This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
There are no lights on in the dashboard. Everything seem normal and working fine. I was trying to park going like 5 mph, I had to stop because some people were crossing and the breaks failed, car kept going for like 5 seconds, there was a beep and a few lights turned on (break, abs, !). Finally the car came to a sudden and abrupt stop, after that the lights turned back off. It was horrible, lucky I didn't hurt anyone. I drove back home immediately very slow. It happened 3 more times, specially when going in reverse and after a turn. Mechanic said there are no codes and he wasn't able to figure it out. This is a huge safety problem. A recall definitely needs to be done.
Brake actuator has failed. The brakes no longer are getting pressure, and require a lot of force on the pedal to stop. The brake light is on, as well as ABS, vsc, and ! lights. Apparently this is a known issue, and Toyota was fixing these under warranty up to 10 years / 150,000 miles, whichever came first. My car has 128K miles, but it's more than 10 years old, and thus, the faulty part is no longer covered under the warranty.
My VIN number says its a 2008, it is a 2011, Prius my brake booster pump went out and locked my breaks. I ended up on side walk. Called dealer said it was dangerous to drive. It appears that there is a recall/class action. Costing me $1400 for a new system. It was in motion.
While driving normally down the highway, a buzzing pitch suddenly came up at the same time that a red triangle, ABS, brake, and brake system warnings lighted up. The brakes felt unresponsive, but fortunately, there was low traffic and I was able to get home safely. When I started the car the next day and changed the gear from parking to reverse, the brakes again were unresponsive, and I had to press them completely down to avoid a collision. I was able to get the car to the dealer, and they diagnosed a failed brake actuator. The dealer informed me that there was an enhanced warranty for this part and although the car qualified under the mileage requirements (it had only 76,500 miles), they told me that I was out of that warranty because the car was more than 10 years old. I inquired them about how it was possible that if they knew about this part failure, I was never notified about it as an owner. Then, they explained to me that it was not a recall, that they only informed a customer if his/her car presented that specific problem. The cost of the repair was around $2,750 with parts and labor. From what I have read online, this has been a continuing issue affecting many Toyota Prius as well as other Toyota models, and it seems that Toyota has tried to avoid a recall on it. At least, they should have implemented that enhanced warranty for the vehicle's lifetime if they do not proactively notify about it. I personally was lucky that I did not get hurt, but clearly, this malfunctioning part is a safety hazard for drivers out there and a recall should have been issued to prevent accidents; we are talking about people's lives.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal which failed to stop the vehicle in a reasonable amount of time. The contact attempted to drive the vehicle until the vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to folsom lake Toyota (200 plaza dr, folsom, ca 95630, (916)355-1500) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake actuator failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Hi I have a 2004-2009 Prius that experienced a brake actuator failure. Come to find out this is a recalled part, I would love to speak to someone about getting this remedied as it is a $3,000 fix.
I was traveling at about 35-40 mph on a 4 lane city road & a truck pulled in front of me from a shopping center on opposite side of road from which I was traveling without stopping in center median crossover. I hit brakes but I had no time to stop. I'm not sure the brakes even worked as there were no skid marks from braking. The front driver side of my car hit hard & also damaged drivers side wheel well, fender panel. My airbag did not deploy and my head collided with the steering wheel. It resulted in my having a concussion, whiplash, a fracture in my neck, shoulder pain & nerve issues in my arms & hands, back & hip pain. I know if the airbag had deployed I wouldn't have suffered all the physical issues. This all happened Jan. 11 & I still have pain. The car is a total loss.
On August 31, 2020 drove into town with wife in our 2008 Toyota Prius. Highway speed. No problems. Drove around town-no problem. Stopped at friend's house.when leaving his house, went to start car as always and the following warning lights went on: Brake, vsc, ABS and also, brake pedal went down to floor when engine started. Other than warning lights being on and with brake pedal feel coming back to normal, we drove home. I put a code reader on to see what the problem was/is and clear codes. None were found. Decided to take car to autozone for them to put their code reader on. Once again no problem codes were found. Went back home and called local Toyota dealership and left message for service guy I use if necessary. No response from him. Later, I looked up reported Prius problems on internet and came across your web site where I noticed this Prius problem has been reported to you many times before.called Toyota usa (888-270-9371) and obtained a inquiry reference number. Someone was suppose to get back with me but never did so today I called back in and ended up speaking to a higher Toyota advocate.basically was told the brake part which is not functioning, they had a self imposed recall on it in 2015 and it lasted till end of 2017. If you had a failure during that time they replaced it at no charge..if they knew it was bad part in 2015 or probably before that, they needed to replace all or replace them as the problem presented itself. Per the research I have done, it costs now with them several thousand dollars to fix.the car is not drivable as the brakes can go out at any time. Bottom line is that they knew the part problem existed and limited their liability to a short time period and only on cars that actually had the issue in the time frame allowed. Working brakes on a vehicle is extremelly critical.
The manager w/ american transmission told me when the hybrid system starting to go bad ( the inverter water pumper had to be replaced) messed up the ABS pump and module. My mechanic told me it's a bad design. I put 0 mph the sytem is messed right when the start button is pressed this didn't cause an accident this still caused a delay due the pandemic and I need to be refunded and american transmission from Toyota. Please open attachment
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced brake failure and was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ABS module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 173,600.
My 2008 Toyota Prius brake system is very dangarous, on the hi way speed of 55 I push the brake softly, out of sadden car started acting like a wild horse slipping to the left and right and I am an experienced driver on ice, I lived in M ichigan for a long time, so I survived, and all drivers around me stopped and there was no accident, I am afraid driving that car, I have called Toyota dealer, seems like use to be a recall but they have some hesitions to accept the faulty, dangarous brake system, I am going to complain to the CEO of the company.god help me, I was lucky my family and I survived, my message to the Toyota Prius owners is please double check your VIN number and recalls, and insist to fix this common defect on Toyota Prius, by the dealer with no charges.very very unsfe brake system. And my instrument lights are on and off I can not see the speed and the odometer and the gas indicator, I heard it was a recall but the dealership did not accept it. If I want to fix these faulty defective parts would cost me over 4000 dollars, Toyota is responsible, I beleive should and must fix it for free valuntarly,
I was having trouble with my brakes, lost control of my car going 30-35 mph on a city street, hit telephone pole, airbag deployed, injured. Mva 06/12/20
Brakes went out. Hydrauli control assembly antilock brakes modulator valve. Toyota wants $3,806 to repair it. There was a warranty extension program that ended December 2017. This should be on recall, tons of problems. I am the second owner of the vehicle, purchased April 2017, but was not notified by Toyota of the warranty extension, or that it was ending. I was driving the vehicle, all brake lights came on, Toyota says not to drive due to risk of complete loss of braking system. Case number 10664 has been filed with Toyota.
I bought a used 2008 Prius for my daughter at a dealership in may, 2020. Soon after the ABS, brake and traction control lights on the dash came on. I took it to the Toyota dealer and was told it's the ABS actuator that is leaking. The leaking can cause your brakes to lock up and not stop the car when pushing them. After further research, there are many complaints about this issue for the 2008 Prius. This seems like a very serious safety issue and is documented on many owner forums as a common problem for the Prius. After further research, Toyota did offer a limited warranty on this issue, however, many people are now getting this issue after the warranty has already expired. Toyota has bulletin GZ1 with over 171 complaints and there are hundreds of complaints about this throughout the internet. I could understand a warranty being issued for a problem that is common but not deadly, however, the failure of the ABS actuator has already caused deaths and should be an issued recall and not a temporary warranty..
My brake, ABS, vsc, and (!) lights are on. The brakes work at roughly 10% stopping power. Makes an awful buzzing noise when the brakes are applied and the warning chime is on constantly the high pitch ring is unbearable. I called my local Toyota service dealer and was told the champagne ended Nov 30th 2017.
When turning the car on, while in park, the car lunges forward with the brake pedal fully depressed. The ABS actuator/modulator is constantly whirring. Several dash lights are illuminated simultaneously (ABS vsc, E-brake, !). my dealer says that this is a common Prius problem that can result in complete failure of braking capability and that the repair is $3,500. According to my service advisor, another customer of central Florida Toyota was scheduled for this repair when his brakes failed and his car was totaled. This seems like a very serious safety issue, and is documented on owner forums as a common problem for Prius'. my car has been doing this for a couple weeks now, and realizing how serious is it has prompted me to schedule the repair at my local dealership. I am a nursing home administrator and I rely on this car for my 100 mile commutes.
2008 Prius ABS and brake lights came on, front passenger tire locked up suddenly almost causing daughter to run off the highway. I drove the vehicle and could not duplicate the issue. 9 months later the ABS and brake lights came on again, Toyota cleared codes could not find anything wrong and released the vehicle back. Lights returned the next day. Toyota now states needs a new brake actuator for $2700. Toyota has bulletin GZ1 with over 171 complaints on your site with not counting all the vehicles repaired under this bulletin. They will not fix the vehicle without payment of almost half of the vehicle's worth. Contacted Toyota customer service and they were not willing to assist with a known issue. With the risk of accidents when brakes lock up or fail, why was this not a safety recall instead of a "silent recall" warranty extension
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to immediately stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the braking distance was extended. An audible chime was heard while the ABS, vsc, brakes, and battery warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake actuator and the ABS brake sensors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer (unknown) was notified of the failure. The manufacture was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at about 35 mph, the brake light illuminated and the braking power was reduced. The vehicle was taken to the Toyota of hollywood dealer, located at 6000 hollywood blvd, los angeles, ca 90028) and was told that the vehicle was out of warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the warranty expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.
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