10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
15 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
113,785 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2006 Toyota Prius brakes problems

brakes problem

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2006 Toyota Prius Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #28

Mar 062018

Prius

  • 231,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Failure of ABS actuator. I received notification of a " warranty enhancement " program that extended the warranty for my vehicle on the brake actuator assembly. The extension portion of the warranty for my vehicle expired on December 31, 2017. I purchased the car new in 2006 and have faithfully had it serviced by the Toyota dealership every 5000 miles. Toward the end of 2017 I noticed the car making some noises after I parked it in the garage. I attributed it to the noise that the car often made when first turned off. I had the car in for service at the Toyota dealer in Oct and Nov 2017 and again in Jan 2018 and no problem was identified with the actuator. The noise continued and became more noticeable so when I took the car in for its routine service in March 2018 I asked them to check what was causing the noise. When I went to pickup the car they told me they did not hear the noise. When I got back into the car I immediately heard the noise and accompanied them back to the car to hear the noise. The mechanic took the car back to the shop and when he finished I was told it was the brake actuator assembly going bad and was quoted $2700 to have it replaced. I was advised that I would know know when it failed completely when several of the warning lights illuminated. Yesterday while driving 55mph on a 4 lane highway all of the related warning lights came on. Fortunately the brakes still worked and I was able to make it home safely. After exploring the internet I found this is a fairly common dangerous failure and thought it was interesting that Toyota has stopped providing replacement when this part fails especially as they are aware of the issue.

- Green Cove Springs, FL, USA

problem #27

Mar 302018

Prius

  • 210,000 miles
While driving, the brakes just quit working properly. I had very little stopping power. A lot of lights on the dash came on vsc, ABS, skid, etc... after researching, I see this was covered under an extended warranty period up until December 31, 2017. Toyota is not covering fix and told me to fix car for $3000 or park it, it is not safe to drive. This is a safety issue and I almost got into an accident. Please help. Never received a letter from Toyota even talking about the recall.

- Salem, OH, USA

problem #26

Mar 032018

Prius

  • 191,600 miles
Takata recall - the complete failure of the brake actuator system. The vehicle is not safe to drive. During routing trip to nearby grocery store, the following warning lights came "on, " brake, ABS, vsc, check engine. While driving the vehicle home on a public street, the brakes malfunctioned and in order to stop the car, I ran it into the curb. The brake pedal pressure dropped and it seems the back brakes may still be functioning but front brakes are not working at all.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #25

Feb 082018

Prius

  • 136,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Feb 8, 2018 my Prius brake warning lights came on. Toyota says this is due to failure of the brake actuator assembly at a repair cost of $2900. This exact failure was covered under a warranty enhancement program ZG1 up to 10 years old and 150,000 miles. My 2006 Prius is just over 11 years old with 136,000 miles. Please help! is another extension of this warranty upcoming? Toyota should pay for this failure.

- Venice, FL, USA

problem #24

Dec 012017

Prius

  • 154,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. When the brake pedal was depressed, an abnormal noise was heard. The vehicle was taken to autonation Toyota gulf freeway (12111 gulf freeway, B, houston, tx) and they diagnosed that the brake actuator was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was approximately 154,000.

- League City, TX, USA

problem #23

Jan 122018

Prius

  • 165,000 miles
Brake actuator - ZG1 -Toyota had extended warranty for defective brake actuators up to 150,000 miles or December 31, 2017 as part of their ZG1 warranty extension program for the 2006-2009 Toyota Prius. Many catastrophic brake failures are still occurring as a result of this defective part for vehicles as young as 6 years old that are now outside this warranty. The failure may result is accidental injury or death. This defect now effects my personnel vehicle.

- League City, TX, USA

problem #22

Nov 162017

Prius

  • 65 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car (06 Toyota Prius) had hit a pothole while on my way to church on 11/16/17. There was a lot of traffic and though I was far behind the person in front of me, my brake did not stop and my car went under the car in front of me. The vehicle was going maybe 5-10 mph as we inched up to the light. Lots of traffic, I was double and triple checking to see my foot on the brake and it was but car would not stop, in fact it felt like it revved up.it was terrifying as I saw my car plow into another when there was nothing I could do. I know the 2010 models were recalled for this but it happened to me on my 2006 Prius. No recall but a warrant enhancement notification was sent to my relative who had a 2007 but I never received it. It is all about the brakes and the not stopping properly. Toyota also did a weird buy back thing and wanted my car. I think it is because they wanted to hide the problem instead of having a recall. I have never had a company try to buy back my car. Toyota is at fault and I want to make sure no one else is killed or hurt by this. It also shows up in the technical service bulletin but again, not a recall but it needs to be recalled! my car had about 65K on it.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #21

Nov 162017

Prius

  • 65,000 miles
Was going to church thurs evening and fast driver ahead of me in busy intersection. Stayed far away from her but when she slammed on her brakes, I hit mine as well knowing I had plenty of time to stop but the brakes did not work, even though I pumped them and then slammed them on again. (I have had other people tell me they have had the same problem with their O6 Prius'. I ended up hitting her car and my car was totaled even though we were not going fast (red light up ahead). I am going to see if my acceleration was fixed because truly I could not stop the car. In fact a man who helped at the scene told me to 'take foot off the brake, the car will not go anywhere' but I was so scared that if I did the car would move again.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #20

Jul 112017

Prius

  • 220,000 miles
I used a uhual tow dolly to move my car about 30 miles. When I turned on the car to remove it from the dolly the vsc, brake & ABS lights were on. I confirmed that my ABS do not currently work.

- Youngsville, NC, USA

problem #19

Apr 232016

Prius

  • 196,000 miles
Travelling 30-35 mph. Tried to stop-brake pedal went to the floor and car accelerated. Hit a steel sign which totalled the car. Airbags failed to actvate even though the force of hitting the sign drove the engine back to the dashboard.city street.

- Ventura, CA, USA

problem #18

Apr 232016

Prius

  • 196,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owned a 2006 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 30 mph, another vehicle suddenly stopped in front of the contact's vehicle. The contact depressed the brake pedal to the floorboard, but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact's vehicle crashed into a road sign. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact coasted to the side of the road and the engine failed. The contact was not injured and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and an insurance lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 196,000.

- Ventura, CA, USA

problem #17

Nov 232011

Prius 4-cyl

  • miles
I was in a 2006 Toyota Prius car accident on the freeway when the steering wheel started jerking (to the point of no control), the brakes stopped working and the car kept accelerating. Car lost control. Car was totaled, two witnesses and a police report. I was sent the emergency room. No responsibility was assumed by Toyota, which completed their "inspection" on March 9th, 2012. Then eight months later on November 14, 2012 they come out with two recalls: A steering recall & an engine and engine cooling, hybrid propulsion system recall, probably as part of what they saw happened to me. I was never notified after about these recalls that my car potentially could've been defective from and part of.

- Bellevue, WA, USA

problem #16

Apr 232016

Prius

  • 196,000 miles
Dry, clear day. Driving on a city street.red lightwith bus in front of me and a car next to me. Speed limit was 45mph. I applied the brakes and nothing happened.. it felt as though the car accelerated slightly.I tried to apply the emergency brake and the one on the dash.again to no effect. I managed to avoid the bus by driving on the median strip and missed a large palm tree. The motor stopped and I coasted about 150 feet. This is the second time I have had a problem with the brakes. The first time the brake pedal did not move at all and the engine accelerated. Managed to avoid all vehicles. Took the car to Toyota and was told that the Prius had a little glitch in all of them and my car is ok now. Did not want to check the computer or any part of my car.obviously, there is a defect in the computer system hit a heavy information traffic sign on a steel pole.

- Ventura, CA, USA

problem #15

Jan 302016

Prius

  • 86,000 miles
When I driving on a decline and hit uneven ground or a pot hole, while braking, the car will lurch forward and the braking is suspended for a second. This is a recurring event and can be easily replicated with high probability. I have listed the most recent time this error has happened.

- White Plains, NY, USA

problem #14

Dec 032015

Prius

  • 134,280 miles
While driving into a parking lot, the brake and the exclamation lights came on followed by a continuous beep. The brakes suddenly failed and I had to apply excessive force with my foot in order to stop the car. I turned off the car and went to do some errands, like 10 minutes later, I turned on the car. The brake and exclamation lights were off and the car was able to brake normally. The next day, while returning home from college, after a 25 minute drive in the highway I went through a secondary road, the same problem showed again, lights and no braking power without any prior symptoms. Once I applied excessive force to stop the car the wheels locked. I pulled the car to the side of the road, turn it off and the on and the car continued to drive normally. I stopped using the car after this. Probably a brake actuator is defective but there were no symptoms prior this problem, the car just suddenly does'nt have brake power.

- Jayuya, PR, USA

problem #13

Nov 042015

Prius

  • 128,780 miles
While driving 20 M/H vehicle suddenly eccelerated and I hit the guard rail when experiencing unintended acceleratition

- Westminster, SC, USA

problem #12

Sep 182015

Prius

  • 100,000 miles
The combination meter on my 2006 Prius has an intermittent electrical short. This results in the dashboard lights going out while the car is moving. This problem with the electrical system on the Prius can result in the brakes on the car failing. In addition the car often continues to stay on after we turn it off. This is also a safety hazard. Toyota has refused our request to replace the defective combination meter, even though this is a widespread problem.

- Arlington, VA, USA

problem #11

Sep 022015

Prius 4-cyl

  • 103,000 miles
My wife [xxx] had a serious accident in the parking lot of the victorian on main St in santa monica on Wednesday September 2. from standstill, her 2006 Prius suddenly accelerated to a very high rate on its own and the car's brakes were completely non-responsive. In this relatively confined parking area, after a frightening period of trying to regain control of the vehicle, she made a split-second decision to crash into a tree at a relatively high speed in order to avoid steering the car onto main St. And causing a much more serious accident that would have impacted many people, automobiles and public and private property and possibly resulted in multiple deaths and multiple serious injuries. She sustained a broken foot. Her passenger sustained bruising. Both were taken by ambulance to St. John's hospital. Both airbags deployed. The 2 occupants were wearing seat belts. As a result, and only because of [xxx] quick thinking and potentially sacrificial action, [xxx], her passenger and many other non-suspecting people are alive today. It is apparently well-established that the Prius can accelerate in this manner. In this case, the circumstances would appear to be straight forward: A car parked in a parking lot and started suddenly accelerates on it's own and refuses to allow the driver control. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #10

May 082015

Prius

  • 128,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. While driving at 20 mph, the contact heard a warning whistle and a burning plastic odor. In addition, the contact had to apply excessive force to the brake pedal in order to stop the vehicle. The general emergency, ABS and brake warning lights illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the relays, front brake rotors, brake pads, and brake actuators needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 128,000.

- Teaneck , NJ, USA

problem #9

Sep 152014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 198,000 miles
While pressing on brake while going low speed to stop at a red light, the car accelerated before braking. A few minutes later, I was attempting to park in a parking garage. While pulling into the parking spot I applied the brake to come to a complete stop. Instead of decelerating, the car aggressively accelerated into the cement barrier at the head of the parking spot.

- Exton, PA, USA

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