Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I replaced my brakes after several warning lights and codes kept popping up on my dash. Had the rotors turned. But when I returned to driving my car after I thought it was fixed the brakes would all of a sudden just go out the hydraulic part would go completely to the floor. The car would make a high pitched noise and then no brakes. Took it to Toyota in clinton tn. Said my ABS brake actuator was failing. Would cost me 2200 dollars to fix. This certain part on your car is supposed to last you a lifetime. I dont have money like that now it was take me a lifetime to save up for the repairs. Very scary. This would happen to me randomly as I was driving no matter where or how far the trip I was taking. Didn't know if I was going to be able to make it home sometimes. You just never knew when. Sometimes it would be fine and others it would be absolutely scary.
Driving on an interstate received a check Hybrid light then the engine powered down and then shut down. Was able to pull off interstate without crashing. Had to have it towed to Toyota dealer where they said it was the ivs, inverter system, which overheated and shut engine down. The vehicle was recalled in 2014 for bad soldering in the ivs system. Car has only 72,000 miles on it, but over 8 years on warranty. So I am waiting on Toyota to decide if they are going to assume responsibility for $9,500 repair. I am now aware of lawsuits and complaints on the inverter system of the Hybrid Highlander.
I was travelling 45 MPH, when a car in front of me suddenly stopped. I had to brake hard and my car stalled. I felt a thud, went to accelerate and realized my car had no power. I had to put it in park and restart the car. My car had a recall in 2013 regarding possible stall due to heat possibly causing a defect in the Hybrid computer board. I took it in and this was supposedly fixed. This is the one and only time my car has stalled, but it was scary because I had multiple cars behind me and I could have rear-ended. I have taken my car into Toyota to be examined.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH and coming to a stop, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle could not be restarted and it had multiple unknown warning lights illuminated including the check Hybrid system, the check engine and the check csv warning lights. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the inverter assembly with converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.
I have a 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. On 1/26/2009 I was stopped at a light, behind another vehicle, waiting for the light to change. I hadn't been doing anything but sitting there, waiting for the car in front of me to start moving, when my vehicle went forward (lurched) and I rear-ended the car in front of me! I have never done that in my life. My car hit the vehicle - a minivan, in front of me very hard, (felt like 10-15 MPH) causing a lot of damage to the rear cargo door. However, because the event was so odd, and happened so fast, (and this happened before Toyota ever recalled anything except the prius), I assumed I must've done something to cause it. …
While driving this vehicle on rt 138 in newport ri, I was accelerating and suddenly experienced a complete loss of power and was able to coast the vehicle out of the travel portion of the roadway. Vehicle required a flatbed tow truck to bring it to balise Toyota in warwick ri. Service department informed me that the inverter had failed and that the repair estimate would be approximately $9400. After researching on the internet I found that this was a fairly common problem with the 2006 and 2007 models and that there had been a recall for certain models. My vehicle's VIN does not fall under the recall and the inverter. I have contacted Toyota's corporate office regarding this problem, neither corporate nor the dealer offered up the information that nearly 100,000 of these vehicles had been recalled for this issue. …
Driving on the interstate at 55 MPH the car, without warning, died. No power, lights, brakes, steering, nothing worked. At side of road tried to restart. All warning lights came on, would not restart, everything then went dead. Car was towed to dealer. It was claimed to be a coil pack, however upon further investigation, I found out it was actually the power inverter that converts 12vdc to ac to power the electric motors on the car. When the inverter shorted out, it killed the entire electric battery system, the Hybrid batteries and the gas engine battery causing all systems to shut down. The car is a death trap. Toyota knew this would happen when they sold me the car and did not tell me. I found out that this has happened to hundreds of Highlander Hybrid owners, mostly 2006, 2007 and some 2008. If the car is over 7 year/100,000 warranty Toyota will not fix it. …
While driving on the highway, the lights in the vehicle all began flashing to check Hybrid system. I was unable to use anything but the brakes as the gas pedal would not even work to decelerate or accelerate. I was able to veer out of traffic to safety. I had one other passenger in the car and we were scared for our lives as the whole car just shut down and could have been involved in a serious accident. Eventually the battery also died and we were stuck on the road at night waiting on a tow truck. We had the car towed to a Toyota dealership and have been working with Toyota and corporate Toyota for the past 6 weeks on a resolution. We were told the inverter needs to be replaced and the cost is $9000. We were also told by the serviceman at Toyota that the car is not worth fixing as it still will not work properly after the part is replaced as it could have lead to transmission problems. …
When starting after stop at the end of a freeway exit ramp a loud noise was heard in the front of the vehicle. The vehicle then lost all power and I was able to coast to the side of the road. The check Hybrid system and check vsc system error lights were displayed and the car would not restart. The car was towed to a Toyota dealership and diagnosed with failure of the inverter. My car was not included in the 2011 recall for this problem. The cost of repair was quoted as $8000 and after speaking with Toyota corporate they offered a $1500 customer appreciation rebate. Based on online research this seems to be a known problem with this model. Another local Toyota dealer said they have repaired 4 of these in the past week. Toyota can not assure us that the problem with this inverter has been solved or if the new one will be more reliable. This is a major safety concern. …
While accelerating from a stoplight and driving in a 45mph zone, our 2007 Highlander Hybrid began to accelerate on its own. The engine revved as if someone were flooring the gas pedal. Neither my husband nor I knew what was happening. Then we heard a loud thud sound from the back seat and we lost power steering, power brakes, and we started to decelerate. Traffic was averaging 45-50mph around us. Thankfully, my husband was able to safely coast us into the right lane, then into a parking lot, and then into a parking spot. After that we were not able to start the vehicle and we had multiple error messages flash across the instrument panel: "check Hybrid system" & "check vehicle stability". We were told by Toyota that our error codes indicated that the inverter "blew up" & needs replacement. They did not mention anything about the recall which I found while researching. …
Related recalls
Electrical system
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2007 highlander hybrid and Lexus rx400h passenger cars manufactured from February 16, 2005, through August 30, 2006. A module inside the inverter module May contain inadequately soldered transistors that during high-load driving, May be damaged by heat caused by the large current.
Remedy: Toyota/Lexus mailed an interim owner notification on July 19, 2011 to advise owners of this recall and the fact that they will receive a future notice when parts become available to complete repairs.
NHTSA investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles.
Electrical complaints in other Highlander Hybrid years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
NHTSA has 28 complaints about the electrical system of the 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 25% of the model year's 110 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 11V-342 (electrical system, Jun 29, 2011). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 120,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.