2018 Toyota Highlander

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at various speeds, the brakes failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that “Pull Over Immediately/Vehicle Unsafe to Drive” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that his wife had to pump the brake pedal for the brakes to operate as needed. His wife took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle but found no defects with the braking system. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V211000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) which he linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.

1.) Bluetooth connects without issue to iPhone (for both media and phone) however during a phone call (incoming/outgoing) the car system will drop the call after about 2 mins of talk time. The phone then disconnects from the car & will only re-pair once the system restarts. 2. ) The safety hazard is due to distracted, hands required operation of the phone due to Bluetooth system not working properly 3.) The issue has been under 'warranty' for nearly 2 years at my dealer. There is currently no resolution. Dealer admits the fault is due to a compatibility issue of various vendors supplying the head unit, bluetooth/radio unit, and software. 4.) At the instruction of the manufacturer, the dealer has refused to replace any hardware.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander equipped with a tow package. The contact stated that after taking the vehicle in for service, he made the dealer aware that on the passenger’s side rear of the vehicle where the muffler tip came out from underneath the vehicle that the plastic piece above the muffler was melted from exhaust heat coming from the muffler while towing his trailer. The dealer documented the incident and forwarded the findings to the manufacturer. The contact did not receive a callback, so he contacted the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty and therefore there was nothing to pursue. The contact was concerned that there would be severe damage done to the bumper and wiring harness from the exhaust heat. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was still awaiting a response from the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was not available.

I bought this 2018 Toyota Highlander xle brand new from the dealer on 2018.My first brakes and rotors were changed by toyota dealer on march 2020 at 24000 miles and then the second time again brakes and rotors were changed december 2020 at 39000. Both time it was Toyota OEM parts. Now at 63000 these ae weare out i bought different company breaks and brembo rotors akebonno brakes. Each time it was more than $800 job. It looks like toyota is making very cheap break pads and rotors and for consumers are not getting what they say about their brakes and rotors. Which ia supposed to be 30000 miles. I am requesting someone to tale a look at this matter and save the consumers to spend less. Thank you

Unable to start vehicle twice. In both instances, foot was placed on the brake before pressing Start button and brake was extremely stiff. When Start button is pushed, electronics engage (control panel lights, A/C, etc.) but engine will not engage. In the first incident, car had been stopped to refuel and would not restart. Car had been started without incident and been running for approximately 20 minutes prior to stopping for refueling. Tried to restart the engine for 20-30 minutes unsuccessfully and had to have vehicle towed to authorized Toyota dealer. Dealer was unable to look at it for two days and was able to start engine on the first try two days later. Dealer could not replicate problem. In the second incident, car had been in a parking lot for two hours on a hot day. Again, brake was extremely stiff, electronics engaged but engine would not start. A message appeared Brake Power Low. We shut off A/C and were able to restart the vehicle. In both instances, the driver-side door was open to try and let hot air out - we don't know if this has any bearing on the issue.

The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated the recall repair for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V012000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) had been completed on the vehicle. The contact stated while her husband was driving 55-65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that her husband veered to the side of the road. The contact's husband was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact's husband that they could not determine the cause of the failure; however, the computer onboard was reset. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. The contact's husband was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts however, the failure recurred several times while the contact's husband was taking the vehicle to the nearest dealer. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer - Lithia Toyota of Billings (1532 Grand Ave, Billings, MT 59102) who diagnosed that no issues were found and advised the contact's husband to trade-in the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired and was traded. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.

Where the incident happened? The incident happened at the following google coordinates (39.21707240377137, -77.6491829535095) on an unpaved, but well-maintained road. When this incident took place? 09/11/2021 – around 10.30am Who is travelling with you? I was travelling with my wife (Vijaya) and Pet Dog (Leo). Both my wife and I have the seat belts on. How are the driving conditions? A bright and sunny morning with clear visibility, minimal wind and no rain. The road is totally dry. In a way perfect driving condition. How the incident happened? A white truck came in the opposite direction and since the road is narrow I pulled my highlander to the right, where there is some loose gravel on the side of the road. When I pulled to the side I am almost at a standstill and after the truck had passed started moving the car towards the middle of the road. At this moment the Highlander suddenly started swiveling to the left, and the traction became very wobbly and when tried to apply brakes, brake did not work at all. In stead the car started going out of control on the left side and is about to crash into 2 large trees on the side of the car. At that time without having any control over the brakes, I tried to steer towards right and the car turned sharp towards right, crossed road and fell into a 15 feet ditch on the right side of the car. What is the Car behavior witnessed? Total loss of Breaks, self-acceleration, and unpredictable steering control. The whole incident might’ve happened in about 10-15 seconds. Neither the auto-braking nor the collision control has triggered. Not sure what triggered this behavior of the car. It appeared as if the car tried to auto-correct the traction and something malfunctioned.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel inadvertently locked. The warning message "ETS Failure - Steering Will Be Harder to Steer" appeared on the instrument panel. The contact stated he forcefully steered the steering wheel and veered to the side of the road. The contact turned off the vehicle and as he restarted the vehicle, the steering wheel was still significantly difficult to steer. The contact stated he was able to drive the vehicle to the nearest dealer, though the steering wheel was significantly difficult to steer. The dealer diagnosed the failure as a computer system malfunction. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they would follow up with the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 1,000. The VIN was not provided.