I replaced my brakes after several warning lights and codes kept popping up on my dash. Had the rotors turned. But when I returned to driving my car after I thought it was fixed the brakes would all of a sudden just go out the hydraulic part would go completely to the floor. The car would make a high pitched noise and then no brakes. Took it to Toyota in clinton tn. Said my ABS brake actuator was failing. Would cost me 2200 dollars to fix. This certain part on your car is supposed to last you a lifetime. I dont have money like that now it was take me a lifetime to save up for the repairs. Very scary. This would happen to me randomly as I was driving no matter where or how far the trip I was taking. Didn't know if I was going to be able to make it home sometimes. You just never knew when. Sometimes it would be fine and others it would be absolutely scary.

- Clinton, TN, USA

Driving my beloved 2007 Highlander hybrid (hh) home from work, I was on the freeway in the slow lane and heard a loud "pop" sound. I immediately saw numerous warning messages flash on the dashboard - "check hybrid system", "check vcs system", and "check power steering." Thankfully my car did not stop immediately on the freeway as others have but I was able to get off the freeway and to my trusted mechanic before the system completely failed. According to the dealership that now has my car, the inverter has failed but this VIN number was not in the Toyota recall of 2006/2007 hh cars. I have 146,000 miles and this part should not have failed. Though I purchased the car used just 2 years ago, I have maintained it exactly as directed and the carfax on the car showed that the previous owner had all of the required maintenance done at a dealership using the Toyota maintenance schedule. Though the full extent of the damage will not be determined until after the inverter is replaced (it is believed that the power steering went out at the same time and there is the potential for other damage as well), the inverter issue on these vehicles continue to place people in very dangerous situations. I feel very fortunate that I was not in one of the fast lanes and that the car didn't stop working; I was fortunate to get off the freeway and to a safe location. I know that the nhtsb had a hand in the 2011 recall of the 2006/2007 hh vehicles and I believe that there are still vehicles on the road that were not included in the recall that probably should have been (mine included.) please continue to monitor this situation and hold Toyota accountable for the poor design/manufacturing of their hybrid technology.

- Carmichael, CA, USA

NHTSA action number : PE11005 exact same situation. This issue kills the car immediately with no time to prepare. I was very lucky as I was just entering onto the freeway. I drifted over to the right median. If I was in the middle or far left lane this would have been a major safety concern. There are more highlanders hybrids in my VIN range that are coming of age and should have these defective inverter assembly parts replaced asap.

- Thousand Oaks, CA, USA