Toyota Prius V sudden acceleration problems

Filed May 1, 2026 · Brakes · OR

Suddenly Cars Brakes failed with vehicle almost lunged forward. I had to slam the brakes heavily for it to stop; Took the vehicle to Toyota Service and clearly its a QUALITY issue toyota acknowledged as a know problem with error code C1391. They even had customer support program 20TE07 acknowledging it as their issue; I almost got killed for this. The repair costs are abnormally high at 4900$'s putting me a financial burden also and currently unsafe car; Toyota - they literally KNOW THIS ISSUE and still put me at risk. They are refusing any kind of assistance to help too.

Filed Dec 13, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · AZ · crash

On [XXX] at [XXX] I was backing out of a driveway when my 2016 Prius V5 accelerated on its own. When I applied the brakes, nothing happened. I hit a curb, which flattened the front passenger tire. In order to get the car to stop, I took it out of gear and put it in neutral. The car finally came to a stop. My speed while backing out of the driveway was less than 5 mph. It accelerated to about 15 mph. I was told that because the tire flattened due to the force of impact with the curb, Toyota considered it an accident. Toyota had me complete an "Unintended Acceleration" form so they could investigate the situation. A case number ([XXX]) was assigned. I was also told that I needed to contact Toyota's Brand Engagement Center at (800) 331-4331. Toyota assigned Engineering Analysis Associates (EAA) to perform a thorough inspection and read out the Event Data Recorder (EDR) of my vehicle at Findlay Toyota. Anne Chapman with EAA did the inspection and sent a copy of the report to me on 09/15/25, the day of the inspection. She suggested that I keep the copy because I may need it if I needed to contact an attorney. My insurance company, USAA, sent an adjuster to examine the extent of the damage. Findlay Collision Center completed the repairs on 09/26/25, which cost $3,433.92. The accelerator nor the brakes were addressed. On 10/09/25, Toyota provided a response to the incident: they were not at fault. They claimed operator error. Unintended acceleration and unresponsive brakes have been an issue with Toyota's in the past. At that time, instead of fixing the problem, they told dealerships to educate their buyers on how to take the car out of gear. Approximately one week after picking up my car from the repair shop, the vehicle accelerated on its own again. Fortunately, the brakes worked this time. Because I felt very unsafe, I got rid of the car shortly after that incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 30, 2024 · Acceleration, Body · CA · crash · 1 injury

On February 27 2024 I had spend 2300 dollars on car repairs see enclosed then on April 11 2024 while backing out of my driveway, I experienced a sudden acceleration of my vehicle which led to body damage to my car yet Toyota after inspection says that now the car system works perfectly. Prior to this incident I experienced warning light and windshield wiper malfunction .

Filed Oct 18, 2022 · Body · PA · crash

I was parked in my driveway and put my 2014 Toyota Prius in reverse to back up and park in front of my late husband’s workshop about 15 ft. away,on Oct. 10, 2022. The car sped up so fast I could not brake fast enough (no warning).It stopped when it hit the large door of the workshop, and damaged it and the back of my car, costing about $2,000 to the car. I contacted my insurance agent right away, and the person above him at the company the next day, as well as the service manager at the Toyota dealer where we bought the car at the end of 2014. I expect an increase in my premium from my insurance company. I’ll take it to Toyota when it’s done at the auto body shop, but I don’t expect any flaw to be found b/c that is what happened when I had the same kind of accident with this car in Jan., 2022, when I put the car in reverse to back down my long driveway, (which I’d done many times before),and it sped up so fast (SUA) that I couldn’t stop it (no warning). It hit a maple tree in my yard, and it cost about $12,000 to fix the back of my car. I was not injured in either accident, but this flawed accelerator could have caused serious injury to me or others, as it has in many documented accidents in the last 20 years. From the reports I’ve read since my accident last week, thousands of people have experienced similar or worse accidents from a Sudden Unintended Acceleration in their Toyota vehicle. Also, I read in an excellent well-researched and independent report that the federal safety agency has not researched the accelerator problem thoroughly and has remained noncommittal as to its possible flaws. Toyota wanted to take the “black box” from my Prius in 2022 after my accident, but I didn’t trust them to take it, and tried hard to find an independent engineering group with advanced degrees to study it and identify the flaw in it. I will try again to find such a group. The floor mat was NOT an issue at all—it’s the original one, stuck to the floor about 4” from the accelerator.

Filed Apr 20, 2021 · Acceleration · 70,000 miles · OK · crash

While slowing and pulling into a parking space, in front of the dentist office where my wife had an appointment, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. It jumped the curb, and she steered hard right to avoid the building directly in front oh the parking space. She sideswiped the front of 2 vehicles parked next to the space she was moving into, and the car continued toward the street. It hit the curb going out of the parking lot and the car finally stopped. A person came to the drivers side of the car and asked my wife if she was ok, and said she should turn the car off - which she did.

Filed Feb 22, 2021 · Brakes · 34,500 miles · CA · crash

Traveling at approximately 25 MPH in a neighborhood, I had just turned into a diagonal parking space in a cul-de-sac at about 10am and the car suddenly accelerated forward and hit a yellow iron post beyond the front of the parking space. It happened in a matter of 2-3 seconds and I couldn't stop the car by braking. The post stopped the car and caused extensive damage to the car. It was extremely perplexing and I still don't think it was caused by my actions due to the sudden acceleration. I no longer have photos of the damage. I contacted my insurance carrier and my rates increased significantly but I still feel strongly that I did not cause the accident. I had been driving at 20mph through the neighborhood prior to parking. Repairs totaled about $2400.00.

Filed Dec 5, 2019 · Acceleration · 80,000 miles · NY · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2014 toyota prius v. While driving into the driveway at 5 MPH with the brake pedal depressed when the vehicle lunged forward and crashed into the garage door. As a result, there was property damage and the front end of the vehicle was damaged. The failure occurred without warning. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was in the process of being repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Filed May 26, 2019 · Acceleration · 14,500 miles · VA · crash

I was slowly ( < 5mph) approaching a stoplight at a busy intersection in a 25 MPH zone on a 4 lane street there were 2 vehicles ahead of me. Everything seemed fine until my vehicle suddenly accelerated rapidly and I was unable to stop it. The path of least resistance was to drive it into the car in front of me and not to swerve. Once I had stopped and caught my breath, I put the car into reverse to back away from the car I had hit, and once again the car rapidly accelerated backward into the car behind me. Until this time I have had absolutely no problems with the vehicle. It only has been driven 14,500 miles.

Filed May 21, 2019 · Electrical, Fuel system · 35,000 miles · NM · crash

May 3, 2019, approximately 33 days after software updated due to recall (to prevent stalling) vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. Due to location of event, all property damage and injuries were minor. Event has been reported to toyota and owner's auto insurance provider. Vehicle was in a commercial parking lot, braking in process, moving at less than 5 MPH when acceleration occurred.

Filed Mar 13, 2017 · Brakes · 27,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2014 toyota prius v. While driving approximately 20 MPH and approaching a stop, the brake pedal pressure released when the pedal was depressed. The vehicle surged forward. The contact had to release and reapply the brakes in order to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred at least twelve other times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 27,000. The consumer stated the failure moreso relates to a braking failure rather than sudden unintended acceleration. The "surge" that was felt was releasing of the brakes and an abrupt halting of the driver's commanded deceleration. The brake pedal had to be depressed to the floor or released entirely and depressed again.