2015 Toyota Highlander

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING AT 5 MPH, THE BRAKES FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE REAR END OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THERE WERE UNKNOWN INJURIES SUSTAINED THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,500. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

IMPROPER APPLICATION OF REAR VIEW MIRROR MOUNTING PLATE TO WINDSHIELD INCOMPLETE (PARTIAL COVERAGE) OF EPOXY ADHESIVE APPLICATION TO THE WINDSHIELD MOUNTING PLATE. THE BLACK PLASTIC COVER AND MIRROR HOLDER EXPANDS IN HIGH INTENSITY SUN. THE EXPANSION INCREASES CONCENTRATED TENSILE FORCES BETWEEN THE MOUNTING PLATE AND WINDSHIELD, CAUSING THE MOUNTING PLATE TO TEAR FROM THE WINDSHIELD. THE RESULT IS A SIGNIFICANT REMOVAL OF GLASS FROM THE PASSENGER CABIN SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD, AND LOSS OF THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE WINDSHIELD. MIRRORS WITH INTEGRATED ELECTRONICS THEN SWING FROM THE ELECTRICAL WIRED, THE MIRROR OBSTRUCTING VISIBILITY, AND BECOMING A DETACHED HAZARD WITHIN THE PASSENGER CABIN. THE EVENT OCCURRED IN A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT, THE VEHICLE HAVING BEEN STATIONARY AND PARKED IN THE SUN (99.1 DEGREES AT THE TIME) FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR. TIME OF DAY: ABOUT 13:00 HRS. LOCATION: HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/MAPS/PLACE/1733+E+PALM+CANYON+DR,+PALM+SPRINGS,+CA+92264/@33.7999482,-116.5284111,17Z/DATA=!3M1!4B1!4M5!3M4!1S0X80DB1B6804F844BB:0X2C7726C52C54599D!8M2!3D33.7999482!4D-116.5262224

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, AN ABNORMAL ODOR EMITTED INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SUSTAINED HEADACHES AND SORE THROATS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT AN UNDERCOATING WAS APPLIED TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER DURING PRODUCTION THAT EMITTED A CHEMICAL ODOR INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5. UPDATED 08/30/16*LJ *CN

THE VEHICLE'S SIDE MIRRORS ARE PLACED SO THAT THEY BLOCK VISIBILITY FOR A SHORT PERSON. I AM JUST UNDER 5'4" AND WHEN AT A FOUR WAY INTERSECTION, THE MIRRORS DIRECTLY BLOCK THE VIEW OF WHERE A CAR WOULD BE STOPPED TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT. I ACTUALLY WAS INVOLVED IN A MINOR COLLISION WHERE I DID NOT SEE THE OTHER CAR STOPPED AT THE STOP SIGN TO MY LEFT ALTHOUGH THEY CLAIMED TO BE. NOW I ALWAYS NEED TO MOVE MY HEAD TO GET A CLEAR VIEW OF THE ROAD AREA NEXT TO THE THE STOP SIGNS TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT.

WE RECENTLY TEST DROVE SEVERAL NEW CARS. AFTER BEING IN EACH OF THE CARS FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR, WE HAD VERY STRONG HEADACHES. AS A RULE, WE DON'T GET HEADACHES, SO THESE WERE VERY OBVIOUSLY THE RESULT OF BREATHING THE AIR IN THESE NEW CARS. CAR INTERIORS ARE MADE USING PLASTICS, ADHESIVES, FIRE-RETARDANTS AND OTHER MATERIALS, MANY OF WHICH OFF-GAS HIGHLY TOXIC FUMES. I FOUND NO AGENCY WHICH CURRENTLY TESTS VEHICLES FOR THE PRESENCE OF THESE TOXICS. WE TEST DROVE A USED TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND WE DID NOT GET A HEADACHE IN THAT VEHICLE, BUT WE COULD NOT FIND A USED ONE THAT WAS EQUIPPED THE WAY WE WANTED. SO WE ORDERED A NEW ONE. AFTER WE TOOK POSSESSION OF THE CAR, I DROVE IT HOME, WITH ALL THE WINDOWS DOWN, THE MOON ROOF OPEN AND THE VENTILATION FAN RUNNING AT FULL SPEED. I THEN PARKED THE CAR IN OUR DRIVEWAY AND LEFT IT IN THE SUN ALL DAY, EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH. I HAD THE WINDOWS DOWN JUST SLIGHTLY AND A SMALL FAN IN THE CAR WHICH STIRRED THE AIR. I ALSO PUT A LARGE TRAY OF ACTIVATED CARBON IN THE CAR, CHANGING THAT MATERIAL EVERY FEW DAYS. AT NIGHT, I MOVED THE CAR INTO OUR GARAGE, ROLLED DOWN ALL THE WINDOWS AND HAD AN EXHAUST FAN RUNNING, WHICH CHANGED THE AIR IN THE GARAGE SEVERAL TIMES AN HOUR. AFTER A MONTH OF THAT ROUTINE I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT GETTING A HEADACHE. ALTHOUGH I CAN STILL FEEL THE EFFECT OF THAT POLLUTED INTERIOR AIR, IT IS TOLERABLE AND IMPROVING WITH TIME. WE NOW KNOW THAT THIS OUT-GASSING PROCESS NEVER ENDS; IT ONLY LESSENS OVER TIME; AND, CONTRARY TO WHAT MANY STILL BELIEVE, IT IS ALSO KNOWN THAT LONG EXPOSURES TO EXTREMELY SMALL DOSES OF TOXIC MATERIALS CAN BE MORE DAMAGING TO HUMAN HEALTH THAN A LARGE, SHORT EXPOSURE. GIVEN THESE FACTS, I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT OUR GOVERNMENT ADD PASSENGER COMPARTMENT AIR QUALITY TO ITS SAFETY RATING PROTOCOL. THE AUTO MANUFACTURERS CERTAINLY AREN'T GOING TO DO THIS OF THEIR OWN ACCORD.

VEHICLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM REBOOTS TO DEFAULT SETTINGS APPROX 1 - 3 TIMES A WEEK REQUIRING DRIVER ATTENTION TO RESET. UNIT HAS BEEN REPLACED BY DEALER WITH NEW UNIT. NEW UNIT HAS THE SAME REBOOT FREQUENCY. THIS REBOOT TYPICALLY OCCURS AFTER "NORMAL" START, THEN WHILE UNDERWAY FULL REBOOT ABOUT 30 SECONDS TO A MINUTE LATER, WHILE IN MOTION, ON THE ROAD. NO RECOLLECTION OF A REBOOT WHILE SITTING STILL ..(WARMING THE ENGINE WAITING FOR PASSENGER ETC) THIS REBOOT MAY OCCUR EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT A CELLPHONE PRESENT IN THE VEHICLE.

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A CITY STRAIGHT GOING THROUGH A GREEN LIGHT WHEN A VEHICLE TRAVELING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION ATTEMPTED TO MAKE LEFT-HAND TURN AND STRUCK THE FRONT OF THE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2015. BOTH CARS WERE IN MOTION WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURRED. WHEN THE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 2015 WAS BROUGHT TO THE BODY SHOP TO BE REPAIRED THE APPRAISER INDICATED THAT THE AIR BAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED AND THEY NEEDED TO BE INVESTIGATED FOR DEFECTS.