2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID Complaints

ABS BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILED AT 98470 MILES ON A DEALER MAINTAINED SCHEDULE. FAINT BUT CONSTANT BRAKE PULSATION WAS FELT 80% OF THE TIME WHEN BRAKING. DEALERSHIP CURRENTLY HAS CAR AS ISSUE WAS DIAGNOSED TODAY. VEHICLE HAS DONE NOTHING BUT HIGHWAY AND CITY DRIVING, NO TOWING OR EXTREME CONDITIONS.

ABS BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILED WHILE DRIVING. 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID - SAME FAILED PART AS CAMRY-AS NOTED BY TOYOTA MASTER TECH YET ONLY CAMRY GETS EXTENDED WARRANTY NOT HIGHLANDER. SHOULD BE SAFETY RECALL ASAP. FAULTY BRAKE PARTS SHOULD BE RECALLED ASAP!!! CLASS ACTION MEDIA NEXT

CAR SEEMINGLY RUNNING FINE. VSC LIGHT, ABS LIGHT AND BRAKE MALFUNCTIOM LIGHT COME ON OUT OF NOWHERE. TOLD TO TOW TO DEALERSHIP. $3450 TO REPLACE ABS ACTUATOR. SAME PART HAS BEEN RECALLED IN OTHER YEARS AND MODELS BUT NOT 2008 HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THIS REPAIR IS 1/10 THE COST OF THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE OF THE NEW CAR. CAR HAS 116,000 MILES ON IT.

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, DEPARTING FROM PARKED LOT. VEHICLE LOST ALL DRIVE POWER, AND INSTRUMENT PANEL WARNING LIGHTS TURNED ON. AFTER SHUTTING VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTING, WARNING MESSAGE TO CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM, AND CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM ILLUMINATED. ALSO ALL WARNING INDICATORS ACTIVATED IN THE GUAGE CLUSTER PANEL. THANKFULLY, WE WERE NOT DRIVING FAST WHEN THE VEHICLE BECAME DISABLED, OTHERWISE IT COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, WHERE THEY ADVISE "THE POWER INVERTER ASSEMBLY FAILED." TOYOTA REFUSES TO HELP, EVEN THOUGH THIS EXACT PROBLEM HAS BEEN RECALLED FOR OTHER VIN NUMBERS MATCHING MY VEHICLE. THESE ARE UNSAFE CONDITIONS AND PROVES THAT TOYOTA HAS NOT DONE A THOROUGH JOB OF RECALLING ALL AFFECTED UNITS.

VEHICLE MAKES A VERY SCARY "EEEK EEEK" NOISES WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED BOTH WHEN CAR IS NOT MOVING AND ALSO DURING BRAKING. DEALER DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE TO A MALFUNCTION OF ABS ACTUATOR (PART # 44510-48080 SUPERSEDED BY PART # 44050-48320). TOTAL COST OF PARTS PLUS LABOR QUOTED OVER $4000. NOTE: TOYOTA HAS DONE WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR SAME TYPE OF PROBLEM WITH OTHER MODELS LIKE THE 07-08 HIGHLANDER HYBRID, PRIUS HYBRID, LEXUS RX400H, ETC. HOWEVER 2008+ HIGHLANDER HYBRIDS HAVE NOT BEEN INCLUDED YET. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL OR WARRANTY EXTENSION.

I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT ON A CITY STREET AT 40 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL AND CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM WARNINGS ALERTED, AS WELL AS THE CABIN ALARM. AT THAT TIME I PULLED INTO A GAS STATION AND REALIZED THE BRAKES HAD GONE SOFT AND WERE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. I TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED THE CAR; THE PROBLEM PERSISTED. I CAUTIOUSLY DROVE A HALF MILE TO MY HOUSE AND CONNECTED MY VEHICLE TO A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL. THE CODES INDICATED C1252-7 (BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP MOTOR), C1256-7 (LOW PRESSURE ACCUMULATOR), AND C1345-7 (LINEAR SOLENOID VALVE OFFSET LEARNING UNDONE). THE COMBINATION OF CODES POINTS TO THE BRAKE ACTUATOR AND PUMP NEEDING TO BE REPLACED. THE BRAKE PADS, SPEED SENSORS, WHEEL BEARINGS, AND RELAYS ARE ALL GOOD. AFTER MUCH ONLINE RESEARCH I DISCOVERED THAT BRAKE ACTUATOR/PUMP FAILURE IS A COMMON COMPLAINT ON THIS VEHICLE AND COSTS THOUSANDS TO REPAIR. 2006-2007 BRAKE ACTUATORS ARE ALREADY RECALLED, AS WELL AS 07-11 CAMRY HYBRID AND PRIUS WHICH USE THE SAME PLATFORM. I CONTACTED A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WHO OFFERED NO HELP. THE PART ITSELF IS $1800+ WITHOUT FACTORING IN LABOR. I AM ALSO TROUBLED BY THE SAFETY FACTOR THIS MALFUNCTION PRESENTS, ESPECIALLY WE'RE IT TO OCCUR AT A HIGHER SPEED.

WHILE HAVE TIRES AND BRAKE PADS CHANGED, TOYOTA DEALERSHIP NOTED ABS ACTUATOR NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY AND ONCE I DECLINED TO HAVE IT REPLACED THAT DAY DUE TO COST AND TIME, VEHICLE IS NOW ALARMING TO GET BACK TO DEALERSHIP AND HAVE ABS CHECKED IMMEDIATELY. THIS ALARM WAS NOT ON BEFORE MY SERVICE APPOINTMENT. NO ABNORMAL NOISES WERE NOTED PRIOR TO APPOINTMENT, EITHER.

BRAKE MALFUNCTION WARNING STOP THE VEHICLE AND CONTACT A DEALER, CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM, CHECK VSC (VEHICLE STABILITY SYSTEM)

CHECK BRAKE SYSTEMS, CHECK VSC LIGHTS, BRAKE MALFUNCTION ETC LIGHTS HAVE COME ON. THIS SAME PART WAS ALREADY COVERED UNDER A WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR THE CAMRY HYBRID, AND THEY WERE BUILT FROM THE SAME PLATFORM!!!!

WHILE OPERATING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, WE HAD THE ABRUPT ONSET OF A HIGH-PITCHED, CONSTANT SOUND. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO DECELERATE TO EXIT THE HIGHWAY, WE FOUND THAT THE BRAKES WERE NO LONGER FUNCTIONING AND HAD TO APPLY THE PARKING/EMERGENCY BRAKE TO GET OFF OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. WE WERE TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WHO REPORTED FAILURE OF THE ABS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY AND THE BRAKE PUMP RESULTING IN COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKE FUNCTION. REPAIR QUOTED AT ~$3000. THIS IS A REPEAT FAILURE OF THESE PARTS IN THIS VEHICLE, WHICH THE DEALER DOES NOT BELIEVE IS DUE TO THE FIRST REPLACEMENT PARTS BEING FAULTY.