The lights spontaneously turned off while driving on a cloudy night on an unlit section of interstate. While slowing the car down, it went onto gravel, semi-circled around and flipped over onto the lower median. No air bag deployed. No protection from shoulder seat belt. Head hit steering wheel, and I briefly lost consciousness. Tests showed skull and cervical fractures. The car was "totaled." I was planning a move. Now I consider myself to be lucky to be alive. I am rewriting because of previous a NHTSA computer malfunction changing a serious injury to "NO" injury on the questionnaire.

- Metairie, LA, USA

The contact owned a 2007 Toyota Prius. While traveling at a low rate of speed, the preceding vehicle stopped abruptly and the contact's brakes failed without warning. As a result, the contact rear ended the other vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the seat belt failed to operate. The paramedics transported the contact to a local hospital where she suffered from injuries to her chest and back. A police report was filed. The contact stated that prior to the failure, the vehicle was taken to sansone Toyota (90-100 us-1, avenel, NJ 07001, (732) 815-0500) where the brakes were serviced twice. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard and deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent an investigator to check the vehicle's black box. The contact was informed that there were no failures found on the black box at the time of the crash. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 58,000. The VIN was unknown.

- Metuchen, NJ, USA

Driver seat belt catch non function, will not lock when belt connector slipped into locking device. Purchased car used hence unsure when malfunction began.

- Matthews, NC, USA

Seatbelt tensioner retracts slowly on driver and passenger side of my 07 Prius. Called Toyota 1-800 number, the girl told me to take it to the dealer and get a price and then call them. She said it was a safety related issue. Interesting because every other time I have called on a Toyota seatbelt of the same issue they never say it safety related when I know what is. I have not had it fixed it is too much work right now to get them a price on something they might do. Why haven't Toyota seatbelts been recalledover there obvious tensioner issues. I have eight Toyota is between 00 and 07 between my girlfriend my parents and I and they all have the same retractor issues

- San Jose, CA, USA

The contact owned a 2007 Toyota Prius. While driving up a mountain at 20 mph, the contact stated that the tires lost traction and the vehicle slid off a mountain curve and crashed into a ditch. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the head and some deep tissue bruising. Medical attention was required. A police report was not filed. Due to the force of the crash, the seat belt remained buckled, but failed to restrain the contact. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The failure mileage was approximately 52,800.

- Bellingham, WA, USA

The vehicle mileage given is approximate. The passenger estimates the speed at about city street speeds at time of accident since the car was slowed to get on the shoulder. The accident is complicated because the driver can't remember much of what happened beyond she was pulling over to the right shoulder to change drivers or rest, but the front seat passenger was abruptly woken up from a scheduled nap by what seemed to him like a pothole or perhaps an abrupt edge to the road followed quickly by a rough ride. When he opened his eyes he saw the car on the wild clumps of grass like vegetation on the outside of the reflector stake line and an odd shoulder that was only partially cement or pavement with a substantial gap between the side reflectors and hard surface. This was semi-confirmed when reentering Wyoming with his oldest son driving and seeing similar partial shoulders, but the son was unwilling to drive farther to the accident scene. The passenger's believes the traction control engaged and caused the car to go off the shoulder, in part because of a similar problem with a Geo Prius lsi ABS brake system on ice that caused what would have not otherwise have been significant vehicle damage. The alternative explanation is a defect or debris on the shoulder itself. The driver tried to get back on the highway instead of following the slight Contour down of the shoulder outside right of way and that or traction control may have caused the car to leave the partial shoulder. The vehicle was last seen at hp towing in evanston, Wyoming. It was totaled and title will be transferred to allstate insurance. The seat belts in this car are too thin and tend to twist up preventing consistent support. The passenger protective cage in the Toyota Prius did an impressive job of protecting the occupants but a plastic layer would have prevented injuries and contents loss.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

My daughters were involved in accident 27 Aug 10 were the air bags did not deploy and the seat belts never locked because of this my daughter hit her head twice on the steering wheel, and is in sever pain with lots of bruising and is wearing a neck brace. She needs to go in for further scans to make sure there is nothing wrong with her back. The damage done to the car was severe. She hit the other vehicle turned did a 180 degree spin and then hit the car again the cars locked on to each other and went over the center divider on the street facing oncoming traffic. The lady had run the red light and went thru three lanes.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. While the contact's wife was driving 20 mph, another vehicle ran a stop sign and struck her front passenger side door. The seat belt failed to restrain the contact's wife, and she struck the steering wheel. She sustained injuries to her neck, back, and shoulder. The manufacturer concluded that the seat belt was working properly. The san diego police department filed report number 804127. The current and failure mileages were 10,000. Updated 12/17/08.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that she collided into another vehicle when she depressed the brake. As a result, the seat belts disengaged which allowed the driver hit the steering column. In addition, the crash destroyed the vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. As of January 3, 2008, the dealer or manufacturer had not inspected the vehicle to determine the cause of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 13,000. A police report is available.

- Navarre, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact's vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle. As a result, the contact's vehicle then crashed into the rear of the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy and the seat belt did not lock. There were no injuries. The road conditions were dry. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed, but has not yet been inspected. The current and failure mileages were 3,141. Updated 02/01/08

- Oveido, FL, USA