2004 toyota prius with brake problems. Consumer states that when applying the brakes the vehicle skids out of control.
2004 Toyota Prius brakes complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 76, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2004 toyota prius. I find that when applying the brakes on a road surface with bumps, there appears to be a lag before the brakes engage. This is especially noticeable when driving down a hill. The brakes do not hesitate to engage on level road surfaces. I always attributed this to the ABS system engaging, but after the recent recall of the 2010 prius for a similar complaint, I felt it was important to at least advise of this situation.
Twice while driving my 2004 toyota prius, I encountered a small slick patch on the roadway surface, felt my front tires slip momentarily, then grab, the warning lights came on lighting up the dash. It said I shouldn't drive it. I took the car to the dealer. The first time they said it was the small battery and replaced it for the third time. The second time, they said it was the computer and replaced that.
Tl*the contact owns 2004 toyota prius. While driving downhill out of her driveway, she depressed the brake pedal and the brakes would not engage. The vehicle proceeded to crash into a nearby tree at unknown speeds and continued to push the tree further into the street. The contact's foot remained on the brake pedal; however, the vehicle would not stop. There were no injuries. The police arrived and a report was filed. The police observed skid and brake marks in the driveway, confirming she was attempting to brake at the time of the crash. No repairs were made to date. The contact was unaware if the vehicle was under recall at the time. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 50,000.
I complained about a year ago to toyota about my car losing braking on the ice. I drive a 2004 toyota prius. I read they are recalling the 2010 model and I believe the problem goes much further back and needs to be investigated.
The brakes suddenly seize when attempting to slow at times after going through a puddle or when the road is wet from rain. This poses a risk as I fear that if another car were close behind I could get rear-ended as the car rapidly slows as if one were slamming on the brakes. The brakes "let go" after taking my foot off the brake pedal, but this occurs unpredictably, except that it happens on wet roads.
When going over uneven pavement, or hitting debris or driving over a pothole, when pressing on the brakes, the pedal goes to the floor, with no braking power. This has happened ever since we got the car, many times. The dealer told us it was the anti-skidding system and that there was nothing to be done.
I have a 2004 toyota prius that experiences braking problems when traveling over bumpy surfaces, railroad tracks, potholes, etc. I can feel the car lose braking power and the car seems to skip/ lunge forward and then suddenly seize to a stop. For years I just thought it was an issue with anti-lock brakes in general but now that I've heard descriptions of the problem identified with the '10 models, I know that's what my car does. I've learned to anticipate and compensate when approaching road surfaces where this occurs and so I brake in advance to avoid danger.
Repeated braking at slow speeds resulted in both ABS and brake on signals, owner's manual says stop driving and contact dealer immediately. Drove slowly to dealer who ran diagnostics.($98)told to replace computer ($2000) not in stock. Told ok to drive until replacement. Adjusted something. Warning lights operated as expected. Situation recurred twice. Owner's manual indicated knowledge of possible failure. Also "parking brake abnormal status has appeared twice. No explanation in manual
Odd braking behavior in 2004 toyota prius. When car is in its first few minutes of operation after sitting overnight, this odd behavior occurs: the first or second time I apply the brakes, they grab as though the pedal has been pressed very hard. The car lurches to a stop. I release the brake pedal to go forward again, applying pressure to the accelerator pedal. Then I apply pressure to the brake pedal and the grabbing happens again. Usually by the third braking action the 'grabby' behavior stops. This has not happened at high speeds, presumably because the car gets it 'out of its system' by the time it is warmed up. I used to be a mechanic and this is definitely something I have never felt before, such as condensation on the disc rotors. This has been happening since the car wa new in 2004. I worked around it. But now with the news about braking problems on new priuses, I thought I should report it.
On the 2004 toyota prius when driving from a stop across a rough road or pot holes the anti-lock brakes/anti-skid system engages and makes the car skid on wet surfaces. In winter on icy roads the (proper - non-pumping) application of the brakes on moderately icy or wet road surfaces causes the brakes to lock up and the car skids uncontrollably. The later occurred today while the second issue has been going on since I purchased the prius but I never thought that it might be a defect.
My 2004 prius has the same braking problem that has been reported for the 2010 prius, that is, when I am slowing down and hit a bump or hole, there is a momentary acceleration. I reported this to toyota in 2004 and regional toyota rep came out and looked at the car and said it was normal. So...this problem is not limited to 2010 prius.
Problem with anti-lock brakes not working when hitting rough surfaces such as potholes.
I have a 2004 prius which I bought used about a year ago and when I read the line that I cut and pasted right from your news release, I couldn't believe it because it describes exactly what has happened to me numerous times. "allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump," but this problem which has happened repeatedly (usually on the same pothole on the same street) has never caused me to loose control of the car for more than a split second. So until I read this passage I thought I might just be imagining this problem. If it happened for even more than a split second I could see how it would cause me to lose control and possibly get in an accident. But that hasn't happened yet.
My 2004 toyota prius does have an acceleration issue. Just wanted to bring to notice that the acceleration issue does not only effect the 2010 model. When ever traveling around 40 MPH and you brake -- there is a sudden acceleration for lest than 30 seconds -- this is very much intermittent. This started happening in dec 15th 2008. The car always stop with no other issues. I have learned to be cautious and slow down well ahead.
Driving approx 35 MPH. Applied brakes lightly to slow before a sharp right turn. Brakes "froze" and required extreme pressure to slow and then stop the car before reaching an intersection approx. 100 feet beyond the curve. The car stalled and lost power during this maneuver, which was accompanied by very strong smell of burning rubber and multiple warning lights. Upon restarting the car, it felt as if the brakes had seized such that it was difficult to proceed through the intersection to a safe place to pull over. I then turned the car off and on repeatedly until the warning lights extinguished and normal operation resumed. My local shop (not a toyota dealer) said there was a code for communication failure with the brake system but no indication of damage to the brakes or wheels. This was the first instance for this problem, which has not occurred subsequently.
I purchased a 2004 toyota prius new in june of 2004. In the last month I have had 3 incidents where the brakes failed while driving. Suddenly the brakes go to the floor, the car loses power and the warning lights go on. The last incident also included a high pitched tone which persisted until the car was shut off. The first incident happened on nov.19, 2009. I was driving at a low rate of speed and noticed a slight hiccup in the engine while turning a corner, then about 500 ft. Later, the warning lights went on and the brakes went to the floor. I shut off the engine, then turned it back on and drove slowly to the side of the road with the warning lights on and called my dealer, who told me to have it towed in. They had the car for 3 days, and replaced the ABS ecu with actuator, the actuator assembly and brake for a total repair bill of $3383.69. On december 22, 2009 the same sequence of events occurred in the morning. I was able to drive the car home at a low rate of speed with the warning lights on, then took it to the dealer, who could not find the problem and told me to bring the car back next week. Later that day, the car experienced the same brake failure while driving at a low rate of speed. I had the car towed to the dealer. They now tell me they cannot find the problem and the car is not displaying the warning lights at this time. They plan to keep the car for a week or so to see if they can duplicate the problem. I have a 50 mile round trip commute to work on the freeways of southern ca. If the car dies on the freeway in rush hour traffic an accident would likely ensue. The dealer has treated me very well through this, but I am concerned that they are unable to get information from toyota to diagnose this problem. You have one other complaint for my model year with this same problem. Surely there are others, as I have seen similar postings on the web. Toyota must know about this defect, which I will bet is a programming error.
About 40% of the time, my toyota prius doesn't want to stop or slow down when the brakes are applied. Under these conditions, I have to apply the brakes hard and then the car will slow down. It feels like the car wants to "run away" when the brakes are applied. It exhibits this behavior in many circumstances: stopping at a stop light, slowing down on an expressway, or slowing down on a city street. *tr updated 11/23/09 *bf the check engine light illuminated. The passenger front window switch wasn't opening or closing the window unless the master switch was used. The throttle body had to be cleaned. The fan belt and brake light switch were replaced. Updated 11/24/09 updated 01/06/10 *bf updated 01/07/10.
Driving on bay bridge, sf, ca at 10:00 am going 50 MPH. The following lights showed on dash, care lost all baking ability. Brake light, ABS light, exclamation light, and whining sound. Had to use emergency brake to stop car and have it towed.
While normal conditions I have experienced a major brake malfunction, both the ABS and the brake lights come on. The vehicle barely has brakes, this has happened multiple times since I have bought the vehicle 2 years ago. I have taken my vehicle 6 times to have to it fixed, and they have never been able to fix it. Brakes repeatedly fail on a regular bases. They have replaced the brake accumulator, brake computer, reset the brake piston calpaltors, and the relay that control the brakes, and the 12 volt battery. None of these repairs have worked. Brakes still fail regularly. Complaint lodge with toyota customer satisfaction center.
Brake failure, this happened to me today 8/5/08. I purchased this 2004 prius 2 weeks ago(90,000 miles), and I've only had problems up till now. I was driving at about 25 MPH, when all of the sudden the ABS warning light went off, and the brake light turned on(and a buzzer was heard). I had to depress the break pedal hard in order to get the car to break. It felt just like when a conventional car looses its breaks. Thanks god I was only 1 mile from the toyota dealer. I had a scheduled evaporator replacement ($450)scheduled for tomorrow so I decided to leave the car at the dealer (this is what the manual says to do when both warnings go off).
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. While driving 60 MPH, all of the brake warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer. The failure mileage was 42,980.
Toyota prius traction control system-if you are going up a hill and you loose traction due to snow and the car stops. You cannot ever go forward,if the tires attempt to spin at any level og gas/electric the RPM goes to zero. The only way to move the car is to back down the hill. Need I say more. The dealer agrees and stated toyota never gave us a fix. We have this problem for years. I have talked to other prius owners and they all say the same ,you have to use your other car. Which I do. However my wife used the car last week and we had some minor snow and she was on a hill(going up) for 2 hrs before she was able to back down when morning traffic subsided. This is a 2004 prius. This can be a dangerous situation for a person that is uncomfortable in backing down a hill.
Warning triangle, dash lights-brake, ABS, came on accompanied by a loud whining sound. The next time I needed to use the brakes I discovered that there was total brake failure - pedal down to the floor with no brakes. I was very fortunate that I was able to roll to a stop. I took the car to auburn toyota (in ca) and they said it was a skid control ecu failure. They replaced it at a total cost of $1868.74.
Tl*- the contact called regarding the 2004 toyota prius. The contact stated he was traveling up a hill at 10-15 MPH with icy road conditions and the anti-skid control engaged and all four wheels on the vehicle locked. The contact pressed the gas pedal. However, the vehicle would not move. The vehicle did not lose power. The contact stated he had to back the vehicle up in order for the wheels to eventually go forward. The contact called the dealer, tested a prius and had the same type failure. The dealer stated that was the normal operation of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 49,000. *ak updated 03/19/07.
I turned left into driveway of a home- driveway has an incline. I turned off power and two children exited car. One passenger returned within five min and sat in front. I placed foot on brake. Brake felt "locked" with no give. I pressed power button with foot on brake, and placed gear in reverse. I let foot off brake to roll slowly out of driveway. When I attempted to brake to slow exit, my foot went all the way to floor--no power. I notice gear was neutral. Power would not turn off. Car was rolling closer toward a busy four lane street. I noticed the power button light color was red, and the following yellow warning indicators were lit: brake system warning light, malfunction indicator lamp, anti-lock brake system warning light, slip indicator light. I depressed the emergency brake to stop. I told my 14 y/o passenger to exit the car and when she did the master warning light came on while the above lights remained lit. The brake continued to depress to the floor. I again attempted to turn off the power without success. I exited the vehicle with my smart entry key in hand and as expected loud buzzing noise came on. I then contacted toyota roadside assistance. The reference number is 269‑568‑6678. I called back later to change the reference number to 269‑492‑2066. I had asked for police assistance for traffic control, but the police did not show. On 9/6 a.m., jim at metro toyota service, kalamazoo, mi called & I described the above to him. At 1530 on 9/6/06, I described my experience to marvin at toyota customer relation. The case number he provided was 200609051137. This is the second like incident with this vehicle. I did not report the first incident to the federal safety agency which occurred a few months after I took possession of the then new 2004 toyota prius. No reason was found for the first incident, by the same dealership service. *nm the consumer stated the vehicle accelerated on its own. Also, when the consumer applied the brakes, the pedal became soft and went down to the floor. Updated
2004 prius hybrid ABS and other dash lights illuminated . Problem was fixed per mechanic, 15 days later lights illuminated.
Dt*: the contact stated upon entering a highway at 60 MPH, the vehicle accelerated rapidly. Brake pressure was applied, but the vehicle did not stop accelerating. Each time brake pressure was applied; there was a loud grinding noise. Although the cruise control was not engaged, the cruise control was manually activated in an attempt to stop the acceleration. With brake pressure applied, the contact managed to exit the freeway using the exit ramp. When the vehicle slowed, the park button option was pressed and the vehicle stopped. There was no further acceleration or grinding noise. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and is awaiting inspection of the problem. The consumer also stated, when she applied the brakes, the pedal became soft and went to the floor. Updated
When trying to stop abruptly consumer brakes did not respond. *ts
When applying brakes in normal city street traffic at approximately 20 MPH, brakes pulsed slowly several times and then failed. Brake pedal went to floor, car crashed into rear-end of car ahead.
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