Vehicle was in motion on a city street going straight slightly downhill and then uphill. The weather was clear. Speed was about 15-25 MPH. I was braking to slow the car down but the car accelerated on its own ( toyota calls it "unintended acceleration"). The car continued accelerating even though I was pressing the brakes as hard as I could and it was now going uphill.. To avoid crashing I put the car in neutral, and engaged the emergency brake and hazards. The engine raced in neutral and then stopped racing.. Toyota started a case file and inspected it. They said everything is working properly now, case closed and I can come get the car. I had it towed there and am afraid to drive it until something is fixed. It was a terrifying experience. I am concerned it could happen again or to other cars. I am thoroughly disappointed in toyota's nonchalant attitude; it was-is a potentially fatal situation, and it seems that according to toyota if such an accident was investigated nothing would show up.
2002 Toyota Highlander: sudden unintended acceleration
11 of the 301 complaints about the 2002 Toyota Highlander describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 11
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- typical mileage
- 50,000
- recalls
- 0
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
When engaging car in reverse the car will unpredictably at times suddenly accelerate.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota highlander. The contact was driving 60 MPH when the vehicle suddenly accelerated without any warning. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact had to completely turn off the engine in order to get the vehicle to stop. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed that the accelerator cable was stuck in the forward position and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 210,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota highlander. The contact stated while driving at speeds of 70 MPH, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. This was the third incident of unintended acceleration in the vehicle. On the first incident, the contact was able to stop the vehicle by applying constant, steady pressure to the brake pedal. On the second incident, the accelerator pedal became stuck in the open throttle position and he was able to manually remove the pedal from the stuck position. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and there were no repairs made to the vehicle. The manufacturer advised the vehicle was not under recall and would not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 114,000 and the current mileage was 114,532.
Sometime in 2006, my 2002 toyota highlander experienced unintended acceleration. I was standing on the brake to make the car stop and it wouldn't. I pulled into a parking lot through the car into neutral, hit the brake, then through it into park while it was still moving. I called jiffy lube who just had performed an oil change. They sent a technician over to look at it. When I started the car for the tech the engine continued to race. We both looked to see if there was something stuck under the accelerator. There was not. We both pulled up on the accelerator and it did not appear to be stuck. The tech couldn't explain it. I can't recall if I had the car towed to toyota or if the problem stopped suddenly and I drove myself. Toyota is one mile from where the incident occurred. Toyota told me they couldn't replicate the problem and assured me that it wouldn't happen again. I drove him without incident until I pulled in my driveway, the car accelerated and I again had to throw the car into park while moving. The car was then towed to toyota and we were told the problem was "fixed" and given some excuse that didn't make sense. It never happened again and we traded the car for a new one in 2008. The dealership was bob rohrman toyota in westmont, il. I think the recall needs to go back further to include 2002 vehicles.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 toyota highlander. The driver stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a wall of his garage while driving approximately 5 MPH. There were no injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealership who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The current mileage was approximately 48,690. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
I pulled into my garage during early afternoon and came to the usual stop facing the wall. My foot was still on the brake and I had not yet put the car into park. Suddenly the car lurched forward and hit the wall with great enough force to deploy the air bag. The bag fractured my sternum in two places. At the time I was not aware of the prevalence of unintended acceleration problems and did not report it. There have been no episodes since.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 toyota highlander. The contact was driving 5 MPH into a parking garage when suddenly, the vehicle accelerated. She attempted to engage the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The contact notified the insurance company and they covered the repair cost. The contact was sore after the crash occurred due to minor injuries. Three weeks ago while parking the vehicle it surged forward and hit another vehicle. The manufacturer was notified and stated that they would send someone to inspect the vehicle and if there was something wrong with the vehicle they would reimburse her in 35 days. The contact is concerned about the safety risk and chose to rent a vehicle to drive. The failure mileage was 62,000. The current mileage was 75,000.
2002 toyota highlander with unexpected acceleration. Consumer stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning. Driver had to slam the vehicle into park for the vehicle to stop. *kb the dealer kept the vehicle for 3 days, ran various diagnostic tests, but was unable to duplicate the problem.
While pulling into a parking area, and when consumer depressed the brakes vehicle surged forward. While trying to control the vehicle and avoid pedestrians vehicle collided with a cement pole in the parking lot. Consumer suffered severe head and knee injuries. The police issued a report on the collision.
Engaged from park to drive and suddenly acceleration happened, damaging many other cars. Dealer notified.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2002 Toyota Highlander sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2002 Toyota Highlander?
11 of 301 owner complaints about the 2002 Toyota Highlander (4%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2008.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2002 Toyota Highlander?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2002 Toyota Highlander
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