2018 Toyota Highlander Brakes

The brakes are very soft and unreliable. There is a recall #18V-211 dated April 2,2018. This recall did not include this specific car but the car was manufactured within a few days of the recall. After Toyota failed to repair the problem I took the car to a a private auto repair shop who replaced the Vacuum Pump. The brakes now work as they should. I beleve the recall should be extended to include more vehicle made about this time.

Car will not start due to message that says "Braking Power Low. Stop in a Safe Place" There have been recalls on 2018 Highlanders for the brake vacuum pump but it is not listed for my particular vehicle

Around 29,000 miles, I noticed a severe brake vibration while slowing down or stopping from speeds above 55 mph. The vehicle is driven very carefully and not harshly. As of today (11/14/2024), the vehicle is 77 months old and only has 49,000 miles on it. I had been told by Toyota that the rotors are not warped, so it must be a defective part in the braking system.

Brake Booster did not work. We were almost in 2 wrecks due to it taking longer to stop the vehicle. The dealer finally fixed it after I paid over $1500. They didn't care about how this was a known defect in 2018 Toyota Highlanders and took forever to identify and fix. No one has looked at it since just got it back today. Once the brake light went on the dash board I brought it in. I did wait one day when it went off, but once it came back on again I was going to, but then was scared when it didn't come on and then I could barely stop.

My vehicle has codes C1253 and C1256. These codes are associated with faulty brake actuators, a well documented issue in Highlanders. Faulty brake actuators can cause problems with braking, which can put my safety and the safety of others at risk.

Out of nowhere, I couldn’t get the car to start. It keeps saying “Low Braking Power”. I had someone checked with Code Scanner and nothing shows up, and it’s not battery issue neither. The car guy said there’s a very high chance the issue is from the brake booster vacuum pump.

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 was driving about to merge onto the highway and a warning low brake power light started beeping and appeared on the dashboard.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 "“Braking 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).

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.

Vehicle wouldn't start. Shows low break power stop the vehicle in a safe area. Luckily this happened when I was not driving. Breaks felt stuck.

Sudden warning lights that the brake system is low. The vehicle is inoperable.

I bought this 2018 Toyota Highlander xle brand new from the dealer on 2018.My first brakes and rotors were changed by toyota dealer on march 2020 at 24000 miles and then the second time again brakes and rotors were changed december 2020 at 39000. Both time it was Toyota OEM parts. Now at 63000 these ae weare out i bought different company breaks and brembo rotors akebonno brakes. Each time it was more than $800 job. It looks like toyota is making very cheap break pads and rotors and for consumers are not getting what they say about their brakes and rotors. Which ia supposed to be 30000 miles. I am requesting someone to tale a look at this matter and save the consumers to spend less. Thank you

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, ~$1000 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.

Driving on the FWY at 67 MPH.I received “Braking Power Low, stop at a safe place” I pulled over and went to a Toyota dealership 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 Please help. 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.

Toyota issued a service bulletin for my vehicle in 2020 to address surging front brakes. In April, 2020 my vehicle experienced surging that caused severe shimmy of the front of the entire vehicle in downhill braking at highway speed. Kendall Toyota, Bend, OR replaced the entire front brake system under the bulletin. The mileage was approx. 26,500. That problem recurred about June 13, 2021 in the same circumstances. The mileage was approximately 36,500. Kendall indicates that Toyota has not issued a new service bulletin covering this condition. Kendall found all brake system parts to be in good condition, but noted that "front rotors severely glazed. ... typically be (sic) due to heat caused by repeat high speed/downhill braking, or longer periods of brake applications while driving." Prior service records (every 5K miles) show no unusual brake wear/rotor glazing -- ever.

AN INSPECTION FOUND MY LEFT REAR BRAKE WAS SEVERELY WORN AT ONLY 21000 MILES. THIS IS SO UNUSUAL I WANT TO REGISTER MY COMPLAINT. ALL OF THE THREE BRAKES WERE ONLY LIGHTLY WORN.

INTERMITTENTLY DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS, THERE EXISTS INSTANCES WHERE BRAKE HYDRAULIC FAILURE OCCURS. AT TIMES THE "BRAKE" INDICATOR LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED BRAKE PEDAL FEEL. BRAKING POWER IS REDUCED. ALSO, DRIVER DISPLAY SCREEN DISPLAYS "BRAKING POWER LOW" WARNING INDICATION. AFTER STOP AND PLACING IN PARK, BRAKE HYDRAULIC POWER RETURNS AND OPERATE AS NORMAL.