Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | ||||||
| PE06055 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 11/21/2006 | 03/28/2007 | SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST | ||
| The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe06-055 based on two complaints of loss of eps assist in 43,931 my 2006 toyota highlander hybrid vehicles.one of the complaints alleged that a loss in power steering assist resulted in a crash.in response to an information request letter from odi, toyota submitted information about 6 additional consumer complaints, including 2 alleging crashes, and 109 warranty claims related to the eps assembly in the subject vehicles.odi | ||||||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | ||||||
| PE06055 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 11/21/2006 | 03/28/2007 | SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST | ||
| The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe06-055 based on two complaints of loss of eps assist in 43,931 my 2006 toyota highlander hybrid vehicles.one of the complaints alleged that a loss in power steering assist resulted in a crash.in response to an information request letter from odi, toyota submitted information about 6 additional consumer complaints, including 2 alleging crashes, and 109 warranty claims related to the eps assembly in the subject vehicles.odi | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 11/10/2011 | |||
| I brought 2006-1007 highlander hybrid vehicle in 2005 from the beginning i am having difficulties with the steering i told dealer multiple times, toyota company multiple times about the steering problem. as soon as i drive above 25 mph my car pulls towards right very badly i have to apply lot of pressure on the steering to put on the road. due to this i spent 1000s of dollars to do wheel alignment and steering check due to this i spent 1000s of dollars on my tires i have to change my tires every two years even though the manufacturer gives warranty for 6 years 65k miles | |||
| 02/09/2010 | 1 | ||
| My highlander hybrid 06 seems to have a low braking power mostly at low speeds and it slip, i tried to shift to n and that doesn't solve the problem. note that the problem is frequently happens but not always. and nobody can resolve it. *tr | |||
| 12/06/2008 | 37372 | ||
| I turned on the car and the steering wheel locked up or was not powersteering any longer and for a 55 year old woman driving this car is impossible. *tr | |||
| 10/14/2007 | 66000 | 1 | 06/14/2005 |
| Last sunday, october 14, 2007, i was driving my 2006 highlander hybrid at hormigueros, pr (zip code 00660), when suddenly the vehicle's steering got really stiff. it all happened at a cruising speed of 40-45 miles per hour when suddenly the vehicle's turning wheel got hard and it got really difficult to control. i surely got the scare of my life. i experienced some difficulties while trying to stop the vehicle and park it in a safe place. the vehicle's control panel indicated the following message: verify the hybrid system. we took it the same day to the nearest dealer (the one that i also bought the vehicle) toyota del oeste, located at hormigueros, pr (00660). my vehicle has received every service recomended by toyota since i bought it. in october 19, 2007 toyota del oeste gave me a quote (number pq2105) for $5,957.45 for the repairing costs of my vehicle. the quote specified a transaxle assy for $4867.71, plus $700 for 14 labor hours and a local tax of $389.74. the dealer indicated that once the transaxle was replaced it will have one year only warranty. they also indicated that the transaxle assy was not part of the hybrid system so the warranty can not cover the repair costs (my vehicle had aprox. 66,000 miles. according to toyota, warranty for hybrid components is 8 years / 80,000 miles). my concerns: 1) how i, as a consumer, make sure that toyota is not making me pay for a defect that my vehicle may have from the factory? 2) how i am going to be sure that if they replace the transaxle assy i will not be exposed again to an unsafe situation related with a similar problem (remember that a large percentage of roads across the island of puerto rico are built over mountains). 3) how do i really make sure that the dealer is truly making me pay for a component that is not part of the hybrid system and can not be covered by the warranty (remember that, although other manufacturers maybe available, hybrid technology in puerto rico is dominated by toyota. *tr | |||
| 09/30/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2006 toyota highlander hybrid had problems with brakes and steering going out at the same time**nar** the vehicle was involved in an accident. when the consumer slammed on the brakes there was no pulsating sensation, as expected when the abs activates. the consumer believes the brakes and steering failed at the same time. the vehicle coasted about 150 feet until it impacted another vehicle. | |||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 09/30/2006 | 1300 | 1 | 06/29/2006 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while making an emergency stop after traveling 25 mph, the steering wheel locked up when the brakes were applied. the steering remained locked after the collision, although there was insufficient damage to interfere with the wheels. no injuries were sustained. a police report was taken and the vehicle was towed to the service dealer. the manufacturer was notified and an investigator was sent to inspect the vehicle. updated 10/30/06. *jb *nm the consumer the ecu has bee replaced three times. the last replacement occurred on february 9, 2009. the consumer also remembered when he slammed on the brake, there was no pulsating sensation in the pedal as there should have been with a vehicle that has abs. updated 04/08/10.*jb | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 10/12/2005 | 140 | 2 | 09/30/2005 |
| Toyota highlander hybrid-i have lost abs brakes, stability control and power steering along with the hybrid engine on two occasions with my 2 week old 2006 highlander. i have brought it to the dealer twice-the first time they found malfunction codes and rebooted the computer and told me it was operating as designed, only to happen again 2 days later. currently, they are replacing a computer. date of incident and purchase of vehicle is actually 2006 but is not an option below. i am concerned it will happen again and result in an accident in the future. *jb | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION | |||
| 09/30/2009 | 61000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota highlander hybrid. while driving 25 mph he lost power steering. as a consequence, it became difficult to control the steering wheel. the dealer was notified and a technician concluded that the rack and pinion, and electrical motor needed to be replaced. the failure and current mileages were 61,000. | |||