2021 Toyota Highlander

The Highlander Hybrid is dangerous and someone will get hurt. The brakes will occasionally, at lower speeds and under a variety of circumstances, stop working for a second or two. It actually gives the feeling that the car is accelerating or surging forward. My dealer was able to replicate the problem but said they hadn't heard of a fix yet. They had heard of this issue from several customers. Toyota maintains it is normal operation and is simply the hybrid switching from regenerative braking to mechanical braking. It is completely unpredictable. Sometimes it will go a week without happening. Sometimes it will happen several times in 1 day. My wife and I do not feel safe in this car. Very frustrating that Toyota doesn't seem to take this seriously. It's simply a matter of time before we rear end someone, or hit something else.

This is in regards to a 2021 Toyota Platinum AWD with 8500 miles. While cruising at about 40 miles/hour, the car suddenly lost power, and an alpha numeric code popped on the digital display that said “Chip malfunction” and something else I don’t recall. It also said to see your dealer immediately. On the dash, the check engine light came on with a message that said “reduced engine power”. This message alternated with another alpha numeric code. I did not write down the actual codes because I thought the car would record them. I was able to roll onto a side street and turn off the car. After 5 min, I restarted the car and took it to the dealer later that day. They not only could not find a code in the record, the entire trip was not recorded, even though it’s on my Toyota app. First, they tried to say it couldn’t have happened because it was not recorded. Then, they said the recall regarding a power issue was the culprit, but also admitted the “fix” had nothing to do with, and would not affect, the engine. After insisting more be done to iD the problem and fix it, they agreed to keep the car and run a diagnostic. It turned up nothing except “maybe bad gas”. Really? We only use premium from reputable sources. I do not feel safe on the car and most certainly do not feel safe putting my child in it. I cannot believe they cannot find the problem.

Impossible to completely fill the gas tank on the Highlander Hybrid. 17+ gallon tank, yet car will accept at most 12-13 gallons of fuel. Fuel gauge reads between 3/4 and 7/8 full after each fill-up. This issue has persisted since the vehicle was new. Multiple requests to the dealer to fix this problem are largely ignored with them telling me that they aren't aware of any issues, research suggests that many other owners are experiencing the same problem.

SINCE I HAVE OWNED THE 2021 HIGHLANDER, THE LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON UNTIL NEARLY EMPTY. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE DAY ONE. MY LAST TOYOTA THE LOW FUEL LIGHT TYPICALLY ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH AROUND 35 MILES DTE. I WAS RELIEVED TO SEE TOYOTA ISSUED A SPECIAL SERVICE CAMPAIGN (21TC05) ACKNOWLEDGING THE ISSUE... BUT IT DID NOTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM!! I HAD THE REPROGAM SERVICE PERFORMED AND STILL, THE LIGHT AND DTE DID NOT IMPROVE OR CHANGE. THE LOW FUEL LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON UNTIL ABOUT 10 MILES DTE. AND I ONLY GET 16 MPG, SO THIS IS VERY LITTLE WARNING ESPECIALLY IF TRAVELING OR GAS STATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN A REASONABLE DISTANCE. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TOYOTA!

The vehicle's automatic stop-start feature malfunctioned and shut the engine off while I was driving with my 3 children in the car. Our safety was at risk because the car shut off in the middle of the road and we had to wait for an hour for the tow truck to come and give us a jump. There was no prior warning before the car shut off. Afterwards the message "High Power Consumption Partial Limit on AC/Heater Operation" came on I was very nervous for my kids and I safety.

I was driving with my daughter on the highway where all of a sudden I could here a loud noise on the top of my car. I opened the sunroof to see what's wrong only to see a Crack in the sunroof. Nothing hit the roof but it was cracked up. As I was driving it began to break up. If I had the shade opened I would have been hit with the glasses and I had my three year old in the car as well. Absolutely nothing hit the vehicle but it broke on its own.

We had to cut a seatbelt because it was cutting into a child’s stomach. The child was screaming and complaining and it left a scar on his stomach. If we would have taken into the dealer which was 20 min away it would have done more damage to the child. We tried using the steps in the book to release it, didn’t work. As an emergency we had to cut the seat belt to release it.