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.
I was driving my 2006 Toyota higlander hybrid on I 95 in 4 lanes of dense traffic all going at least 60-70mph, when I noticed that I was losing power and my car was starting to slow down. I glanced at the dash to see multiple warning signals - check hybrid, check vsc and others. Fortunately, there was a big enough gap on the left for me to pull across the left most lane because I knew if I did not I was going to stall and likely be in a major accident. It was a very scary moment. I could not restart my car and had to wait to get towed, ( DC rush hour). The dealer said my inverter needed to be replaced. After hearing the news I remembered that I had a notice from Toyota, a recall for part of the inverter. Initially, I was told this would not cover what I needed. In the end, I was covered. I am thankful to all who reported similar issues so that this would be addressed.
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light all of the lights on the instrument panel illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact merged to the side of the road where all attempts to restart the vehicle failed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the issue. The failure and current mileage was 149,994.
My son was driving and the vehicle stopped on him in the middle of the road with no warning or power steering. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. Was informed by the dealership that the hybrid generator had shorted and needed $7,300 worth of repairs. I am very concerned that this vehicle is dangerous, if he was on a very busy road and this vehicle were to have stopped on him as suddenly as it did that day he could of possibly been rear-ended and seriously injured. This vehicle has been a part of several recalls with this same type of issue, but Toyota has refused my request for this vehicle to be repaired or issue a recall with this issue.
As I accelerated from a stop at a side street to enter highway traffic, I was nearly rear ended by a large truck when the hh inverter failed. The car simply suddenly failed to respond with no advance warning. Several dashboard symbols lit up, including check hybrid system, 'and I was only able to steer to side of the road. It would not restart and was towed to the dealer. The dealer checked for recalls and said there were none. I mentioned the June 2011 notice we'd received, and that we were told that the part would not be available until Jan. 2012. We did not receive more information from Toyota and called the dealer in Jan. For an appointment. After a brief inspection, we were told the part was not defective and no replacement necessary.' We had been extra cautious and limited the use of our hh for months, and were disappointed that there was no effort to examine the part earlier or verify the conditions of use of the vehicle. After the car was towed in April 2012, the dealer said we needed a part, which they ordered and installed at no cost to us within a few days. The manager said that it was a very expensive part, took a long time to install, and that we were "lucky to have the warranty."' there was no mention of the inverter recall but the invoice indicated that there was a "boj recall." There may have been an earlier clue: On Dec. 1, 2011 the same dashboard indicators (check hybrid system and vrc) lit up in the morning when I went to start it and couldn't. we asked dealer about recalls, mentioned the upcoming scheduled notification (Jan. 2012), but were told there were none, and that problem was the battery. This may or may not have been related, but I wonder if the dealership ever considered the inverter issue in its analysis. This 2006 hh had only 25,259 miles at time of failure, only 1 owner, and rcvd regular maintenance from dealer.
Driving in 6 lanes of heavy traffic we heard a 'thunk' and lost all power. I wrestled the vehicle to get it to coast off of the road. Car was towed to Toyota dealer where it was found that the inverter needed to be replaced. Cost was $7600, after a substantial discount from the dealer, who was obviously embarrassed about charging so much for a single part. The incident could have caused an accident, since all power and electrically assisted driving functions failed simultaneously. Fortunately it didn't. subsequently I found that Toyota had upgraded their inverters beginning in 2007. We have also received in 2011 from Toyota an "interim safety recall notice" for the inverter, but have heard nothing since.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hyattsville, MD, USA