Table 1 shows one common service brakes related problems of the 2024 Toyota Highlander.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Service Brakes problems |
>while exiting a highway my vehicle surged forward crashing into the vehicle in front of me. Engaging the brake, my car smashed into the van again. I had no control over the forward momentum of the car. >both the driver & I were in danger of injury >the problem has not been addressed as my damaged car is being repaired >the vehicle has not been inspected >I was given no warning that the incident was forthcoming.
Ours has pulsing brakes and brakes feeling "off" at low speeds, potentially due to the interaction of regenerative and conventional braking. The brake pedal will also suddenly jolt the car forward when switching between braking systems. The system is unsafe.
Brakes "let go" for a second or so when using. I have noticed this when coming to a stop sign at low speeds and especially if road surface is uneven. It does not happen all the time but it is very scary to suddenly lose the brakes! this puts others at risk because the car briefly speeds up when the brakes let go. It has happened at least twenty times while driving this SUV, most recently today. Please issue a recall for this!.
My car was parked in the driveway with the engine running. The engine was then turned off from outside the vehicle using the start/stop button. Once the engine stopped, the car moved backward down the sloped driveway and struck a pickup truck that was parallel parked on the street. I then entered the vehicle and attempted to shift into drive, but a warning appeared indicating the hybrid system was off and instructing me to put the car in park. Multiple attempts were made to drive the car forward, but instead, it was driving in reverse. The car would not move forward for approximately five minutes. I eventually turned the engine off and restarted it after a couple of minutes. After restarting, I was able to drive the car off the street.
There are many times over the course of the past few months where I am braking and the car lurches forward at least a few inches before coming to a complete stop. It feels as if it is being rear ended at a slow rate of speed. I have not been able to identify any pattern in this problem. It happens when I am braking to slow down at a faster rate of speed or when I need to come to a complete stop at a stop light or sign. This is very dangerous as I fear that one day when I need to brake I will not be able to and will hit something as the car keeps moving several inches after braking sometimes. I have brought the car to the service department at the dealership and they have told me that it is normal and there is nothing that they can do about it as they were unable to replicate it. However, that makes sense as it does not happen all of the time, but rather inconsistently. There have been no warning lamps or messages and the dealership has confirmed that there are none showing up when they check it on their end.
I was in the drive thru at a fast food restaurant and after I placed my order I was about 5 cars from the pay window. As I went forward where there was a curve I stopped and then when the car in front of me moved forward to the pay window I let up on the brake and accelated slowly. When I put my foot on the brake pedal it went to the floor and the car would not stop. I served to the right of the car in front of me ( I did not hit it) and rolled to the parking space to the right. The car hit the curb and bounced up a little and hit the sign and then rolled backwards and I swerved the car so as to not hit the cars in line. I tried to put the car in drive but it wouldn't go. I then put the car into park which stopped the car with a jerk. After a few minutes I turned the car off as the brakes had not come back. I sat in the driveway blocking it. As I sat there I checked the screen for any error messages or warnings and saw none. After about 10 or 15 minutes I tried the pedal again and got pressure. I was able to start the car and pulled it into the parking spot. I then called totota roadside service and had the car towed to my house. Today as instructed by Toyota service they sent a tow truck to my house to tow it to the dealership service department. The service manager checked something and said nothing showed up but would have the tech check everything out.
Brakes do not engage sometimes until brake is almost to floor. This has happened to the 3 people who have driven it and almost caused an accident. In fact the warning flashes on dashboard. Brakes have almost failed and yes, it is available upon request. Our safety was at risk because all 3 of us almost hit the person in front of us. The problem has not been reproduced by the 2 service places I went. Neither of them drove it. The first Toyota service center checked the obd2 scanner and it showed no problems. The second place did not check anything and said they would when I come back for my 15,000 oil change. The brakes were inspected by the first service center but they did not drive it. I bought the Highlander hybrid brand new and it started immediately. I traded in the exact same vehicle that was a 2019 Highlander hybrid platinum and it did not have this problem. The SUV had a pcs that does show on dashboard but that is because the brake isn’t engaging and you are so close to hitting someone. Normally you apply pressure to the brakes to start slowing down and it does. But in some cases the brake has been applied and nothing happens. It finally does engage after the brake is almost completely down. I don’t know if that is the safety system braking or the brake actually working. Because at that point the pcs warning is on the screen. Also the first service center entered my complaint into a database.
Braking system when applying brakes, especially when applying downhill, temporarily releases and acts as though brakes are not applied any longer for a brief period of a few seconds then reapplies. It does so that it is very obvious within the car. There is a known issue with the Toyota Highlander hybrid braking system and it seems that it has not been resolved in newer models. Asking nthsa to address with Toyota and get it fixed. Technical service bulletin for 2020-2022 Toyota Highlander hybrid braking issue. Some drivers reported a momentary transition from regenerative braking to hydraulic braking, particularly when driving downhill or turning with light brake pedal application. Toyota has provided a software update for the brake actuator control module to improve brake feel.