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 2010 Prius V apporx. Mid-June. Drving in first wk of ownership, observed break problem. Vehcile had approx. 50 miles on. Drining 25-30 mph on straight, smooth, blacktop road on a sunny, nice day. A car backed out of a 45 deg parking spot without warning, I had to slamp on breaks at the same time the gas/electric motors were switching. The break pedal lost feeling that it had pressure until I pushed the break pedal another 2 inches more to feel pressure and that the breaks were grabbing. I did not report this in June, due to I thought I was imagining things due to the emergency stop took my attention to some degree. I was a service manager for Chrysler years ago, so I am very familiar with vehcile mechanical systems and I have purchsed approximately 25 new vehciles in my lifetime.
Regarding our 2010 Toyota Prius purchased in August of 2009, we have experienced braking issues in two instances: 1) when braking for a stop sign and hit a bump in the road the car surges forward 2) when braking on icy surface the brakes seem to lock up causing control problems. In speaking with the dealer they indicated that they had know knowledge of a fix to the issue and after speaking with Toyota they gave us a rental that was supposed to have come out of production after the software was fixed to correct the brake problems. While driving the rental we experienced the same issue while braking over a bump in the road.
I have a 2010 Prius and have experienced surges when coming to a stop on snow or ice. I have almost hit the car in front of me several times. This is dangerous and should be fixed
Experienced lack of braking when my 2010 Prius was going over bumpy terrain. I was pressing on the brake as I was approaching an intersection, and no braking was occurring until the car reached smooth ground again. Instead it felt like I was skidding, and the brake pedal just vibrated back at me. I can confirm that the problem being reported in the news media in Japan, is in fact, a real problem. When I heard about it on the news, I realized, hey, I experienced that. I would encourage a recall. It is a legitimate problem that does indeed sometimes occur in the situation I described. It is scary.
Toyota Prius 2010. My car has a braking problem, the rear wheels seem like they are not holding. If you hit a bump and the wheels are in the air =then grabs the ground. I thought that I was hitting pot holes causing this but there was none to see.
- Freport, NY, USA
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Regarding my 2010 Toyota Prius I purchased in November 2009: Sometimes on icy, snowy streets there has been a delay after I press the brake pedal before the anti-lock brakes activate. The car has just skidded at first. This delay in braking has also occurred when I have applied the brakes on bumpy surfaces. Total incidents have been five--three on ice, two on bumpy surfaces.
Brakes seem to fail when braking over a depression in the road or when braking on icy patches of the road. This has happened at least five times in December, 2009 and January/February 2010. Prius
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 have experienced the momentary loss of brakes on my 2010 Prius numerous times under various driving conditions. All of the instances occurred at fairly low speeds and I considered it more of a nuisance or " nature of the beast " than anything else. Once was on a level, dry, residential road approaching a stop sign. Another has happened a number of times at the same spot (a right hand turn onto a residential street - my route home from work ). and a couple of times on snow covered roads ( I actually thought those were very short skids before the ABS engaged)
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.
We have twice experienced a brake cut-out, where we are coming to a stop sign with foot on brake and hit a bump/pot hole and the car lurches ahead as though we have temporarily removed our foot from the brake even though we haven't.
Experienced loss of braking while decelerating on a down hill slope with ramp from I-55 North to bayless in St. Louis when hitting a pot hole in the 2010 Prius hybrid. The pothole has since been fixed and have not experienced any problems since.
All three drivers of our 2010 Prius have repeatedly experienced the following braking problem: If you drive over a bump, pot hole or manhole cover while braking normally at speeds under 25 mph, the brakes feel as if they instantaneously disengage for about 1 second. Normal braking soon returns, but there is a dangerous increase in breaking distance when you need it most. We have identified certain road locations in our area where this problem is repeatable even under dry road conditions. This problem has resulted in a few close calls, but so far, no accidents. However, I am absolutely convinced that a defect such as this will result in some drivers having accidents.
I was driving from L.a. to roseville ca on I-5 North in my new 2010 Toyota Prius. Because I was driving at night it wasn't very busy and I had the cruise control on at 65 mph. In the distance I saw some cars pushing their brake pedals so I wanted to brake as well a little to 1) deactivate the cruise control, 2) reduce speed. Pushing it very gently, absolutely nothing happened. This scared me and I pushed harder, then my 2010 Prius started braking way more aggressively. I noticed along the way and also after this that this behavior is consequent. While driving on the highway, I cannot use the brake pedal to release the cruise control and diminish speed, because nothing happens when you push the brake pedal gently, it takes a little time before it reacts. I find this disturbing, because in my 2000 Ford crown victory, even the very slightest touch on the brake pedal already causes the cruise control to turn off and very lightly diminish speed. In the Prius in order to achieve this I have to press the brake pedal hard, then after some delay it starts braking fast. In the beginning I thought this is normal for the Prius, but I find it quite disturbing and sometimes scaring. Hence, I must take way more distance to cars ahead of my on the highway, because I cannot brake as fast and stop as soon as the other cars can. Honestly, it is very scary and it makes my feel unsafe while on the highway with the Prius. I am driving my Crown Victoria when I am driving on the highway now a days.
There was a delay from the time I applied the brakes in my 2010 Prius when driving on slippery, snow covered roads until I could feel them start to slow the car. The ABS system also seemed to act more slowly. I also drove my 1998 Ford Explorer on the same roads soon after driving the Prius. The Explorer ABS system reacted more quickly and definitely stopped more quickly than the Prius.
Coming out of a parking lot downhill... hit a bump... brakes failed and almost sideswiped by oncoming traffic. Hit the brakes a second time and car stopped just in time to avoid a collision. This is the only time we have had this happen... brakes have worked ok rest of time. Nothing done yet to correct the "bump" defect at slow speeds.
2010 Toyota Prius hybrid brake problem: Purchased new in October, 2009, my Prius has experienced momentary brake failure while stopping under certain conditions. Specifically, when I hit a bump while braking sometimes it feels like the brakes momentarily release and the car launches forward. This has happened 6 to 10 times since I purchsed the car. I alerted the dealer (bernardi Toyota in framingahm, MA) about 3 - 4 weeks ago, and they were not aware of the problem. No solution has been offered yet.
I purchased a 2010 Prius (which was in stock) on January 8. after hearing about the brake delay problem, I realized that I had had a similar problem. I was traveling at medium speed when I felt the car dip, then shudder. I felt that I had lost control of the car. It felt like it was sliding (as though on ice). Now I realize that I must have put on my brakes, but the car continued to proceed. I had not noticed any problem in the road, and no reason to explain the shuddering. It was all very brief. I have an appointment to see the maintenance people at Toyota grapevine, Texas, on Monday, February 9.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Longmont, CO, USA