2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

S10 APPROPRIATE HANDLING RE TOYOTA COMPLAINT RE FORT'S TOYOTA OF PEKIN FM OWNER OF A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. *TGW 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HV. THE CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT LEATHER SEAT CRACKS ON THE DRIVERS SEAT. AFTER A TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE CRACKS WERE FROM NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AND WAS NOT GOING TO BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY.

A MONTH OR TWO AFTER I BOUGHT MY 2007 HIGHLANDER HYBRID IN MARCH OF 2007, I HAD TWO INCIDENTS WHERE MY CAR ACCELERATED FOR ME. BOTH TIMES I WAS ON THE FREEWAY, TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH. BOTH TIMES, I FELT A SURGE OF POWER FOR ABOUT 7 - 8 SECONDS. THE TWO INCIDENTS HAPPENED MAYBE A MONTH APART. I TOLD MY HUSBAND ABOUT IT AT THE TIME AND HE ASSURED ME IT WAS JUST BECAUSE I WASN'T USED TO MY NEW CAR. I KNOW FOR SURE THAT WASN'T THE REASON. ALMOST THREE YEARS LATER I HAVEN'T HAD ANY MORE SURGES BUT I DO HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN. I AM HYPER AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH TOYOTA VEHICLES AND THEY HAVE YET TO FIGURE IT OUT. IF WE COULD AFFORD IT, WE'D GET RID OF THIS CAR IMMEDIATELY AND GET A NEW ONE. BUT WE CAN'T. *TR

COPY OF A NOTE SENT TO TOYOTA VIA THEIR WEBSITE REGARDING SUDDEN, SHORT-LIVED DECREASE IN BRAKING POWER IN A HIGHLANDER HYBRID: "ON MONDAY FEB. 8, I STOPPED BY LIA TOYOTA OF NORTHAMPTON, MA TO SCHEDULE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT -- 25,000 MILE SERVICE AND REQUESTED THEY CHECK THE BRAKES, AS I HAD EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN, SHORT-LIVED (A SECOND OR SO) DECREASE IN BRAKING POWER ON RANDOM OCCASIONS. I KNOW ZIP ABOUT CARS, BUT I SAID IT FELT LIKE AN AIR BUBBLE OR SOME SUCH IN THE BRAKE LINES. IT APPEARED ENTIRELY RANDOM, HAPPENING AT IN-TOWN AS WELL AS HIGHWAY SPEEDS (ONCE). A DAY OR TWO LATER TOYOTA ANNOUNCED THE RECALL FOR 2010 PRIUS'S. WHEN I HEARD ABOUT IT AND THE REASON I THOUGHT, "AH, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE HIGHLANDER DOES, AND IT'S A HYBRID." SO, TODAY I WENT IN FOR SERVICE, DISCUSSED THE BRAKES, AND WAS TOLD THAT UNLESS FELLAS IN THE SHOP CAN DRIVE THE CAR AND EXPERIENCE THE BRAKING ISSUE, THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO -- THEY CANNOT EVEN FILE A REPORT WITH TOYOTA, IE. THEY CANNOT GET INFORMATION UP THE CHAIN TO FOLKS WHO ACTUALLY MAKE THE CARS. THAT IS A LUDICROUS POLICY, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT) A KNOWN PROBLEM EXISTS IN A HYBRID BRAKING SYSTEM AND B) (AND I ASSUME A BIT HERE) THE HIGHLANDER BRAKING SYSTEM IS PROBABLY A NEAR COUSIN OF THE PRIUS'S. IN ANY EVENT, HERE'S A REPORT FROM A CONSUMER -- A HIGHLANDER HYBRID OWNER HAS EXPERIENCED ON MULTIPLE, RANDOM OCCASIONS A SUDDEN, SHORT LOSS OF BRAKING POWER WHEN APPLY THE BRAKES. IT'S NOT LED TO ANY ACCIDENTS; IT IS SIMPLY DISQUIETING (THOUGH THE HIGHWAY SPEED INCIDENT WAS A BIT THRILLING). AS A MATTER OF COURSE, I'D CHECK YOUR OTHER HYBRIDS GANG. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 1 MPH, WHEN THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE AND A BEDROOM. SHE THEN SHIFTED THE VEHICLE INTO REVERSE IT ACCELERATED IN REVERSE. SHE DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO AVOID AN ADDITIONAL INCIDENT, SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL GEAR TO STOP THE VEHICLE FROM ACCELERATING. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND NO POLICE REPORT WAS TAKEN. SHE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP BUT NO ONE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE TO FIND OUT WHY THE FAILURE OCCURRED. SHE HAD NOT SPOKEN WITH THE MANUFACTURER TO-DATE. SHE HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ANY MORE ACCELERATION FAILURES WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 19,000. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,000.

I HAVE A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHEN BRAKING OVER BUMPY ROADS OR POTHOLES (EVEN SMALL BUMPS), THE SENSATION I GET IS THAT THE BRAKES ARE NO LONGER ENGAGED. THE CAR FEELS TEMPORARILY OUT OF CONTROL. THIS SENSATION IS STRONGER IF THE BUMPS ARE ENCOUNTERED DURING A TURN OR IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE BUMPS ABOUT A FOOT OR TWO APART (AS OFTEN LEFT BY BUSES REPEATEDLY STOPPING IN THE SAME AREAS ON CITY STREETS). ON FAMILIAR ROADS, I KNOW WHERE THE BUMPS ARE AND CAN DRIVE/BRAKE ACCORDINGLY. UNFAMILIAR ROADS MAKE THIS PROBLEM LESS PREDICTABLE AND MORE DANGEROUS. THIS PROBLEMS SOUNDS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEMS WITH TOYOTA PRIUS' BRAKING. MY VEHICLE IS NOT CURRENTLY PART OF THE RECALL AND I WONDER IF TOYOTA IS BEING EVASIVE ABOUT HOW EXTENSIVE THE PROBLEM TRULY IS. TEMPORARY LOSS OF BRAKING OVER BUMPY ROADS HAS EXISTED SINCE I TOOK POSSESSION OF MY NEW HIGHLANDER IN JUNE 2007. I CAN PREDICT OCCURRENCE WITH NEAR 100% ACCURACY ON CERTAIN FAMILIARLY BUMPY ROADS. I SEE ON THIS FORM THAT I MUST PICK A DATE FOR "THE" INCIDENT (THERE HAVE BEEN MANY). I'LL PICK A DATE OF RECENT PARTICULARLY MEMORABLE/SCARY OCCURRENCE. NOTE: THIS ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM REQUIRES ME TO CHOOSE "ELECTRIC BRAKES" OR "HYDRAULIC BRAKES." I DON'T KNOW WHICH TO CHOOSE: I THINK IT IS A HYBRID OF BOTH, SO NEITHER CHOICE IS ACCURATE. NHTSA: YOU CAN DO BETTER! *TR

I BELIEVE MY 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID HAS THE SAME BRAKING PROBLEMS AS DESCRIBED WITH THE TOYOTA PRIUS. I HAD THIS PROBLEM SINCE DAY ONE OF PURCHASE AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS NORMAL. HERE IS MY DESCRIPTION OF MY BRAKING PROBLEM. WHEN I AM TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY OR CITY DRIVING, WHENEVER I PUSH ON THE BRAKE PEDAL YOU CAN FEEL NORMAL BRAKING ALSO YOU CAN SEE THE DASH GAUGE NEEDLE POINTING TO THE BLUE AS IT RECHARGES THE BATTERIES AND THEN THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP. EVER SO OFTEN, WHEN I AM BRAKING I CAN FEEL THE VEHICLE LETTING UP ON THE BRAKING, HOWEVER I HAVE NOT DECREASED MY FOOT PRESSURE AND THE NEEDLE ON THE DASH GOES FROM THE BLUE TO NORMAL AND THE VEHICLE MOVES FORWARD WITH MOMENTUM AND I MUST INCREASE MY FOOT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL VERY QUICKLY TO RE-GAIN MY ORIGINAL BRAKING PRESSURE. THIS HAPPENS TO ME ABOUT ONCE A WEEK, AND I HAVE LOOKED A THE BATTERY STATUS AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE BATTERY STILL NEEDS MORE CHARGING. IT WAS VERY SCARY AT FIRST BUT NOW I AM USE TO IT. I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS IS NORMAL OR NOT, HOWEVER THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIUS PROBLEMS SOUNDS JUST LIKE MINE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH WHEN STOPPING THE VEHICLE WITH HER FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, THEY BEGAN OPERATING NORMALLY. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED 20 TO 30 TIMES . THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 17,859. UPDATED 3/30/2010 THE CONSUMER STATED OCCASIONALLY WHILE STEPPING ON THE BRAKE AT LOW SPEEDS, IT WOULD FEEL LIKE THE VEHICLE WAS IN NEUTRAL. BUT, JUST A FRACTION OF A SECOND IT HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. UPDATED 05/10/10*JB