general problems of the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

My car has the same problem as described here and in many places online and Toyota refused to include my vehicle for recall. The problem as described by NHTSA as follows report receipt date: Sep 04, 2013 NHTSA campaign number: 13v396000 component(s): hybrid propulsion system all products associated with this recall expand details close 12 associated documents expand manufacturer: Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing summary: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Highlander Hybrid vehicles manufactured February 16, 2005, through July 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 Lexus rx400h vehicles manufactured February 23, 2005, through December 2, 2008. The intelligent power module (ipm) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. If this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel. Consequence: the vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy:.

The vehicle stalled (lost control of steering and engine ceased to operate) while driving at around 35 mph. "hybrid system warning" was displayed and it advised to pull over and contact dealership immediately.

I have a 2008 Highlander Hybrid and ever since a few hundred miles, there has been a knock in my steering wheel. It is intermittent, but mostly happens when the car is coming out of a turn, usually a right turn. As the wheel comes back to center (turning counter-clockwise) there a momentary knock which is audible and can be felt through the steering wheel. My dealer initially replaced the intermediate steering shaft after I noticed many people on the Toyota forums reporting the same problem. At any rate, the problem came back after 500 miles of the 1st repair. I recently took the car in again, as the problem persisted and I felt had gotten worse. After a week of arguing with the lame service dept manager ( marina del rey Toyota ), I turned up the heat and spoke with the manager of the dealership. The part was replaced again, and after one week, the problem has returned. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle. . . The steering has become loose and sloppy, and nowtoyota is not willing to go any further to fix this problem.