2008 Toyota Highlander: brake failure

Filed Sep 22, 2023 · Brakes · TN

I own a 2008 Highlander Hybrid Limited. The ABS actuator and assembly have gone bad. The following dash lights are illuminated: ABS, VSC, brake warning, and parking brake. The issue has been confirmed by toyota dealer. This defect has been reported HUNDREDS of times and Toyota has yet to issue a recall for 2008 and above models. In 2019 there was a Customer Support Program Bulletin(CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM BULLETIN (ZKC): REPAIR COVERAGE FOR BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY AND BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP ASSEMBLY ON CERTAIN 2008-2010 MY HIGHLANDER HYBRID VEHICLES) stating, " Toyota is providing coverage for repairs related to the certain internal malfunctions of the brake booster assemblies. One or more of the following specific Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) C1391, C1252, C1256 or C1253 will be stored in the vehicles memory to be used as verification." This 'customer support' bulletin was published June 6TH, 2019 and revised August 28TH, 2019. The bulletin continues, "Primary Coverage offers the Customer Support Program until December 31, 2020, regardless of mileage. After the Primary Coverage, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 10 years or 150,000 miles from the vehicle’s date of first use, whichever occurs first." However, as this document clearly states that the affected and covered vehicles range from those manufactured in the years 2008-2010, the owners of a 2008/2009 model would only be eligible for primary coverage; allowing only about 1 year and 7 months for possible brake failure before a customer could file a claim for repair under warranty. Without any coverage the total cost for repair amounts to +$3,000.00(.) Seeing as this is an issue with Toyota manufacturing it seems that Toyota is much more concerned with keeping their money instead of preventing injury by issuing a recall and taking care of their customers.

Filed Apr 5, 2022 · Brakes, Electrical · FL · crash

ABS system failure for the second time after repair, cost $3400 to replace after causing complete loss of brakes. 4 years after incident same exact ABS warning and VCS system failure with message to immediately take vehicle to dealership. There is a class action lawsuit on other hybrid models but Toyota inspected and said it would cost another $3500 to fix because there is no recall on the part.

Filed Apr 20, 2021 · Brakes · 198,839 miles · NC

On march 26, 2021 when we started the vehicle, there were several indicators and messages that there was a problem with the braking system and that it needed to be serviced by a toyota dealer immediately. Upon doing some research it became clear that toyota is fully aware of malfunctions of the brake actuator assembly and brake booster pump on this vehicle and communicated it to owners in a customer support program notification-zkc in 2019. In that voluntary communication, toyota identified the malfunctions of the brake system components and stated that the cost of repairs was covered through december 31, 2020. However, since this problem did not become apparent until march 26, 2021 toyota did not fully cover the cost of repairs. It is unclear why this known defect and malfunction have not been treated as a recall. There are numerous cases that have been documented online of brake failure on this vehicle as a result of the malfunctions of the brake actuator and booster pump some with catastrophic consequences. No one at toyota has been able to explain why repairs are not covered after december 31, 2020 and indicate that it was apparently an arbitrary date. My assumption is that this was a deliberate effort by toyota to limit their financial exposure with no regard for the safety of drivers and passengers. Hopefully the federal safety agency will investigate this issue and require toyota to notify all owners of this vehicle of the defect and potential danger associated with braking system failure and have toyota recall the vehicle and make the appropriate repairs. The estimated cost for the repair is $2,700.

Filed Mar 1, 2021 · Brakes · 177,000 miles · NJ

The car keeps lunging forward as the brake is being pressed at times. This is particularly dangerous in snowy and slippery conditions. I was forced onto oncoming traffic as the car lunged forward when I attempted to stop at a stop. The car brake stopped working briefly and the car instead jerk forward. I called toyota on 3/1/2021 who claimed it is part a customer support program to repair as of december 31, 2021 and not classified as a recall and will they will not make the necessary repairs. This is a definite recall and should be addressed asap. I was driving on a local road, snowy conditions, and attempted to stop going downhill when the car jerked forward as the brake was being applied.

Filed Sep 30, 2019 · Brakes · 70,000 miles · WA

Abs and vsc system warning lights came on suddenly for the first time while I was driving. I parked the car and it would not start. I was stranded and suddenly had a critical brake failure with no prior warning. My vehicle has low mileage at approx. 70,000. This is a dangerous failure which has been covered by warranty in previous models and is still a problem.

Filed Dec 18, 2018 · Brakes · 121,700 miles · FL

After researching online, I have noticed this is a very common issue and toyota issued recalls out for 2006 & 2007 but has not acknowledged 2008 as having the same issue. I was almost in an accident and noticed there are others out there that have been in accidents. Why is it that nothing has been done to correct this? First, I heard an airy sound when braking then a soft brake pedal before almost complete brake failure. The highlander truly felt like it was not stopping. I literally had to put my complete body weight on the brake pedal to finally get it to stop as it keeps surging forward. It was scary, to say the least. I was in a heavy populated parking lot. I could've hit a pedestrian or hit another car because I couldn't get the car to stop from surging forward. After all this, finally, lights appeared. (engine light, brake light, vsc light & skid lights came on). Wouldn't you think after just being fully serviced at a toyota dealership, something would've been noticeable? I reached out to toyota corp. And again I was told this is not common and no recalls have been issued. I saw a very common denominator that once the highlander hits a certain mileage this happens and a very costly master cylinder and brake booster needs to be replaced. A parking lot and in motion.

Filed Aug 21, 2010 · Brakes · 80,000 miles · NJ · crash · 1 injury

I received a vsc error code, on a 2008 toyota highlander, not the hybrid model, but a limited top of the line model. The vehicle starts to accelerate by itself & then when you slam on the brakes to try to stop it, it fails to stop. In order to avoid slamming into the vehicle in front of me & to the right of me, I chose to turn left hard & run into the concrete divider. This was the 2nd occasion that this type of failure has happened to me. The 1st time was on december 15, 2010 & I also chose to turn left hard & strike the divider instead of rear ending the vehicle in front of or side swiping the vehicle to the right of me. On the 1st occasion, none of the airbags deployed & because of that I ended up striking my head on the either the drivers side glass or some hard object and losing my short term memory. The vehicle & then crossed 3 lanes of traffic, finally off of an exit ramp & came to rest after striking a fence pole. The 2nd time it happened was on august 16, 2010. I also chose to strike the concrete divider as opposed to striking the vehicle in front of me or to the right of me. Then somehow I also crossed 3 lanes of highway & finally coming to rest after striking a light pole. The driver side curtain airbag did deploy this time so I did not lose consciousness nor did I lose my short term memory. It was at that point that I noticed that a 2nd error code also came up stating brake failure.

Filed Feb 21, 2010 · Acceleration · 26,000 miles · CA

In january 2010, I was parked in my daughter's daycare driveway. The driveway has a normal slope. I turned the vehicle on while in the driveway and even though I was pressing on the brakes the brakes failed and the car began rolling backward. I had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. Thankfully no children were around me. The incident happened again moments later while the car was parked in my driveway, which has a minimal slope. Again the brakes lost pressure and did not work. In both instances I noticed the vehicle stability control light was on. I took the car to the dealership after the vsc light turned on 4x in the same day. The dealership cannot find the problem. The vsc light and brakes fail on a routine basis...at least once a week. I make sure that the emergency brake and parking brake are engaged and that the vsc light does not turn on before shifting to drive. This care is unsafe considering the vsc engages for no apparent reason.

Filed Feb 7, 2010 · Brakes · 16,144 miles · TX

Brake failure on 2008 toyota highlander: I turned car on & shifted into reverse to back out of parking space. There was no resistance on the brake pedal. Car rolled backward & would not stop. I applied emergency brake and car stopped. When e-brake was on I tested to see if there was pressure on the brake pedal - there was none. At this point I put car into park and turned off engine, waited a few minutes and restarted engine. Still no brake pressure and shifter would not come out of park position. I turned the engine off and then on again and released emergency brake. At this point the car shifted out of park and there was pressure in the brake pedal. I drove vehicle safely to nearest toyota dealership (where vehicle was purchased). Computer check indicated no problem with brakes. Manual/visual check revealed a gap leaking brake fluid between the master cylinder and the brake booster , both of which were subsequently replaced by the dealership.

Filed Sep 11, 2009 · Brakes · 44,000 miles · 00

No previous braking problems experienced. First heard an airy sound when braking then soft brake pedal and then almost complete brake failure. Dealer found a vacuum leak in brake booster. Repair was replacement of the brake booster.

Filed Apr 15, 2008 · Transmission · 4,000 miles · NY

Tl*the contact leases a 2008 toyota highlander. While driving approximately 20 to 25 MPH, the brakes failed. The contact had to swerve to avoid striking other vehicles. He then heard a loud bang. There were no warning lights. He pulled off the road and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the transmission axle failed. The manufacturer will send an investigator to inspect the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 4,000.