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.
My 2010 Toyota Prius has a recurring problem with its brakes. On multiple occasions, when I am braking and hit a pothole or other uneven surface the car lurches or slips forward and the braking action stops. This has happened to both me and my wife while driving the car. The feeling while driving the car is that the car is momentarily out-of-control and that the car will not stop in time.
I have a 2010 Toyota Prius iv and I have experienced the reported problem with the braking; namely with the brake applied and I running over a rough spot or bump in the road ( a good example is braking when going over rough railroad tracks) you feel a momentary surge or acceleration. I have noted this problem quit a few times since the car was new (car has been driven approx. 5000 miles).
Almost 100% of the time when approaching the intersection of 20th & broadway (santa monica, ca) from the East so I can turn right to head North on 20th, my 2010 Toyota Prius surges forward when I hit a bump/pothole in the road while braking to a stop. The surge is enough to launch the car forward into the crosswalk, so if someone were crossing the street it is possible the car may hit them. I haven't done anything to correct the failure, but I need to see the dealership about the problem.
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
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We live in Chicago and own a 2010 Prius. We also have experienced the acceleration (forward surge) upon braking on uneven terrain reported by other owners. No accident, but it happens often on our city streets and it is a little unnerving. The last time it happened was yesterday.
1. small patch of snow or bump 2. loss of brakes, 2 times due to snow and 1 time due to a bump, loss of braking for about 5 feet about 20 feet before a stop sign. There is no pulsing (ABS) just a loss of braking. When it happens, I push the brakes harder and after about 5 feet at 5 mph, I get sudden strong braking. The snow has only been on the right front tire. This is not just loss of traction because I don't hear the noise associated with that. 3. none, read other similar accounts that the deal is calling normal.
I purchased a 2010 Prius in June, 2009. I have noticed a "surge forward" if I apply the brakes while going over bumps like railroad tracks or potholes. This has happened repeatedly. I just saw a report in the media that others have had the same problem. I will report it to my dealer in madison, Wisconsin.
We have had several instances of brake malfunction in our 2010 Prius. When backing out of our garage, on 3 occasions, when my foot was just resting gently over the brake, it felt as though I was stomping on the brake. It did this 4-5 times where it lurched to a stop when I wasn't applying it but just resting my foot on it as I backed up. I had an incident where I was entering a car wash and when I went over a bump into the car wash stall, the car lurched uncontrollably forward. I tried to put the car into neutral and it wouldn't stay in neutral but kept popping back into drive an lurching forward.. also, we have 3 incidents in inclement weather where the anti-lock brakes did not work at all or did not work correctly. On a snowy day, I slid right through an intersection and the anti lock brakes did not kick in nor did the anti-lock brake indicator light come on. My husband had an incident where if felt as though the anti-lock brakes functioned only on one side of the car, propelling him straight sideways upon braking. We feel very strongly that there is a problem with this model of Prius that poses a significant risk to our safety.
I purchased a 2010 Toyota Prius on Dec. 23 2009 in columbus oh, and experienced brake problem twice. When I was coming out of my street to merge to a bigger street, I used the brake trying to stop the car. Instead of coming to a stop, the car jumped forward. I had to brake it again and hard to stop it. I felt as if there was an internal energy pushing the car forward. This happened to me twice. The first time was 3 weeks ago, the second 2 weeks ago.
Dear, NHTSA I was driving my Prius in November of 2010 and noticed that the braking system was not braking well. I recently was involved on Jan 29, 2010 in an incident driving out of the parking lot from work were the brakes failed on the vehicle when I went to stop the vehicle and the car skidded and struck some ice/snow (one the edge of the parking lot) causing damage to my front passenger side bumper. I am not as concerned about the damage as I am about my overall safety in the vehicle. I have reported the problem to Toyota and they have responded and I have told them that there is an issue with the braking. I want to take this time to formalize my complaint. I am not checking crash and property damage due to the fact that it is not well defined on this page although I had property damage to the car itself and I crashed into snow/ice on the side of the road.
Occasionally when braking at a relatively slow speed on a bumpy or slippery surface the brakes feel like they stop working. My immediate response is to press the brakes harder and that seems to resolve the issue. I don't remember any sense that the ABS system kicked in during these situations. I have never not pressed harder on the brake pedal so don't know whether the loss of braking sensation would continue if no more pressure was applied to the brakes. I have also felt this sensation when braking while cornering at slower speeds. I don't know if a slippery or bumpy surface is always involved when I experience the loss of braking while turning, but at least on one occasion during cornering there has been a bump going from a slightly raised asphalt surface to lower concrete surface attached to the curb for the passenger side wheel only.
I have had my 2010 Toyota Prius iv since August 2009. Over the past two to three months, I notice that sometimes when I brake, my car jumps forward a little bit before braking. It feels like skidding on ice but there is no ice around. It happens at least a few times every week. I have been lucky so far that this issue hasn't caused an accident. I now make sure I have extra space when braking because I can't seem to find a reason for this happening. There is no way to predict when the brakes will react that way. I am planning on contacting my dealership today.
I bought my new 2010 Prius June 6th 2009. Since about Oct 2009, I have noticed when I am braking and go over a pothole in the road, the car seems to speed up. There is a pothole by my house so I can test this frequently. It happens when I go about 30 mps (as I'm slowing down due to the stop light on the corner). I took my 2010 Prius into the dealership on Dec 28th and they were very unhelpful and rude. They told me to remove my floor mats even though what my issue was had nothing to do with floor mats or the gas pedal. What can I do to help encourage them to fix this issue as I find it unsafe to drive my car?? I have almost rear ended the car in front of me twice. It's very concerning.
Driving a 2010 Prius with a half inch of fresh snow on a residential street at 20 degrees. Driving at 12 mph, slowing to a stop at a stop sign. Twice the brakes stopped working, causing me to come to a stop beyond the pedestrian crosswalk. Fortunately, no pedestrians were there. It felt as if ABS had engaged, causing me to lose control of braking. Even if this is a design element, it caused me to not be able to stop in time. I was going 7 mph when this happened and would have easily stopped the car in time if this had not happened. After this incident I had to approach intersections at 3-5 mph, afraid that my slow speed would cause somebody behind me to rear end me.
Regenerative braking disengages for a second or two before mechanical braking takes over causing car to lurch forward/accelerate when braking on uneven road surfaces. This effect was noticed twice at speeds less than 15 mph when front tires hit ruts in road attempting to brake at stop lights or when going around a corner. I try to drive close to the right curb on the even road surface to avoid breaking when pot holes/ruts are present in my lane where other cars typically drive.
My 2010 Prius has brakes releasing while my foot is on the brake pedal. In reverse the brakes frequently "stick" on. In this most recent incident I was changing lanes looking to make a future left turn and I was in the right lane of a 4 lane road, I was slowing down to change lanes and did not see a car in my "blind spot" where my mirrors did not show the car. Once I side swiped the Acura MDX, I made emergency maneuvers to get back to the right lane, which included swerving right and hitting the brakes after the car started moving right. At that point my vehicle seemed to move on it's own irregardless of my pedal and steering actions (I was in panic mode since I haven't had an accident in decades - except a parking lot "bump"). I wrote off the fact that I was unable to defensively drive as I have relied on for all these years since I couldn't pull out of the accident. Now however, after hearing of the similar issues on 2010 Prius I am wondering whether the vehicle played a part in the accident that I could not compensate for?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kokomo, IN, USA