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.
When hitting small bumps travelling at speeds of 25-50mph (such as bumps before bridges) the ABS will activate and the pedals go loose. It seems the car can not be controlled for about 3/4 of a second once this occurs. Luckily I have never been rounding a turn or approaching stopped traffic when this occurs or I would not have been able to stop. I had one close call where the brakes seemed to lag before kicking in, then jolting hard after the delay causing me to almost lose control of the vehicle.
2008 Toyota Prius, year not specified. Consumer states sudden acceleration. The consumer put the gear into reverse, with her foot on the brake, when suddenly the vehicle accelerated. She kept her foot on the brake and put the gear into park and turned the engine off.
My 2008 Prius suddenly accelerated as I pulled over to park at the curb 2 hours ago. My foot was on the brake, not near the accelerator, and I long ago replaced my floor mats so I know there was no mechanical interference. This is the 2nd time I have had this experience with the car. Circumstances were identical in the first occurrence. No damage resulted as the acceleration seemed to pulse for less than 1 second and I did not lose control of the vehicle. I did notice some gravel in the road as I approached the parking spot but I am confident that the vehicle did not skid.
- Waltham, MA, USA
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S10 appropriate handling re sudden unintended acceleration incident fm owner of a Toyota vehicle. 2008 Toyota Prius. The consumer experienced several acceleration surges while driving on the freeway and using the cruise control. The vehicle suddenly surged forward from 68 mph to 74 mph.
I was parking my car head in first, in an apartment parking lot, I had just pulled into the space, put my foot on the brake and depressed the park button, I then began to reach for the power button when the car uncontrollably lunged forward going up a slight incline, hitting a chain link fence pole and coming to a stop damaging the front bumper. I don't know if it was the brake, or electrical system but, on occasion since this incident, I have accidentally turned the cruise control on and felt a surge of speed but the car was slowed/stopped by using the brake. It's so easy to turn the cruise control on without knowing it and I wonder if it could be a contributing factor to some of the Prius problems.
Vehicle did not stop as expected in stop and go traffic. I bumped the car in front of me in the morning. And then on the way home I almost rear ended another car. This never happened before or since. I thought something was wrong with me that would make my timing be so off that I would hit another car! I told the dealer about it and they said it was probably "brake fade". I disagreed and stopped driving the car recently while the braking/acceleration concerns are investigated. I have a 2008 Prius.
On two separate occasions my 2008 Toyota Prius has done the automatic acceleration problem. These were both long before recent reports in April of last year. The first time was on route 84 between the white plains and carmel exits. My vehicle accelerated to between 80 -85 mph. I was in some traffic and flashed my lights at other vehicles in the passing lane because I could not stop! when I regained control of my vehicle several minutes later, I called my dealership and they had me bring the car right in and then told me nothing was wrong with it. They told me it was a brake problem. I had two witnesses my 16 and 19 year old children. A few months later, the acceleration happened again with my 49 year old finance in the car. It was an in town acceleration on the road in front of my house (hooker avenue). Again, I regained control in a few minutes, but partially went through a red light because of inability to stop. Again, I had it checked at the dealership. Again, they put it down as brake related instead of acceleration, they checked the car and said it was fine. I called them after this 2008 Toyota incident and they are saying this doesn't happen on my model. It does! they ran another check this morning and again nothing wrong. Please do something before someone is killed!
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph into a grassy field to park the vehicle. When the brake pedal was applied the vehicle surged forward and struck a pedestrian. The contact engaged the automatic ignition off button for an immediate response. The vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure and the current mileages were 27,000. Updated 5/3/10 a police report was not fied. Updated 05/17/10.
I have a 2008 Toyota Prius. Coming up to an intersection I went to go through the yellow however there was a police car beside me so I thought better stop and wait. I pressed on the brakes only to find my car skidded forward. I couldn't stop the car, I could only slow it down with the brakes. My fastest speed was 60km/H. I turned the car through three lanes of traffic into a parking lot and in the middle of it I just turned the car off. When I turned it back on it skidded forward again and when I checked the battery it was empty. I sat there for a while and eventually was able to turn the car on without it accelerating. I removed the mats after the mat recall in this vehicle. The Toyota Prius should be added to the accelerator recall list.
Throttle malfunction - 2008 Toyota Prius. Driving 50-55 M/H on North 280 near millbrae, ca in heavy rain. Vehicle accelerated without pressing the gas pedal. Engine revved 3 times in succession (sounded like: Vroom, vroom, vroom) while accelerating to 65 M/H. all this time I was stepping on the breaks. Acceleration eventually stopped went back to normal after a few minutes. I drove the car directly to the nearest Toyota dealership in daly city but was told that there was no problem with the car. This malfunction only occurred once.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving 5 mph into a parking space and slowly depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into a shopping cart. The vehicle proceeded, crashing into another shopping cart and then into a brick wall. The vehicle sustained moderate damage to the front end bumper. The vehicle was repaired by his insurance company. The manufacturer advised the contact to have the vehicle inspected by the dealer. The dealer could not duplicate the failure and found no fault in the throttle system. A diagnostic test was performed and the dealer stated that the computer code indicated that the driver was "depressing the accelerator and brake pedals simultaneously." The contact verified that neither he nor the other driver of the vehicle had ever operated the vehicle in such a manner. There were no additional repairs made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 10,210 and the current mileage was under 11,000. Updated 5/6/10 updated 05/24/10
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving into a sharp curve; approximately 5 mph. There was an unexpected increase in acceleration. The vehicle failed to slow down during braking. Suddenly, the vehicle rolled over an embankment and onto the road. There were no injuries. The police was called to the scene. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop. The failure was mileage 3,222. The contact had concern of the safety risk involved.
On 31 December 2009 my 08 Prius was slowed down prior to turning into a driveway, when it suddenly accelerated. It went out of control and crashed into trees and a powerpole. The floor mat, that according to Toyota is supposed to cause this, was properly attached to the pegs in the floor, and in proper place even after the crash recently, on 6 April, 2010, I again experienced a sudden unexplained acceleration when going about 5/10 miles per hour. It lasted about four seconds and did not result in an accident.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving approximately 30 mph on wet road conditions proceeding to make a right turn when the engine made a loud surging sound followed by an unintended brief acceleration, however, the vehicle was able to continue normal operation. The manufacturer and dealer were notified of the malfunction. The current and failure mileages were 15,334.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While the contact was driving 15 mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The brakes would not engage during the acceleration causing the contact to crash into a nearby pole. No one was injured during the crash. A police report was filed for the incident. The vehicle was towed to a local body shop. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership. The current and failure mileages were 12000.
Approximately 2 months ago I received a letter from Toyota re: Recall due to potential for car mat causing accelerator to stick open. Letter indicated they would notify me "as soon as a campaign remedy is available for my vehicle." Letter further indicated that I could submit a complaint to you "if you believe that Toyota has failed or is unable to provide a remedy without charge or within a reasonable time".. I have not received a notice about any "remedy campaign". this is not timely and I do not believe they are able to provide a remedy. As you are aware, since that time, there have been numerous reports of "sudden unexpected acceleration" in these vehicles. It is also apparent that the floor mat has had nothing to do with most, if not all of them. It does not appear that Toyota has any intention of notifying me of any "remedy" as they are not acknowledging any other acceleration problem. Every time my wife or I drive this vehicle we are risking this happening to our vehicle and Toyota is not doing anything in a timely manner.
Unprompted acceleration - car accelerated on its own Accord. This has happened multiple times and lasts for only a second or so. This complaint is prompted by more severe reports which are very concerning to us in regard to potential hazard.
Driving home from church July 5, 2009 the beach traffic was bumper to bumper. Stop and go traffic. I was stopped behind an SUV. The traffic started to move and my Prius bolted forward into the SUV which in turn pushed it into another SUV. My car was totaled. The engine was pushed all the way back into the front seat. This should have been just a fender bender. No one was injured.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Waconia, MN, USA