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.
On three occasions, my 2010 Prius "leapt forward" when I drove over a man-hole cover. I have read the description of the braking issue on the 2010 Prius and it sounds exactly like my experience. It only lasts for a fraction of a second, but it is quite frightening when it happens.
I have a 2010 Prius and am also having brake problems. The brakes intermittently seems to slip for a couple seconds. It seems to happen at low speeds, on hills, and in the middle of the time I am pressing on the brake. It has happened both while continuously pressing the brake and also as I ease off the pressure on the brake. The behavior is occasional, but recurring.
Momentary loss of braking when passing over bump in road while braking for stop light. Third time I have personally witnessed this momentary loss of braking.
Whenever I hit a bump while applying brakes on my 2010 Toyota Prius, the brakes stop working for a short interval (about a second). I first noticed this issue about two months ago while driving to a doctor appointment. There was a small, unavoidable pothole about 200 feet before a traffic light. The light had turned red, and I was braking as I hit the pothole. To my surprise, my Prius lurched forwarded nearly hitting the car in front of me. Fortunately, the brakes re-engaged as I attempted to brake harder. I have had to travel that same road 3X a week for the past two months, and the problem is consistent and occurs every time I hit that bump when braking. I have since noticed it at other times, always when I hit a bump and am braking. The braking lag is substantial enough to have almost caused me to get in an accident on several occasions. The bumps that have triggered it have not been anything outside of what is very common to driving. I have called the dealership, and they acknowledge that there is no repair offered at this time (but claim that they expect one in a few weeks). They have offered me a rental car for a few weeks.
My 2010 Toyota Prius lurches when going over a rough patch of road while I'm using the brakes. There is a particular patch of road near my home where this has happened repeatedly.
- San Mateo, CA, USA
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I have a 2010 Toyota Prius. When I am braking and I happen to hit a bump in the road, my car lurches forward while my foot is on the brake. I have not had an accident, but it has been close a couple of time. This began happening almost immediately after I bought the car. I bought it in July 2009. Incidents occurred between August 2009 and continue through the present. P.S. I don't know what type of brakes they are: Air, hydraulic or electric - I just picked one.
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph and engaging the brake pedal, the vehicle briefly accelerated on its own and the brakes malfunctioned. The failure has occurred 10 times since the vehicle was purchased. The dealer was contacted and they stated that was a safety feature. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 500 and the current mileage was 4826.
Our 2010 Toyota Prius has experienced the loss of brake action, or the sensation of speeding up, when going over a bump, occasionally around corners and on uneven surfaces.
I have a new gen III 2010 Prius II and have noticed that when braking the car seems to surge forward before decelerating when I hit a series of bumps or a pothole. It is un-nerving in that even at slow speeds like when coming to a stop at a stop light, the car wants to continue forward with an uncontrolled burst. I have changed my driving slightly to give my self move stopping room, but sometimes there is a series of bumps in the road and it just happens. I have 10,000 miles on the vehicle and this has happened about 8 to ten times to me, usually when I'm not expecting anything to happen but a slow braking stop. As an incident date is requested, I am putting in just one of the dates that this occurred, I have not kept a record of the days, travel conditions, or times that the incidents occurred. This happens everytime my wife drives over a particular set of train tracks near where we live. Also this of course has happened over time and the mileage given is actually from the day we got it till now, this is an on going event.
We took this statement from the NHTSA press release with today's date, which is a 100% accurate description of our problem: "momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump" this is not a one-time event as we've noticed it happening numerous times since purchasing the Prius in August 2009. The hesitation we've experienced usually occurs when driving down a steep hill or passing over a pothole.
My current 2010 Prius has the "jump" issue with the brakes, but this is not the first time that this has happened with the Prius. My 2002 Prius had the same issue, and I was not the only one. I was a member of a Prius yahoo group, and this was a topic of discussion for a while. So while I do feel the "jump" I just thought it was part of the Prius experience. Whenever I drive over a pothole, it feels like the car is trying to jump it. When hitting the brakes, it feels like there is acceleration for just a second. This is not an intermittent problem. It happens every time.
When slowing to a red light on md 212 at us rt 1 in beltsville, md, my 2010 Toyota Prius rolled over a bumpy stretch of road and the regenerative brakes stopped braking. The car rolled forward in "free wheel" fashion until I stomped on the brakes hard at which point the friction brakes kicked in and stopped the vehicle in time to avoid an accident with the vehicle in front of me. The traction control indicator lamp lit, and remained lit until I released the brakes to accelerate when the light turned green. Seems to be the same problem everyone is reporting in the news this morning. I've had the car 1.5 weeks, and this is the first time I've noticed the problem, although my wife claims it happened to her during our test drive.
I have a 2010 Toyota Prius purchase in 9/2009. When I slow down to stop and go over a bump it feels as thought the power breaks go out and the vehicle surges forward. This has occurred since we purchased the vehicle. The original explanation was that we just need to get used to the transition from gasoline power to electric power. However, I don't feel that is sufficient as it is a very dangerous surge.
2010 Toyota Prius. Car seems to surge forward when braking on rough pavement such as potholes. Also happened once on a wet day when a front wheel slipped on the painted stop line before an intersection. We took delivery of the car in June 2009 and the first incident was in July 2009.
I purchased a 2010 Toyota Prius (model V) in August 2009 and have had issues with the brakes ever since then. When driving on rough or uneven pavement, if I depress the brake to slow down, the car seems to skid or almost shoot forward instead of braking. The end result is that instead of immediately stopping, the car ends up sliding for about a second before stopping, which could obviously lead to an accident given the extra distance the car is traveling instead of braking immediately. After this happened repeatedly on a street near my home in san francisco, I took the car to the Toyota dealer from which I bought it on November 24, 2009 (city Toyota in daly city). After evaluating the car overnight, they gave me a written report (a copy of which I'm happy to provide) and told me that it had something to do with the antilock brakes but said it was a "normal characteristic of [the] vehicle." Note that while they were looking at my Prius, they gave me another loaner 2010 Prius (model III) and that car had the exact same issue (also noted on their written report). After listening to the news and seeing an article this morning where Toyota admitted there were braking issues with 2010 Prius cars made before January 2010, I became extremely concerned about the safety of my car and potential for an accident. I also understand that there are over 100 complaints for the same issue and want to add my experience to that list to ensure that Toyota does a proper recall of my 2010 Prius to fix the issue. I'm also extremely annoyed that I was told by a dealer that this was a "normal" condition only to find out now that it's absolutely not normal and that there are a significant number of individuals that have experienced the same problem, some of which have caused accidents. I just want the problem corrected.
I have noticed an issue with the brakes not working for a second when I am going downhill in the parking garage, and going over a speed bump, when I go over the bump while the brakes are slightly pressed, it momentarily loses braking after going over the bump. I think it is an issue with switching from regenerative braking, to regular mechanical braking. I am able to repeat the issue consistently in one location in a parking structure that I park in. I noticed it around Oct 2009 and have been noticing it since then.
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. While approaching a driveway at speeds under 10 mph and making a left turn, the brakes failed momentarily. Within seconds the brakes became to function normally. The dealer was notified and the contact is awaiting repairs. The failure and current mileages were under 200.
This is in reference to my 2010 Toyota Prius which has on several occasions exhibited the momentary loss of braking when the pedal is depressed and I hit a bump. This has occurred three separate times since July of 2009 when I purchased a new Prius from sunrise Toyota in oakdale NY.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Denver, CO, USA