2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Engine Problems

“While driving my vehicle, multiple warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle lost power. I had to pull off of the road quickly to avoid being hit in rush hour traffic. I had it towed to the Toyota dealership and they diagnosed it as a bad coil pack. If a bad coil pack disables your vehicle, this is extremely dangerous because coil packs can go bad any time. If I had been on the highway instead, I could have been in a seriously accident or even killed.”

“I was driving to an off ramp when my 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid just stop in the middle of a very busy traffic! It almost caused a terrible accident. I had it towed and the Toyota dealership diagnosed it as an inverter converter problem and will cause me $11000 (yes, eleven thousand dollars) to replace it. This appear to be an engineering defect fault. Of all the warning in place it seems to inform the driver, such as the ABS light, low gas gauge, low air, oil maintenance warning, why not the 'inverter problem detected, bring your car to the dealer now?'. …”

“I purchased a new 2008 Highlander Hybrid. Though I had no problems, in november 2013, the inverter was recalled at 79,000 miles, and replaced. We had no problems with the car for the next 22 months. On september 6, 2015, the car stalled and could not be restarted. We had the car towed 55 miles to the dealership. Investigation of the car over 2 days was unsuccessful in discovering the cause. On september 9, I asked if it was the inverter. I was told it was not. The service manager had contacted Toyota, who recommended taking apart the hybrid system to look for a shorted wire. …”

“While driving along at about 50 - 55 MPH all the dashboard lights came on and the motor stopped abruptly. The result was a complete loss of power and a bit dangerous I might add. We were able to push the vehicle to the side of the road but were not able to restart. After towing it to a dealership we were informed there was no doubt a lower end motor failure. After researching this online I can see that there are many people who are experiencing this same failure in the same way. There is something that happens with an engine inverter item that causes a very expensive failure with no warning. …”

“My wife and daughter were driving on a busy highway when they heard a pop noise from the engine. The car stalled on the road. By the grace of god, they were able to drift to the side and did not have an accident. Next day, the dealer informed that the issue was with the hybrid system - the inversion part. The cost for repair would be $11,000! We live about an hour from our workplaces and thus put a good many miles on our car - the 125,000 miles on the car put the drivetrain out of warranty. We have had all recall services performed at the dealer, and kept regular maintenance. …”