2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

THE ABS BRAKE MODULATOR BEGAN EXHIBITING VERY LOUD AND CONTINUOUS PUMPING/PRIMING SOUNDS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. DURING THIS TIME PERIOD UPON HARD BRAKING THE BRAKE SYSTEM WOULD FAIL TO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY - THERE WAS A DELAY BETWEEN THE INSTANT THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, AND WHEN THE BRAKES WERE ACTUALLY ENGAGED TO SLOW THE VEHICLE. TODAY, ALL THE INSTRUMENT WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, INCLUDING: MASTER WARNING LIGHT, BRAKE WARNING LIGHT, ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED BRAKE WARNING, ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM, AND SLIP INDICATOR. ALL THIS INDICATES A FAILURE OF THE ABS BRAKE MODULAR COMPONENT. TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, USA, INC. PUBLISHED WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM - ZG1 TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. THE WARRANTY IS ONLY VALID FOR UP TO 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES AND HAS RECENTLY EXPIRED FOR MY VEHICLE. TOYOTA MOTORS, KNOWING THIS COMPONENT IS PRONE TO FAILURE AND COULD HAVE CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES, SHOULD TAKE A MORE PROACTIVE APPROACH TO ENSURE THE SAFE OPERATION OF ALL AFFECTED MODELS. AT PRESENT THERE IS NO WARRANTY COVERAGE, AND TOYOTA WILL NOT REPAIR THE FAULTY BRAKE SYSTEM. I AM LEFT WITH AN INOPERABLE VEHICLE WITH AN UNSAFE BRAKING SYSTEM, UNLESS I BEAR THE FULL COST OF REPLACEMENT MYSELF.

THIS COMPLAINT IS IN REGARDS TO THE TOYOTA WARRANTY ENCHANCEMENT PROGRAM ZG1. THIS WARRANTY WAS APPLICABLE FOR 10 YEARS AFTER FIRST USE OR 150,000 MILES WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. IN ORDER TO GET THE ABS ACTUATOR REPLACED A SET OF SYMPTOMS WAS REQUIRED. I OWN A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID FWD WITH 128,000 MILES. LAST WEEK THE ABS ACTUATOR STARTED MAKING THESE LOUD NOISES AND THE ABS, BRAKE, CHECK VSC, AND MASTER WARNING LIGHT ALL CAME ON. THE BRAKING FUNCTION HAS DEFINITELY CHANGED AND NOW DOES A SUDDEN JOLT FORWARD WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED ON WHILE ALSO HEARING THE ABS ACTUATOR MAKING UNUSUAL NOISES. IT TURNS OUT THAT THE ABS ACTUATOR HAS AN INTERNAL MALFUNCTION. TOYOTA HAS TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN 10 YEARS(EVEN THOUGH MY MILEAGE IS LESS THAN 150K), MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT BE COVERED. TOYOTA HAS ALSO STATED THAT THIS ISSUE IS A SAFETY HAZARD. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS ISSUE IS NOT LISTED AS A RECALL AS IT IS RELATED TO THE BRAKING SYSTEM MAKING THIS ISSUE A SAFETY HAZARD. INSTEAD I AM STUCK WITH MANY OTHERS HAVING TO PAY $3000 TO GET THE PART REPLACED EVEN THOUGH MY SPECIFIC VEHICLE IS AFFECTED BY THIS ABS ACTUATOR ISSUE. I USE THIS VEHICLE AS MY MAIN TRANSPORTATION FOR MY FAMILY. IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME OR EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS NOT A RECALL PLEASE CONTACT ME AT [XXX]. I AM LEFT WITH AN UNUSABLE VEHICLE BECAUSE MY ABS ACTUATOR DECIDED TO MALFUNCTION ON THE 11TH YEAR AFTER FIRST USE EVEN THOUGH IT ONLY HAS 128,000 MILES. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL BECAUSE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF A MALFUNCTIONING ABS ACTUATOR. I AM REPORTING THE SUDDEN FAILING OF BRAKES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE SUDDEN FORWARD JOLT THE CAR MAKES WHEN THE CAR ENGINE STARTS. I BELIEVE THAT THE ISSUES I AM EXPERIENCING IS DIRECTLY CORRELATED TO THE MALFUNCTIONING ABS ACTUATOR. AGAIN, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT [XXX] REGARDING MY COMPLAINT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR *TT

THE VSDC WARNING CAME ON WITH CODE C1391, WHICH MEANS THE ABS PUMP ACCUMULATOR ASSEMBLY HAS GONE BAD, WHICH COSTS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX. WHEN I CONTACTED TOYOTA, THEY SAID THEY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THIS AND THAT EXTENSION RAN OUT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. HOWEVER, THIS MAKES NO SENSE TO EXTEND A WARRANTY ON A PART YOU HAVE ADMITTED IS BAD AND A SAFETY HAZARD, AS THE BRAKES WILL FAIL AFTER THIS FAULTY PART REMAINS IN THE DYSFUNCTIONAL STATE. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT TOYOTA, WAS TRYING TO APPEASE AS FEW AS PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE BY EXTENDING A WARRANTY ON SOMETHING AS DANGEROUS AS THIS. THEY REFUSE TO FIX THE PROBLEM, EVEN THOUGH IT WILL CAUSE DEATH TO MANY. THE MECHANIC SAID THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY TOYOTA HIGHLANDERS, PER HIS INFORMATION TOO. *JS *JS

A SOUND OF SQUEAKING/PUMPING AIR OCCURS SOMETIMES WHEN I DEPRESS THE BRAKES. THIS SOMETIMES CONTINUES TO HAPPEN EVEN WITH THE CAR IS STOPPED COMPLETELY. IF THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED LESS, THE SOUND OCCURS LESS FREQUENTLY. I HAD IT INSPECTED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND A DEALERSHIP MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD THE ABS ASSEMBLY HAS A LEAK AND NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED FOR A FEE OF ROUGHLY $2,300. THIS FIRST OCCURRED WITH MILEAGE AROUND 152,000.

WHEN BRAKING AT ANY SPEED, THE BRAKE PEDAL VIBRATES AND MAKES A "CHIRPING" SOUND. AFTER RESEARCHING I'VE DISCOVERED IT'S A BRAKE ACTUATOR ISSUE. TOYOTA DID EXTEND THE WARRANTY BRIEFLY, BUT NO RECALL WAS ISSUED. MY TOYOTA CERTIFIED MECHANIC SAID BRAKE FAILURE COULD DEFINITELY OCCUR WHEN THE ACTUATOR FAILS COMPLETELY. WHEN BRAKING OVER BUMPS, THE BRAKES SEEM TO GIVE OUT BRIEFLY AS WELL WHICH IS QUITE STARTLING. THE REPLACEMENT PART IS $1800 PLUS LABOR, WHICH IS RIDICULOUS CONSIDERING THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE.

I HAVE OWNED A 2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID FOR SEVERAL YEARS. I BOUGHT THE CAR USED AND WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF A SAFETY RECALL WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR THE ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS MODULE). THE KNOWN DEFECTIVE PART FAILED 6 MONTHS AFTER THE EXTENSION EXPIRED AND WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL. LOCAL DEALER NOW STATES THE REPAIR WILL COST $2500 WHICH IS ABOUT WHAT THE CAR IS ACTUALLY WORTH. THIS IS MY HIGHSCHOOL DAUGHTER'S CAR AND THE LIABILITY OF THE ABS MODULE & BRAKES FAILING COULD BE SIGNIFICANT. THE CAR IS OTHERWISE DRIVABLE AND THE BRAKES WORK ALTHOUGH THE ABS MODULE CONTINUES TO LIGHT UP THE VSC WARNING LIGHT ON THE LED MONITOR IN THE DASH. MY HOPE IS TO FIND SOME GOODWILL THROUGH TOYOTA OR POSSIBLY THE PART MANUFACTURER, HOWEVER HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DO SO TO THIS POINT.

THE ABS BRAKE PUMP LEAKS. IT'S A $2000 REPAIR. THERE WAS A RECALL, BUT I NEVER GOT THE RECALL LETTER. THE RECALL EXPIRED 8 MONTHS AGO AND TOYOTA WON'T HONOR IT, EVEN THOUGH THEY CONFIRMED THEY SENT THE RECALL LETTER TO THE FORMER OWNER, 17 MONTHS AFTER I PURCHASED THE CAR. THEY DID NOT SEND THE LETTER TO THE REGISTERED OWNER ON FILE WITH THE STATE, THEY SENT IT TO THE ADDRESS THEY HAD ON FILE WITH TOYOTA.

WHILE DRIVING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, ALL DASH LIGHTS WENT ON SAYING CHECK VSC SYSTEM, ABS, BRAKE LIGHTS, WARNINGS AND TRACTION. TOOK VEHICLE TO SERVICE AT TOYOTA DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE ABS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY HAS TO BE REPLACED, FOR NEARLY $2500. THIS IS A VEHICLE WITH UNDER 65,000 MILES ON IT AND THE ACTUATOR SHOULD LAST FOR THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. I JUST HAD THE RADIATOR REPLACED AND BRAKES REPLACED TWO MONTHS AGO. THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT DETECTED. BRAKES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SOFT ON THIS VEHICLE. NOW THE BATTERY IS NOT CHARGING AND THE BRAKES ONLY SEEM TO WORK OFF AND ON. I HAVE TO PUMP THE BRAKES TO MAKE THEM WORK RIGHT. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY PROBLEM AS ALL OF MY DRIVING IS IN THE CITY IN TRAFFIC. FROM READING ONLINE THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT OCCURS FREQUENTLY WITH THIS TYPE OF TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND OTHER MODELS. I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING IT AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO FIX IT. IT'S BARELY WORTH THE COST OF REPAIRING IT. IF THIS IS A KNOWN PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE WHY DOESN'T TOYOTA RECALL THIS PART? THE SERVICE PERSON TOLD ME THE BRAKES MAY NOW FAIL AT ANY TIME, IN A DAY OR IN TWO WEEKS. HE TOLD ME TO AVOID OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD!

MY BRAKE ACTUATOR BEGAN MAKING NOISES AND VIBRATING WHILE STILL COVERED BY THE SECONDARY WARRANTY. I TOOK IT INTO LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, AND WAS TOLD THAT DESPITE THE SOUND AND VIBRATION THE CAR HAS TO THROW THE PROPER WARNING CODES TO BE COVERED. WHEN MY REAR WINDOW MOTOR OVERLOADED AND FAILED, IMMEDIATELY THE VSC/BRAKE/ABS WARNING LIGHTS ALL CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. I BELIEVE THAT THE BRAKE ACTUATOR HAS BEEN BAD FOR AWHILE, BUT ONLY AN UNRELATED ELECTRICAL SURGE CAUSED THE ECU TO TRIP THE BRAKE ACTUATOR ERROR CODES. I'M GRATEFUL THAT TOYOTA RESPONDED TO PREVIOUS COMPLAINTS BY EXTENDING THE WARRANTY -BUT THE DELAY IN TRIPPING THE ERROR CODE COST ME 6 MONTHS OF DRIVING WITH THE PULSATING AND POUNDING BRAKE NOISE AND ALLOWED MY SECONDARY WARRANTY TO EXPIRE.

"BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT" WHICH CAN CAUSE THE ABS AND VSC WARNING LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE WITH CODES C1391, C1252, C1253 AND/OR C1256 MAY BE FOUND IN THE ABS ECU. TOYOTA HAD TWO WARRANTY ENHANCEMENTS FOR THIS ONE 6/12/2007 - 6/12/2017 AND THE SECOND ENDED 12/31/2017. WE HAD MIDAS AUTO SERVICE EXPERTS DO A BRAKE EVALUATION ON 11/25/2017, WHICH SHOWED CODES C1241, C1256 AND C1391. WE HAD THE EVALUATION DONE BECAUSE AFTER BREAKING THE CHECK VSC SYSTEM AND ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. WE HAVE THE PAPERWORK FROM MIDAS. IT WAS ALSO BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP SALESPERSON THAT SOLD US THE CAR ON 12/20/17 AND HE DOCUMENTED IT ON HIS TOYOTA LAPTOP. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS ALSO CONTACTED BUT DID NOT REVEAL THERE WAS A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT FOR THIS PROBLEM ONLY QUOTED TO REPLACE IT WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $2500.00. THIS IS STILL A KNOWN PROBLEM AND THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE CASES OPENED FOR THIS PROBLEM. I OPENED CASE 1801083723 ON 1/8/2017 AND ANOTHER 1804032206. TOYOTA TOLD ME BECAUSE THE CASE WAS OPENED AFTER 12/31/2017 AND THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT DID NOT RUN A DIAGNOSTIC ON IT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO UNDER THE WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE PROOF FROM MIDAS (A THIRD PARTY) THERE WAS AN ISSUE ON 11/25/2017 AND THE TOYOTA SALES ASSOCIATE HAS NOTES IN REFERENCE TO IT AS WELL ON 12/20/17. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP AND SINCE IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM TOYOTA SHOULD OPEN UP ANOTHER WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT AND BE LIABLE TO REPAIR THESE VEHICLES AS THEY ARE BROUGHT IN. TOYOTA DID RUN A DIAGNOSTIC ON IT 3/28/2017 AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AS IT DID ON 11/25/2017 WHEN MIDAS RAN THE EVALUATION ON IT.