Cruise Control Problems of Toyota Highlander

A month ago, we were driving on the highway through snow showers up to nh to go skiing, with our nifty adaptive cruise control on, when I realized that we were accelerating into the car in front of us. I assumed that the front sensor was covered in slush, took off the cruise control and drove manually. Only about 5 minutes later did the dashboard alert notify me that the front sensor wasn't working. Brought it into the dealer. They couldn't find anything wrong. Here's the problem: the car says "trust me. If you use my cool safety systems, I'll keep you from hitting the car in front of you. . . And should something disable the sensor that carries out this function, I'll let you know, so that you won't depend on me. " but that's not true. And, a driver who assumed that the car was keeping its promise, as it does most all the time--might not have realized that it wasn't until they hit the car in front of them.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The brakes feel like the pulsate wgen you start to press on them. Then while engaging the brakes it will feel likes its grabbing then it releaes and the pedal feels like it has no pressure in it. The cruise control stopped working, all the lights are on for the brake system, and now it has a long high pitch beep when turning the car on or applying pressure to the break pedal.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

On 3 separate occasions at 30,000, 40,000 and 42,000 miles when driving at interstate highway speeds (around 70 mph) with cruise control engaged, the vehicle has suddenly without warning switched to a low power limp home mode resulting in rapid deceleration in the midst of high speed highway traffic. I believe this is a very dangerous situation. Multiple warnings appeared on the dash including low power mode, check awd system, and see your dealer. Shutting off the vehicle and restarting it allowed the vehicle to be driven normally again. After all three incidents the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. All 3 times the computer had stored codes for random multiple misfires along with a few others. All three times the dealer indicated that the codes did not point to a specific faulty part that they could replace, so there was nothing they could do. At my insistence that something be done after the third incident the dealer opened a case with the Toyota tas system to ask for assistance in diagnoses. The only result of this was to switch some of the coil pack positions to see if the misfires followed the coil pack. The end result is that I have to drive it until it fails again, putting myself and others at risk. I also opened a case with the Toyota customer experience center, they confirmed this was all Toyota would do at this point.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Problems with my 2018 Toyota Highlander (5tdjzrfh4js546567) 1 ) lane depart indicator:sometimes doesn't work until I've driven 1 or 2 or 4 miles. Sometimes in every trip stops working as well as activates when maybe a foot from lane markers on both sides of the car 2) climate control: usually does not retain memory of fan speed, control of passenger side temp, and air flow direction when restarting the car. When temp set on, e. G. 69 temp in car is ~76-80. When airflow shows the flow aimed at windshield & feet, most of the air flow comes to my torso with minimal flow to other 2 sites. 3) need coffee break message: has come on twice when on a long trip, disappearing after ~ a minute, but several times came on after driving only 2-4 miles. 4) faulty resumption of speed: when the speed control was set at 50 mph (once) or 60 mph (once) and I toggled the control to resume set speed the car sped up well beyond what it was set at. I had to disengage the speed controller to stop the acceleration. Happened again ~3 weeks ago when speed set at 35, and when I toggled it resume speed it roared ahead until it reached 45 mph. 5) door handle locking mechanism; not as sensitive to locking when touched as it was when car was new. Unlocking when touching handle works fine. 6) motor turnoff when at stoplight: seldom works. When it does it turns itself off after as little as 30 seconds even tho pressure on brake pedal is constant. 8) (non-electronic problem) the transparent plastic cover over the dash control settings is deteriorating - - can't see thru it very well in certain ways the light hits it 9) speedometer reading problem: when cruise control is working, the digital readout for the speed is usually 1-2 mph lower than what the speedometer dial says it is.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Front passenger airbag light off. Even when a person is sitting on the seat. Cruise control also stopped working, light wouldn't even come on. Power locking system also ceased working.

See all problems of the 2011 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Cruise control on speed at 45 mph, lifted cruise lever 5 times to posted 50 mph speed going onto interstate apron/bridge. Lifted the cruise cont lever and held to accelerate to posted speed of 60. Released lever at 60 mph, but noticed car still accelerating. Pulled on lever to cancel when car was at 75 mph. Car has 19,850 miles.

Tl- the contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while being operated 55mph another vehicle pulled in front their vehicle in inclement weather water from the road splashed on the front end of the vehicle; as a result the cruise control malfunctioned causing the vehicle to experience unintended acceleration. The failure occurred without warning. Peruzzi Toyota located 2601 bethlehem pike, hartfield, PA was called and a diagnostic was scheduled. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000. Kh.

When using the adaptive cruise control it maintains a user specified travelling distance behind the vehicle in front. When the vehicle changes lanes, or is turning off, the vehicle is barely off the lane, but the adaptive cruise control still reacts to the car that has exited the lane. This causes my Toyota to react to the slowed vehicle that has just exited my lane by slowing unnecessarily, and causing vehicles behind me to have to slow and some times get irritated by this action. I told Toyota about this. I was told there is a fix on the way, but no action has taken place in the past 3 years. A tech drove the car on the road in front of the dealership, but he obviously did not drive the car enough, because if he had, he should have noticed this odd behavior. It happens some on the interstate, but is more pronounced behavior when on 2 land roads. This behavior has occurred ever since we bought it new.

See all problems of the 2014 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The dynamic radar cruise control does not operate correctly and can be very dangerous. When driving on a highway with the feature on and a vehicle in front of you exits to the right, the Highlander will slow and brake aggressively as if it's still following the slowing exiting vehicle that is now in another lane and leaving the highway. The setting of the vehicle to vehicle distance and pre-collision setting have little affect on this problem. This problem can easily be duplicated every time. The dealer says it's normal operation. I was nearly rear ended by a large truck when my Highlander unexpectedly and aggressively braked and slowed for no reason as it continued tracking the exiting vehicle in front of me. I could have been killed, which is why I no longer use dynamic radar cruise control. Please investigate this matter with Toyota before some is seriously injured. Thank you.

When the cruise control is engaged and the vehicle is on a decline the cruise control does not maintain the set speed. I noticed this several times while on the interstate traveling between 65-75 mph. Each time there was a car ahead of me and I narrowly avoided what could have been tragic accidents. The first time it happened I thought it was a fluke so I continued to use the cruise control as I would normally do. After it happened again I decided not to use the cruise control at all which was very frustrating considering the vehicle was less than 2 weeks old and I purchased it just for long family trips. There is also a wind whistling noise coming from the passenger side of the vehicle. I took it to dealership for the noise issue and I waited there for 5 hours only for them to tell me that it's a known issue and there is no fix for it. This has turned out the be the worst car experience I've ever had.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

For about 6 months or longer, the cruise control on this car has been operating erratically, when it wants to it seems. The problem always seemed to be that I couldn't turn the system on. Now, however, when I am sometimes able to turn it on, and set the speed, the problem becomes that the stalk on the lower right side of the steering wheel will lose it's connection and the movements of the stalk become inactive. This is very surprising if you're planning to slow down, speed up or more importantly hit the cancel button. The only thing to do is hit the brakes. This is very distracting and potentially dangerous.

Driving forward into parking space. Just about stopped. Pressed break. Car lurched forward at hight speed suddenly, causing car to jump curb at top of parking spot and careen down hill (onto side walk). Car out of control for about 2 seconds. Was able to break in hill, which prevented me from hitting car parked perpendicular on street below. Bottom of car scraped curb when car jump curb and lurched forward. Bottom front bumper scraped. There was an icy patch at top of parking space. It seems like when wheels rolled on top of icy patch, the car lurched forward. Car might have accidentally been on cruise control at the time.

See all problems of the 2015 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

Tl-the contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that when the cruise control was activated and set at 55 mph the cruise control failed to maintain the set speed when going downhill. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was informed by the dealer that the function was normal when traversing a hill. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,999. Ah.

Light on cruise control lever on steering column flickers off and on if vehicle is in motion and steering column is in use. Alternator in car already required replacement at 73,000. Dealership was advised of issue and I was told there was nothing wrong with the lever.

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.

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My automobile is a 2010 Toyota Highlander le. I was driving south on i15 just south of barstow, CA. , at approximately 65mph. My cruise control was on. I either pressed resume or did nothing, it happened so fast I am not sure which. My car began speeding out of control to the degree that my head snapped back to the headrest. I have never experienced that kind of acceleration before. I braked soundly, and fortunately that kicked it out of the acceleration. I have been driving Toyotas and using cruise control for years. This was not normal cruise control acceleration. Neither was it a sticky pedal, as Toyota is claiming. The car just took over. I am not sure I could even duplicate that rate of acceleration if I tried. It was something internal with the engine or the computer.

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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.

2005 Toyota Highlander hybrid. Driving to work in a blizzard on 12/11/09 all dash board lights went on. Dealership found that the sunroof housing failed causing $3,977. 16 worth of damage. Being out of warranty the dealer agreed to pay 2,000. 00. Toyota customer service another 1,500 and we paid 477. 16. We picked up the car on 12/24/09. On 2/2/10 we returned it after noticing a burn spot on each of the plastic head light covers. The dealer found both highbeam bulbs melted,and suggested I had overused them causing the intense heat that did the damage. I am concerned it could be a result of delayed water damage showing up. Our concerns with this car(which we purchased new in Nov. Of 2005)goes back to 9/7/06 when the cruise control did not slow the car going down hills. On 2/28/07 we had brake and wiper blade issues. On 4/20/07 the blades locked during a downpour on the 5 freeway. I had to pull over in a panic. On 7/12/07 the cargo clip had to be replaced. On 9/10/07 that parking brake did not hold properly and there was a rattle from the right rear. On 11/6/07 we complained of squeaky brakes. Dealer tightened loose nuts and bolts on 4x4 assembly. On 4/1/08 the brakes were replaced @ 29,080 miles. On 10/22/08 the sound system failed and was replaced under warranty. Next week we are having the 5th set of tires put on this vehicle which has only 53,000 miles on it. The set to be replaced has only about 15,000 miles on them. They have a 60,000 mile warranty.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander. While the contact was driving up an incline approximately 60 mph with the cruise control in activation the speed rate increased to 85 mph or higher. When the brakes were applied, the vehicle came to a complete stop; however, the identical failure occurred three weeks after the first failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician was unable diagnose the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000. The current mileage was 38,000.

Under a specific set of circumstances, the cruise control causes the car to surge past the set cruise speed. I've never let the surge get past 10 mph above the set cruise speed, I always turn off the cruise which cancels the surge. I cannot force the replication of the problem but it has happened a number of times over the life of the car. The circumstances I can identify are the cruise is set on a specific speed (like 60 mph), the cruise is disengaged to slow down (well below 60 mph), using the gas pedal to speed up on a long uphill grade, engage the cruise to take the car back to the set speed (60 mph) and the cruise blows past 60 mph. In the seconds it takes to disengage the cruise control, I've reached 70 mph.

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated that the suspension was loose and the braking system would not operate properly. The brakes would go to the floorboard when depressed. The brakes would not engage intermittently when depressed. The contact stated that the driver's seat would no longer move backward, and was positioned entirely too close to he steering wheel. The contact stated there was little room for movement when driving. The vehicle was taken to four separate dealers and the contact was told that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 400 and the current mileage was 6,500. The consumer stated when she realized a police officer was behind she attempted to stop, the vehicle continued to accelerate and the brakes collapsed very low to the floor. The consumer had to pump the brakes to slow the vehicle down. The consumer also stated the lug nuts broke on the front driver side wheel. The cruise control was inoperative, and the engine had a slight ticking sound and the rotors were rusting. Updated evoq 12/23/10.

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Today, another Lexus /Toyota has an acceleration problem which finally caused 4 deaths. Many of us have had similar experiences. You have 3 at least already listed in your complaints. 2006 Toyota Highlanders (3) just took off and drivers couldn't stop them (I am one) until the car hit something. Lexus too, made by Toyota. Please check into this. I wrote Toyota to explain that I did not put my foot on accelerator. I got a generic letter back, without help or explanation. We have a problem with these cars , someone needs to address these unexplained accelerations. . My car flew through the air with me screaming , trying to stop it. I hit headon into a cement side of an irrigation ditch. Passenger is still in rehab since March of this year. Is it just the mats, as the san diego press is suggesting with the death of the chp and his 3 family members? I think not. Something in one of the systems, codes, cruise control, computer or ??? please check these out. Toyota has kept quiet long enough. Farmers insurance is coding my accident as my fault, yet I have never had an accident and did not cause this one.

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The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Highlander. While driving at 75 mph utilizing the cruise control mechanism, he attempted to shut off the cruise control when the vehicle abnormally accelerated up to 90 mph. He immediatley put the vehicle into neutral and depressed the brake pedal almost to the floor. The vehicle finally came to a stop when he noticed that the drivers side floor mat was lying over the accelerator pedal. He immediately removed all floor mats from the vehicle and had not experienced the failure since. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000 and the current was 96,000.

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Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6). Please note that the VIN info is not correct. I inserted random numbers because I don't have that info in my possession right now as I am at my work desk. Also keep in mind that my car is a 2004 vibe. It did not have that option. In 2/28/08, I had an acceleratation problem. If you get in touch with barstow in potsdam NY, they can verify this. They have it on record. This problem was unpredictable when it happened and the last time it happened, I thought I was going to die. I could not get the car to stop after it accelerated by itself. I brought it to barstow, explained the situation and they said they had had no other complaints such as mine. The mechanic there undid the cruise control, and the problem went away. Five months later I had him put it back on in July. It cost me $25 ea. Time. Please contact ken murray at barstow motors potsdam NY to verify all of this. I would like to be reimbursed for the money I had to pay as I strongly feel that the problem is related to the one that Toyota is having now with acceleration difficulties. Also, although I have not had any other problems, I want to know what will Toyota do if it happens again. My vibe is a 2004. [xxx].

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Highlander 🔎.

I accelerated to avoid a collision at low speed in an intersection. The car hesitated about 2 seconds after I pressed the gas pedal, then lurched forward, spinning the drive wheels. The length of delay or hesitation in response to accelerator input is frequently there, but is somewhat unpredictable, making stop-and-go traffic performance dangerous. Poor performance of the cruise control function is probably related to this defect. The car was returned to the dealer for service at 1500 miles. The dealer did a thorough check of the equipment and found no defective parts. Dealer states that there are no service bulletins for this problem, in spite of the fact that Toyota has acknowledged this problem and promised to fix it since December 2004. This is a serious problem. Had the pavement been wet, I could have lost control of the vehicle. Fortunately, in the incident described, the other driver was able to avoid a collision. Next time, I might not be so lucky.

Cruise control. If cruise is set at 70 mpg and you release it by the brake then try to resume the cruise after the vehicle has gone to 65 it will accelerate to 72 or 74 then drop to 70. I will not let this happen now by letting the speed get to whatever I had before, then resume to the original speed. I can duplicate this any time. The dealer said this was the way it now worked. My 1998 avalon does not do this when cruise is turned on.

2005 Toyota Highlander v6- the consumer drove off the lot on June 3, 2005; the cruise control behaved erratically and it often felt as if it was accelerating a couple of miles behind the desired speed. The consumer requested to pass this turkey which yielded different results. There is sometimes awkward down shifting and rapid acceleration which is preceded by hesitation. The consumer approached a village intersection, downhill with his foot on the brake. The consumer took his foot off of the brake and began to make a left turn onto desired street. The consumer tried to apply a bit of gas and nothing happened. The consumer tried to apply a bit more gas and again nothing happened. The third time the consumer added a bit more gas and the vehicle accelerated too fast causing the driver's and passenger's heads to tip back. This was a narrow main street in a main village. There were lots of possible targets, cars/ kids bikes, and others. Then there was the unanticipated down shifting for braking effect that tipped heads forward, but that was another story for another day, and not quite as annoying or nearly of the same concern. The dealer's service manager first asserted that there were no adjustments accessible for the mechanics. Inability to do something. After applying more gas and vehicle hesitation consumer searched for a technical service bulletin (TSB) and found none. But found one from June 3, 2005 that related to recalibrating of the transmission. Absolutely no mention of expressions of concern or earlier tsbs.

Consumer tried to disengage the vehicle cruise control, and was unsuccessful, vehicle continued to accelerate at a high speed when consumer attempted to apply the brakes, consumer had to turn the keys in the accessory position, and allowed the vehicle to coast to a complete stop. The dealership had been notified. Please provide more details. Ph the dealership stated the vehicle was fine and there have been no problems since.

See all problems of the 2002 Toyota Highlander 🔎.