This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Subject: Urgent Safety Concern - Recurring Issues with Toyota Highlander Hybrid Models Dear National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, We owned the car since almost new, after repeated attempts with Toyota, like others 300K customers from their own site, I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding persistent safety issues with Toyota Highlander Hybrid models, specifically between the years 2004 and 2007. Despite previous reports and numerous attempts to seek assistance from Toyota, the response has been unsatisfactory, with the company deflecting responsibility rather than providing a resolution. **Vehicle Information:** - Make: Toyota - Model: Highlander Hybrid - Year: 2007 - VIN: [XXX] **Description of the Issue:** 1) The primary concerns involve the hybrid a) BRAKE actuators failing/loosing braking power 2) the electrical inverters, which have shown a pattern of failure across many vehicles, including my own. 3) Leaky blow back from engine into intake. 4) Seat belts are not properly retracting, These failures could compromise the safety of the vehicle but also risk to the driver, passengers, and others on the road. **Previous Reports:** I have previously reported these issues to Toyota, but the attempts to resolve the matter have been met with deflection of blame. It is imperative to note that these issues are not isolated incidents but are widely reported by other owners of the same model. **Impact on Safety:** The malfunctioning of critical components such as the braking system has led to near-miss incidents that could have resulted in severe injuries or fatalities. It is unacceptable for such critical safety issues to remain unaddressed. **Request for Action:** I urge the NHTSA to investigate these reports thoroughly and take appropriate action to hold Toyota and its CEO accountable. The safety of countless drivers and the integrity of our transportation system depend on your prompt attention to this matter. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S
While driving a vehicle came across me and when i pressed on the brake hard, the car would stop normally, and ABS, brake, VSC came on the display along with a high pitch sound. I quickly reacted by pressing the E-Brake and shift to B - braking mode to be able to stop or slow down. The dealer said it was the Brake actuator that failed and its out of warrant, there was an enhancement warrant program that was issued by Toyota but expired. I feel the safety of people and property that this should've been a recall knowingly it can go out anytime. Contacted Toyota Corp. and they said this would be an out of pocket cost to the consumer which is around $3000. The manufacturer knew this could go out at any moment and should've made the RECALL instead. during the enhancement warranty program they would not replace it since it was still functioning.
Driving at about 50 mph on two lane road, the VSC and ABS lights come on with a little chime warning, along with some other warnings. Check VSC is also in the small screen instead of the odometer. Toyota knows about ABS actuator issues on this vehicle, but Toyota did not extend the warranty beyond 150k miles and 10 years. This could be a safety issue with the ABS, VSC and brakes. Toyota published a "Warranty Enhancement Program - ZG1" on April 19, 2016, but only to dealers. After the initial warranty period, I've used independent repair shops, so I didn't get any notice. I did get other recall notices from Toyota on this vehicle and had them repaired by the dealer. Toyota should be more accountable for brake issues that could be safety related.
All of the sensors for tires were removed before I bought this car and the tire light keeps on(the pressure is good). My friend said they might adjust the mileage, I wonder if there is something wrong with this car. There was only one break working while getting this car, the mechanics from other maintenance store found this critical issue out while I asked them to fix the working one. Nobody from that car dealer told me about this issue and let me drive this car with only one break for one month. Meanwhile, they promised me there would not be any safety issue and charged me for safety checking. Thank you for your time on my case. Best Regards [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
While driving down the 405fwy downhill, all my lights went off and showed VSC system on my dashboard. This part of the fwy is not extremely steep but somewhat is. When applying my brakes it was hard to get my vehicle to stop especially because I-??m on a freeway and when trying to slow down because I-??m going downhill. I had my family in the car. I can-??t imagine if my my brakes actually gave what would happen. I researched this and Toyota only called this a -??warranty extension-?? for your Brake Actuator. I can-??t believe this hasn-??t been classified as an official recall. Especially since it pertains to the brakes. An essential quality mechanism to prevent death. They obviously know they were in the wrong here since the warranted this as a -??warranty extension-??. All these vehicles should be recalled for human safety. Shame on them.
- West Hills, CA, USA
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we were station in the Military base in Belle chasse LA. I'm having a SAFETY issue with the vehicle brake system and ABS.I contacted Toyota and nothing was done this vehicle has like 76000 miles and this a mayor concerned, and safety issue I believe this is a factory problem from day one. I have read thousands of same complaints on line with same problem. I also read that Toyota had the same issue with Prius and my understanding is that it was a recall on those. My car is low in millage for the year and I have been the only owner. This is a safety issue and I need help I'm very concern for our safety and others. Thank you, and your attention to this matter is appreciated.
The 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid and certain Prius and Lexus models were equipped with an ABS actuator that could potentially fail and cause serious injuries and or death. A safety notice and enhanced warranty covered the parts and labor 10 years later; however, after the 10 years was up, the owner would be responsible for the all the costs. I noticed the vehicle making erratic noises from the engine bay and discovered it was the brake actuator but no warning lights or significant braking issues were of concern around 1/5/22. On 1/30/22 I was driving the vehicle when suddenly multiple lights came on which include the VSC, ABS, Brake, warning light, and exclamation warning light came on. The vehicle started acting erratic with unusual power loss and poor braking responsiveness. This also occurred on my 2005 Toyota Prius which I got into an accident in where the vehicle was totaled. This part should last the life of the vehicle, and if replaced in the past due to safety concerns under the enhanced warranty, all vehicles with the same old part number should be recalled and replaced at no charge to the owner.
My vcs light, ABS, brake, traction control light is on. Plus a horrible buzzing noise always on. Brakes are hard to press down on. It happened when we were driving it.
We have a 2007 Toyota Highlander hybrid limited with approximately 150K miles. In October 2017 we began to experience breaking pulsing and squeaking issues. Upon inspection at precision Toyota of tucson, AZ, it was determined to be the break actuator. The break actuator failure is a very common problem for Toyota vehicles beginning as early as 2004 and this can be easily searched online. This break failure can result in complete break failure while driving (and reports of this occurring are easily searched online). In 2017, the break actuator replacement was fully covered by the warranty enhancement program, but it was verbally estimated at $2200 to repair at that time. As the owners of this vehicle for since 2009, it was odd that we were never notified of this recall/extended warranty- but just 'fortunate' enough to have ours fail in a timely manner to be fully covered by the extended warranty. In November 2020, our 2007 Toyota hybrid Highlander began demonstrating the same break actuator failure 'symptoms' as in October 2017 (pulsing breaks, reduced response to increased break pressure, squeaking noise when break depressed while parked or driving). This repair/replacement is no longer covered under the warranty enhancement program, even though the 2008- 2010 models of our vehicle had an extension until 12/31/2020. The estimate for this second repair in 3 years is ~$2500-$2800... for a widely-known and dangerous break engineering error that Toyota is well aware of and has been for years.
About a month ago, my wife called me from far away telling me that she suddenly had brake-related warming lights. I quickly read up on the ABS system failures in this car, and since she did not yet have symptoms, I told her to drive back carefully. I then reviewed my files on the car and saw that they had sent me an extended warranty notice about this problem, and suggested that we bring the car in if we have these warning lights. But we never had the warning lights previously, so I missed the boat on the extended warranty. We did, however, almost from the time the car was just a few years old, have a loud clunking noise from under the hood on startup or shutdown. According to various Highlander forums, this is a classic symptom of ABS actuator failure and if Toyota had just mentioned this in the their extended warranty notice, I would have brought the car in immediately. I had the same sound from my 2007 prius; I mentioned the noise to the Toyota service people and they told me it was the coolant thermos bottle and was of no concern. To fix my Highlander, Toyota wanted around three thousand dollars; I told them that was not reasonable since replacing it is simple: 2 bolts, 1 electrical connector, 6 brake lines, and a brake bleed. They wanted about $2000 just for the part. The Toyota service manager told me I could still drive the car since it is not a safety concern: If it fails the ABS system will stop working but not the brakes. Based on the experiences of other hh owners that I am reading about at the NHTSA web site, however, I find this hard to believe. Also, the brakes are now grabbing strangely and pulsating when they don't need to be. There should be a recall since 1.) the part should last the life of the car, 2. it is a safety concern, and 3. Toyota did not give accurate information in their notice to allow me to spot the problem in time.
ABS actuator failed causing erratic vehicle behavior and uncontrollable braking. ABS actuator was replaced by Toyota in 2017 as part of an extended warranty program on a part that they realized was defective. In 2019 we experienced the same issues causing a very dangerous situation on the freeway and again took to Toyota were they found that the ABS actuator failed again. This part is typically one that doesn't fail over the lifetime of a vehicle. This part is now needing to be replaced for the third time. I presume that the original ABS actuator was replaced with old inventory of the same defective part which is why it quickly failed again. Toyota wants to charge $3K to have repaired. There are a multitude of online complaints and reviews of customers experiencing the same dangerous situation in the same year make/model vehicle. I've contacted corporate and the best they are willing to do is provide a credit for $1K of the repair. For a part that typically never fails on a vehicle, no one should be expected to spend $3K every couple years continually replacing a known defective part that is a crucial safety concern. Toyota admitted there was a safety issue by initially declaring an extended warranty on the part, now that the replacements are failing in the exact same way Toyota wants to brush the issue under the rug. This is an urgent safety concern.
While driving I got error codes check vsc system, brakes light. I took it to the dealership and the car needed brake actuator assembly replaced, the cost is 2900$. this should be a recall as the car became unsafe to drive and this is my second hybrid Toyota car with the same problem with huge cost of repair for a defective part installed by the company
Toyota had previously recalled the ABS brake module on several Toyota Highlanders. The same part that they recalled in other modules has now failed in my vehicle which has less than 130K miles on it. Per my mechanics instruction I have not driven the vehicle in months because it's not safe. The brakes aren't functioning properly and the vehicle will not completely stop when the brake pedal is fully engaged. It kind of grabs, and slips allowing the vehicle to roll forward or back depending on the gear the transmission is in. The ABS module refurbished is $2500, not including installation.
I had a wheel bearing replaced in my 2007 Toyota Highlander and as soon as it was fixed all the warning lights came on in the car, including the vsc light, ABS light, brake light, and several others. It was not showing any codes when checked so they turned them off. Over a period of about a year the lights came on and off but with no affect to my braking system. I had brought the car into Toyota (tallahassee, fl) for a recall on the hybrid system they told me that it was reading a code for the recall and that was why the lights were on and once they fixed the recall they were off until the next day following picking the car up and they all came back on and now they are saying the ABS control module which would cost $3000+ to fix. The brakes are not working properly at all and sometimes not at all. This is extremely unsafe and should be a recall! I have heard several other people with the same Toyota have experienced the same issue.
The brake actuators make weird sound only when you hit the brakes. The car may be in a turned on or off position. All you have to do is press the brakes and there is a weird sucking and chirping sound coming from the brake actuator assembly. Talked to dealer and they did a brake fluid flush but that did not help. Toyota reimbursed the service charges but I think they did that to shut me up. The brake actuators can fail anytime and I am worried that Toyota has known this problem for a while now and is not fixing them. This is a serious issue and the faulty brake actuator assembly needs to be replaced by Toyota.
My 2007 Highlander hybrid lost it's power brakes last week and I had to limp home, then have it towed to a dealer. They said my ABS actuator needs to be replaced and it will cost me $2600! my car has 127,000 miles on it, and is in good shape, I have it serviced regularly. Why isn't my car part of the actuator recall?
I purchased a used 2007 Toyota Highlander hybrid less than 2 years ago and because I was not the original owner, I did not receive and recall notices or extended warranty coverage notices. Now my brakes are failing and it has to do with the brake actuator assembly that Toyota offered to repair free under their "enhancement" program. I was unaware of this because I am not the original owner and now the enhancement program has expired. Average cost of this repair is $2,500-$3,000 and I do not have that type of money and yet I need my car daily to work. At some point the brakes, as currently indicated on the dashboard and from the sound they are making, are going to fail, resulting in an accident. Their enhancement program was good for 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever came first so I am past the 10 year period. Why do they put limits on life and death safety issues with their cars ? I need the NHTSA's help. Thank you.
The brake actuator for the ABS system failed and needed to be replaced. This was and is a known potential problem by the Toyota company as a result of many Toyota owners replacing their vehicle actuators due to failure but no recalls have been activated and available for my vehicle as of this current date. I fortunately did not get into an accident as a result but stop use of the vehicle and had it repaired immediately by a Toyota dealership at my own expense. This was a very costly expense I incurred both in the actuator part and the labor to replace it. The actuator affected the brake system of my vehicle and is a major safety issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Alpharetta, GA, USA