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.
Front wheels loose all traction on icy patch! traveling North on an old paved country road with a moderate crown and narrow lanes, I came upon a modest bluff that was just abrupt enough to keep me from seeing the road surface on the other side. Within 50' of the other side was blowing snow, some sticking and turning into ice. Air temp. 27 degrees. Don't know the surface temp, and it was sunny, nice. This patch was 500' or so and prompted me to remove my foot from accelerator. I was approaching 50 mph, not fast for this road and was in no hurry. Within the time of a breath, my front end blew smoothly toward the ditch and me and the Prius came to rest within 30' or so. Now this light to moderate cross wind took control of the front of the car, 'not the back'. the point being, rear wheels are free spinning, while front wheels have a rather aggressive breaking effect. Mind you, never considered touching the 'breaks'. in addition, I've learned that driving on snow covered town streets, that it is best to pop the car into neutral when approaching an intersection and applying the service brakes, this action would prevent the car slipping or sliding at all. (3 mo. Old Michelin defender tires) not dedicated snow tires, but in my experience, very good. This town I live in has very steep grades, I'm able to negotiate all of it coming and going. I believe this incident (state farm claim #[xxx]) was caused by the overly aggressive regenerative breaking action when removing ones foot from the accelerator. Additionally, I would like point out that a hour earlier while driving to my destination, I'd driven over many drifting patches at varying speeds from 50 to 70 mph with a stiffer cross wind. However I could see them far in advance. After a lengthy go-A-round with Toyota over the phone, the response was, they will take no action on this car or in the future models. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Takata recall 1. driving on surface street at approx. 45 mph attempting to slow down for an intersection all the brake warning lights came on, while I was applying the brakes they had failed, eventually the vehicle came to a stop. After that incident the brakes are working normal. Apparently there was a recall to address the issue and it is no longer valid, I was never notified of the recall and the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from (used) never notified me of any recalls. I am a Toyota owner with a defected vehicle (a known defect by the manufacture). What are my options? 2. the headlamps (left) intermittently goes out, I have replaced the lamp, checked the fuses and it still happens, others have described loosing both lamps. Both issues above are safety issues that can contribute to serious injury incidents. These safety issue needs to be addressed by Toyota.
First issue is with the rear latch being useless sometimes depending on the weather as the molding is all melted and access to the trunk being impossible. Second and most important I've noticed the braking on this car is very very suspect. Purchased this vehicle around 6 months ago from westbury Toyota and I've learned I need to apply my brakes at least a good 50 to 100 feet before the vehicle in front of me. Couple months ago the car in front of me braked so sudden that I also hit my brakes, the ABS sign flashed as if it "was" working but the car just kept going, I ended up pressing the brake all the way to the floor and still no result. If I hadn't kept my distance I would've definitely ended up in that cars trunk. I can say from all my experience as a driver and all the cars I've owned this car has the worst braking system in the history of motor vehicles. Feels like braking a 747 plane. Extremely dangerous braking
In Feb 2018 I noticed that several lights came on in my car the vsc, ABS, and pressure sensor light lit up. Also the brake indicator light. I had recently went for and inspection on my car in Jan and had brakes replaced at my local monroe prior to this happening so I questioned them on what all the lights meant and they looked on line and saw that there was a recall on the brake actuator for my car. They advised me to go to the Toyota dealer. I went to the dealer in a few weeks later in Mar and they explained that there was a letter sent to Prius owners stating they extended the warranty on brake actuators until end of 2017. They have it in two phases, and it's unlimited miles until Dec 2017 for the first phase, then after that it's 150K miles/10 years. It also says the red triangle light must be on for it to be covered (in other words, it's only covered if it fails.) I never received this letter and the exceed the 150K miles by 5K and years. The csr rep said he would she if they could honor it being that it was so early in the 2018 year only a few months pass the deadline but the manager on site declined and told me to contact Toyota customer care. The dealer quoted me $3,500 to get this replaced. I contacted Toyota and of course they said there is nothing they could do because the letter stipulated a specific time frame of service. My issue is that I #1 never received a letter about this recall/extended warranty #2 I brought this car at a dealer certified pre-owned Toyota dealer so they should of updated my info in the system (address, ex.) #3 my car is a electrical car and needed this fix to operate properly... I feel like I'm being punished about a defect undisclosed to me which now is a hefty cost. #4 my issue happen 2-3 months after still not far off. I'm filing a complaint in hopes of finding help to resolve this issue..
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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The brake actuator went out October of 2018. I took this car to be quoted for a part and the part and labor are $2500. This car is unsafe to operate without stopping power. This is not a rare problem for the Toyota Prius in 2007. I know that many other people complain about receiving the $2500 or higher bill of repair. Toyota should extend the warranty for this expensive repair. A battery repair is expected to happen, but this repair is almost as much as a battery and makes the Prius not worth buying. The vehicle ABS, red triangle master light, vsc, and brake light all turned on at once after a drive of 60mph on the highway. After skidding to a stop, I could caused an accident because of this system failure. This is an expensive and dangerous problem that needs to be addressed.
I have a Toyota Prius 2007, 283950 miles, safety recall ZG1 ended on dec2017. The symptoms on this recall is not contstant before in my car, but now it stays on all the time. The brake actuator is making a lot of noise, I'm afraid it's going to fail on me when I needed it the most. Can you recommend Toyota to extend it some more ?
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. While driving various speeds, the instrument panel indicators illuminated, including the ABS indicator. In addition, the brakes lost power and did not stop the vehicle. The contact slammed on the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to clearwater Toyota (800-667-9051, located at 21799 us hwy 19 N, clearwater, fl 33765) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer, stating that the warranty expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Squealing brake actuator. Occurs when car is stopped, in gear, brake pedal pushed down. This is an indicator actuator is failing, causing complete loss of brakes.
My brake actuator is going bad, I have E-brake light on always, as well as vsc, ABS, and ((!)) lights on the dash. This happened when the vehicle was in motion and not the lights do not go off and the brake actuator is constantly making noise and running.
My brake actuator is going bad, I have E-brake light on always, as well as vsc, ABS, and ((!)) lights on the dash. This happened when the vehicle was in motion and not the lights do not go off and the brake actuator is constantly making noise and running. I took this vehicle for an inspection at the Toyota dealer and they never mentioned anything about a recall for this vehicle, so as it turns out the part is failing and the brakes might not work at any given point. Toyota wants $2,000+ to fix this issue when it shouldn't be an issue in the first place!
Breaking noise behind driver dashboard similiar to whirring or motor sound, comes on wether the brakes are pressed or not driving or stationary... very bothersome, breaks also have bark sound at times when pressed down. Went to dealer and was dismissed as it being normal, called Toyota and they are unwilling to work on a repair. Please advise
Driving car on the freeway in the far left lane. E-brake light turned on with the loud alarm sound as if I had activated my E-brake. I lost significant breaking power and was very lucky nobody stopped fast in front of me while it happened. I had no idea what the problem was, but it was very scary on the freeway not being able to break properly. I learned it was the ABS actuator that had failed, was told my warranty had expired but I had no idea there even was a recall. If they knew this was an issue why was it not fixed when I had my car serviced? pt#04003-44647
My car had not exhibited previous problems with breaking. Upon leaving school, the ABS, vsc, and emergency brake light came on accompanied by a long, loud, and continuous beep. I puled over into a parking light and it all stopped. I was close to home and decided to continue to drive as the car seemed to be fine now. Upon approaching a stop light, my car put itself in neutral and compressed the brake all the way to the floor. I was unable to stop the vehicle, and had to run it into a curb in order to avoid hitting the stopped vehicle in front of me. I had it towed to a Toyota dealership and was told the ABS actuator was failing. Upon calling Toyota customer care, I was notified of an enhanced warranty that existed through 12/31/17. However, I never received an notice of this warranty nor had my vehicle had any problems prior to 12/31/17 that would suggest to me that the car's ABS needed serviced. I am unable to safely drive my vehicle and despite Toyota's negligence in communicating the defect in their product to me, they refuse to correct the situation.
It was a scary situation on 08/08/2018, my '07 Toyota Prius 2 failed to stop when I applied the brake to stop and park instead it accelerated. Driving through the parking lot of seafood city in cerritos, ca, looking for an open spot, I maintained pressure on the brake pedal to keep a safe speed. Approaching an open spot, I continued to keep pressing the brake while entering the space. As I was straightening my steering wheel and applying a harder brake to stop, I felt the car accelerate forward, causing my instinctive reaction to apply even more braking pressure on the pedal. The car continued forward uncontrollably, jumping the curb of an island, hitting and knocking over a palm tree (approximately 15' tall) onto a parked vehicle (car #2) to the immediate left of the vehicle directly in front of me (car #1). My vehicle drove up the tree and came to a short rest on top of the hood of car #1, where my foot was on the brake the whole time. Immediately after stopping, and realizing that I was still applying a hard brake, trying to gain control of my vehicle, the vehicle began rolling backwards down the tree and off of the hood of car #1. the car didn't stop rolling backward despite my foot was pressing hard on the brake. It was the cousin of the owner of car #2 who reached and pressed the stop where that's the only time my car stopped rolling and came to a complete stop. It was the worst feeling as I was not in control of the car as the brake didn't work. I was so shaken, me and my husband were discussing what to do. We immediate called the dealership and told them what happened, they gave us the corporate instead. The Toyota corporate office was indormed but we believe that Toyota is not taking this case seriously. A police report was taken by officer clayton of cerritos sherriff station ref. #918-03548-2318-483
The brakes did not respond while I was driving on the freeway at 65 mph, and the car started making a long sustained high-pitched electronic beep. The lights for the parking brake, ABS, and another light I'm unfamiliar with were on. When I pumped on the brakes, they felt unresponsive. I tried again but keeping down on the brake and it was very slow to respond. I managed to get off the freeway. At slower speeds I was able to get the brakes to work, but slowing down even from less than 20 mph took several yards. I called Toyota and they said it was a known issue with the brake actuator assembly, but the warranty expired in December 2017. As the owner of the car, I was never notified about this known issue, and not told about the warranty, even though I had been taking my car to the Toyota dealer for scheduled service. The part itself is over $2000, before labor, which I cannot afford. So I can no longer drive the car because I cannot afford the repairs. And I nearly died driving with a known safety issue that I believe should have warranted a full safety recall.
My brakes have begun to make several different noises. Upon researches I found that the brake actuators are known to fail. I'm scared to drive the car as it would be very dangerous if my brakes go out on the free way.
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- Cut Bank, MT, USA