This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My electric brake computer thu a code C1256 & C1391, ABS Brake Actuator Failure. Not regular maintenance item. No code ever thrown til this time. Major people killer when it fails. My experience was during a rain storm, lost all brakes for maybe 1-2 seconds. Felt like you were on ice. No control, No ABS. Then code and lights on dash lit up. I limped home worried I had no brakes or some brakes. Scared me and my family completely. Now car sits in driveway afraid to drive. I went to dealer, they read the codes and found 2 codes present. C1256 and C1391, ABS Brake Actuator FAILURE, needs to be replaced for SAFE Operation of car. Why isn-€™t this Brake Actuator under warranty" Excessive mileage" How would you know it was bad if you NEVER got the -€œCODE-€ as per Toyota Corporation.
Brake Actuator Assembly is a known issue with several Toyota models including my Hylander Hybrid. Toyota tried to address these actuator issues by extending the warranty coverage for the Brake Actuator Assembly on a limited basis, however; there is not an actual recall for this when there obviously should be. Thousands of customers are left with unknowingly driving vehicles that are not safe and for those that have had their brakes fail (and survive) are left with $3,000-$4,500 in repair bills to resolve these issues. In April 2021, I noticed odd purging-like sounds while stopped at stop signs or red lights when the brakes were engaged. This concerned me so, I had our local Toyota dealership check out our highlander but they said there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and we assumed they knew what they were talking about so we went about our business. Unfortunately, some months later while driving hundreds of miles from our home, the Check VSC light, ABS, Brake, and one other dash warning lights came on and the purging sound became much louder. Lucky for us, the brakes still worked enough to stop the vehicle. An official recall would have facilitated our local Toyota Dealer Service Dept in alerting us about these issues before we were put in a dangerous situation. Our Hylander is currently being worked on at our local Toyota Dealership. A guy in the service department is how we found out about the Toyota Customer Support Program that outlines the brake actuator shortcomings/failures. The service dept. manager's exact words were "it's like a recall but it's not an official recall". Here is a video I found on the Toyota Nation website where this gentleman's wife had her brakes fail and hit a car in a parking lot. Thank god she was not injured! https://youtu.be/mn_xs6k8_H4 Ultimately, all Toyota models with these faulty brake components should be recalled!!
I was driving the car then as I hit the brakes it felt like they were not engaging until I applied more pressure. Then as I was almost home the abs and traction control lights came on. Took it to a specialist and they said that the abs module would have to be replaced. There are tons of people apparently with my same year and model with the same concern
ABS Control Module. Yes could be made available for review. A few years ago, a diagnostic showed the ABS Control Module as bad (it started buzzing is what made us get it checked). Toyota replaced it, but there was still buzzing after the service, from a NEW part!? I strongly expressed this to Toyota since it still seemed like an issue to me, but they told me nothing could be done unless the computer said it was bad or if there was a recall. The buzzing continued to get worse and does it almost all the time now, and finally the ABS light came on, sometimes it will make an alert noise, and the vehicle will not brake properly (with the brake pedal feeling very firm), so apparently now that the ABS light is on, a diagnostic showed it bad again. I have researched to find many other people experiencing this same issue with this part going bad AND continuing to quickly go bad even after replacing, and I have been advised the danger of this, for if it goes out while driving, you cannot brake like normal and cause an accident. If a brand new part was making the same buzzing noise when the previous part did not used to make that noise, then something seems very wrong! And this is very much a safety issue if your brakes suddenly stop working like they are supposed to! Please help! I appreciate your time. Thank you!
- Winter Haven, FL, USA
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In the last 4 weeks my 06 Highlander Hybrid has had malfunctions in the brakes and in the power steering. Both issues rendering the car inoperable. The first issue that was to arise was the brake actuator pump. I noticed it was failing when i got in the vehicle to move it out of the driveway and noticed after i put the car in gear that their was no power brake assist. When the car was shifted into drive the car began rolling even while i was pushing hard on the brakes. Luckily the brake assist resumed and i did not run into anything but the car unintentionally moved about 5 feet. I mentioned this to my wife, and she said while driving home one day the car made a high pitched buzz. She was close to home, so she made it home and parked the car and forgot about the noise. After the car was turned back on again no noise was made and no CEL or warnings were displayed. The actuator was replaced, and the car operated fine for about one week and probably 40 miles of driving. I want to mention I had noted a odd feeling in the brakes for years leading up the the failure. The brake pedal would continue to the floor while trying to maintain constant pressure on the brakes. I believe this is due to the actuator losing pressure, but it would cause an uneasy sensation of failing brakes, but no CEL's were ever triggered. The new actuator fixed this. After fixing the car we drove it on a few trips. Yesterday 8/24/21 my wife went to drive the car, and it wouldn't start. She tried about 10 times and it wouldn't turn on. I put a battery charger on the car and the battery looked okay. I tried to start it a few time probably 5 and finally got the READY light, so the car was ready to go, but all of a sudden the car would shut off and the READY light would go out and the P/S light would come on. This light is triggered when something is wrong with the power steering system, and the computer will disable the vehicle. The car immobile now. These are worth recalling.
The dashboard on my Highlander Hybrid 2006 (AWD) had all its check lights on suddenly. I was not driving then. The car was in my parking lot for a few hours before which it had no signs on. The warning message said: Vehicle Stability Control (VSC). I took it to my nearest Toyota service center for diagnosing the issue. They reported that the ABS systems have started to fail. Specifically, the ABS actuator is losing pressure and should be replaced. They quoted a price of $2700 approx. which includes about $2000 for parts. Turns out that this same part had been replaced in 2016 during a recall - but they cannot attend to this again without charging the customer. What I was never told about was that a whirring sound - which has always been an issue with this car - was always from the ABS actuator. The same service center has checked and diagnosed this car multiple times - so I am surprised that they did not find the ABS actuator noise a problem on earlier occasions. I have been reading about this on this forum and Toyotanation and this seems to be a consistent issue with the older Toyota hybrid highlanders and other hybrids as well - with the same diagnosis and approximately the same price quoted by the service centers. I have not currently fixed this issue since I cannot afford this price. It also seems that I will be paying for manufacturer's or service center's negligence since this actuator seemed to be faulty all along and I was not warned about this.
The brake actuator is failing and is making loud noises. The car does not brake normally. I have reported braking problems since I bought the vehicle in 2007. When it hits a bump it accelerates and I must stand on the brakes so I do not hit someone. It lurches forward when it hits a pothole or some kind of obstruction in the road. When I worked down near the bus station I would hit the areas in the road where the buses created bumps in the roadway and it would lurch forward. I reported this numerous times at North bakersfield Toyota. I recently went in to report the noise I was hearing and they finally figured out that the brake actuator is failing. I was told that it was not a hazard but they could not tell me when it will totally fail. I believe it is a safety hazard and there has been a problem from day one
Have had brake actuator malfunction/failure for a very long time. Started with noises and has progressed to warning lights and almost complete brake failure. Have contacted Lexus bc it a rx400H and not a Highlander bit they respectfully decline to get involved. Had called over a year ago. Had catastrophic brake failure that almost caused an accident with other motorist and am now paying 3000 to have the brake actuator replaced that they have been told about for years and refused to fix and consistently remind me I don't service my vehicle at a dealership for normal maintenance. The previous owner never recieved notice or a warranty campaign and ultimately rid themselves of it because of the issue and price of the brake actuator to be fixed.
My ABS, vsc, (I), and emergency brake dash lights are on continuously. It is very hard to stop the car as it feels like the brake isn't engaging. When it does engage you are jerked forward.
The vsc light, ABS light, check engine light and sound is are on. The code is back as well C1391 for this brake actuator. It is a well known problem with Toyota. This was fixed once already by Toyota dealer and failed after 40K miles again. How can a part has failed again in such a short time and miles" this is a common problem and we can't get help from Toyota company other than to pay for their lack of quality on parts? I can't afford $4000 plust to fix a part that only lasted 40,000 miles. When is Toyota going to do a recall on this part and fix it for good"
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 25 mph down a hill, while depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal went to the floor and the vehicle hesitated and started making an abnormal sound. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact regained control and stopped the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to dch wappingers falls Toyota (1349 U.S. 9, wappingers falls, NY 12590, (845) 288-0892) where it was diagnosed with needing the brake actuator to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 191,000.
The vsc light, ABS light and now the check engine light is on. The code comes back to C1391 which is the brake actuator. It is a known problem with Toyota that occurs @118,000 miles. I was told it was going to cost $4,000, but they finally only made me pay for the labor and tax. However, it has now been 30,000 miles later and that part has failed again. I can't afford $2500-$4000 to fix a part that only lasts 30,000 miles. I have seen this complaint over and over. Can we get some help??
Loud continuous beep began in car with no indication as to what it was. Was driving at 40 mph, let off gas to get ready for turn, hit brakes and there weren't any. Was able to safely merge back into traffic and decelerate enough to turn onto the next street. Diagnosed as failed brake actuator assembly.
Brakes are failing and when I brake at a stop light, the brakes seem like they are not activating and are dangerous because I cannot stop in time. Toyota must replace this otherwise it is a huge safety issue if brakes fail.
Vsc lights came on. Eventually lost all brakes. The ABS actuator assembly had failed. I was driving slow enough to be able to pull over safely. This has been reported so many times here by different people, where is the recall on this part"!"! Toyota had issued an extended warranty covering this part because they knew there were problems with it. Thank god there wasn't an accident, grateful no one was hurt. Sickened I wasted my money on this vehicle. Never buying another Toyota.
Unlike traditional vehicles where you still have some stopping ability when power braking fails this hybrid has no brakes. What happened? that's pretty simple I was driving and then I had no brakes while I was still moving. I was going 25 miles an hour and all the other cars were going 25 miles per hour. The car in front of me stopped to look at the flowers and I laid on my horn luckily the oncoming car recognized the situation and pulled over just enough to allow me to straddle the yellow line and pass the stopped car without crashing. The parking brake didn't help much but eventually stopped me about a quarter-mile later down a slight hill. Dealer wants $3,500 to replace the brake actuator which they had originally offered to replace free as an extended warranty but the problem didn't creep up until the extended warranty expired. I have no doubt people are dying because of Toyota's design flaw.
About a week ago, I was driving my Toyota Highlander 2006 and everything was perfect. On Monday, out of the sudden the dash turned to a christmas tree lights + vsc system. I was terrified so I called my local Toyota dealership and took an appointment. Went there the next day and they made me wait 6 hours and told me it has brake actuator assembly problem and to get it fixed, I have to pay $2,246. As a college student this is very pricy. It puts me in a major stress. After I told them I can't offered it, I was told it's safe to drive it, nothing going to happened but a a weird feeling on the brake. After researching, I found out it's very dangerous to drive it like that. I felt like Toyota wanted me to put myself in danger. I'm scared to drive this car right now. I lost my father last week and with this problem, I feel very bad. Please help.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Slidell, LA, USA