I was parking my Toyota Highlander when suddenly the car accelerated while I had my foot on the brake. I braked as hard as I could and the car continued to move forward until I put the car in park and turned off the ignition. I moved a parked car completely out of their parking space and I went over half way thru the same space before I was able to stop my car. My brakes were smoking and I left tire marks on the asphalt. This all began when I was almost completely stopped in the parking space.

- Iron Station, NC, USA

Wife was backing up a 2006 Toyota Highlander limited into the garage which she has been doing since the car was new. Car started to accelerate and she could not stop it. It went through the back wall of the garage destroying the garage wall and the vehicle.

- Champion, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Highlander. The contact was driving at approximately 50 mph when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle did not slow down. She swerved left to right in an attempt to stop the vehicle; instead, the vehicle flipped over. The contact climbed out the front window and sustained head injuries as none of the air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact had not called the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 55,000.

- Sherman Oaks, CA, USA

Sudden acceleration of a 2006 Toyota Highlander while in reverse resulting in death. Updated 04/22/10 updated 07/12/10. Updated 9/27/2011

- Eugene, OR, USA

Reference: NHTSA ODI number 10185505 dated March 14, 2007. This is my original complaint about Toyota acceleration problems that has been posted on this site for 3 years and I've never had any response of any kind. I had taken the car to the Toyota dealer a total of 3 times for the same problem and they were unable to fix it and said that is just the way Toyota act. I live in Florida and under Florida law a lemon is a car that has been taken to the dealer for 3 times and not fixed... guess I got a lemon. Now I never heard from you so I guess you really don't either.

- Daytona Beach, FL, USA

I had a 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid. In February of 2007, I took it to the local dealership because I had experienced the car surging/accelerating upon braking and was unpredictable as to when it may occur. The tech didn't experience this issue/also ran diagnostics which came back as "no codes found". since I continued to experience this issue, and after learning of similar issues occurring in other Toyota models and now the recalls, I took it back, and again they were unable to diagnose the issue and got the same "no codes found" when diagnostics were applied. After these experiences, and reading about other 2006 Highlander hybrid issues, I decided I no longer felt safe driving my vehicle and since the dealership was unable to repair this issue, even while under warranty, I decided to trade my vehicle.

- Gainesville, FL, USA

Hello, I would like to file a safety complaint on my 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid, I had this car for the past four months and I experienced sudden acceleration, it happens 3- 4 times a week, or may be even more since I share the car with my husband I am not sure how often he gets it. The last time the sudden acceleration happened is today, luckily we were not driving close to another car. It feels like as if some one pushed the car from behind. Thanks for considering this issue seriously and this is not a panic request after the recall, it is a real and serious issue.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

Cruise control. If cruise is set at 70 mpg and you release it by the brake then try to resume the cruise after the vehicle has gone to 65 it will accelerate to 72 or 74 then drop to 70. I will not let this happen now by letting the speed get to whatever I had before, then resume to the original speed. I can duplicate this any time. The dealer said this was the way it now worked. My 1998 avalon does not do this when cruise is turned on.

- Normal, IL, USA

1. I was traveling East on bolsa ave. Going straight, and the other driver was coming out of the abc market driveway. She made a right turn. 2. my car made a loud sound and then drove into the other driver's car. 3. I had my foot on the brakes, but the car went forward like it was a racing car. Then the car went in reverse and landed from the street onto the sidewalk. 4. my car is a 2006 Toyota Highlander 5. I believed the pedal got stuck and the car accelerated towards the other car. 6. it felt like the car was going 100 miles an hour.

- Garden Grove, CA, USA

On bumpy roads or ditches, my 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid vehicle does not brake or the brake slips. It feels like it suddenly accelerates with braking becoming ineffective.

- Middletown, CT, USA

2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid - I was stopped in a right turn only lane. The vehicle in front of me began to make a right turn on a red light. As he moved forward, I slightly released pressure on the brakes and my vehicle lunged forward and crashed into the vehicle in front of me which had stopped suddenly. This "lunging" is a common occurrence in this Toyota vehicle. We had thought it was just an idiosyncrasy of the hybrid vehicle. However, my brother has a newer model Highlander hybrid and he does not experience this lunging. What I mean by lunging is that the vehicle, at times, will lunge forward as you release the brake at higher speed than an idle. In the simple accident mentioned above, my vehicle sustained over $3000 in damage, which is quite an extraordinary amount for this type of accident.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Vehicle Toyota, 2006 Highlander limited letter sent to Toyota motor sales usa Inc with the following information. "after coming to a stop when I depress the accelerator to resume a forward motion there is sometimes a one or two second delay before the engine responds. And that resumption of engine speed is not a normal rate but at a higher rate causing the vehicle to "jump a little forward" before resuming a normal increase in accelerator speed. In a general sense I would describe the problem as a "delayed accelerator response" that happens occasionally.

- Sierra Madre, CA, USA

We have a 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid. I should start off by stating that we love this vehicle. We have, however, noticed a "glitch" that might be related to the same problem that the prius has and thought we should report it. Occasionally, when we step on the brake, and after the car is slowing down, the engine will surge forward as if it wants to accelerate again. Pumping the brakes works and the car stops. I don't think this is a pedal problem but a computer problem. Since we never tailgate and we always allow for distance to stop, this has never posed a problem for us but it is an issue worth noting.

- Grant, MN, USA

I was driving my car into an underground parking lot. I put on the brakes and they would not engage. I tried again. I eventually slammed into the wall at the end of the parking lot. My car caught on fire and I was hurt, taken to the hospital. The car was inspected and found to have no brake problems, so I was deemed at fault for the accident. This was before we found out about the floor mat and accelerator problems with Toyota. My incident was obviously one of a runaway car. It was a 2007 Toyota Highlander.

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid sometimes surges forward on braking. Seems unpredictable as to when it might happen. Both my wife & myself have experienced this on several occasions. I wonder if it is related to the other sudden acceleration recall of other model years. I see the 2007 to 2010 Camry is part of the recall. My understanding is that the Highlander shares a lot of parts with that model.

- Topsfield, MA, USA

I was in a parking lot, made a right turn to pull into a parking space. I slowed down but it seemed the car accelerated. In a matter of seconds, the car went through a row of bushes and slammed into a tree. The entire front end of the car had to be replaced.

- Fresh Meadows, NY, USA

Today, another Lexus /Toyota has an acceleration problem which finally caused 4 deaths. Many of us have had similar experiences. You have 3 at least already listed in your complaints. 2006 Toyota Highlanders (3) just took off and drivers couldn't stop them (I am one) until the car hit something. Lexus too, made by Toyota. Please check into this. I wrote Toyota to explain that I did not put my foot on accelerator. I got a generic letter back, without help or explanation. We have a problem with these cars, someone needs to address these unexplained accelerations.. my car flew through the air with me screaming, trying to stop it. I hit headon into a cement side of an irrigation ditch. Passenger is still in rehab since March of this year. Is it just the mats, as the san diego press is suggesting with the death of the chp and his 3 family members" I think not. Something in one of the systems, codes, cruise control, computer or ??" please check these out. Toyota has kept quiet long enough. Farmers insurance is coding my accident as my fault, yet I have never had an accident and did not cause this one.

- Depoe Bay, OR, USA

My 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid periodically lunges forward upon braking and when stopped.

- Princeton Jct, NJ, USA

Friday early May 2008, I carried my Highlander for it's 30K service at 28K, due to hesitation, lurching, backfiring at times and poor gas mileage. At the service, I was told they clean the accelerator senor. The vehicle ran fine getting 28 miles per gallon, but notice a change in the vehicle grounding. I could hear the engine noise though the radio sometimes in the morning. The engine noise was added feature. I noticed the engine shifting was smooth until the following Tuesday. It was rain traffic medium driving 65 mph. The Highlander consumed a quarter of a tank within 20 miles. My Highlander is kept in garage nightly and most of the day. I make an appointment to my nearest Toyota dealer on 16may08 31K. The local dealership reset my vehicle"S computer by connecting the battery and reconnection. I was told 2 weeks before hand at the dealership it was a possibly of vehicle ?S computer software needing upgrading when they cleaned the accelerator senor. Today, the vehicle doesn't have the smooth accelerating power. For this vehicle, riding in traffic causes serious problems due lack of power lurching, poor gas mileage or the possible of losing control. No computer test was completed. I change gas station types and various gas treatments, it ?S not the gas. I have driving and working on cars since 1978 from engine, electrical system and brakes. I even noticed when the Highlander is full with gas. The vehicle sometime cough or delay. Is there a lemon law this"

- Spotsylvania, VA, USA

I accelerated to avoid a collision at low speed in an intersection. The car hesitated about 2 seconds after I pressed the gas pedal, then lurched forward, spinning the drive wheels. The length of delay or hesitation in response to accelerator input is frequently there, but is somewhat unpredictable, making stop-and-go traffic performance dangerous. Poor performance of the cruise control function is probably related to this defect. The car was returned to the dealer for service at 1500 miles. The dealer did a thorough check of the equipment and found no defective parts. Dealer states that there are no service bulletins for this problem, in spite of the fact that Toyota has acknowledged this problem and promised to fix it since December 2004. This is a serious problem. Had the pavement been wet, I could have lost control of the vehicle. Fortunately, in the incident described, the other driver was able to avoid a collision. Next time, I might not be so lucky.

- Bellevue, WA, USA