The car accelerated without warning at high speed on it's own in a parking lot and rammed itself into the wall deploying airbags. My mother was driving and was sent to the e.r. She was slowly backing up when the car accelerated first in reverse hitting a wall and then switched in drive on it's own with high acceleration running into the opposite wall which deployed the bags. After reading online about these vehicles, the acceleration surging is a common problem.
2001 Toyota Prius: sudden unintended acceleration
5 of the 165 complaints about the 2001 Toyota Prius describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 1 service bulletin covers this area of the car. See below
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
Car rapidly accelerated without my foot on the gas pedal and did not slow down until my foot hit the brake. Brought the vehicle to mcgee toyota and they replaced the gas pedal. It was a $600.+ repair. Within the year the news reported abnormal acceleration with the prius line and I quickly contacted toyota management. They denied my claim saying that these incidences were as a result of floor mats? I reported it to [xxx](ma) representative for consumer protection and have not received a response (this was over two years ago). I recently heard about your agency and decided to file a report. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
On two occasions, I experienced unintended acceleration in my 2001 toyota prius. The first time it happened, it happened I thought I might have pressed the accelerator by mistake. I had to slam on the brakes to stop the car. I didn't believe anyone would believe my story because of the audi 5000 incidents. Then it happened again. Then toyota began its recalls.
I saw that the japanese government is making toyota look into the following complaint in newer model priuses. "the vehicle surged forward or temporarily lost braking after driving over a pothole or other uneven surface. This is a reoccuring problem." my 2001 prius has this problem all the time. In addition the car had the hybrid batteries catch on fire , the catalytic converter fail, the ecu for the brakes fail, the power steering fail, the brake pump leak, the computer fail (which caused the car to improperly shift gears). These issues were all fixed for free by toyota except the ecu for the brakes and the brake pump which were fixed, but at my expense. No injuries occured.
A reader of the san diego union-trib wheels section responded to an article regarding unexpected acceleration from electronic throttles and the editor forwarded the letter to the federal safety agency.***no answer required***. *mr while parking in a diagonal parking space the consumer's vehicle accelerated suddenly across a sidewalk and hit an electric box. This sudden acceleration problem happened again while the consumer was parking. That time not accident occurred. *bf
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2001 Toyota Prius sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2001 Toyota Prius?
5 of 165 owner complaints about the 2001 Toyota Prius (3%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2010.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2001 Toyota Prius?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2001 Toyota Prius
Loss of power 23Stalling 21Tire blowout 10Brake failure 5Check engine light 5Power steering loss 5
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