2018 Toyota Highlander

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

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.

Driving on the FWY at 67 MPH.I received “Braking Power Low, stop at a safe place” I pulled over and went to a Toyota dealership and they told me it is not covered and considered as a recall for my vehicle. EVEN though the same problems have been identified for the same make and vehicle under recall #18V211000 Please help. I don’t think it’s right that Toyota can say it is not covered simply because they haven’t identified it with my specific vin and or the manufacturer they used.

Toyota issued a service bulletin for my vehicle in 2020 to address surging front brakes. In April, 2020 my vehicle experienced surging that caused severe shimmy of the front of the entire vehicle in downhill braking at highway speed. Kendall Toyota, Bend, OR replaced the entire front brake system under the bulletin. The mileage was approx. 26,500. That problem recurred about June 13, 2021 in the same circumstances. The mileage was approximately 36,500. Kendall indicates that Toyota has not issued a new service bulletin covering this condition. Kendall found all brake system parts to be in good condition, but noted that "front rotors severely glazed. ... typically be (sic) due to heat caused by repeat high speed/downhill braking, or longer periods of brake applications while driving." Prior service records (every 5K miles) show no unusual brake wear/rotor glazing -- ever.

Upon turning on the vehicle the brake peddle locked and the steering wheel. Message prompted "braking power low, stop in safe place". After that all electronic features failed and vehicle did not turn on at all. Vehicle wouldn't even lock. Mine and my families safety was at risk due to the fact that this could have happened while the vehicle was in motion and all steering and braking abilities are lost. The vehicle is scheduled to be seen. No warning signs/lampsor other symptoms where present prior to the incident.

Accordingly to Toyota vehicle Maintenance Schedule, the vacuum pump for the brake booster needs to be replaced as a regular maintenance or "wear" item every 120,000 miles. This is a very expensive maintenance item (>$600 in parts, ~$1000 including labor and shop materials), that needs to be performed by a Toyota certified technician. In addition to being very expensive, what will discourage many vehicle owners from performing this service, one may expect that many owners who perform their own vehicle maintenance or use independent mechanic shops will simply miss this service altogether. Being a safety critical item, the vacuum pump should be designed to last the entire lifespan of the vehicle (just like other brake system components: ABS pump, vacuum booster, master cylinder, etc.). The short lifespan of the vacuum pump and the requirement to replace it on a regular basis is indicative of a defective or deficient design. Making the replacement of the vacuum pump a scheduled maintenance item is a just way for Toyota to avoid liability due to premature failures of a substandard safety component, especially in light that other brake system components are designed to last for the entire life of the vehicle, and are not considered wear items in the maintenance schedule (except for brake pads, of course). Toyota should redesign the vacuum pump to increase its lifespan in-line with the rest of the brake system components, and perform the replacement under a safety recall or service campaign, at no cost to vehicle owners.

THE VEHICLE WAS IN MY DRIVEWAY BOTH TIMES THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED SO FAR. I WENT OUT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING TO START IT AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS EXTREMELY HARD WHEN I WENT TO PRESS THE PEDAL IN ORDER TO PUT THE ENGINE START BUTTON AND ALL OF THE ELECTRONICS TURNED ON BUT THE VEHICLE REFUSED TO START AND DISPLAYED A MESSAGE STATING "BRAKING POWER LOW, STOP IN A SAFE PLACE. I FOUND A RECALL NOTICE THAT WAS SHARED ON THE TOYOTA FORUMS FOR THIS EXACT REASON; HOWEVER, MINE ISN'T INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ALONG WITH MANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE ALSO EXCLUDED AND ARE HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM, ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ON THE TOYOTA AND LEXUS FORUMS. I HAVE ATTACHED A COPY OF THE RECALL THAT WAS POSTED ON THE FORUM ALONG WITH THE MESSAGE THAT WAS DISPLAYED WHEN MY HIGHLANDER WOULDN'T START. I KEPT TRYING FOR 10 MINUTES AND FINALLY USED THE REMOTE START TO START IT (WHICH MADE THE BRAKE PEDAL SOFT ENOUGH TO PRESS DOWN). I THEN TURNED OFF THE REMOTE START AND WAS THEN ABLE TO START IT LIKE NORMAL. HAD I NOT HAD REMOTE START, I WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED.

INTERMITTENTLY DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS, THERE EXISTS INSTANCES WHERE BRAKE HYDRAULIC FAILURE OCCURS. AT TIMES THE "BRAKE" INDICATOR LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED BRAKE PEDAL FEEL. BRAKING POWER IS REDUCED. ALSO, DRIVER DISPLAY SCREEN DISPLAYS "BRAKING POWER LOW" WARNING INDICATION. AFTER STOP AND PLACING IN PARK, BRAKE HYDRAULIC POWER RETURNS AND OPERATE AS NORMAL.

WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WAS HAVING ISSUES BRAKING AS IT WOULD NOT WANT TO COME TO A STOP. THE ENGINE LIGHT WOULD TURN ON INDICATING ISSUE BUT WOULD DISAPPEAR FROM DASHBOARD. THERE WAS AT TIMES THAT ACCIDENT WOULD ALMOST OCCUR DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO PROPERLY STOP. DURING THE TIME OF DRIVING THIS OCCURRED ON A HIGHWAY WHILE IN MOTION. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP AND COMPUTER WOULD NOT REGISTER THE ISSUE AS THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ACTIVATING. EMPLOYEES TOOK VEHICLE FOR TEST DRIVER AND DETERMINED SOMETHING WAS WRONG AS HE COULD ALSO SENSE AN ISSUE WITH BRAKING. VEHICLE WAS LEFT AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. *TR