There was fire in the inverter assembly. The wiring harness for the inverter and the transmission were completely cooked and melted. The professional opinion of a toyota national engineer is that the generator in the trans axle surged and caused a fire melting the components. How can this go un-investigated with so many of these vehicles on the road. My family and I could have been burned alive or in a fatal crash due to this completely unsafe system. How can toyota continue to say they are all about safety when they will not do anything about issues like this. They have sent me a $16,000 bill for this issue that is completely a product of their poor and unsafe vehicle.
2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 53, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Engine shutdown at 70mph, engine/hybrid system did not respond to accelerator pedal or cruise control - no warning lights. Was able to coast to side of freeway safely. I turned off ignition and restarted the car, vehicle ran flawlessly afterwards.
The case was stopped and placed in parking when the vehicle started moving forward at about 3 MPH. I almost hit a car 5 feet in front of me(at the time I placed the highlander in parking gear) and it ended 6 inches away from the car in the front. I had to step on the brake shift gears from parking to drive. Shift again to parking and while keeping the brakes on I pressed on the parking brake and turned the car off. There was no incline in the street or any decline observable that could have caused the original failure. My wife and my 1 year old child were inside the car when this happened.
My wife was driving the car home after grocery shopping and the car just quit. She coasted to the side of the road and called me. I arrived and tried to start the car with no luck. Finally called a tow truck and had it towed to the toyota dealer. They inspected the car on tuesday (sep 17,2013) and said the inverter was bad and that a replacement would be $8,500. I asked them to check recalls etc... With the regional rep. They are awaiting a small part to see if that will cause the inverter to work properly. My biggest concern was the car just quit without warning while driving down the road!
My wife was backing out of our driveway when the car suddenly lost power to the wheels and all of the warning lights came on. She was unable to move the car forward or backward to get the car out of the lane of traffic. We got the car towed to the local toyota dealership. They informed us that the inverter was bad and we needed a new one. We had received a recall notice about replacing an "intelligent power module" and had the repairs done jan 9th 2013. The repair shop has said that the replaced part is working and that it is the inverter itself that has gone bad. I have seen many other complaints about this problem online. I am just thankful that she wasn't going highway speed with our child in the car when she lost power. That could have been very dangerous.
On june 29th, 2013 I was traveling south bound on interstate 95, just north richmond va, when the vehicle lost power and the and "hybrid engine fail", or something similar flashed on the display. I pulled to the left shoulder which was very narrow. Checking traffic behind me, I was able to get to the right shoulder, where it died. I had it towed to the dealer, who said the hybrid system needed to be replaced at a cost of $9,200. We opted to sell the car for scrap and received $3,600. If I hadn't been able to get to the shoulder, I would have been a sitting duck and that busy section of road.
We were driving on the nj turnpike. Suddenly, the car stalled and the steering locked. Luckily, we just started the hour long drive and were on the slow lane and was able to glide the car over safely to the shoulder. The check "csv" and "check hybrid system" lights came on and the hybrid battery showed no energy. The car would not start and was towed to the closest toyota dealership. There were no prior warnings about battery errors or problems before completely stalling. It is understandable problems will arise, but with no warning and a car stalling on a major highway, the incident could have been extremely dangerous.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the inverter/converter hybrid system shut down and all of the warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was advised that the coil pack that needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The approximate failure and current mileage was 88,000.
Driving on a major road at about 45 MPH the engine suddenly made a loud noise and the car stopped. Unable to put the car in any gear- the engine was still on but would not drive or reverse. Had it towed to service station, diagnosed as an inverter failure minimum 7,000 cost to repair. Fortunately I was able to pull over to the roadside without being hurt. The car is only 6 years old and I was told it was not worth repairing.
There's an engine surge, slight but still can be felt, when applying the brakes. The surge is intermittent but the surge is felt often. Example: after take off from a stop the next time the brakes are applied there'll be a slight bump, as if the accelerator is stepped on at the same time the brakes are applied. There's no high rev, just a bump.
I was driving my 2006 toyota higlander hybrid on I 95 in 4 lanes of dense traffic all going at least 60-70mph, when I noticed that I was losing power and my car was starting to slow down. I glanced at the dash to see multiple warning signals - check hybrid, check vsc and others. Fortunately, there was a big enough gap on the left for me to pull across the left most lane because I knew if I did not I was going to stall and likely be in a major accident. It was a very scary moment. I could not restart my car and had to wait to get towed, ( dc rush hour). The dealer said my inverter needed to be replaced. After hearing the news I remembered that I had a notice from toyota, a recall for part of the inverter. Initially, I was told this would not cover what I needed. In the end, I was covered . I am thankful to all who reported similar issues so that this would be addressed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light all of the lights on the instrument panel illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact merged to the side of the road where all attempts to restart the vehicle failed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the issue. The failure and current mileage was 149,994.
My son was driving and the vehicle stopped on him in the middle of the road with no warning or power steering. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. Was informed by the dealership that the hybrid generator had shorted and needed $7,300.00 worth of repairs. I am very concerned that this vehicle is dangerous, if he was on a very busy road and this vehicle were to have stopped on him as suddenly as it did that day he could of possibly been rear-ended and seriously injured. This vehicle has been a part of several recalls with this same type of issue, but toyota has refused my request for this vehicle to be repaired or issue a recall with this issue.
As I accelerated from a stop at a side street to enter highway traffic, I was nearly rear ended by a large truck when the hh inverter failed. The car simply suddenly failed to respond with no advance warning. Several dashboard symbols lit up, including check hybrid system,'and I was only able to steer to side of the road. It would not restart and was towed to the dealer. The dealer checked for recalls and said there were none. I mentioned the june 2011 notice we'd received, and that we were told that the part would not be available until jan. 2012. We did not receive more information from toyota and called the dealer in jan. For an appointment. After a brief inspection, we were told the part was not defective and no replacement necessary.' we had been extra cautious and limited the use of our hh for months, and were disappointed that there was no effort to examine the part earlier or verify the conditions of use of the vehicle. After the car was towed in april 2012, the dealer said we needed a part, which they ordered and installed at no cost to us within a few days. The manager said that it was a very expensive part, took a long time to install, and that we were "lucky to have the warranty."' there was no mention of the inverter recall but the invoice indicated that there was a "boj recall." there may have been an earlier clue: on dec. 1, 2011 the same dashboard indicators (check hybrid system and vrc) lit up in the morning when I went to start it and couldn't. We asked dealer about recalls, mentioned the upcoming scheduled notification (jan. 2012), but were told there were none, and that problem was the battery. This may or may not have been related, but I wonder if the dealership ever considered the inverter issue in its analysis. This 2006 hh had only 25,259 miles at time of failure, only 1 owner, and rcvd regular maintenance from dealer.
Driving in 6 lanes of heavy traffic we heard a 'thunk' and lost all power. I wrestled the vehicle to get it to coast off of the road. Car was towed to toyota dealer where it was found that the inverter needed to be replaced. Cost was $7600, after a substantial discount from the dealer, who was obviously embarrassed about charging so much for a single part. The incident could have caused an accident, since all power and electrically assisted driving functions failed simultaneously. Fortunately it didn't. Subsequently I found that toyota had upgraded their inverters beginning in 2007. We have also received in 2011 from toyota an "interim safety recall notice" for the inverter, but have heard nothing since.
I was pulling into our driveway and when I pressed the accelerator, the car stopped and began to roll backwards. All of the warning lights came on along with a warning on the lcd panel that stated "check hybrid system" and "check vsc". It was towed to a toyota dealership. They indicated that the hybrid inverter and esu had failed and they replaced them. The vehicle still displayed several warnings and after searching for almost 1 week, they determined that the power steering esu was also bad although this was not the case prior to the hybrid failure. They said that the 12 volt battery also needed replacing although it was only 8 months old and was purchased at the dealership. When I asked how this could have happened, I was told that the vehicle must have been struck by lightning! October 1, 2011 in our state was a beautiful, clear day as it had been for a while. I suggested that the inverter and esu failure caused the power steering esu failure, not a phantom lightning strike. My vehicle is currently still at the dealership as I await their reply. Hybrid components are covered under the extended hybrid warranty but the steering esu is not and will cost $1,000 to replace unless toyota will accept that the failure of the hybrid components could have caused a powerful electrical surge that damaged the power steering ecu as well as the 12 volt battery.
There have been four incidents with this vehicle in which the hybrid system shutting down. The first three times the vehicle was fine when I turned it off, but would not restart. With all three of these incidents the vehicle would restart with no issues after a few hours. The csv and the check hybrid system lights as well as most of the panel lights would come on. The dealership checked it two times and said it was fine. In the most recent event, I was waiting at the bottom of a driveway. When I went to proceed I pressed the accelerator and the engine made a loud sound that seemed equivalent to it running at a high RPM. The car would not go forward or reverse. I turned the car off and then on again, it made the same sound and again did not move. The csv and the "check hybrid system" lights as well as the panel lights came on. I rolled the car out of the driveway and turned it off again. Due to the previously described history of the car, I chose to wait an hour before trying to restart it. After waiting an hour, I attempted to restart the car and the exact same things happened. After putting the car on the scope the dealership could not determine the problem. I was called after two days of the dealer running many tests and told it was the inverter. The price quoted to me was $8000. I insisted that they needed to look into the toyota recall of the hybrid inverters. I was told my vehicle was checked by another dealership on august 15,2011, and it was "cleared." I asked them to recheck this recall to see if my car fit into the category. I was informed they were not going to recheck it, but they would instead contact toyota. Had this happened while I was driving up or down my driveway, I would most certainly would have gone over the 50 foot embankment on my driveway or the cliff directly across the street from my house.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. While driving 45 MPH, the contact stated that the vehicle began to decelerate before stalling. The vehicle would not restart. The dealer diagnosed that the intelligent power module located in the engine was defective. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000 and the current mileage was 130,010.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact stated that the engine would make a loud sound while driving, the check engine and hybrid system lights would illuminate on the instrument panel, and the vehicle would drive rough. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that something was blocking the crank shaft and various pieces of the engine could possibly be out of place. A full diagnosis of the failure was not provided because the engine would have had to have been taken apart to do so. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 87,000. The dealer informed the consumer the problem was related to the engine and not the hybrid system. It was determined a valve spring broke in the engine. Somehow, there was a weakening in the valve spring in the cylinder head that caused the valve spring to break and cause internal damage. Toyota stated the short block and both cylinder heads needed to be replaced. With new parts and labor, the estimated cost was $11,000. Updated 08/31/11*jb updated 9/16/11 *cn updated 2/9/2012
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact was driving approximately 5 MPH when the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact had the vehicle towed to an authorized dealer where the dealer advised that the inverter assembly was defective and replaced it with converters. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The current and failure mileage was approximately 58,311.
Tl* the contact owned a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact was driving approximately 10 MPH when the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle would not restart and was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was told that the hybrid inverter would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 137,000 and the current mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle began to decelerate independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The contact referenced the federal safety agency defect investigation action number: pe11005 (hybrid propulsion system: inverter) and believed the inverter was causing the failure. The failure mileage was 53,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact was driving approximately 25 MPH when the engine stalled with an illumination of the engine and vsc warning indicators. The engine failed to restart and the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was awaiting a response from the dealer to determine the cause of failure. The contact referenced an open investigation for the failure under the federal safety agency action number: pe11005 (hybrid propulsion system: inverter). The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. Updated 03/29/11*lj the ignition coils were replaced. Updated 04/22/11
I was backing out of our driveway into the middle of the street & the vehicle died. It couldn't be started & the gearshift could not be moved into any other gear, therefore it remained in reverse. Nothing electrical would work either & the car's interior is fully electric , (windows, door locks, nav, seats, radio ect). The "check engine" message was on. At first we thought it was the battery, as per tow truck driver . The car had to be towed. First towed the car to get a new battery but after installation of the newly purchased battery, the car still was inoperable & had to be towed again to the toyota dealer. This was an additional out of pocket expense. The dealer replaced the "inverter" & something listed on the receipt as "super long life c".
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the engine stalled without warning and would not restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they informed the contact that the hybrid inverter failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 146,851. Updated 04/05/11
I made a right hand turn and was accelerating, heard a pop and the car shut down. I coasted to the side of the road and the car wouldn't start. The check hybrid system light came on and then the check vsc light came on. The car was towed to the dealership. Dealership said the hybrid inverter failed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. The contact was traveling 65 MPH when the vehicle suddenly stalled; there was no prior warning. When the failure occurred, there was also a loss of power steering. The check vsc and check hybrid system warning lights illuminated. The dealer stated that the inverter failed. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 118,000.
While driving on major expressway I lost all power and was (thank goodness) able to safely coast to shoulder. All the warning lights lit up together with the alternating messages: "hybrid system failure" and "vsc failure." the car would not restart. I was fortunate it was a sunday morning and I was able to safely reach the shoulder. The expressway I drive monday through friday (I-595 in broward county florida) is very heavily traveled and, due to construction, has many sections without a shoulder. My 2006 highlander hybrid had to be towed. I was advised that the hybrid inverter, a $7,000 part, had failed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hv. While driving approximately 60 MPH, all of the service lights illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle would not restart so it was towed to an authorized dealer where the battery was replaced. The failure continued and the contact was informed that the inverter needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 113,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. While driving approximately 10 MPH the vehicle stalled. While attempting to restart the vehicle a service light would illuminate on the instrument panel to check the hybrid system. The vehicle would not start and was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the inverter needed to be replaced. The dealer was replacing the inverter when the complaint was filed. The failure and current mileages were 99,681. The VIN was unavailable.
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