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.
Today I drove the car to see what would happen if the car was accelerating and I wanted to stop it other than putting on the brakes and hitting the park button. I was trying to reproduce the conditions which have resulted in numerous accidents and more than one life. While slightly accelerating I first tried to stop the car by pressing the power button. This did nothing. I then pressed the brake pedal on the left side which is your hand brake, hard until the brake light came on and the alarm sounded. In spite of this the car kept going! the only way I could stop the car was by stopping the car with the foot brake and then pressing the park button.
2010 Prius -already had the brake software fix -continues to accelerate slightly when it goes over potholes with the brake pedal depressed - usually low speed.
I had a braking issue, the car would not brake after hitting several potholes and going into an intersection. This is post recall. The recall was performed by Toyota three weeks ago. This is the third incident for this vehicle with identical symptoms. After coasting for 10 feet or so, the vehicle did apply the brakes.
My 2010 Prius brakes failed momentarily twice while going over ruts in the road; I was able to keep control of the car and the brakes resumed working right afterwards.
I have filed a complaint here before about my 2010 Toyota Prius, where the brakes were supposedly fixed last week by Toyota following the recall. However, just today the braking problem, when hitting bumps in the road, seems to not have been fixed at all. Driving in the DC area, where there are a lot of potholes around, it is easy to test whether the brakes are fixed or not. While driving along the road today, nearing my house, I hit a pothole, and just as it had been happening before, the brakes seemed to completely let go and the car lurched forward for a split second until the brakes seemed to regain power and I was able to press down on them again. Prior to that incident, and not 10 minutes earlier, I hit a small pothole while braking lightly and the brakes gave out just slightly. It's an unmistakable feeling, having experienced it numerous times before Toyota finally decided to recall the 2010 Prius. Updated IVOQ 07/08/10.
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
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My 2010 Prius had the brake software updated before I purchased it. I have owned the car for 12 days. During that time I have experienced a braking problem on 3 instances. In each case I was slowing down at a constant rate of deceleration when I hit a pothole or other rough surface. For a split second the rate of deceleration was interrupted. In other words it felt like I had let up on the brake which I did not do. On the third incident my wife was a passenger in the car and also noticed that for a split second it felt like I eased off the brake. I took my car to the Toyota dealer to make sure the software had been updated. They confirmed that it had and make a note of my experience. I have read about the problem with the brakes on the hybrid Ford Fusion and the problem with my car may be the same. That is that the road bump prompts the computer to momentarily interrupt the regenerative braking and thus make it feel like the brakes failed.
2010 Prius 3 times I have the brakes grab and locked several times in a row when I have been applying very slow pressure. Twice while backing out from parking space and once while going forward slowly in my driveway. They then began acting normally. I am concerned that this could happen in traffic causing an accident. I can't find a place at Toyota to report. I was in an accident with 2002 Toyota Prius with unexplained acceleration in October 2009-already reported.
A safety recall procedure performed recently on the 2010 Prius to fix the lurching brakes has not been working out. I had it done recently, and this is past the recall. In more than 3 occasions recently I almost hit the car in front of me while going over a manhole stopping over for a signal going as low as 25mph. The car jumped forward despite my normal braking to get it to stop, forcing me to brake hard coming to a forced stop. I am afraid someday I may not be so lucky !! wish, Toyota put more thought into their solutions than rushing into the market with sub std. Procedures & cars !!
Complaint regarding: 2010 Toyota Prius. Since I purchased the car in September of 2009, the brakes fail when I am braking and hit a bump, pothole, or uneven road surface. The brakes fail for a second or two, and sometimes the car lurches forward. The issue occurs approximately once a day, every day. On March 6, 2010, I had the recall software for the 2010 Prius done in the service department at the mike calvert Toyota dealership in houston, Texas. On the way home, I experienced the brake failure again when I was braking and drove over a small pothole. I experienced the problem later that day when braking to stop at a red light, the pavement surface descended slightly beneath the car, the brakes lapsed, and the car lurched forward. I called the dealership. They referred to the materials supplied by Toyota and told me to call Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 to notify Toyota that the recall fix did not work. Upon calling this number and navigating the options on the automated system, I sat through a long recording stating that there was a recall of the 2010 Prius. The option available to speak with an agent did not allow me to do so.
I visited my local dealership for repair of the brake recall of the 2010 Prius in early February. I do not believe that this repair has fixed the problem. A few days after the fix, my car seemed to accelerate as I was braking and happened to be going over a pot hole. Then again just a few days ago, I was braking to make a turn and hit a very rough patch of road. My car again noticeably seemed to accelerate even though I was braking.
I was driving my brand new, 3 weeks old, 2010 Toyota Prius on a rural road in clark county Washington on Thursday, March 4, 2010, when I attempted to slow down to make a very sharp left turn. I was applying my brakes when all of the sudden I realized I was not slowing down much and was not going to make the turn. I have maneuvered this turn hundreds of times and know that one must slow to almost a crawl to make the turn. I travel this area at least 1-2 times per week, so I was not unfamiliar with the turn. It felt like my car initially slowed some, but then slowing ceased and I ended up on embankment. The front of my car was damaged severely. I was not hurt but left with a very frightening experience to deal with. I am a excellent driver and have never had a wreck in the 31 years I have been driving. I believe my brakes initially engaged, but then due to the rural road surface, and pebbles left on the road from previous ice and snow, may have caused my brakes to not work as they should have. I attempted to contact Toyota but they are closed due to it being the weekend. My car is at the auto body shop as I write this letter. My concern is that I was allowed to purchase a vehicle, that is on the recall list with such a dangerous defect such as "the brakes not working properly." I have a teenage son who is just learning to drive and would it have been him, the accident may have been worse. Please advise how you believe I should proceed. I am very concerned, upset, and do not feel safe in this car! and I certainly do not want to Transport my children, other family members and friends in an unsafe vehicle that I just spent $33,000 on. I was told when I purchased the car that it would be safe, fine to drive, and may not even be on the recall list. It is on the list and it is not a safe vehicle as far as I am concerned.
Brakes temporarily disengage when braking. This happens several times a week. Toyota says they installed the programming fix a few weeks ago but the problem continues to happen. I contacted the dealership and they told me there was nothing they could do about it, that I should contact Toyota customer service. The failure occurs when I'm braking and hit a bump or uneven pavement. The brakes stop braking for just a moment. Depending on my speed at the time, it can feel like a momentary pause or a sudden, heavy push from behind. It always feels like I"M sliding over the bump.
My 2010 Toyota Prius will sometimes brakes very hard under light brake pedal pressure when backing up. It happens every 2 to 3 days and can be when the car is hot and just driven, or cold and been parked for hours. When this occurs, it will continue to happen no matter how many times the brakes are applied in reverse, with the lightest of brake pressure, the brake apply very hard. Then after the event, say a mile or two later, when backing up, the brake will act normally to the brake pedal pressure exerted.
My daughter was driving the 2010 Toyota Prius into a shopping center's parking lot. She noticed some black ice on the ground and step on the brake. The car didn't stop and slip on the ice and then hit the curb. The repair costs over $7300, and it's the Toyota dealer did the repair work. Back in late October and early November time frame, when I was driving the car over a speed bump with speed around 15M/H, the brake didn't work, the car just surge forward, eventually slow down after 1 second or so.
After the recall service on my 2010 Toyota Prius, the braking symptom still occurred on two occasions on March 2, 2010 and on March 4, 2010. In both cases there was a delay in braking when the brake was applied while on a moderately bumpy road surface. Although difficult to measure the delay may have been briefer than previously, but it was still sufficient that it would have been a safety hazard if there was a vehicle or obstruction in front of me.
Had the recall work done on my 2010 Prius last week, and the problem (surge when braking over pothole, rr tracks, etc) has now happened twice since then. I just spoke to the service department at parkway Toyota in englewood cliffs, who told me that, while the recall fix would lessen the "surge" problem, it would never totally go away because of the braking system itself. Shouldn't this have been explained to me, by Toyota Inc, or parkway? this is still a very disconcerting feeling. Thought the recall was a total fix, not a partial one.
S10 appropriate handling re braking problems experience by an owner of a 2010 Toyota Prius. The consumer stated he experienced inconsistent braking while driving on wet, bumpy roads which required extra vigilance as the feel of the brakes would often change. The consumer also stated the problem was also evident while in reverse. Unfortunately, the vehicle did not stop while in reverse and hit another car. The consumer's vehicle as well as the other vehicle were damaged. The consumer stated his vehicle is currently at the dealership receiving the software upgrade to supposedly address the braking problem.
I have a 2010 Toyota Prius. When depressing the brake pedal with pressure, it goes all the way to the floor and the warning light that you are skidding illuminates. I have only tested this at traffic lights and not while moving. I had the Prius in for an oil change in gastonia, nc and they said they fixed the problem but it still happens.
While braking on a short hill with uneven pavement surface vehicle brakes failed momentarily and then took hold as I pressed harder on the pedal. This occurred 3 times on the same hill.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Princeton, NJ, USA