Problems with 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid STRUCTURE

Driving approximately 30k / hr on september 22, around 6pm. little traffic as the road leads deep to the country. no rain, great visibility. we'd just stopped to follow someone to a remote location and had not gotten out of the car at that time as the friend came to the driver's side door. a few minutes later, an alarm sounded and the indicator displayed "brake malfunction". the brakes were not working and at the same moment, smoke began filling the vehicle from the front vents. at this time you could also see small flames from the front hood of the vehicle. we immediately exited the car once it came to a complete stop (forced to park position). flames could be seen falling from the passenger side front end. my husband shut off the vehicle. we ran around a ned in the road to get to safety. within minutes (5-7 max) the car was engulfed in flames. the gentleman we were following turned around to see where we were when he realized that the car was in flames. toyota ces has been contacted as we were hoping for help with an investigation. we are a military family, stationed overseas. the vehicle was shipped here 2.5 years ago at government expense once we received new orders. toyota has been less than accommodating with providing any information. this happened with little time to get to safety. my hope is information can be gathered from other consumers that may have experienced similar situations. lives could potentially be saved if we work together to get facts documented. stateside number provided. we can be reached at +34 642 47 0598

The front passenger side assist handle broke in two places. this handle is attached over the door, inside the car, near the edge of the roof. the cause appears to be metal fatigue due to significant stress on the handle over (3+) years of use by the passenger while entering and exiting. *tr

In august, i purchased a used pre-certified 2008 toyota highlander from stevinson toyota in aurora, co. about a month ago i noticed rust spots forming on the hood as well as the tailgate. i brought it back to the dealership being that all three warranties were still in effect. i also brought it to an auto body shop at the request of the dealership and they told me that the rust was due to contaminated paint and that they see a lot of this damage on 2008 toyota models. after two days of arguing with toyota about whether the rust was from gravel or defective paint, they decided to cover the damage and have the hood and tailgate repainted. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota highlander hybrid(na). he experienced premature tread wear on the tires. the manufacturer was notified, and he was advised to replace his set of tires. however he speculates that the frame of the vehicle was causing the tires to fail. the current mileage was 14,000. the failure mileage was 10,000

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota highlander hybrid. the vehicle was purchased new in december of 2008. the contact noticed paint chipping from the driver's side door and rear door. she also noticed corrosion underneath the paint. she took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the corrosion was caused by brake dust. they stated that they could give the vehicle an acid wash. the contact will notify the manufacturer. the failure mileage was 1,300 and current mileage was 15,000.