Saturday june 18 2016 at 6:40 a.m. Driving on tully road in my 2003 toyota highlander. My speed was 35 miles per hour when the car suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed. I applied my brakes to slow down the highlander this had no effect on slowing down the highlander. The brakes went into anti locking mode the wheels started to pulsate. While this was happening my foot was not on the accelerator , but on the brakes. The highlander was not slowing down but increasing speed. I down shifted into a lower gear, the engine raced at a high rpms. I then put the car in neutral the rpms still racing at a high rate. I then applied the brakes again to slow down. The highlander started to slow down I then turned off the engine and then came to a stop. I waited for a minute and started the car the engine raced at a high rpms as if my foot was pushed all the way down on the accelerator, but my foot was not on the gas pedal. I waited again a few minutes to start the highlander , the same high rpms happening again. A few minutes later I tried again to start the highlander and this time the highlander idled normal. I turned the highlander around and went home which was half a mile away. The total distance of uncontrolled acceleration was in my estimation over 1,000 yards. I had to highlander towed to stevens creek toyota where it remains now june 27 2016.
2003 Toyota Highlander: sudden unintended acceleration
12 of the 258 complaints about the 2003 Toyota Highlander describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 12
- of this car's complaints
- 5%
- typical mileage
- 56,546
- recalls
- 0
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
Was pulling into a parking space in a strip mall, about 10 feet before the parking block the car suddenly accelerated. I was able to turn the wheel hard to the left and hit the brakes to avoid the building. I did hit the awning supports and caused the awning to sag. Was able to finally stop the car and got out safely. The car later was totaled by the insurance company.
On 7-11-13, going at highway speed on route 52 in north carolina, the throttle became stuck wide open causing my car to accelerate beyond my control. I slowed down to get off on the side of the highway, but I could not stop the car, only slow it down, to approximately 10-15 MPH. Got back on the road and took the next exit. Again I could not stop the car, and though I slowed again to about 10-15 MPH, I drifted through the intersection at the stop sign, with traffic approaching from both left and right! I turned sharply left, got off to the side of the road, and turned the key off to stop the car. God was watching, because no collision occurred. When I started the engine again, it roared like I've never heard it before. Somehow, I don't remember how, I got the car about 100 yards down the road to a marathon gas station, to get completely off the road and out of the way. A man stopped and walked over to me, telling me that my throttle was stuck because of a faulty tps (throttle position sensor). He introduced himself as a mechanic, who formerly worked at a toyota dealership, and said that was a ?known? Problem with toyotas. He towed me to his house, replaced the tps, and we tested the car, to the satisfaction of both of us. It ran just fine, so I followed him to the pnc bank to get money to pay him. While there, the lady helping me, in response to my story, told me that her toyota parked outside had the very same problem! Except it cost her a lot more than my tow & repair did. My incident was most definitely a part failure, not an operator error, or a problem due to floor mats, as is alleged in the pending unintended acceleration? Litigation against toyota, and my 2003 highlander is not specifically listed in that litigation information on-line. I am sending a letter to toyota, the ntsb and our local dealership where we purchased the car.
2003 toyota highlander. Consumer submits documentation related to unintended acceleration issues with vehicle *tgw the consumer stated the vehicle accelerated out of control and subsequently, crashed into a concrete divider, struck a palm tree and then a metal light pole. Even after the vehicle came to rest, the engine continued to rev very fast. It finally stopped a few seconds after the impact.
I pulled into a parking space at a shopping center near my home, then backed up a few feet in order to straighten my car. When I put the transmission into drive, the car suddenly surged forward entirely on its own, striking the concrete barrier a few feet in front of my car. I did not accelerate, there were no floor mats on the driver's side, and the force threw me against the steering wheel. A witness ran over to see I was injured, but I was just badly frightened. The front fender was dented, but actually popped back out as I was standing beside my car with the witness. I had previously complained about the engine alternately slowing and surging as I drove, usually only at speeds up to 40mph, to my local service department. When I called my service department, they gave me a toll free number where I spoke to a toyota case manager who assigned me a case number and treated me very coldly and with suspicion, asking personal questions about my health, insurance company and driving record. I said I was just concerned that my car had behaved like one I had just heard about on the local news, and I wanted to know what to do and prevent others from experiencing what had happened to me or worse the case mgr. Said they would call me back. They never called back. The following month I took my car in for service and asked them to check the electrical system. They said they found no problems.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota highlander. He stated that while driving 2 MPH with his foot on the brake pedal, it accelerated on its own without a warning and crashed into a building . There were front end damages to the vehicle. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed. A police report was available. The dealer was contacted and they stated that his vehicle was not on the recall list. There were repairs made to the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 62,300.
)n the morning of 12-05-09, as I'm pulling into my garage, the car suddenly lurched forward with an unexpected increase in speed. Before I could brake, the car slammed into a steel shelving unit on the back wall which resulted in extensive damage to the wall ( both interior & exterior) and what appeared to be minimal damage to the auto. I took the vehicle to my toyota service on that same day because I/we felt that this could constitute an unsafe driving condition. Total costs from this incident were as follows: covered by insurance- $3607.81 (plus 703.31 pd. Directly to the dealer?) and $916.27 ( 500.00 insurance deductible and an additional mechanical charge for a fuel/air sensor that failed on 12-26-09). I have not previously experienced "sudden acceleration" with this vehicle. I have notified both my local dealer, southeast toyota distributors and toyota customer relations regarding the problem stating that there may be other vehicles beyond the scope of their current recall that should also be considered as potentially dangerous. *tr updated 05/03.10 toyota denied the consumer claim, stating the vehicle examination revealed no apparent reason for the acceleration. However, the dealer that performed the inspection stated the throttle was became stuck due to gummy deposits cased by ethanol in the gasoline. Updated 08/210/10
On monday, april 28, 2008 at approximately 7:45 a.m. Cdt, I drove my 2003 toyota highlander on to the employee parking lot at unigroup, inc. As I always did, I pulled up past my assigned parking spot, stopped, and put the vehicle in reverse to back into my space. When I moved my foot from the brake to the accelerator and turned the steering wheel to back into space 304, the SUV suddenly accelerated at a tremendous speed, hit and bounced off the ford explorer parked in space 305 and then hit the subaru legacy wagon parked in space 317 immediately behind space 304. One witness who was in the parking lot at the time later told me that while he did not see the crash, he heard a huge roar of a motor and the crashing noise of the impact. The owner of the subaru also did not see the initial acceleration of the SUV, but heard the tires screeching and turned in time to see my SUV hit his subaru. Both of the two witnesses helped me load the back bumper of my highlander into the cargo area. Prior to going into the office, I checked the floor mat under the steering wheel, but could not see any indication that it in any way had moved. I am convinced that the only thing that stopped my highlander was the fact that it hit the two vehicles in spaces 305 and 317. Later that day (4.28.2008), I called toyota to report the incident. I was told by a representative by the name of barbara that there were no problems or recalls on the highlander, only the camry (this according to the federal safety agency.) my report was given . There was extensive damage to my SUV and the two other vehicles that were hit. Thus far, toyota has not acknowledged that my vehicle (2003 highlander) is included in the recall and since the VIN # begins with a j, I am told that there is no problem with any vehicle made in japan. Therefore, I cannot even take it to a dealership for repairs. I am left in limbo with a defective toyota.
2003 toyota highlander uncontrolled surge in acceleration. Consumer states there was limited to no use when the brake pedal was depressed. *kb the consumer stated the floor mat played absolutely no role in the sudden acceleration incident. The truck was taken to the dealer where they replaced numerous parts, but could not explain the cause.
While attempting to park my 2003 toyota highlander at a mcdonald's, as I was applying the brake and almost parked, the car suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb and crashed through the entrance of the mcdonald's. I continued to apply the brake when this happened, and it would not stop.
While the brakes were being applied vehicle surged forward abruptly. Vehicle jumped an embankment and went through a fence.
Sudden acceleration while brake was depressed. Vehicle went up a two foot embankment and thru a chain link fence. Vehicle was stopped by placing into park. This all happened while brake was depressed fully.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 Toyota Highlander sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2003 Toyota Highlander?
12 of 258 owner complaints about the 2003 Toyota Highlander (5%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2008.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 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 2003 Toyota Highlander
Overheating 40Engine failure 22Check engine light 11No deployment 8Fire or smoke 5
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