2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Owner Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL AT 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, STEERING SYSTEM, AND BATTERY WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, "STOP VEHICLE IN A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY" APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT HAD TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH EXCESSIVE FORCE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND HAD IT TOWED HOME. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ROYAL SOUTH TOYOTA (LOCATED AT 3115 S WALNUT ST, BLOOMINGTON, IN 47401, (812) 331-1100) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED, BUT NO FAILURE CODE WAS FOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,842.

NHTSA ID

11220968

Incident

Apr 12, 2019

Mileage

124,842 mi

BRAKES FAILED SHORTLY AFTER THE ABS WARNING LIGHT WENT OFF. DEALER DIAGNOSED THIS AS A BREAK ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY FAILURE. IT LOOKS LIKE TOYOTA HAD A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM FOR VEHICLE YEARS 2006-2007. HOWEVER, MY 2009 APPEARS TO BE HAVING EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE, YET IT'S NOT COVERED BY THE PROGRAM. GIVEN THE SEVERITY OF THE PART FAILURE, IT'S NOT CLEAR WHY THIS IS NOT A RECALL... WE WERE LUCKY THAT NO ACCIDENT RESULTED FROM THIS FAILURE.

NHTSA ID

11184733

Incident

Mar 6, 2019

Mileage

215,000 mi

ONCE CAR WAS SITTING IN A LOT AND ANOTHER TIME, RUNNING ON HIGHWAY. ABS, BRAKE,TRACTION CONTROL, VSC LIGHTS CAME ON ALSO MESSAGE DISPLAY SAID ABS MESSAGE AND BRAKE MESSAGE. CODES FROM ABS DTC,S ARE ALL A C-0371, 1271 THROUGH 1278, 1281, 1346, & 1391. SEEMS TO BE SAME ISSUE AS THE '06-'07 HIGHLANDER HYBRIDS AND THE '04-'09 PRIUS. THERE WAS AN EXTENDED COVERAGE FOR THE BRAKE ACTUATOR ON THOSE VEHICLES. I HAVE BEEN READING MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS, SAME THINGS, WITH THE '09 HIGHLANDERS. LOOKS LIKE REPAIRS RANGE FROM $2500-$5000,WHICH IS RIDICULOUS.

NHTSA ID

11170887

Incident

Jan 14, 2019

Mileage

168,200 mi

TAKATA RECALL- WHEN FUILING FROM THE PUMP, NUZZLES KEEP SHUTING OFF ITSELF LIKE THE TANK IS ALREADY FULL. ITS BEEN HAPPENING RECENTLY. AT THE SAME TIME, CHECK BREAK SYSTEM BY DELER START APPERING. IT TAKES 3 TO 4 PUSH TO START THE CAR AFTER THIS ERROR MESSAGE. SOMETIMES IT TAKES LONGER AND ESPECIALLY IT HAPPENS IN THE MORNING. TOOK TO DELER BUT THEY DID NOT FIND A CODE TO CHECK BUT THIS IS STILL HAPPENING.

NHTSA ID

11166620

Incident

Dec 10, 2018

Mileage

66,000 mi

THE BRAKE SYSTEM COMPLETELY WENT OUT OF ORDER SUDDENLY, DURING THE MOTION IN THE STREET. ALTHOUGH THE BRAKE SYSTEM LIQUID WAS RENEWED IN TOYOTA CENTER JUST FEW DAYS AGO, FEW DAYS PRIOR TO REQUIRED SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE DATE. NOW THE PRICE OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM REPAIR IS CATASTROPHIC. AS I AM ASKING FOR ADVICE, ALL THE OTHER HIGHLANDER OWNERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SAME. THIS IS A BIG SHAME FOR TOYOTA

NHTSA ID

11141975

Incident

Oct 22, 2018

Mileage

127,000 mi

ABS VSC AND BRAKE LIGHTS ARE ON - AS PER HARTFORD DEALER NEED TO REPLACE THESE PARTS 44050-48320 AND 47070-48020

NHTSA ID

11088868

Incident

Oct 6, 2017

Mileage

280,000 mi

ABS AND BRAKE MALFUNCTION LIGHT COMES ON. AUTO REPAIR SHOP TOLD ME THE ABS ACTUATOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $3,500

NHTSA ID

11079765

Incident

Mar 2, 2018

Mileage

121,593 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ABS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ROBBINS TOYOTA OF TEXARKANA (6233 MALL DR, NASH, TX 75569 (903) 794-5121) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ACCUMULATOR PART FAILED AND THE ACCUMULATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 146,000. *LN THE CONSUMER STATED AN INDEPENDENT DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOUND THE ACTUATOR TO BE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. *JS 5 WARNING LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATED ON MY VEHICLE. 1) MASTER WARNING LIGHT 2) BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT IN RED 3) BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING IN YELLOW 4) ABS WARNING LIGHT 5) LIGHT ABOVE ABS IN YELLOW, I CAN BE CONTACTED AT 903-280-0111 UPDATED 9/12/18*JB

NHTSA ID

11033815

Incident

Aug 16, 2017

Mileage

146,000 mi

WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, A "CROAKING" NOISE CAN BE HEARD AND VIBRATION FELT THROUGH THE BRAKE PEDAL. DEALER SAYS THE ABS ACTUATOR IS FAILING. IF IT FAILS, THE ABS WILL BE INACTIVE AND BRAKE PERFORMANCE WILL BE DIMINISHED. APPARENTLY TOYOTA IS AWARE IF THIS ISSUE ON 2006-2007 MODELS AS THEY HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR THE ABS ACTUATOR REPLACEMENT.

NHTSA ID

11021488

Incident

Sep 5, 2017

AT ROUGHLY 80K MILES, EVERY TIME I STARTED THE CAR, A "BRAKE MALFUNCTION" ALERT WOULD DISPLAY. MULTIPLE SENSORS ON THE ARE ILLUMINATED. THE BRAKES FEEL NORMAL, BUT RECENTLY I DID NOTICE SOME AUDIBLE NOISES WHEN I USE THE BRAKES. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE BRAKE ACTUATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR AROUND 3200 W/ LABOR. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THIS SAME SYSTEM WAS RECALLED ON THE CAMRY HYBRID BUT NOT THE HIGHLANDER HYBRID, DESPITE MANY COMPLAINTS.IF THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT, IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS ONE THAT COULD CAUSE BRAKE FAILURE AND LEAD TO DEATH

NHTSA ID

11001249

Incident

Jun 12, 2017

Mileage

80,000 mi

WHILE BRAKING TO STOP CAR IN A SCHOOL PICK UP LINE, WARNING LIGHTS AND MESSAGES BEGAN FLASHING. WARNING LIGHTS STATED BRAKE MALFUNCTION, ABS SYSTEM ETC. DEALER RAN DIAGNOSTIC, STATED THERE IS AN INTERNAL LEAK OF BRAKE ACTUATOR, REPAIR COSTS $5500. LIGHTS WERE RESET AND 2 WEEKS LATER WHILE DRIVING LIGHTS AND WARNINGS CAME BACK ON. TOYOTA HAS RECALL FOR 2006 AND 2007 BUT NOT 2009.

NHTSA ID

10983340

Incident

May 3, 2017

Mileage

174,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING 5 MPH AND MY BRAKES COMPLETELY WENT OUT. LUCKILY, SINCE IT WAS ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT WITH KIDS EVERYWHERE NO ONE WAS HURT. ABS WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AND WARNING LIGHTS SAID TO PULL OVER AND TAKE TO MECHANIC. I HAD NO BRAKES AND COASTED HOME GOING 2MPH. IT WAS MY ABS ACTUATOR PUMP.

NHTSA ID

10927284

Incident

Oct 31, 2016

Mileage

69,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING FROM ORLANDO TO TAMPA FLORIDA MY WIFE HAD THE ABS BRAKE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND A WEIRD NOISE COMING UNDER THE VEHICLE. SHE WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME AND WE TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER. THEY SAID WE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE BRAKE ACTUATOR AT A COST OF MORE THAN $3,400! WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY SUCH A SMALL PART WOULD COST ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE VALUE OF THIS VEHICLE AND AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ONLINE I FOUND NUMEROUS OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS ISSUE REALLY NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO AND TOYOTA SHOULD ISSUE AN IMMEDIATE RECALL.

NHTSA ID

10924610

Incident

Oct 29, 2016

Mileage

122,000 mi

I ARRIVE AT A PARKING LOT ON FLOWER AVENUE STRIP DRIVING SLOWLY INTO A PARKING SPACE IN FRONT OF A CLINIC, AT A VERY LOW SPEED, WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED--BY THE TIME I HIT THE BRAKES ATTEMPTING TO STOP, IT WAS IN THE OFFICE OF OF MATERNAL AND CHILD CARE, UNSTOPPABLE--FORTUNATELY, IT WAS ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND THERE WERE NO EMPLOYEES OR PATIENTS IN THE RECEPTION AREA OF THE OFFICE...SUDDEN ACCELERATION WAS THE CAUSE OF THIS ACCIDENT. THIS CAR MUST BE RECALLED---I TOOK IT TO KOONS TOYOTA IN VIENNA, VIRGINIA-- WHERE I BOUGHT IT LAST OCTOBER--A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER...

NHTSA ID

10899033

Incident

Aug 21, 2016

Mileage

96,000 mi

ABS ACTUATOR NOISE WHEN DEPRESSING AND RELEASING BRAKES. MAY LEAD TO FAILED ABS SYSTEM.

NHTSA ID

10896776

Incident

Aug 15, 2016

Mileage

155,000 mi

ABS LIGHT ON WITH WARNING, BRAKES PERFORMING POORLY. THE ABS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY AND BREAK PUMP FAILED REQUIRING REPLACEMENT WITH A COST OF OVER $3764 IN REPAIRS. THE TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID HAD MILLIONS OF RECALLS FOR THE ABS ACTUATOR BUT THE HIGHLANDER HYBRID WAS CURRENTLY NOT ON RECALL. I OWN A 2000 TOYOTA 4 RUNNER WITH OVER 200,000 MILES AND NEVER HAD AN ABS ISSUE. THIS CAR IS ONLY 6 YEARS OLD AND SHOULDN'T REQUIRE THIS PROBLEM SO EARLY.

NHTSA ID

10839207

Incident

Jan 16, 2016

Mileage

147,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A CLUNKING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND FAILED TO ACCELERATE OR RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO CONSUME ABNORMAL QUANTITIES OF OIL. THE VEHICLE HAD AN OIL CHANGE A MONTH AND A HALF PRIOR TO THE FAILURE AND THE OIL METER MEASURED ONE QUART OF ENGINE OIL LEFT IN THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V396000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). AFTER THE RECALL REPAIR WAS PERFORMED, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 125,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10787806

Incident

Oct 26, 2015

Mileage

125,000 mi

BRAKE AND ABS WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON WHILE TRAVEL CITY SPEED (35-40MPH). NO NOTICEABLE BRAKING PROBLEM BUT ADVISED CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. DEALER SAYS THERE IS AN INTERNAL LEAK AND THE BRAKE ACTUATOR AND BOOSTER NEED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $5,100 (MAINLY THE COST OF TOYOTA PARTS). THIS IS A SOCCER MOM CAR NO ROUGH DRIVING OR BRAKING...AND NO ACCIDENTS. I CALLED TOYOTA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND THEY SAY THE PARTS ARE OUT OF WARRANTY. HOW DOES THESE TWO PARTS ACCOUNT FOR OVER 10% OF THE ORIGINAL VALUE OF THE CAR 6 YEARS AGO. SHOULDN'T I EXPECT MORE FROM TOYOTA?

NHTSA ID

10749605

Incident

Aug 17, 2015

Mileage

89,000 mi

WE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER IN FOR A 5,000 MILE SERVICE MAINTENANCE. AFTER OUR SERVICE ADVISOR LOOKED OVER THE VEHICLE HE SAID WE NEEDED NEW SET OF TIRES AS THE CURRENT ONES WERE AT THE WEAR INDICATORS. OUR SERVICE ADVISOR ALSO SAID OUR VEHICLE WAS IN THE OPEN CAMPAIGN (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V396000) TO REPLACE THE INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE (IPM) IN THE VEHICLE HYBRID SYSTEM. THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT FOUR HOURS AND THERE WOULD BE NO CHARGE. SINCE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE IPM THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN MPG. BEFORE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE IPM THE VEHICLE WAS AVERAGING 26 - 27 MPH IN THE CITY AND ABOUT 30 MPG (29.8 MPG HIGHEST) FREEWAY DRIVING. AFTER THE REPLACEMENT OF THE IPM THE VEHICLE IS AVERAGING 21 - 22 MPG IN THE CITY AND 24-25 ON THE FREEWAY. THIS IS A 5-6 MPG DECREASE. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE DEALER THE REPLACEMENT OF THE IPM HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MPG AND IT IS BECAUSE OF THE WINTER MONTHS OUR MPG HAS DROP. I DO NOT BELIEVE THE WINTER MONTHS WOULD HAVE THIS MUCH EFFECT ON THE MPG. I HAVE DONE SOME ONLINE RESEARCH AND FOUND OTHER OWNERS HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE AFTER THEIR IPM WAS REPLACED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10557530

Incident

Nov 16, 2013

Mileage

40,138 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE ABS WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED, THE STOPPING DISTANCE WOULD INCREASE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION BUT THEY COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,300 UPDATED 01/07/2014 *LJ ALSO, THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER REPLACED A SENSOR

NHTSA ID

10553759

Incident

Nov 25, 2010

Mileage

4,300 mi

DRIVING ABOUT 40MPH WENT TO ACCELERATE AND THE WHOLE CAR STOPPED RESPONDING TO ANYTHING. COULDN'T DRIVE IT AT ALL, WAS ABLE TO LIMP TO SIDE OF ROAD, AT FIRST COULDN'T TURN VEHICLE OFF. ONCE ABLE TO TURN OFF AND BACK ON CAR WOULD DRIVE. WARNING MESSAGES CAME ON "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM-HAVE YOUR VEHICLE CHECKED BY DEALER IMMEDIATELY" AND THEN "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM-STOP THE VEHICLE IN A SAFE PLACE (AS IF I HAD A CHOICE SINCE THE VEHICLE STOPPED ITSELF0, IMMEDIATELY CONTACT DEALER" HAD IT TOWED TO DEALER WHO DID A CHECK AND INFORMED ME THAT THE PROBLEM IS A PART OF THE MOST RECENT RECALL HOWEVER THEY DO NOT HAVE THE PARTS AS OF YET AND ARENT SURE WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO GET THEM.

NHTSA ID

10544729

Incident

Sep 20, 2013

Mileage

57,780 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED THEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE HYBRID INVERTER WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED TWO MORE TIMES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 21,000. UPDATED 6/21/13 *CN UPDATED 07/18/2013 *JS

NHTSA ID

10499998

Incident

Apr 15, 2010

Mileage

21,000 mi

DEPRESSED ACCELERATOR AFTER BEING STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHT. CAR JERKED FORWARD, STOPPED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. WARNING MESSAGES FOR THE HYBRID SYSTEM (MESSAGE WAS 'STOP IMMEDIATELY AND NOTIFY DEALER'), BRAKE SYSTEM AND 4 WHEEL DRIVE. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALER WHO DETERMINED IT WAS FAILURE OF HYBRID INVERTER REQUIRING COMPLETE REPLACEMENT. I'M CONCERNED BECAUSE THIS SOUND SIMILAR TO ISSUES REPORTED FOR 2006 AND 2007 HIGHLANDER MODELS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10480201

Incident

Oct 13, 2012

Mileage

60,200 mi

THE TIRES ON MY 2009 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE CAR WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE IN THE SNOW EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AN ALL WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10378199

Incident

Jan 19, 2011

Mileage

27,233 mi

RIGHT FRONT BRAKE "CLANKS" WHEN BRAKE PEDAL IS PRESSED FAIRLY HARD. DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS NORMAL FOR HIGHLANDERS AND THAT HIS ENTIRE INVENTORY EXHIBITS THE SAME SYMPTOMS. (START LAST YEAR AND CONTINUES; COMMENTS ARE FROM DEALER TODAY -- JUNE 3, 2010.) *TR

NHTSA ID

10334452

Incident

Jun 24, 2009

Mileage

8,000 mi