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.
10/10 Tapped pedal into Drive: Toyota Highlander 2018 Car sped off at 50mph with my foot on brake for 3 minutes Holding brake down and down-shifting did nothing Vehicle stopped when it hit a pole destroying passenger-side fender and bumper Airbag did not deploy Unintended acceleration/sticky pedal as reported early this century when Toyota recalled 80,000 vehicles. On 11/17/2023 an ER or Black Box four hour test/investigation was performed and I was told I would have results 12/28. Zero! When I telephone to report I was supposed to have EDR test results in 30 days, the operator (not the unreachable quality control personnel) tells me, "Well review of your crash results could take longer than 30 days." need to have a safe car to drive to work but this one has a potentially deadly defect. I have completed the inspection of your vehicle. Inspection report from Bosch to Toyota below: Please find three files attached to this email: 1) EDR FAQ_2.0.PDF "Frequently Asked Questions" related to the information in the Event Data Recorder (the Air Bag Control unit's digital memory). 2) 5TDZZRFH1JS281738_ACM.PDF The Event Data from your vehicle in PDF form, this file will open on your computer. 3) 5TDZZRFH1JS281738_ACM.CDRx This file contains the same information as Item #2, but it is a special format that will not display on your computer. It is sent to you so you will have the raw data for the #2 file above. I am not trained to interpret this data for you. The engineers will interpret this data and respond to you with their findings within 30 business days. 3 Attachments -?? Scanned by Gmail
Driving down the street when an alarm went off stating "braking power low" and to "stop immediately". vehicle to be towed and taken to local car dealership. Over the phone, the dealership claims no braking element has been recalled for my particular vehicle, however other Highlanders from the same year model were recalled for braking issues (vacuum pump.) have been having issues with the "start/stop system malfunction" alarm going off as well for several months, but dealership states it will not affect the drivability of the vehicle.
I-??ve always had issues with my breaks since I purchased my car. Today when I tried to turn on my car I received a message stating breaking power low. I did not have that issue last night nor had I seen it before. My car will not start
My relatives remembered the 2002-2011 recall of 80,000 Toyotas, 90 deaths due to unintended acceleration and said that seems exactly what happened to me last month. NEAR FATAL COLLISION DUE TO STICKY PEDAL 2018 Toyota Highlander 10/10 Slowly backed out of parking space in large, empty commercial lot: sunny day, 3pm ?'? Tapped pedal into Drive ?'? Car sped off at 50+mph with my foot off pedal ?'? Sped around lot for approximately 3minutes ?'? Holding brake down and down-shifting did nothing except cause sheer terror with my uncontrollable vehicle ?'? Hit pole and vehicle came to a stop after near-complete destruction of passenger-side bumper ?'? No injury except sheer mental terror ?'? No witnesses DO NOT Blame the victim. Dealer says all-weather floormat could never have been or be involved.
This Toyota Highlander XLE 2018 was bought new in 2018. Lately in 8/23 started seeing on the dash a "BRAKE" light that comes on and off while driving. 2 weeks later, starting seeing a warning sign saying "Braking Power Low" and a message underneath saying"STOP in safe place". Took it to Toyota dealer twice so far and they could not duplicate the issue ( maybe they did not drive it for enough time). They said also that no error history was retrieved, even though I had shown them video and pictures of the errors when happened. This warning signs has been happening intermittently after driving ~7-10 miles or 10-20 minutes on the road. I have searched on line and found some similar issues and even a recalls for the same issue on some 2018 models of Toyota, Lexus, and Highlander. They said some cars were recalled but not all. I serched for recall on my Highlander and found none. Here some search sites: https://www.motorsafety.org/toyota-recalls-vehicles-with-defective-brake-components/ https://www.autosafety.org/vehicle-safety-check/2018-toyota-highlander/
- Austin, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH the warning message "Brake power low" displayed. The contact felt the brake pedal was stiff and pulled over on the side of the road. The contact shut down the vehicle, when the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the vehicle would not start. The contact had jump start the vehicle and the vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to the dealer that stated that the brake booster and the vacuum pump were malfunction and that the brake booster, master cylinder and the vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 29,000.
While traveling down the Rocky Mountains, we experienced a gradual loss of braking. It took extreme pressure on the brake pedal to slow the vehicle. At this point there were no warning lights. Later down the road, the same thing occured again and a BRAKE warning light illuminated. Traffic was light and the incline was slight which prevented an almost certain accident. We limped the vehicle to the dealer. The diagnosis was a Brake Booster failure. This is a 5 year old vehicle with only 57,000 miles! I have never had a booster failure on any vehicle in my life. This booster should be designed to last the life of the vehicle since it is part of such a critical safety system on this vehicle. The failed component was kept by the dealer.
2018 Toyota Highlander braking power low warning light came on twice. Mechanic determined it is the brake vacuum booster pump which can cause the brakes to fail to stop the vehicle. This was a recall on some of the 2018 manufactured Highlanders but not all. Many are now failing like mine. I have had it replaced luckily before a major accident and serious injury. Toyota knows of issues but will not recall without NJTSA direction EVEN THOUGH CRASHES MAY HAPPEN.
Braking to stop at a traffic light then all of the sudden the car stalls with Braking Power Low message. The car won't even start for me to pull aside to a safe place. This is the second time this happened within 2 years so I decided to put a complaint in.
About6 months ago I started getting the messege "Breaking power low" when i try to start my vehicle. So I took it to Star Toyota Service paid $175 to diagnose the problem. The found DTC 1241 and told me to change the qhole skid control unit. Eventhough on the paper it said skid control ecu battery. So I took it to another dealer named Penn Toyota and they found the same code but they said the voltage is coming low because I may leave my ignition on before I start my vehicle. That sounds funny because I do not do this and on top if i do this my battery would be dead. As of right now I spoke with toyota and since my extended warrenty has finished so they offered my 25% coupon if i fixe the problem. Now I do not know what is the problem and which dealer to trust. The reason I am reporting to "nhtsa" is because if I die because of this problem with my car which is still undiagnosed so at least they can find out the same reason so there will be no more death after me. Again the messege comes on the crean is " Breaking power low. Stop in a safe place "
Vehicle will not start. "brake pressure low" message appears on instrument panel. The truck will be sent to the dealer. Brakes worked fine previously and brake fluid is at maximum level.
I am having an issue with my brake assist in my 2018 Toyota Highlander. This car was purchased new and has had regular service/ maintenance with the dealership since purchased. 1st incident was minor in nature. My brake was gently applied and the ABS feature turned on and brake system engaged without any need. 2nd incident brake was applied and at the halfway point the brake stopped working. It felt like it locked. I could not stop my car as I was approaching another car. Car stopped at the last possible moment before impact. The situation was extremely dangerous for myself, my kids and the other driver. Later on during my drive I gently applied my brake and the brake would not release to it original position until a few seconds later. This time the brake light came on. Once the car came to a stop, I shifted my gear to park and the brake light disappeared. The car was then sent to a service station for analysis. Service Station advised that there was a hissing sound coming from the front of my engine when the brake was applied. They recommended that I send vehicle back to dealership as they concluded that the car has a brake assist issue. The car was towed to the Toyota dealership where they mentioned that there was a recall for this exact issue however, my specific VIN is not included. I travel everyday with my kids and this is a real safety issue that needs to be addressed. No car should be on the road with faulty breaking systems. This can cause unnecessary loss of life. These vehicles should be included in this recall, especially mine. I filed a case with Toyota and am waiting to hear back from them. Please help make the roadways safe. Consumer stated diagnosis was completed and relayed that there was a brake booster failure. The brake master cylinder and brake booster system will need to be replaced.
Low brake fluid pull over immediately warning -š ï¸,vehicle engine shut off would not restart was on highway going 55 mph.Had to get vehicle towed. There was a recall on brake booster but my Vin was not included same model year 2018
The car Low Pressure Break pop up and lock the break because of "Low Pressure Vacuum pump" unable to Break crashing into the curve when back up. after stop the car the car wouldn't start up again.
Approaching a stop light brakes didn-€™t work. The automatic system activated and the car stopped right before I rear-ended the car in front of me. I took it to a Toyota dealership and they diagnosed a faulty brake booster pump with a price of $2500 to replace. I see this isn-€™t a unique problem for the 2018 Highlander but after talking with Toyota they denied any coverage since my vehicle has 48,000 miles and is out of warranty.
Car wouldnt start in garage, it shows error in the dash "Braking Power Low, STOP in a safe place". It looks like several people are having same issue around same time outside of warranty, and on cars not in the original recall.
MY 2018 Toyota Highlander XLE had a break malfunction April 15, 2022. The Brake light illuminated, "low brake power" flashed briefly and the pedal became stiff and unable to press for braking. I swerved to avoid rear ending the car in front of me. Brought it in to Toyota and they want $2000 to fix the break booster vacuum, and said it is not covered by warranty. My car only has 46k miles! This part is clearly faulty and Toyota should replace it. Accordingly to Toyota vehicle Maintenance Schedule, the vacuum pump for the brake booster needs to be replaced as a regular maintenance or "wear" item every 120,000 miles. This is a very expensive maintenance item (>$600 in parts, ~$2000 including labor and shop materials), that needs to be performed by a Toyota certified technician. In addition to being very expensive, what will discourage many vehicle owners from performing this service, one may expect that many owners who perform their own vehicle maintenance or use independent mechanic shops will simply miss this service altogether. Being a safety critical item, the vacuum pump should be designed to last the entire lifespan of the vehicle (just like other brake system components: ABS pump, vacuum booster, master cylinder, etc.). The short lifespan of the vacuum pump and the requirement to replace it on a regular basis is indicative of a defective or deficient design. Making the replacement of the vacuum pump a scheduled maintenance item is a just way for Toyota to avoid liability due to premature failures of a substandard safety component, especially in light that other brake system components are designed to last for the entire life of the vehicle, and are not considered wear items in the maintenance schedule (except for brake pads, of course). Toyota should redesign the vacuum pump to increase its lifespan in-line with the rest of the brake system components, and perform the replacement under a safety recall or service campaign, at no cost to vehicle owners.
Just like the other complaints with the brakes, I also received the error message "-€œBraking Power Low, stop at a safe place-€. Also like the other complaints here, I went to the dealership where I purchased the car and they told me it is not covered and considered as a recall for my vehicle. EVEN though the same problems have been identified for the same make and vehicle under recall #18V211000. I also called the Toyota Corporation and they said since my VIN number wasn't specifically affected, it's not part of the recall. I don-€™t think it-€™s right that Toyota can say it is not covered simply because they haven-€™t identified it with my specific vin and or the manufacturer they used. This is horrible and obviously, there is an issue with the brake system that could lead to collisions.
My car stopped working and the following error message showed up "Braking Power Low, Stop in a Safe Place." I have a photo of this error message. When researching this error message, it MAY be related to NHTSA Campaign Number 18V-211. The research I've done says on multiple websites this error is related to brake booster pump. The dealership is saying there was no such recall, but I was able to find the recall notice on this issue through the NHTSA website. I would appreciate a phone call at [XXX]. Again, I have a photo of the error message that showed up on my dashboard. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Huntington Beach,, CA, USA