Two problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 2007 Toyota Highlander. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2007 Toyota Highlander based on all problems reported for the 2007 Highlander.
2007 Toyota Highlander hybrid, v6, 4x4 --- on November 23rd, 2011, at approximately 10:00am, I was driving with my family on I-5 south in the central valley of California. The cruise control was on, but not engaged because the traffic was too heavy. My speed was approximately 65 miles-per-hour, going uphill. Unexpectedly, the engine began to race. I applied the brakes to keep the car at the speed of traffic and examined my cabin for clues of the problem. The transmission lever was still in "d". I turned off the the cruise control, but that made no difference. I momentarily released the brake and used my right foot to ensure that the accelerator was not stuck. It was not. During that time the engine power meter jumped up to full power around 200 kw. I re-applied the brakes to decelerate and brought the car to a stop on the right shoulder of the highway. As soon as the car was completely stopped, I shifted to "p" and turned the key to the off position. Some smoke appeared for about two seconds, which I presumed was from the brakes. I then examined the floor mat, but it was not out of position. I waited about 30 seconds and turned the key back to the on position and the "ready" signal illuminated on the dash. The acceleration problem was gone. I drove about 15 miles to the next exit and stopped for gas. I checked the oil, coolant, and brake fluid levels, which were all good. The problem did not re-occur during the additional 250 miles that I drove during that day. There were no injuries. I called "crown Toyota", where I had purchased the vehicle new and spoke to a representative there. He told me that he did not know of any other accleration problems other than those that were floor mat related.
2007 Toyota Highlander 6-cyl limited running under cruise control will slowly begin to accelerate when "resume" is pressed in order to get back up to the cruising speed. However as the speed nears (within 4-5 mph) the cruising speed, the transmission downshifts resulting in a hazardous quick acceleration that requires braking or quickly turning off the cruise control. This occurs regularly during high speed highway driving. The problem can only be avoided by manually returning the vehicle to cruising speed before pressing resume. The dealer states they have no knowledge of this problem.