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.
While braking and on uneven sufrace brakes feel like they have sropped working and then later catch, vehicle seems to actually speed up. It occures at lease 1+ a day depending on where I am driving and or weather conditiond. Speed dosn't always matter, as if coming off expressway and braking, speeds can be 55mph and it still happens. Luckily I have not hit any thing yet.
My 2010 Toyota Prius seems to lose braking power whenever I hit a bump or slick patch in the road. Not only do the brakes seem completely disengaged, but the car actually feels like it accelerates forward. I've adapted my driving, but only after I'd ended up in the middle of a couple of intersections because the car shot forward while I was ostensibly braking. Fortunately, I've not yet rear ended anyone.
I bought a 2010 Prius in August 2009. When I apply the brakes on a bumpy road there is a loss of breaking for a short time. It feels like a surge in acceleration before the brakes work again. I do not know if it is a safety issue but it is very disconcerting.
While braking on roadway that has a manhole or a patch in the asphalt that is not exactly level with the rest of the asphalt, the tires feel like there is no traction and the car feels like it is hydroplaning. I have experienced this while driving on two specific roads and now I try to avoid the areas to prevent the feeling of having no control over the car. It feels like the car lurches forward and has no traction. This happens on dry roads. It is very frightening when it happens. I first noticed it when I first purchased the car in July and it has continued to happen.
I have owned a 2010 Toyota Prius for approximately six months. During that time I have experienced on several occasions (6-8 times) a feeling that the car is actually lurching forward while I am driving at low speeds over rough pavement and applying the brake. In my case the lurching of the car happens only when I am slowing down to make a turn. It is a frightening experience when you're applying pressure to the brake and your car feels as though it is about to take off. The sensation lasts for a second or two nevertheless it's still as I said frightening. When I first mentioned it to my local dealer the response was that it's the ABS brakes and it's normal.
- Manalapan, NJ, USA
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1.I purchased this 2010 Prius in August 2010. I have experienced unanticipated acceleration two times since the last (initial) service. Once with my husband driving on route 17 and the other time while I was driving on a local road. 2.as I stated in my service paperwork when the car was first serviced, there is a problem with the brakes. They do not stop on uneven road surfaces, such as pot holes, bumps, etc. Your service department said that this is caused by the ABS and it is "normal". obviously there is still a problem. Please advise what will be done to correct this issue. 3.when start the engine first thing in the morning (or when the car has not been driven for a while) often, but not always, it makes a grinding noise when starting
I've been hearing in the news about the potential of a braking issue with the 2010 Toyota Prius. Just wanted to let you know that I definitely noticed this issue in my new Prius. Approximately once a month, when I'm braking over an uneven or slippery surface, especially if it is only one side of the car going over the slippery surface, while I'm braking, there is a moment lasting less than a second where it feels like the brakes disengage. (causes your heart to skip a beat when it happens.) I also noticed a separate quirk the other day that I want to pass on to you. I'm not sure if this was done deliberately by Toyota or whether this is a defect, however, I believe my speedometer is calibrated so that it reads a speed that is 2 mph faster than my actual speed. I noticed this when I went on a trip and used my wife's tom tom, which uses its gps signal to measure the speed of the car. The tom tom is usually spot on in my wife's Acura. In the Prius, it was indicating that my true speed was 2 mph less than what my speedometer indicated. I'm wondering if this wasn't somehow intentionally done by Toyota to get better perceived gas mileage by the driver. Having the car get over the 50 mpg threshold is a big marketing advantage for them. Getting over this threshold would be easier if the actual speed of the car was less than the perceived speed.
When applying the brakes over a bumpy or metallic surface, there is a uncomfortable delay until the brakes "kick in". this has been going on for some time.
I was driving on pleasant grove blvd in roseville ca with a speed of 44 mph. It was about 7:16 pm. On my right a saw a black cat on the curb ahead of my walking, trying to make it's way across pleasant grove blvd. I made an emergency stop (didn't have to come to a complete stop) not to hit the cat. I pushed the brake pedal with full force in order to stop in time. There was no one behind me at the time happily. However, I noticed that the ABS system didn't kick in and hence my brakes blocked shortly during the emergency stop. In la I had this happen twice to me that the ABS didn't kick in and my wheels block. It's easily repeatable by making a stop that requires a short distance to stop. Happily this is hardly ever necessary, but I don't feel safe doing it. I have driven two Toyota corollas, they never had this issue and always the ABS worked great. In the 2010 Toyota Prius, this doesn't work well. In addition to the braking issues on the highway, this is another problem with the Prius brake. It makes me feel insecure on the road with the Prius and I don't enjoy driving it due to these issues. It's just not safe!
The 2010 Toyota Prius that I have has very grabby brakes when backing up. This usually occurs when backing out of a parked position. It is a recurrent problem and can repeatedly jerk the car to a fast stop when backing up. Such quick jerking can make one lose control of the car.
My 2010 Prius stops braking or accelerates when hitting a pothole or bump causing the car to stop later than anticipated. Almost hit a person in the cross walk.
My Toyota Prius 2010 (5000 miles) few times already has an "accelerator that goes wild", but luckily for me, I can hit the brakes. It happened only when I drive back from my garage.
Since I bought my 2010 Prius I've experienced problems with the brakes. The car experiences a sudden surge of power when going over bumps or hitting potholes if the brakes are being applied at the time. This happens at any speed at any time of day, only when the brakes are being applied lightly. This problem occurs several times a week, always when hitting bumps, potholes or uneven pavement. It always is a sudden, very brief surge of power, sometimes enough to push me back into the seat. So far there have been no consequences other than very frayed nerves. I've reported this to my dealer who responded that the car was a new technology and I simply didn't know how to drive it properly. I learned in subsequent conversations directly with the mechanic that others had complained about this problem but they had no idea what was causing it. To date, the dealer has done nothing about it. The only thing that fixes the problem is to brake further from a stop or to roll over bumps before braking. I'm very concerned about a situation where I need to brake suddenly but the car surges, possibly causing a crash.
When breaking my 2010 Toyota Prius, if I go over a bump or pot hole, it feels like the brakes cut out and my car jolts forwards. It seems to happen only when I go over a bump or something that would shake the car a bit. Nothing has been done as of yet to correct the problem. Tw*
After pushing the power button and then shifting out of park to either drive or reverse, the vehicle lunges and I have to apply the brake, which makes the vehicle jerk. Sometimes the gasoline engine starts before I shift into gear sometimes it doesn't. this process is repeated over several times for a minute or so, then it corrects itself. I am just inching along lunging, braking, jerking... this has occurred about ten times over the eight weeks and 2540 miles since purchased August ll, 2009. Took to dealer, on Sept. 29, 2009; they kept it for about 2 hours, could not duplicate and said all systems checked out ok. At that time the problem had occurred about six times. Since that date, this continues to happen intermittently. This has happened only when in my own drive or in parking lots. I am fearful that it could happen on the road and cause an accident and injury to myself and/or others. The dealer and Toyota case manager say that they must be able to duplicate the problem before anything can be done to correct it. Since it happens only on occasion, it will be difficult to duplicate.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chicago, IL, USA