Well, most likely, it's brake actuator, not ABS block. Sort of typical of those vehicles. You need to replace it or, it will leave you without brakes eventually.

 

Thanks for the input. Would you happen to know if there is some number one can call at Toyota for answers to questions like this?

 

I wouldn't think anyone at Toyota would offer advice on how to defeat the factory ABS.

 

It's not a competition. I've got 202K on the car. I really don't expect any of the parts to last that long but, the abs has shit the bed and the part new is $1700.00 and the best used on eBay is $500.00, so I don't see why they should have any problem w/ me pulling the plug. I just want to know which plug. ABS is an advantage but marginally at best. People drove for 100 years w/o it.

 

There was recall on actuators. Most likely, you are way past it. Folks do DIY replace them. I can't recommend calling Toyota, in my opinion, it's waste of time and effort. Get VIN, ask dealer to punch it in for recalls or TSBs, that's about it.

 

I've always thought safety recalls can't expire. Just because the owner at the time either ignored it or didn't know about it doesn't mean the car should be left on the road unrepaired, And with a brake related issue it's not just the driver and occupants of that car, but every other car on the road. Open recalls are easy to check. Just go to safercar.gov and put the VIN in.

 

That's what I thought. They are leaving themselves open to a huge liability, but this was not a recall but a "warranty extension" and I am past that extension period.

 

Whoa I literally came to this forum to ask about this exact same thing for my 2006 HiHy. The non stop buzzing has only happened to me once so far, but then after leaving the car off for an hour, it decided it was fine again and stopped. @Horatius could you perhaps link me to the $500 part on eBay that you saw? Is there a fixed one with a different part number or are they just the same?

 

Sorry. It appears the $500.00 part is gone but the link below has one for $879.00 obo w/ a 90 warranty. Other sellers want $1100.00 plus. Be sure to double check your part number. A lot of the sellers say their part is compatible w/ the hybrid but they are not.
44510-48060 06-08 LEXUS RX400h 06-07 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID ABS BRAKE PUMP | eBay

 

As a general rule, please, be VERY careful choosing parts for hybrids online. They tend to be wrongly advertised as fitting hybrids. I'd say, best, though more price, bet is to find one of them online Toyota dealers that has decent pricing.
That's how I ended with a perfectly useless to me and no one wants to buy it now axle for my 2012 HiHy. So I learned my lesson. Online dealer. Safe.

Btw, that "recall" was not really a recall. It was "warranty extension". They might be jumping some legal loopholes with that, just like with oil consumption in Camry Hy engines. But I am pretty sure it had "expiration date/mileage" on it.

 

Unplug the beeper. It's mounted up above the brake pedal. It's just a little Black Box about the size of a relay. If you fabricate and ABS brake delete your gas mileage will suffer. With brake codes the regenerative braking won't work. With an ABS brake delete kit regenerative braking won't work. The brakes are very much tied to a hybrid system. My brake actuator is currently bad. Why is it there's cheap options for Prius owners but Not Highlander owners. I'm thinking of stealing parts from my spare Priuses for trying to retrofit the Highlander brake actuator and make it work again.

why is it that no one's taking these things apart yet and found out what the common failure is. I'm sure we don't need to rebuild the entire thing, just the part that's commonly failing everyone.

 

Can't you guys get the needed parts from the salvage yard? There's probably a ton of em written off.

and defeating/bypassing ABS could make you criminally responsible if it was discovered, and the law would be the least of your worries in the states, lawyers from all 3 sides (theirs, your insurance and your own blood sucker lawyer) would have your last drop of blood.

 

When an ABS part fails it triggers the ABS warning indicator. That disables (technically) the ABS function. when that happens you are obligated to get it fixed. Removing or disabling the light is not considered a fix.