHICLE. THE TIRES DON'T LAST THE MILEAGE WARRANTY THAT THE DEALERS PLACE ON THERE TIRES 60-65 K TIRES! I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT I CHECKED MY TIRES AND EVERY TIME FOUND THAT MY TIRES ARE GOING BELOW THE TREAD MAX ALLOWED (BALD) AT 19-21K ON THEM ONLY!!! TOYOTA STATED TO ME ON THE FIRST SET OF REPLACEMENTS THAT THEY DON'T WARRANTY TIRES... OKAY THEN WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MISENGINEERING SCREW UP ON THE TIRES TO THIS VEHICLE. I ALSO SPOKE WITH OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT THIS AND FOUND OUT THEY HAVE THE SAME ISSUE, AND SOMEONE SOMEWHERE IS TO BLAME. I HAD A 2004 DODGE DAKOTA QUAD CAB 4X4 FOR MY LAST VEHICLE AND HAD 90 K ON IT AND WAS ONLY ON MY 2ND SET THE FIRST SET FINALLY WORE OUT AT 66K SO IF THAT TRUCK CAN GO SO MANY MILES THEN HOW CAN AN HIGHLANDER GET SO LITTLE MILEAGE OUT OF THE SAME WEIGHT RATIO... IT'S OBVIOUSLY A TIRE SIZE MANUFACTURING ISSUE WITH THE SPECS BEING ALL WRONG FOR THIS VEHICLE. ONE OTHER THING IS THAT TOYOTA PUTS THE SAME TIRES ON OTHER TOYOTA'S FOR THAT YEAR ( RAV 4, SIENNA, CAMRY,AND THE STANDARD HIGHLANDER). OBVIOUSLY THIS IS AN ISSUE FROM THE GET GO BECAUSE THE HIGHLANDER HYBRID LIMITED IS A LOT HEAVIER THEN THE OTHER CARS MENTIONED, SO HOW CAN THEY HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF TIRE!!! THIS IS A MISTAKE, OVERLOOK, AND OR CRIME. THE AMERICAN CONSUMER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS AND COMPENSATED FOR THIS ISSUE, AND IF THIS ISSUE WAS KNOWN BY THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE THEN LEGAL ACTION SHOULD BE STARTED !!!! BUT, AN INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE OPEN TO CORRECT AND COMPENSATE THE CONSUMER OF THESE VEHICLES THAT I HAVE AND OTHER YEARS THAT HAVE THIS ISSUE... IF YOU HAD TO BUY 4 SETS OF TIRES ON A CAR THAT ONLY HAS 81,000 MILES ON IT YOU WOULD COMPLAIN AS WELL!!! TIRES ARE NOT CHEAP!!! ESPECIALLY THE SIZE FOR THIS VEHICLE A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID LIMITED. *TR

AT SLOW SPEED, ENTERING MY DRIVEWAY, BRAKES FAILED, RESULTING IN SLIGHT ACCELERATION, CAUSING AN ACCIDENT WITH OUR OTHER VEHICLE IN DRIVEWAY. *TR

I WAS DRIVING WITH MY FAMILY ON BOARD ON 680-S BETWEEN WALNUT CREEK AND SAN RAMON. I WAS GOING AROUND 65-70 MPH IN THE FAST LANE WHEN THERE WAS A LOUD POP SOUND FROM THE FRONT AND ALL THE POWER FROM ENGINE DIED DOWN. I HAD TO SWITCH LANES WITH THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON AS THE SPEED KEPT DECREASING WITH NO ACCELERATION. THIS WAS ON A BUSY FREEWAY WITH HIGH SPEEDS. WE WERE LUCKY TO PULL OVER WITHOUT BEING HIT. I PULLED OFF TO THE SHOULDER AND TRIED TO ACCELERATE BUT COULD ONLY GO ANOTHER 10 FEET TO A SAFER LOCATION. I HAD TO GET MY VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THERE WAS NO SERVICE AVAILABLE UNTIL TODAY. I GOT A PHONE CALL FROM THE DEALERSHIP TELLING ME THAT THE INVERTER IS THE CAUSE OF THIS AND WILL COST OVER $8,000 TO REPLACE. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE INVERTERS OF THE 2006 AND SOME 2007 HIGHLANDER HYBRIDS, MINE WAS NOT ON THE LIST. I PURCHASED MY 2007 HIGHLANDER IN OCTOBER 2006. I THINK THE RECALL SHOULD EXTEND TO ALL 2007 HIGHLANDERS AS THERE IS A GROWING NUMBER OF THESE CARS HAVING THE SAME ISSUES THIS YEAR AS WELL AS PREVIOUS YEARS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON I15 NEAR LAKE ELSINORE ON THE WAY HOME FROM A TRIP AND THE CAR LOST POWER ON THE FREEWAY IN RUSH HOUR AND BIG RIG TRAFFIC. WE WERE LUCKY TO ROLL OFF TO THE RIGHT AND ESCAPE DEATH BY A 40 WHEELER CRASH. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO TOYOTA CARLSBAD WHERE ALL MAINTENANCE WAS PERFORMED PER SCHEDULE SINCE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED. THE LAST SERVICE WAS AT 108,800 ON JUNE 23, 2013. THE COST OF THE REPAIR IS $8200 FOR THE PART PLUS LABOR. TOYOTA WOULD ONLY OFFER TO PAY 1/2 OF THE INVERTER COST BUT THE CAR WAS NOT WORTH PUTTING THAT KIND OF MONEY INTO AND I WAS FORCED TO BUY A NEW CAR. TOYOTA CORPORATE HAS MY CASE AND THEY ARE TERRIBLE. THEY ARE OFFERING $1000 "GOOD WILL" AND $500 FOR THE TOWING. THIS IS A HIGHLY DANGER DEFECT AND THERE SHOULD BE GOVERNMENT ACTION AGAINST TOYOTA. *TR

I WAS LEAVING MY CONDO DRIVING UP HILL WHEN MY CAR LOST POWER AND ROLLED BACKWARDS . I PANICKED DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND ROLLED INTO ANOTHER CAR . I HAD TO ROLL DOWNHILL AND CALL AAA TO TOW TO HOOMAN TOYOTA LONG BEACH. TOYOTA KNOWINGLY SOLD A CAR WITH A DEFECTIVE HYBRID SYSTEM BUT WANT ME TO PAY $8000 FOR REPAIR .NEVER WAS INFORMED ABOUT RECALL. *TR

DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON A BUSY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FREEWAY WHEN I HEAR A POPPING SOUND AND MY CAR DIED. WAS IN THE FAST LANE AND HAD TO MOVE OVER TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER. DANGEROUS!!! COULD HAVE GOTTEN IN A ACCIDENT, BUT MADE IT OK. HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED. WAS TOLD THAT THE HYBRID INVERTER NEEDED REPLACING. NEVER KNEW THAT TOYOTA WAS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE INVERTER, AND HAVE NOW BEEN TOLD THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON SOME 2007'S, BUT MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL AND THEREFORE NOT COVERED. COST TO REPLACE INVERTER $9,000 TO $11,000. WHY WASN'T MY CAR INCLUDED IN THE RECALL!! VERY OBVIOUS THAT THE RECALL SHOULD HAVE GONE FURTHER TO INCLUDE MINE. MY PROBLEM IS THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE IS HAVING. PLEASE CONSIDER EXTENDING THE RECALL. *TR

WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOPLIGHT AND DRIVING IN A 45MPH ZONE, OUR 2007 HIGHLANDER HYBRID BEGAN TO ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN. THE ENGINE REVVED AS IF SOMEONE WERE FLOORING THE GAS PEDAL. NEITHER MY HUSBAND NOR I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THEN WE HEARD A LOUD THUD SOUND FROM THE BACK SEAT AND WE LOST POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES, AND WE STARTED TO DECELERATE. TRAFFIC WAS AVERAGING 45-50MPH AROUND US. THANKFULLY, MY HUSBAND WAS ABLE TO SAFELY COAST US INTO THE RIGHT LANE, THEN INTO A PARKING LOT, AND THEN INTO A PARKING SPOT. AFTER THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO START THE VEHICLE AND WE HAD MULTIPLE ERROR MESSAGES FLASH ACROSS THE INSTRUMENT PANEL: "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" & "CHECK VEHICLE STABILITY". WE WERE TOLD BY TOYOTA THAT OUR ERROR CODES INDICATED THAT THE INVERTER "BLEW UP" & NEEDS REPLACEMENT. THEY DID NOT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT THE RECALL WHICH I FOUND WHILE RESEARCHING. WE ARE 13 VIN NUMBERS AFTER THE RECALL FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. WE WERE TOLD THE PART COSTS $10,000 BEFORE TAXES & INSTALLATION. TOYOTA WON'T HONOR THE EARLIER RECALL AND SO I'VE TOWED THE VEHICLE HOME. :( *TR

VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING OUT OF STATE WHEN IT SUDDENLY STALLED AND LOSS ALL POWER. FORTUNATELY WAS ABLE TO PULL INTO A REST STOP WHICH WAS 100 MILES FROM MY HOME. HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN HATTIESBURG, MS AND THEY STATED THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE INVERTER AND IT WOULD COST APPROX. $8000 TO FIX. TOYOTA HAS HAD A RECALL ON THE EXACT SAME INVERTER FOR MODEL YEARS 2006 AND 2007. I CONTACTED TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS AND THEY STATED THAT THE RECALL DOES NOT APPLY TO MY VIN NUMBER ALTHOUGH IN READING COMPLAINTS BY OTHERS ONLINE, MY VEHICLE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM AND DIAGNOSIS BY THE DEALER ALL FIT. TOYOTA KNEW IT HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE INVERTER SYSTEM AND I WAS NEVER ALERTED TO A POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH THE SYSTEM AS I WAS NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER. I AM LUCKY THAT MY CHILD WAS NOT IN THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME AND ALSO LUCKY THAT I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN A CRASH AS A RESULT OF THIS PROBLEM. THEY REFUSE TO ADDRESS MY CONCERNS OR PAY FOR THE REPAIRS FOR THIS DEFECTIVE SYSTEM WHICH THEY KNEW WAS DEFECTIVE WHEN I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. *TR

AFTER PARKING ON AN INCLINE, IN COLD WEATHER, WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ON, THEN STARTING UP THE CAR AND DRIVING SLOWLY, THE REAR TIRES MAKE A GRINDING NOISE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR IN TO THE DEALER TWICE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, AND THEY HAVE COMPLETELY REPLACED ALL THE BRAKE EQUIPMENT AND STILL THE ISSUE CONTINUES. THEY HAVE SUGGESTED THAT I DON'T NEED TO USE MY EMERGENCY BRAKE WHEN PARKING THE CAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HYBRID INVERTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 100,000. *TR