2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Highlander Hybrid years
- Far more complaints than other years 2nd of 22 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 6 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 197 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. That ranks 2nd out of 22 Highlander Hybrid model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is service brakes (94 complaints, 48%), typically at around 125,500 miles. Complaints mention 6 crashes, 4 fires, 5 injuries. There are 6 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 5 defect investigations involving it.
- 197owner complaints
- 6safety recalls
- 5NHTSA investigations
- 6complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes problems | 94 | 48% | 125,500 | “brake malfunction” (26%) | $5,350 |
| Electrical System | 35 | 18% | 123,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 25 | 13% | 126,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 18 | 9% | 70,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 14 | 7% | 23,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 11 | 6% | 70,596 | — | — |
| Engine | 10 | 5% | 120,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 10 | 5% | 117,500 | — | — |
| Tires | 9 | 5% | 16,000 | — | — |
| Hybrid Propulsion System | 8 | 4% | 123,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 6 | 3% | 16,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 6 | 3% | 59,946 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 5 | 3% | 111,141 | — | — |
| Structure | 5 | 3% | 25,503 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 3 | 2% | 130,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 3 | 2% | 56,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 2 | 1% | 188,761 | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 1% | 56,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 1% | 130,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 1% | 1,500 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% | 162,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 1 | 1% | 10,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 1 | 1% | 2,500 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | 1% | 70,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid recalls (6)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Visibility:power window devices and controls
Problem: Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, and 2009-2010 Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. During the manufacturing of the Power Window Master Switch (PWMS), grease lubricant may have been inconsistently applied to the sliding electrical contacts.
Risk: If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch assembly may overheat and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the switch, applying a lubricant if no abnormality is found. If abnormality is found, the PWMS circuit board will be replaced, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 20, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is C0M.
Hybrid propulsion system: inverter
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid vehicles manufactured February 16, 2005, through July 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured February 23, 2005, through December 2, 2008. The Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. If this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel.
Risk: The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.
Visibility:power window devices and controls
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Tundra, Sequoia, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Yaris, Scion xB, Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. The power window master switch assemblies in some of these vehicles were built using a less precise process for lubricating the internal components of the switch assemblies. Irregularities in this lubrication process may cause the power window master switch assemblies to malfunction and overheat.
Risk: If the switch overheats, it may melt, possibly resulting in a fire.
Fix: Toyota will notify its owners, and dealers will inspect the switch and apply a special grease that inhibits heat build up or replace any switch damaged by the defect, free of charge. Toyota owners that experience a problem with a switch should not attempt to make repairs, but should contact their Toyota dealer or the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331. General Motors will contact the Pontiac Vibe owners affected by this recall and GM dealers will inspect and repair switches as necessary. Those owners may contact Pontiac Customer Care at 1-800-762-2737.
Air bags:side/window
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 highlander, highlander hybrid, and model year 2007-2008 rav4 vehicles. In the curtain shield airbag (csa) system, there are two sensors in the airbag sensor assembly which are designed to detect vehicle roll angle. If one of these sensors malfunctions, the airbag warning light (malfunction indicator light: mil) will illuminate and the roll detection system will be suspended; however, the airbag csa remains available in the event of a side crash. If both sensors fail nearly simultaneously after initial airbag system check, the csa and the seat belt pretensioner could be inadvertently activated.
Risk: Inadvertent activation of the csa and/or the seat belt pretensioner can cause injury to a vehicle occupant.
Fix: Toyota will replace the airbag sensor assembly with a new one containing improved roll rate sensors, free of charge. Toyota intends to send an interim owner notification to owners early to mid-may, 2011 when sufficient parts and remedy becomes available. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Toyota is recalling 27,080 model year 2005 through 2010 passenger cars built from september 1, 2005 to may 4, 2009. These vehicles were not equipped with load carrying capacity modification labels which fails to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims."
Risk: Incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels could result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners and provide them with a new, accurate label to be installed over the inaccurate label free of charge. The safety recall began on august 18, 2009. Owners may contact toyota at 1-888-270-9371.
Seat belts:rear/other
Problem: Toyota is recalling 90,189 my 2008 highlander and highlander hybrid passenger vehicles equipped with a third row seat. These vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." the non-driver designated seating positions (dsp) on these vehicles is equipped with seat belt assemblies that have a feature that converts the retractor from an emergency locking retractor (elr) to an automatic locking retractor (alr). The belts convert to the alr mode after the webbing has been fully withdrawn from the retractor. The system is designed so that as the belt is released into the retractor, the system remains in the alr mode so that a child restraint system (crs) can be tightly secured.
Risk: However, for the two third row dsp's on these vehicles, the alr mode deactivates before the webbing is fully retracted, so that it will not lock when certain rear-facing crs's that have a short seat belt routing path are installed in the vehicle. This can allow the seat belt webbing to spool out during normal driving maneuvers, which could affect the stability of a child restraint installed at those seating positions. As such, this could discourage the use of a child restraint and in the event of a crash, the child may not be adequately protected possibly resulting in injury.
Fix: Dealers will install a newly designed seat belt component free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or about december 18, 2008. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds (DP22005) — opened Jan 27, 2023, closed Aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V063000.
- Steering Column Separation (EA18006) — opened Nov 16, 2018, closed Apr 2, 2024.
- Upper Steering Column Separation (PE18005) — opened May 4, 2018, closed Nov 20, 2018.
- Power Window Master Switch Fire (EA12006) — opened Jun 14, 2012, closed Feb 12, 2013, led to recall 12V491000.
- Power Window Master Switch Fire (PE12002) — opened Feb 6, 2012, closed Jun 14, 2012.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 92,000, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the…
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the master, brake system, ABS warning, and traction control warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the message "Brake System Malfunction - Stop in Safe Place…
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the brake malfunction and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that when she started the vehicle, she was unable to depress the brake pedal to the floor and started to hear an abnormal…
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V396000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTER). WHILE IN A PARKING LOT, THE VEHICLE WENT INTO FAIL SAFE LIMP HOME MODE AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS…
All warning lights are on to check brakes, abs. Abnormal leak in acumulator - abs brake actuator needs to be replaced. I was sent a recall on this problem with my 2012 prius (although it is fine) but the highlander has the exact problem. When googling this i found many 2008 highlanders with the…
Other Toyota Highlander Hybrid years
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
Owners most often report service brakes, electrical system, electronic stability control (esc) problems. The top one, service brakes, accounts for 94 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
Yes, 6 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Highlander Hybrid model years, the 2008 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.