2024 Toyota Highlander Brakes

Ours has pulsing brakes and brakes feeling "off" at low speeds, potentially due to the interaction of regenerative and conventional braking. The brake pedal will also suddenly jolt the car forward when switching between braking systems. The system is unsafe.

Brakes do not engage sometimes until brake is almost to floor. This has happened to the 3 people who have driven it and almost caused an accident. In fact the warning flashes on dashboard. Brakes have almost failed and yes, it is available upon request. Our safety was at risk because all 3 of us almost hit the person in front of us. The problem has not been reproduced by the 2 service places I went. Neither of them drove it. The first Toyota service center checked the OBD2 scanner and it showed no problems. The second place did not check anything and said they would when I come back for my 15,000 oil change. The brakes were inspected by the first service center but they did not drive it. I bought the Highlander Hybrid brand new and it started immediately. I traded in the exact same vehicle that was a 2019 Highlander Hybrid Platinum and it did not have this problem. The suv had a PCS that does show on dashboard but that is because the brake isn’t engaging and you are so close to hitting someone. Normally you apply pressure to the brakes to start slowing down and it does. But in some cases the brake has been applied and nothing happens. It finally does engage after the brake is almost completely down. I don’t know if that is the safety system braking or the brake actually working. Because at that point the PCS warning is on the screen. Also the first service center entered my complaint into a database.

There are many times over the course of the past few months where I am braking and the car lurches forward at least a few inches before coming to a complete stop. It feels as if it is being rear ended at a slow rate of speed. I have not been able to identify any pattern in this problem. It happens when I am braking to slow down at a faster rate of speed or when I need to come to a complete stop at a stop light or sign. This is very dangerous as I fear that one day when I need to brake I will not be able to and will hit something as the car keeps moving several inches after braking sometimes. I have brought the car to the service department at the dealership and they have told me that it is normal and there is nothing that they can do about it as they were unable to replicate it. However, that makes sense as it does not happen all of the time, but rather inconsistently. There have been no warning lamps or messages and the dealership has confirmed that there are none showing up when they check it on their end.

Brakes "let go" for a second or so when using. I have noticed this when coming to a stop sign at low speeds and especially if road surface is uneven. It does not happen all the time but it is very scary to suddenly lose the brakes! This puts others at risk because the car briefly speeds up when the brakes let go. It has happened at least twenty times while driving this SUV, most recently today. Please issue a recall for this!