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.
I have a 2007 Prius. The car was involved in an accident on August 30, 2013 because "no brake". it was in a stop and go situation traveling at about 20 miles per hour. The car in front stopped, I slammed on the brake and total brake failure. My 16 years old son sitting in the car observed the "no brake" scenario. There was a 25 pound of rice in the truck did not even move. No skip mark... nothing. Took my car to longo Toyota and found nothing with the brake system, other than the front pad was thin, tires were marginal etc. None of the findings explained the no brake scenario. For some reason I cannot make this no brake to appear again. I want people to aware of this and gather information. It appears to me the Prius cannot response to a quick stop at slow speed. Somehow, the car takes more than a second for the braking to kick in - the reaction does not appear to be instantaneous. And if you are too close, that extra one second wait will cause a collision.
When the brakes are applied in deceleration and the vehicle hits a bump or pothole, the brakes release for a second, then grab again, even though foot pressure has not changed.
I was driving in the right lane of a 4-lane boulevard. The vehicle ahead in the lane to my left slowed for a car in front waiting to make a left turn, then suddenly veered into my lane. I hit the brakes as hard as I could, but for the first 2-3 seconds, my car didn't slow down. It also didn't make any sounds I would have expected from urgent braking - no screeching tires, etc. I continued to push the brake pedal hard. After 2-3 seconds, the brakes finally grabbed and my car pulled to the right. I considered myself lucky that I had enough room to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle failed to stop as the contact approached a traffic light. The contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The police were called to the scene. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was declared a total loss. The failure mileage was 25,432. Updated 02/17/11 updated 05/02/11
Dashboard red lights when vehicle starts with: Brake failure, ABS warning and stability warning. First time it was immediately taken to dealer who could find no problem and reset codes. Four days later same warning lights came on and was taken to dealer again. Were told hydraulic brake system was ok but brake actuator needed replacement at $2600. Could be driven but without ABS and stability capability. Have not corrected this due to high price. Shopping around at salvage yards.
- Tulsa, OK, USA
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The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle began abnormally sliding toward the left. The contact attempted to steer the vehicle toward the right but the vehicle would not change direction. The contact then attempted to brake but the vehicle would not stop. The contact was unable to maintain control of the vehicle which resulted in a single vehicle rollover crash. The air bags did not deploy. The police appeared on the scene and speculated that the front passenger side tire blew prior to the crash. A police report was available. An ambulance also appeared on the scene as the contact sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an insurance company lot. The vehicle was not examined for the cause of failure. The failure and current mileage was 43,000.
When braking & going over a bump in my 2007 Prius, it feels like the brakes disengage for a second & car goes faster. If there was a car in front of me I would hit it & if I had to stop suddenly then I'm not confident I could. It is disturbing. Feels like the brakes are failing.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact attempted to park the vehicle into the residence garage, driving at approximately 2 mph. Suddenly, there was an unintended acceleration. The brakes were engaged and the vehicle continued to accelerate causing the vehicle to crash into a closet in the garage. The contact suffered injury to the neck area. The vehicle front bumper sustained damages. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The identical failures occurred on two separate occasions with no injuries. In addition, the contact experienced malfunctions with the automatic ignition switch, windshield wipers, and the front driver and passenger side automatic window mechanism. The failures occurred sporadically. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000. The VIN was unavailable.
2007 Toyota Prius. Consumer states accelerator and brake problems the consumer stated while driving the vehicle, at times it would feel like either the brakes momentarily disengaged and/or the vehicle would suddenly surged slightly for a second.
When I apply the brakes they seem to start to brake and then the car actually goes faster for a couple seconds and then it brakes again. It has always done this and has been disconcerting to me. It just feels like the brakes are failing but then they kick back in. I guess as I understand it, its when the ABS kicks in, but it seems like an unnecessarily long time from any other car I have driven.
When car goes over a bump in the process of braking, the brakes momentarily disengage. This has been an ongoing problem since the car was purchased. The date stated below simply is that of its latest manifestation.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that whenever driving down a hill while applying the brake assist lever, the engine would rev. When the engine revved, the brake assist does not function and pressure had to be applied to the normal brake pedal in order to keep the vehicle from surging forward. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed the vehicle was operating as normal. The failure occurred whenever traveling down a hill. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The current mileage was approximately 44,000.
I feel my 2007 Toyota Prius has a problem with its braking system and have taken it back to the dealer. They have assured me that the ABS is working the way it should. This is what happens: When I am driving on a road that is bumpy or has potholes and I have to brake, there seems to be a disconnect or too much of a lapse in time when the brakes finally take. It is especially disconcerting when going down hill. I have had times when going down hill if I wasn't far enough back from the car in front of me, I would not be able to stop in time.....not a good feeling. I am now very cognizant of this fact and have to drive to accommodate my brakes. I should also inform you that the little yellow sliding car on my dashboard lights up when all of this is happening. I've had this car for almost three years now and I must say that it has always acted this way when braking. I should have returned it to the dealer as soon as I noticed it but because it was the first Prius I had ever owned, I thought this was normal for this vehicle. I am now feeling less and less confidant about this car. Would you ask the Toyota company to recall the 2007 Prius's as they have the 2010 Prius's for the same problem? I do not feel this is asking too much of Toyota to fix this problem. Thank you
2008 Prius-brakes release when rolling over rough surfaces. This has happened dozens of times. I have learned to start the braking early if I see rough pavement, but this could be very dangerous at night.
While driving my 2007 Prius in a congested area, the brakes did not respond when depressed quickly contributing or causing a low-speed collision with the vehicle in front of me. I found this article on cnet reviews that accurately matches my issue. "Toyota redesigned the braking systems for the 2010 Prius. That appears to be Toyota's response to the fact that the U.S. generation 2 Prius (2004-2009) has had low-speed brake failures reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 31 times the rate of such failures reported for the 2004-2009 corolla, which of course has traditional brakes. Many of the Prius low speed brake failures were in low-speed city traffic, resulting in rear-end collisions without injury. It appears that the several computers that control the complex braking systems were too busy calculating the most efficient way to apply the brakes, and did not get around to actually applying them, until it was too late."
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at 48 mph, the brakes suddenly locked up and swayed to the left side when he depressed the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership for diagnosis. The dealer repaired the axle and driver side body but it was unknown if the dealer repaired the brake system. The contact believed that the rain was a factor in the failure as it caused the computer chip for the brake pedal to malfunction. The braking system for the vehicle failed periodically in rainy weather. The VIN was unavailable at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The current mileage was approximately 60,000.
My 2007 Prius has the same braking safety issues involving momentary loss of braking power described for the 2010 Prius. It is especially troublesome when going over a bump or a slick spot in the road.
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- San Marino, CA, USA