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.
Purchased 2008 Prius in July 2017. The car has 85K miles on it now. Recently found out the brake actuators need to be replaced. This was diagnosed at the nearest Toyota dealership. They quoted it will be $2200 to replace. In addition, the dealer said it was a known safety issue and there was no warrantee available for it. This known safety issue is a very expensive ordeal to handle. This is a Toyota structural integrity problem from the information received from the service dept. At the Toyota dealer. If there was a extended warrantee out there that termed, they need to re-instate it. Toyota needs to correct known safety issues as such, especially when it comes to the braking system.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While the vehicle was stationary, the brake actuator developed a leak that caused it to malfunction. The contact stated that the ABS also failed and he could not stop the vehicle. The vehicle rolled out of the driveway into the middle of the road. There was no crash due to the failure. Bell Toyota in peoria, Arizona was made aware of the failure, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.
Brake actuator failed but the warranty expired less than 2 months ago. It's a $2000+ cost to replace the part. I want Toyota to pay for it because it was their shoddy assembly that caused it. There are so many complaints on priuschat and whatnot.
ABS actuator, vcs failure. Unsafe braking issues. Toyota dealer is quoting $2500 to fix. Found that a warrant extension was added by Toyota as this is a known issue, although Toyota Corp is saying that the warranty extension expired January 1st, 2018. A friend with a 2006 Prius has the same warranty extension expiration (letter attached) and where my car is a 2008 model, Toyota Corp advises that the extension expires at the same time and that there is no other options, that they will not assist with this safety problem.
There is a recall on break actuator failing. When I called Toyota and local dealership they said that I am out of the extended warranty period. When I was in the dealership last year they said without the warning lights on they can't fix the issue. The lights came on yesterday, the problem starts when the mileage is high, my car has just 78000 miles. The dealership and Toyota will not fix the problem. Please help me in this regards as this is a safety concern on my car.
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
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I noticed a buzzing sound from my engine compartment a couple of days ago. The buzzing sound occurs every 15 seconds and last for around 4 seconds. After doing research I found this is the sound of the ABS brake actuator on the verge of failing. I also discovered that 1.5 years ago Toyota sent a letter to all 2004-2009 Prius owners about this issue and offered to replace for free until Dec 31st 2017 or 10 years/150,000 miles after. I never got this letter and my Prius has 163,000 miles. I am attaching the zg-1 letter that was suppose to be sent to all 2004-2009 Prius owners. I feel that a recall should be issued regardless of mileage as this is a brake safety issue. Their letter confirms they know of the problem but only gave 1.5 years to fix which is unfair to 2008-2009 owners whose cars have not been around long enough for this to happen yet.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving 40 mph, the contact heard a screeching noise while depressing the brake pedal. The contact also noticed that if the pedal was depressed quickly, the vehicle took a longer time to stop. The vehicle was taken to john elway's crown Toyota (1201 kettering dr, Ontario, ca 91761) where it was diagnosed that the brake actuator assembly failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that they would look into the situation. The approximate failure mileage was 148,045.
Anti lock brake actuator and pump has gone out Feb. 2008. Brakes would lock up Feb. 2017. New from Toyota is $1600. City and highway driving was told if had a wreck they would lock up if we did not replace. We had to quit driivng brakes control got so bad till we could afford a used part off internet for $645.
If I am applying the brakes when I hit a pothole or bumps in the road the brakes briefly stop working and don't re engage for several feet. Thus, if I am driving 30mph, the brakes won't re engage for about 15 feet. I took the car to the dealer twice and they claimed there was no problem. I checked online and found numerous complaints of the exact same problem by other 2008 Prius owners. I believe it is a programing problem with the interplay of the traction control system and the ABS system. Apparently there was a recall for a similar problem in the 2010 models but not the 2008 models. I have experienced this problem throughout the life of the car. Please look into this problem
My 2008 Prius (67,500 miles) regularly serviced at the Toyota dealer had a catastrophic brake failure while I was going in reverse down my drive way. I have done the same maneuver every day for more than 20 years in this driveway and never had a problem. As the brakes failed I attempted to pump the brake pedal more to no avail. The car crossed the street and went in the neighbor yard across from my driveway. The car is totaled and I believe it was a complete brake failure that caused the accident. I would like Toyota to compensate me for the total loss of my car.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the ABS and vsc warning indicators randomly flashed. The dealer was notified of the failure, performed a multi-point inspection, and stated that the brake actuator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.
I was in an automobile accident where I rear ended vehicle in front of me. I tried to stop but the vehicle would not stop or even make an attempt to slow down. My ankle suffered a severe twist from trying to apply brakes. There was plenty of room to stop but the brakes would not react to slow down vehicle. There was a car coming in the oncoming lane so I could not go around vehicle in front of me. My vehicle was in motion in the city and I was going straight. The pavement was a little rough and my ABS light was going off and all I could do was hit vehicle in front of me due to brakes failing and not slowing me down.
My Prius has a little over 67000 miles on it now. A couple months ago there was an intense alarm going off when I just entered the hwy. Lights came on all over the dash but the car drove fine and home was 2 miles away. Because of the alarm I pulled over and realized my brakes weren't working correctly. I called my repair service and they said to carefully drive home and bring it in the next morning since they were closing. As I drove home the brakes got worse and in parking behind my other car it almost didn't stop. Turned off the car, called the service repair and they said drive back now. The car was off about 5 min. And the brakes were better but not 100% there. Got a loaner drove home. Next day he said they couldn't find anything wrong. Hasn't happened in the last 2000 miles I put on it but I have noticed that the car lunges when hitting a small bump in the road while braking. It feels like the brakes stop for a second or two and the car speeds up. Quite a worrisome problem if the brakes are going to get worse as the car ages or the ABS messes it up as I have read. Sometimes the car does accelerate faster than normal but my Toyota pickup will do that sometimes and I just figure it might be some kind of fuel surge?
When I have the brake pushed down and I am in another gear besides park, then the brake can stop working and just roll forward or backward depending on where I am at. It does it part of the time, not all of the time. I am afraid I am going to hit something. It is when I am in stationary position in drive or reverse. It can happen anywhere. I do not know the exact dates that this has happened. But it has happened numerous times.
I was in a parking lot and turned my car into a parking space. As I slowed my car to bring it to a stop, applying the brake, the car accelerated on its own and crashed into a railing at the head of the parking space. Although I pushed the brake all the way to to floor, I could not stop the car. The car hit at such a speed that it broke a solid wood railing at the front of the parking space. My car was declared a total loss by my insurance company because of the damage. It seemed to me the car accelerated on its own and the brake was nonfunctional. I could not stop the car. I had two related incidents prior to this crash. The first, I rear-ended another vehicle when applying the brake to stop at a traffic light. Again, the car accelerated and the brake would not stop it. Even with the brake fully pressed, the car hit the other vehicle, bounced backward, continued to accelerate and hit the car again before coming to a stop. Secondly, one time I noticed when applying the brake to make a sharp right turn, the car lurched forward. This did not result in a crash.
Warning lights came on when I started it- after purchasing the car used (brake light, ABS, vsc, and ! lights). Would occur intermittently every other day. I replaced the 12V battery. Took it to the dealership- said they had not idea and 'recalibrated' it. The light came on the next day. Returned to the dealership and now we are being told it's the 'brake actuator' and it's a very well known issue in the generation 2 Prius'. see attached picture for warning lights.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact started the vehicle and noticed that the brakes failed to work. The dealer stated that the ABS pump failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 127,000.
I was driving 50mph when the car lost power.the car suddenly had no power brakes, no ability to easily steer, no engine power and many warning lights came on including an warning that the main hybrid battery was not charging. The car would not respond to acceleration. The car came to a stop. I held the start button the car shut off. The car restarted with no problems. All the warning lights were off. I put the car in drive and started to accelerate. All the warning lights come on just as before and the car suffers the same issues again. I went through the same process of turning the car off and turning it back on. The car started up again with no problems again, all the lights were off. It failed on more time on the trip home. I was able to restart the car and put my emergency lights on. I never drove over 25mph on the trip back to the house. My family took the car to wilson Toyota in bellingham wa. They examined the car and said the 12V battery had failed. They told my family that the main 12V battery runs all the electrical to get the car started and running. We told the dealer the car still had electrical power. They still replaced the 12V battery. The following day my family went to look at the car and a service person at the dealer, who said he was new to this location, said he had noticed that the 12V battery had seemed to be replaced recently. They said they would keep the car to keep looking over its systems. On 4/16/2015 my family called Toyota to discuss our safety concerns with regard to how the car failed. We explained we also have a 2007 Prius that had the main hybrid battery fail and that all the warning lights that came on were similar in both cars. The dealer has said there are no codes that said the main hybrid battery is failing. I am worried that I or my family could be seriously injured if the car failed in this manner again while on a busy highway or intersection.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While starting the vehicle, the brake, ABS, and vsc lights illuminated. In addition, the brakes dragged without pressure being applied pressure to the brake pedal and the vehicle veered to the left. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the brake actuator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 185,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Durand, WI, USA