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.
Dec 1 2008 Prius - unexpected acceleration in stop and go traffic and with foot on the brake, the car suddenly accelerated and hit the car in from of me... approximately a car length or so away. The motor raced high and I was unable to get the engine to shut down until I held on the power button for an extended period of time. The car in front of me was pushed into the car ahead of them it took Toyota over a month to inspect the car (their legal folks set it up) and we were told we could be present when it happened, but they didn't let us know. Over 5 weeks after the accident we received a form letter from Toyota stating they found nothing wrong. With Toyota's delay, we ended up waiting over 8 weeks to get the car back, at a cost of $15,000.... for a collision where the traffic was moving 1-4 miles per hour. The car is know unsafe and we cannot drive it. Offers from 2 Toyota dealerships are up to $3K under kelly blue book trade in value for a replace car (non Prius). Driver of Prius has a record of driving over 30 years with no accidents.
2008 Prius regularly thrusts forward after about 30 seconds from starting the car. Then, car looms back into position. It has always scared me and makes me insecure to drive the car. This has been going on since I bought the car in December 2007, so the date of the incident below is inaccurate. I felt I should report this in light of the recent reports of defects, etc. Thank you.
Second accident caused by brake failure with acceleration. 2008 Prius in stop and go traffic driving in battery (brake)mode about 10-15 mph. Car in front slowed down, I hit the brake and the car accelerated slightly. I look to be sure my foot was on the brake pedal and it was and then rear ended the car in front. Car in front move forward but Prius wouldn't stop and started to accelerate again so I pushed on the parking brake with my left foot and slowed it down for the second impact. Car in front then drove slowly to a parking lot and the Prius kept moving so I drove it into the parking lot and when it slowed going up the ramp I pushed the parking button stopping the car. I then restarted it and released the parking brake to move further into the parking lot. 4 people injured, 3 seriously. A similar incident occurred 29 September 2008 when driving on cruise control at 26 mph the Prius suddenly turned left hitting a parked car. The video shows I was trying to counter steer hard right. Skid marks showed the left front wheel stopped and the car pivoted on it with acceleration marks from the right front tire.
On 2/24/2010 I was driving my 2008 Prius, slowing to stop for a red arrow signal. When I was at about 2mph, the car revved, shooting forward into the car ahead of mine. My foot was on the brake, I was not on the phone or distracted with any other activity. As a result, my car suffered minor damage, and there was little to no damage to the other vehicle. There were no injuries and no police report was filed. It was raining. The accident occurred in roseville, ca. My car was supposed to have been recalled for the floormat, but the dealer in my area sent a letter stating not to come to the dealer for the fix until they contacted me. The never have, and after this incident did not ask me to bring the car in to fix that issue. On 3/2/2010, when trying to start the car, I was depressing the brake and hit the start button, however, only the electrical power came on, not the engine. Depressing the brake and pressing the button again started the engine.
I bought a Toyota Prius 2008 and within 2 months of purchase I experienced sudden acceleration twice. I mentioned the issue to a Toyota dealer service agents, but he took it no further nor did I. it has never happened again.
- Tulsa, OK, USA
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I have a 2008 Toyota Prius which has a surge problem upon start-up. My wife and I are concerned because this has occurred several times in the past. We honestly believe that the problem lye`S in the computer and not in the gas pedal getting stuck, due to the fact that we do not have to compress the pedal on start-up. In fact, we usually keep our foot on the brake in case it lunges again.
Toyota 2008 Prius sudden acceleration, removed the mats prior to the recall, as we figured out by looking at other cars clearance below the gas pedal. I accelerated backwards when trying to park my car. Hit a parked car. After removal of the mats, my car has accelerated on two other occasions. I turned the car off after stomping on brake and applying parking brake. I informed john ellway Toyota dealership in manhattan beach ca and they were dismissive. This happened long before sudden acceleration was in the media. There is something wrong with my car and they refuse to acknowledge it. The first time it happened, my mother watched me zoom down our alley in reverse as I was attempting to park my car. I have a witness. One two other occasions this has happened, the dealer says that my car is not effected by the recall. I had the all weather car mats in my car that I purchased at the dealer. I removed them, but this still has happened. If something happens to me I want this to be a record of my complaint.
At 15K miles the car started to lurch when applying brake. Called dealer and was simply told that is how the Prius is. This action continued and every time it happened we called the dealer and got the same answer. At 60K we were on our way to service for regular maintenance and 2 blocks away the car lurched into traffic. That was the most aggressive the car had ever got and it scared us to the core. When we arrived at the dealer we told them about what just occured and the manager said he wanted to go on a test drive and we were happy to hear it. The manager sat in the car and then decided against the test drive. We were then told that they could research the problem but it would be at a cost to us unless we get the service done as well. We were bothered and couldn't understand why we were being treated this way. We left that dealer frustrated and angry. We then took it to another dealer whom inspected the car and said everything looked fine and by the way we show brake and gas being applied at the same time. The tech said "you should stop driving with 2 feet." We left that ridiculousness and called Toyota complaint dept. The call was in Dec. 2009 and they didn't see out car until Feb. 2010. And after inspecting the car was given the exact same diagnosis. We avoid driving the car as much as possible. We told the master tech that our dash board shut down while driving on the frwy at 65mph and has the new added problem of lurching while already in motion and we are afraid of our car and for our safety. The master tech said it was all operator error. That appears to be the end result with Toyota and we are highly disappointed. We have been Toyota customers since 1992 and now pay for a car we avoid driving whenever possible. We just want to be in a safe car on the road and feel secure not fear.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. She stated that while the vehicle was parked with her foot on the brake pedal, it accelerated on its own without a warning. She then put the vehicle in neutral, it slowed down, and stopped accelerating. The dealer stated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle and they could not duplicate the failure. This problem has occurred 2 additional times. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 36616 and the current mileage was 37000.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving 60 mph with the vehicle speed control on, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The contact had to shift into neutral gear in order to slow the vehicle down. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer today. The failure mileage was 23,000.
Accelerator sticking on 2008 Toyota Prius - 5 to 10 times. I took it to the dealer (beaver Toyota - Santa Fe, nm). The first time they said they did not know what it was since they could not reproduce it. The second time they said it must have been because of the floor mats. The third time I called they said the floor mats even though I had removed them. I am unsure of the first date although it should be in their records. It has not happened in about 6 months. When it happened I would put my left foot on the brake and "pry" up the accelerator with the front of my right foot. The floor mat never seemed to be involved. My dates in this report are approximate.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. She stated that three times she has experienced sudden acceleration. Once while turning left on the highway at 55mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated. She also experienced brake failure when pulling up to a stop sign, or red light, or driving over a bump the brake did not respond immediately. She took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer stated the vehicle is not included in the recall and there was nothing they could do, but they would report the failure to the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 25,000 and the current mileage 33,765.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While making a U-turn she drove over some tracks under normal road conditions. The vehicle suddenly accelerated and when she applied the brake, the brake would not respond. The vehicle stopped when she turned the engine off. She took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer stated nothing was wrong with the vehicle and her VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 300 and the current mileage was 5,000. She wrote a letter to the manufacturer but has not received a response. Updated 03/19/10. Updated 05/13/10.
On June 2,2008 my wife brought her new Prius into the garage to park it and suddenly it just accelerated and went through the garage door and wall. Damages to the car, house, and insurance increases totaled close to $10,000. Toyota repaired the Prius and we told them verbally how the vehicle suddenly accelerated and they shrugged it off. We had been sent at one time a letter that said we may in the future receive a recall notice but never did. Therefore we would hope Toyota takes care of these issues so we don't need to take further action seeing it was a manufacturing default. We've sent Toyota two complaints already and not even one was acknowledged and being a faithful buyer of Toyota's, without action on this issue we may be forced to purchase other make vehicles and we will refuse to further promote Toyota unless the issues are remedied to include the home damage and our insurance surcharge. Your assistance in this acceleration manufacturing issue which has cost us almost $10,000 is uncalled for and Toyota should have begun the process of recalls quite some time ago. Thanking you in advance for any assistance you may be able to get for us so we don't have to seek further assistance to get these issues taken care of and my wife's suffering with the concern that this issue could happen again. I have advised her that in such situation if it were to occur she is to shut the vehicle off immediately as well as put it in neutral and put on the emergency break. Unfortunately our long standing marriage with Toyota may be over with unless we are assisted.
When braking at 10-15 mph and going over a bumpy road surface or pothole, the vehicle stability control light flashes on and off for 2-3 seconds and I experience what feels like a loss of brake power during that time. This happens every time I am slowing down and going over bumpy roads. So far, my solution to correct this failure is to not brake when slowing down over bumpy roads. No parts have been repaired or replaced.
My 2008 Toyota Prius gas pedal stuck and pushed forward against my control, and I slammed my foot on the brake and gas pedal at same time and it stopped. I am reportint this to the Toyota dealer at priority Toyota in chesapeake virignia right now and they said because they can not reproduce the incident they can't do anything, but for me to call Toyota 1-800-331-4331 and report it, I did, and talked with a representative, and he said all he can do is put it in the case file, and if I wanted to I can report it to NHTSA. I will not become a death statistic to prove the problem occurred.
Toyota Prius problem - cruise control malfunction: On 2 Jan 2010 (about 0600 hrs) I was driving a rented Prius (alamo) from palm beach, fl to miami, fl. I was using cruise control and going the listed speed limit for I-95 (65mph). The car seemed to be performing correctly for the first 35 plus miles but then I got into heavy traffic and had to brake. The cruise control released normally and I slowed to about 60 mph. When the traffic cleared I pushed the cruise control "resume" button and the Prius started to accelerate as normal. However, the acceleration did not stop at the original speed I had set and had been driving at (65 mph) but continued to climb to 70 mph and higher to near 75 mph when I had to hit the brakes and shut the cruise control off to slow the car. After that I did not use the cruise control for the remainder of my trip. I just thought there may have been a glitch or operator error and I did not think of it as the problem I recently saw on the news. I live in the republic of panama and did not see anything about the Prius problems until recently. As I said the car was a rental and I just mentioned to the check in person that I had a slight problem with the cruise control but I do not know if it was reported.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving approximately between 25-30 mph on normal road conditions, proceeding to a traffic stop signal. There was pressure applied to the brake pedal however the acceleration increased. The vehicle failed to slow down and crashed into the passenger side rear of an opposing vehicle. The police was called to the scene. There were no personal injuries. The contact's vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for body damage repairs. The cause of failure has not been determined at this time. The failure mileage was 11,000.
Most recent failure was a few days ago but this has been a problem since I purchased the 2008 Prius in March of 08--- I thought it was a quirk in the car --- something that just naturally happened when I would go over a pot hole or bumps in the road --- the car would lurch forward --- I had no control over the car --- no brakes --- I didn't realize that this was not a "natural" response until I heard the description on a news broadcast a couple weeks ago. Model years prior to 2010 should be included in the investigation. I am going to make an appointment with my dealer. Thank you
I own a toy.pri.2008, on 02/03/10 I was leaving driveway applied gas, car took off across St. Into tidalflow of at. Ocean at high tide, the car would not shift. Brake or turn off. The police pic's noteded gas pedal was not visible, floor mat was over it, the salt water was in car and upon leaving car it was waist deep. The car was serviced 1/4/10 at Toyota dealer for state inspetion and usual mt. Never mentioned recall of mats which I now find was a well known fact in Sept.09. They are insisting it will dry out and be fine, salt water on any car is deadly buti hybrid. The hour it sat in water prior to tow, the car still would not shut off. I called Toyota that day as tow took car to it, they insisted that there was no issues with 2008 Prius. The car was moving much faster than my 10mph of origin and would not brake, shift or shut off. Water was pouring out stereo speakers and up under hood on/or under engine block, the engine ran for the hour the car sat in salt water. Toyota hsa been absolutely no help and still insists despite an offical recall that there were troubles with 2008 Prius. The police photos say it all.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Saint Charles, MO, USA