This has happened approximately ten times since we bought our 2010 Prius in August. I apply the brakes, the car starts to slow down, and then accelerates briefly. I thought that it was just that the brakes let up for a moment, but the last couple of times it has happened I realized that it's more like the car actually accelerates for a moment. It has happened several times when I'm getting off the highway, on the exit ramp, so I'm going for a relatively fast speed to slowing down. But it happens other times, too--for instance, when I'm driving in the city and stopping for a red light. Tonight it happened and I would say that the car moved forward quickly for about 15 feet. I have had the car checked by Toyota who has found nothing wrong with my brakes, but I know that this is a potentially dangerous glitch.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

While applying the brakes to slow down or to come to a stop, if the car hits a bump, pothole or the like, the brakes release momentarily, causing the car"S momentum to continue forward longer/further than you would normally expect or want. This is especially dangerous when coming to a stop at a New York city pedestrian crosswalk or trying to slow down with a car close in front of you. I brought the car into the dealership and had it evaluated by Toyota's field technical specialist who reported the following, ""when [the car] senses impending wheel slip, it will first disable the regenerative brakes. When it does that it feels like the car sort of accelerates because you lost the regenerative braking and you're using the brake assist that you have from your foot. So that is 'normal operation' on the system. It is working as designed." Despite the explanations for why this is happening and whether or not this is ?normal operation", the bottom line is, if the car is not stopping when it should, the safety of passengers and pedestrians is in jeopardy. I called and wrote two certified letters to Toyota's customer experience department and to akio Toyota, and received a phone call from an executive analyst from the president's office. No Toyota representative would do anything in regards to the problem--they maintain that the braking operation is normal. I have seen other complaints on the NHTSA web site and on Prius owners blogs that contradict Toyota's assertion and support the claim that the brakes are indeed a safety issue that must be addressed.

- New York, NY, USA