general problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander

My 2008 Toyota Highlander gas pedal must be lose. Because I barley push the gas and it takes on fast. I was driving home on the highway and the truck just died . The battery dies I couldn't turn my wheel I could not press the break.

When accellerating into traffic after stopping for a stop sign or light the car moves into the traffic but does not accellerate but coasts dispite flooring the gas pedal. After 2 to 5 seconds the car will accelerate. The tech at the Toyota dealership said that this was caused by the computer throttle control that sets according to driving habits. This stall when accelleration is needed has almost caused many collisions from traffic coming up behind the vehicle. This stall happens also when trying to pass a vehicle on roads, pull out from behind vehicle being passed, depress the gas pedal and no acceleration for 2 to 5 seconds then the accelleration happens. This computer flaw is such a safety problem that if I let anyone else drive my vehicle, I have to warn them about the acceleration delay and to make sure there is beyond normal clear space before pulling out into traffic. I try to drive smoothly and avoid flooring the gas pedal. In order avoid a safety issue this computer throttle problem requires the gas pedal to be constantly floored to make sure that when acceleration is really needed that it will happen. I am sure I am not the only owner doing a driving work around of this issue. This has happend consistantly since I purchased the vehicle in 2009.

On several occasions the vehicle has surged forward while traveling at low speed and applying the brake. Tonight, and on at least two other occasions, it has occurred while exiting the local wendy's restaurant. The exit slopes downward for ten feet or so before reaching the multi-lane one way road. Tonight, as I was coming down the exit with my foot on the brake, the vehicle once again surged forward and out into the road. I almost ran into the sides of several cars that were passing by, but I was able to get the vehicle stopped right before it got far enough out in the road to hit them. I don't know how close my front end was to hitting them, but it was very close. That's why I'm filing this complaint. I've checked the mat and it's not the mat. I believe it is something in the electronic speed control, but as you know, tests have been conducted on Toyota vehicles before for this issue, and nothing was found that I'm aware of. But I'm telling you now, and I have a degree in astronomy (I'm technically minded), there is something more than mats and driver error going on with unintended vehicle acceleration and Toyota vehicles. I did a search tonight online, and I found a number of reports from other owners of 2008 Toyota Highlanders, not to mention a myriad of other reports from owners of other Toyota vehicles. My vehicle has also surged forward while turning into parking spaces at grocery stores, once again with my foot on the brake. So far, I have been able to stop the vehicle before it ran over the parking block or hit another car, but something needs to be done, and as you know Toyota is no help with this issue. My vehicle is paid for, and I can't afford another one right now or I would trade it in. But even then, I would feel uneasy not knowing what happened to the next owner. Please do something now before more people are hurt or killed.

The contact owned a 2008 Toyota Highlander. While idling at a stop sign, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into the passenger side of another vehicle. The driver sustained unknown injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was towed to the insurance mechanic where it was deemed destroyed. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was not available.

I was parked in front of a subway restaurant in a strip mall at approximately 7:30 p. M. After eating, my family and I left the restaurant and got into our Toyota Highlander. I put the car in reverse and backed out of my parking spot just a few feet. (it is a very narrow parking lot and faces a very busy street. ) I bumped into a concrete pole that was behind me, that I could not see because of the darkness. I then put the car in drive, so that I could pull back up into my original parking spot and renegotiate how I was going to back out. As soon as I applied a little pressure to the accelerator, the car suddenly seemed to jump forward. Before I could even process what what happening, the car accelerated very, very quickly and I slammed into the brick wall of the subway. There was not even time for me to think about applying the brake, it happened so fast. I felt like I had lost complete control of the vehicle. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but there was property damage to the building and some to my car. I've been driving for 25 years and have no history of tickets or accidents. I do not drink and was not drinking on the night this happened. I was not under the influence of any kind of medication or ilicit substances.

I was involved in a car accident on 08/17/2010 while driving my 2008 Toyota Highlander that has 23000 miles on it. The accident caused me total damage to my car and put my life in danger due to failure in the break/acceleration system on the car. The car did not stop but accelerated even though when I was pressing the break which caused me to hit a truck that was passing in front of me. I explained to the emergency crew that the accident was because of failure of the break/and acceleration system on the Toyota car and I explained the same thing to the police officer who was presented on the scene. I like to mention here that the Toyota dealer sent me a note of defection about my car prior to the accident and I took the car to the dealer shop and spent 2 hours there to have it fixed. The car now is at the state farm insurance and I can email/send you the car pictures after the accident.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander. While the vehicle was in drive gear, the vehicle began to surge backwards until the ignition was turned off. Upon restarting the vehicle it began to function normally. The vehicle was not examined to determine the cause of failure. The failure mileage was 48,700 and the current mileage was 48,880. The VIN was unavailable.

Toyota safety recall notice. I received a safety recall notice from Toyota about floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal. While the pedal may get stuck on the floor mat, it is highly unlikely that this will cause a sudden increase in acceleration. Common sense tells you that if the pedal gets stuck, the vehicle will remain at the speed in which the problem occurred. This also is true for the alleged sticky accelerator problem. It is disappointing that the ntmvsa has not recognized this problem and is allowing Toyota to continue down this road.

While driving in reverse my 2008 Toyota Highlander gas pedal continued acceleration after braking and crashed into my garage.

2008 Toyota Highlander . Unintended vehicle acceleration. Pulled into parking space and applied brake but vehicle speed up. Vehicle went up and over the curb and continued to accelerate. The muffler hit the curb and stopped the car from going further. While car was still trying to go forward, managed to get the car in park and turned off the engine. Extensive damage done to the undercarriage of the car. Car was towed to Toyota dealer. Case number from Toyota is [xxx] . Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander. He stated that while driving 5 mph and changing lanes, the throttle caused the wheels to lose traction control. After a while, the throttle engaged and the vehicle began functioning normally. The dealer was contacted and stated that the failure was normal. Vehicle has been inspected but no errors were found and no repairs were made. The failure mileage was 8000 and the current mileage was 33000. Updated 03/24/10 updated 06/28/jb.

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.

On December 7, 2009, I had just arrived at my parking apron in front of my garage and was putting the car in "park" and had depressed the brake pedal to do so. The accelerator immediately jammed on "full" and the car went through a wooden two-car garage door taking all of the equipment with it and proceeded eighteen (18) feet into the garage and was stopped only by the stairs to the condo and the house foundation. There was $9,000 damage to the vehicle and $4,000 damage to the garage and stairs. Toyota has examined the vehicle and claim it is not one of the recalled autos and this event must have been my fault. This is very distressing as I am a senior volunteer driving seniors to their medical appointments and an "at fault" accident would prevent my continuing this project. I firmly believe that some defect, probably electronic controls, caused the vehicle to do what it did and I am very afraid to continue driving it. Even if, Toyota's claim is correct that my foot wedged between the brake and gas pedal causing acceleration, would this not also be a design defect? please provide any information or assistance available.

The contact's sister owned a 2008 Toyota Highlander. The contact's sister was driving and the vehicle accelerated across the interstate, hit an embankment and was struck by semi truck. The vehicle burned and the driver was killed as a result of the accident. The vehicle was destroyed but there was no investigation into the cause for the accident. The contact called the manufacturer but was not able to get in touch with any representatives. The current and failure mileages were approximately 33,000. Updated 03/10/10 updated 07/07/10.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander which was purchased in October 2007. She stated that while attempting to make a left turn with her foot on the brake pedal, there was a sudden increase in rpms without warning. She assumed the floor mat was blocking the accelerator pedal; however upon further investigation found this was not the case. The vehicle then proceeded to abnormally accelerate at speeds of less than 15 mph. The contact used both feet to depress the brake pedal and abruptly shifted the vehicle into the park position. The vehicle continued to idle until she shut the engine off. The dealer was contacted and she was advised that there were no recalls on her vehicle. The dealer nor manufacturer provided any assistance. The failure mileage was 38,400 and the current was 39,538. Updated 3/24/10 updated 08/18/jb.

At the end of October, 09, I was driving with both of my boys in the car. I got into the left turn lane on bay area blvd, houston,TX. I had one car in from of me. I had my foot on the brake and my engine raced and I started to go forward. I looked down quickly to see if the floor mat was stuck and it was not. I pressed both feet on the brake and continued to move forward. I put my car in park and turned the car off. My 11 year old was in the front seat and he experienced the entire situation. I was very scared that I would hit the car in front which is why I put the car in park and turned it off. I did not think anyone would believe me so I did not tell anyone about it. Last weekend I was waiting at the red light with my foot on the brake to turn left and my car engine started to race again, I was ready to put my car in park but the light turned green so I was able to move forward. I contacted star Toyota in league city and spoke to the service manager. I was informed again ( once by the sales manager) that my car VIN had a j in front of it so it was not involved in the recall. I was told to bring it in at my expense to have it looked at and was referred to the 800 331 4331. I called that number and received a recording that due to the high volume of calls that they were not accepting calls and was referred to the Toyota press room on line. I went to that site and did not find any way to contact Toyota. I have a dangerous car and I cannot get help with it from the dealer. I don't care if the VIN has a j in front of it or if it was made in japan. I have owned this car since oct 2007. My husband complained several times that while he was driving the car on the interstate that it seemed to accelerate faster on its own.

While I was driving our 2008 Toyota Highlander (with 21506 miles) to the Toyota dealer for a tire inspection, the vehicle surged to approx 80 mph without accelerator pedal engagement. When I applied both feet to the brake pedal, it slowed the vehicle to approx 60 mph, but the engine continued to race out of control. I put the vehicle in neutral, but the engine continued to race. I put the vehicle back into drive and turned off the ignition. I eventually glided to a slow, difficult stop. No other vehicles were in the immediate area. After a 5 minute rest in park, I started the car and the engine raced. I immediately turned off the ignition. After another 5 minute delay, I started the vehicle again and it appeared normal. I drove the vehicle to the dealer and explained what had occurred. The dealer could not recreate the event and did not see any readouts indicating what had occurred. They explained it as a ect transmission that is common when the air conditioning is on. Given recent events, my fear it that the explanation given to me is not accurate. I called the dealer several times over the past 2 months to determine what my options are for recall and repair. They continue to tell me to wait for a floor mat recall notice from Toyota, and prior to receiving that notice, they cannot assist. I called the national Toyota service center 1-800-331-4331 to file an incident report. I explained the situation above, they gave me a case number . They indicated that our vehicle was made in japan and should not be part of the pedal recall. They also indicated that we should be part of the floor mat recall which will include a computer chip adjustment that will install a brake override to ensure that the brake pedal will override the accelerator. Give the recent events over the past 2 days, it appears that may not be working properly on other vehicles. Since August 2009, this situation has not occurred again. My fear is that it will.

Gas pedal is too tight. I would like some one to check the car. I strongly believe that there will be a big problem found with this model also. Pedal is abnormally tight.

Crash and injury on dated 12/21/2008 where I thought my 2008 Highlander which I bought a month ago skid on a dry road in broad day light. Speed was below 20 mph 1000 ft away from my home inside the neighberhood of reading, PA 19606. We were going to see a movie on a weekend. On lynn Ave my car skid and hit a parked trailer behind. I could not get time to press the brake at all. All I thought is snow/ black ice. Myself and attending police officer did not find any ice on the road. So, as usual human error was blamed. But my 14 yr son noticed the skid before incident. My wife and son both were injured in the crash. In over one year I could not get satisfied with the police report which said my speeding was to blame. We all knew I was not speeding near my home. The control of my car went away from my hand. The car sped up and before any realization it hit the back of the trailer. If you see the car and the way it hit, only reason you will believe that the driver must have been drunk. But I was not. Now I know what really happened that day. It is the reason why the recall happened.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander. While driving in reverse out of a parking garage, the all-weather floor mat shifted under the accelerator pedal and caused it to stick which caused him to crash into the garage. The vehicle was taken to a collision center and repaired at an estimated cost of $4,000. The failure mileage was 4,957. The current mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander. While driving 45 mph, the contact depressed the brakes and the vehicle began to slow down. When he depressed the brake pedal a second time, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into the vehicle ahead of him. The vehicle continued to accelerate into the preceding vehicle every time the contact attempted to depress the brake pedal. The contact crashed into the same vehicle three times. A police report was filed. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. Both of the drivers of the vehicle were able to continue driving normally after the crash occurred. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 15,100.

This is an intermittent problem with acceleration we have had with our Toyota Highlander since we purchased the vehicle. When accelerating, the vehicle will periodically over-rev before the automatic transmission shifts into the appropriate gear. This results in a momentary lack of acceleration. Again this is an intermittent problem. When taken to the Toyota dealer, they say they cannot recreate the problem and that there is nothing that they can see that is wrong with the vehicle.