Abs Brake Fail problems of the 2007 Toyota Highlander

About a month ago, my wife called me from far away telling me that she suddenly had brake-related warming lights. I quickly read up on the abs system failures in this car, and since she did not yet have symptoms, I told her to drive back carefully. I then reviewed my files on the car and saw that they had sent me an extended warranty notice about this problem, and suggested that we bring the car in if we have these warning lights. But we never had the warning lights previously, so I missed the boat on the extended warranty. We did, however, almost from the time the car was just a few years old, have a loud clunking noise from under the hood on startup or shutdown. According to various Highlander forums, this is a classic symptom of abs actuator failure and if Toyota had just mentioned this in the their extended warranty notice, I would have brought the car in immediately. I had the same sound from my 2007 prius; I mentioned the noise to the Toyota service people and they told me it was the coolant thermos bottle and was of no concern. To fix my Highlander, Toyota wanted around three thousand dollars; I told them that was not reasonable since replacing it is simple: 2 bolts, 1 electrical connector, 6 brake lines, and a brake bleed. They wanted about $2000 just for the part. The Toyota service manager told me I could still drive the car since it is not a safety concern: if it fails the abs system will stop working but not the brakes. Based on the experiences of other hh owners that I am reading about at the NHTSA web site, however, I find this hard to believe. Also, the brakes are now grabbing strangely and pulsating when they don't need to be. There should be a recall since 1. ) the part should last the life of the car, 2. It is a safety concern, and 3. Toyota did not give accurate information in their notice to allow me to spot the problem in time.

Abs actuator failed causing erratic vehicle behavior and uncontrollable braking. Abs actuator was replaced by Toyota in 2017 as part of an extended warranty program on a part that they realized was defective. In 2019 we experienced the same issues causing a very dangerous situation on the freeway and again took to Toyota were they found that the abs actuator failed again. This part is typically one that doesn't fail over the lifetime of a vehicle. This part is now needing to be replaced for the third time. I presume that the original abs actuator was replaced with old inventory of the same defective part which is why it quickly failed again. Toyota wants to charge $3k to have repaired. There are a multitude of online complaints and reviews of customers experiencing the same dangerous situation in the same year make/model vehicle. I've contacted corporate and the best they are willing to do is provide a credit for $1k of the repair. For a part that typically never fails on a vehicle, no one should be expected to spend $3k every couple years continually replacing a known defective part that is a crucial safety concern. Toyota admitted there was a safety issue by initially declaring an extended warranty on the part, now that the replacements are failing in the exact same way Toyota wants to brush the issue under the rug. This is an urgent safety concern.

The brake actuator for the abs system failed and needed to be replaced. This was and is a known potential problem by the Toyota company as a result of many Toyota owners replacing their vehicle actuators due to failure but no recalls have been activated and available for my vehicle as of this current date. I fortunately did not get into an accident as a result but stop use of the vehicle and had it repaired immediately by a Toyota dealership at my own expense. This was a very costly expense I incurred both in the actuator part and the labor to replace it. The actuator affected the brake system of my vehicle and is a major safety issue.

2007 Toyota Highlander hybrid limited was experiencing concerning brakes beginning to lurch forward, brake pedal stiffness, and associated noise. In short, the issue is a critical loss of assisted braking. Took it to the dealership in texas and was instructed that the abs actuator had failed. Mechanic indicated that this failure is fairly common in Toyota hybirds from 07 (both Highlander and camry). The Highlander abs actuator component is identical to the abs actuator in the 2007 camry hybrid that was the subject of a NHTSA investigation which culminated in 2014 with Toyota issuing an enhanced warranty program covering the 2007 camry hybrid (NHTSA investigation pe 14-001, conducted by kareem habib). Was informed that other owners of 2007 Highlander hybrids had experienced the same problems. A quick search online shows that these issues are quite ubiquitous in the 07 hybrid models. This presents a significant safety issue. I subsequently relocated for work to the washington, DC area and called Toyota to see if they would offer a fix or cover the repair. Was instructed to bring the car into a different dealership. Dealership confirmed that the issue is a faulty abs actuator (design defect) and the cost of repair/replacement would be $3506. 02. Dealership sent Toyota corporate the information and requested that they repair be covered. Toyota corporate denied coverage of the repair. Was also instructed by Toyota corporate that despite the fact they had requested that I take the car into the dealership, I owed $129. 95 for the mechanical inspection. The failure of assisted braking presents a significant safety issue. This issue was recognized by NHTSA in it's aforementioned investigation of identical failures in the 2007 Toyota camry hybrid. I respectfully request that NHTSA initiate an investigation into the 07 Highlander hybrid abs actuator.