2023 Toyota Highlander Brakes

When applying the brakes sometimes, particularly when breaking at the bottom of a hill, the car lunges forward before the brake catches and it stops. The transition is jarring and does not seem safe at all. I've been told by mechanics at the Toyota shop that it is normal for a hybrid vehicle, but if that is the case they need to not sell hybrid vehicles or find a way to avoid this problem. I've read tons of posts on online forums confirming that many other people have this with their Toyota hybrid vehicles, including the Highlander.

My 2023 Toyota Highlander has had an issue where the steering wheel and brake pedal vibrate when braking at around 25 mph and higher. The car will also vibrate. This happens on the highway mainly but also on 25+ speed zones in residential areas. I have taken my car for regular maintenance and the brakes have always checked out fine. There has never been a service report stating anything is wrong with the rotors. I have purchased new tires and have had them aligned and balanced and the issues still persist. When I reported this to Toyota Service I was told that my brakes were good. The problem still persists.

T-SB-0059-23 should cover 2023 Highlander hybrid vehicles as the same issue exists. My 2023 Highlander Hybrid seems to totally ignore braking during the transition from regenerative braking to friction braking causing me to have to suddenly push the pedal harder to compensate. The mentioned TSB only covers up to 2022 models and only for 36 months or 36,000 miles, which is a disservice to owners. Moreover this should be a recall rather than a TSB as dealers will likely not be able to readily reproduce; reproducing is a requirement for addressing the TSB. An issue with braking is a safety issue!

Randomly when braking the vehicle will "lurch" forward causing you to immediately reapply the brakes hard to stop. The dealer claims they have no knowledge of this but when you Google "Toyota Highlander hybrid brake issues" there are numerous reports of the same occurrences. This creates a serious collision potential issue with a vehicle stopped in front of the car. It is available upon request for inspection. It has not been confirmed by the dealer but I am happy to do so. It happens without warning.

Since I got this car, when going down hill the breaks don't work properly. It is a sudden surge and the car takes a few extra seconds to break. It happens often and I always need to keep a good distance from the car in front of me to avoid a collision. I brought up during service to my Toyota dealership but they don't have a solution. Nothing shows up in the panel, the car just launches forward.

the car surges forward when braking, as if the brakes are momentarily released. it almost caused be to hit the car in front of me. the brakes released in the middle of braking

Brakes momentarily lost during certain conditions. If going down a hill and applying brake, suddenly loses pressure and vehicle surges forward. Taking a right hand turn, slowing, brake suddenly loses pressure and lunges forward causing vehicle to go into wrong lane. Parking, apply brake, surges forward, end up in the next spot forward. I've had several very close calls, including trying to stop behind a bicycle at a stop sign, came within inches. I've repeatedly been to dealer. Toyota calls it "loss of braking sensation", have issued a TSB for years prior to 23. I have a 23 hybrid, there is no TSB or fix. Dealer is aware of the issue, has techs who have experienced it themselves. Just can't be fixed without Toyota stepping up. Happy to work with Toyota if they want to put sensors or computers on the vehicle. When the vehicle was new it only occurred once/twice a month. Now it is every day. The latest incident was today driving back from the dealer.