NHTSA Complaint #10206742 — 2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

LAST SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2007, I WAS DRIVING MY 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID AT HORMIGUEROS, PR (ZIP CODE 00660), WHEN SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE'S STEERING GOT REALLY STIFF. IT ALL HAPPENED AT A CRUISING SPEED OF 40-45 MILES PER HOUR WHEN SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE'S TURNING WHEEL GOT HARD AND IT GOT REALLY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. I SURELY GOT THE SCARE OF MY LIFE. I EXPERIENCED SOME DIFFICULTIES WHILE TRYING TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND PARK IT IN A SAFE PLACE. THE VEHICLE'S CONTROL PANEL INDICATED THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE: VERIFY THE HYBRID SYSTEM. WE TOOK IT THE SAME DAY TO THE NEAREST DEALER (THE ONE THAT I ALSO BOUGHT THE VEHICLE) TOYOTA DEL OESTE, LOCATED AT HORMIGUEROS, PR (00660). MY VEHICLE HAS RECEIVED EVERY SERVICE RECOMENDED BY TOYOTA SINCE I BOUGHT IT. IN OCTOBER 19, 2007 TOYOTA DEL OESTE GAVE ME A QUOTE (NUMBER PQ2105) FOR $5,957.45 FOR THE REPAIRING COSTS OF MY VEHICLE. THE QUOTE SPECIFIED A TRANSAXLE ASSY FOR $4867.71, PLUS $700 FOR 14 LABOR HOURS AND A LOCAL TAX OF $389.74. THE DEALER INDICATED THAT ONCE THE TRANSAXLE WAS REPLACED IT WILL HAVE ONE YEAR ONLY WARRANTY. THEY ALSO INDICATED THAT THE TRANSAXLE ASSY WAS NOT PART OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM SO THE WARRANTY CAN NOT COVER THE REPAIR COSTS (MY VEHICLE HAD APROX. 66,000 MILES. ACCORDING TO TOYOTA, WARRANTY FOR HYBRID COMPONENTS IS 8 YEARS / 80,000 MILES). MY CONCERNS: 1) HOW I, AS A CONSUMER, MAKE SURE THAT TOYOTA IS NOT MAKING ME PAY FOR A DEFECT THAT MY VEHICLE MAY HAVE FROM THE FACTORY? 2) HOW I AM GOING TO BE SURE THAT IF THEY REPLACE THE TRANSAXLE ASSY I WILL NOT BE EXPOSED AGAIN TO AN UNSAFE SITUATION RELATED WITH A SIMILAR PROBLEM (REMEMBER THAT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF ROADS ACROSS THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO ARE BUILT OVER MOUNTAINS). 3) HOW DO I REALLY MAKE SURE THAT THE DEALER IS TRULY MAKING ME PAY FOR A COMPONENT THAT IS NOT PART OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM AND CAN NOT BE COVERED BY THE WARRANTY (REMEMBER THAT, ALTHOUGH OTHER MANUFACTURERS MAYBE AVAILABLE, HYBRID TECHNOLOGY IN PUERTO RICO IS DOMINATED BY TOYOTA. *TR