I have 2006 prius and I have brake failure frequently if I hit a bump, pot hole, manhole cover, railroad track etc. It is un-nerving as I feel as if I am airborne for a while as I know I have no contact with the road.
2006 Toyota Prius brakes complaints
Page 5 of 8: complaints 101 to 130 of 210, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Almost immediately after purchasing the vehicle, I went over a pothole and the car lurched forward briefly. Unsure if an acceleration issue or a braking issue. It has happened numerous times, but has been minor. I have reported this to toyota, but they ignored most of my emails to my surprise and disappointment. Today, I turned the corner and hit a small pothole. I felt it lurch, but the brakes did not work. I pumped them and no brakes. I pushed the on/off button and held it for the 3 seconds they recommend and it did not turn off the car. It took over 5 seconds before finally turning off and I coasted to a stop. It was terrifying!!! Once I calmed down and tried to start the car, it would not turn on and then once it did, it would not go into drive ... Only neutral. This happened 4 or 5 times before I was finally able to get it into drive to get home. I immediately called toyota on amherst dr. In springfield, va and spoke. He said it was not under warranty and that I would have to pay for a rental car. I let him know how displeased I was and he was kind and said he'll talk to his boss in the morning. I have told toyota that I am afraid of my car ........ Upgrade that to terrified! This was a very scary event. The 2010 car owners should not be more important than those of use with an earlier model of this car. It's not the floor mats. It's not the sticky accelerator pedal. It's their computer system and I need to have toyota respect my safety too and support this dangerous car that I'm stuck with. I would appreciate your help.
I am a rural mail carrier with well over 350,000 miles driven on my route without incident. I drive in all road conditions on gravel and paved roads. I was driving my 2006 prius on a wet but not muddy gravel road at about 38 MPH. The back end began to slide a little. I let up on the gas with no response. I pressed the brake pedal with no response. I went into a deep ditch filled with 3 ft tall grass. I steered to drive the center of the ditch and continued with the brake fully depressed for about 15-20 ft, ripping the tall grass out by the root as I went. The car traveled over a driveway approach, still at 35 MPH, striking the approach with the left front corner with enough force to bend the frame and do other serious damage, but with no airbag deployment. I continued over the approach and down the ditch, still at 35 MPH, for another 30 or more feet. I was pressing and holding the brake and lifting the gas pedal with my toe. The gas pedal was not stuck and the engine's rpms were low. Only when I put the car in neutral did it slow to stop. It took several attempts to get the car out of this ditch as the traction control kept lurching and stalling. I was able to drive the car out and home without incident. It had to be towed to a dealership for over $4000 in repairs. This was in mid-2008 and I don't know if any corrections made or were even known at that time. This was an absolutely terrifying situation. The car did not respond to any action I took. I had no control what so ever. The car is no longer driven..
When driving over a bumpy road or a pothole while braking there is a sudden loss of braking feel before it returns, seems to be a slightly less than a second delay where the brakes just cut out. This sounds to be related to the issue toyota and the federal safety agency are investigating with the 2010 prius, but mine is a 2006 and seems to experience the same symptoms.
We have a 2006 prius and have had several times that the brakes feel that they give out when a bump is hit. Our dealer says that toyota says to push harder on the pedal. This has happen about 8 or 10 times in the last year. The car does stop but your aren't sure it will.
Accident occurred in 2007. I was driving in moderate traffic on a two lane road. A car, two cars ahead of me, slammed on their brakes, and forced everyone else to quickly brake. I also slammed on my brakes, to avoid a collision. My brakes failed to respond in time, and resulted in my rear ending an SUV in front of me. The accident caused several thousands of dollars worth of damage to the front end of the car. No air bags were deployed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius which was purchased in september 2006. He stated that while driving at speeds of less than 40 MPH approaching a stop sign he removed his foot from the accelerator pedal, instead of slowing down the vehicle maintained the speed it was traveling. He then depressed the brake pedal and the brakes would not respond. There was no resistance in the brake pedal and it then it extended to the floorboard. The speed decreased slowly and he continued to push the brake pedal into the floorboard until the vehicle eventually came to a stop. The dealer advised him that there was nothing wrong with the pedal or the brakes and that he should remove the floor mats from the vehicle. The floor mats were not close enough to the brake or accelerator pedal when the failure occurred. No repairs have been made to the vehicle. On two additional occasions, the contact experienced the same failure. He also received a letter from toyota in regards to a recall campaign id number: 09v388000, vehicle speed control accelerator pedal, however, he was not aware if his vehicle was included in the recall or not. The VIN was not accepted. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was approximately 70,000.
1) steering wheel/shaft appears to be improperly supported; feels loose when turning lock to lock since new. Have brought to the attention of four (4) toyota dealers when service performed (have taken to toyota for all service work since new), all have advised that there is "nothing wrong" with the vehicle. It is the only vehicle we have ever owned that has this sense of disconnect and potential for a much more serious issue were there ever a steering failure. 2) over rough roads (when vehicle was driven in seattle and bellevue, wa) when stopping, the ABS system seems to activate prematurely and increase stopping distances. We have other vehicles with ABS brakes which do not activate so readily and stop so slowly. As it relates to incident date(s): since new, vehicle purchased november 2005.
I was traveling about 25 MPH on a side street during broad daylight. I applied my brakes to stop but the car continued to roll forward. The brake pedal did not depress to the floor - rather it just remained in the normal depressed condition and did not stop the car at all. I then pumped the brake and it finally engaged on the third try although I was already thru the stop sign and into the intersection. Luckily, there were no cars ahead of me nor was there any cross traffic at the intersection. There was no snow or ice on the ground. My car is a 2006 toyota prius with 24,400 miles traveled at the time of the incident. It was purchased in july of 2006. A follow up check of the brakes on tuesday at a local toyota dealer on the 16th resulted in the following" "checked for diagnostic codes - everything fine." hardly calming. The pad wear indicator was not displayed.
The federal safety agency id: 193333 I understand that the japanese government is investigating a braking issue on 2010 priuses -- involving slipping or surging forward when the brakes are applied. This is not unique to the 2010 model; our 2006 prius slips in the same way, under the same circumstances: when the driver brakes at slow speeds on a wet surface like a light rail track, or goes over bumps or into potholes while braking. It feels as if there are no brakes, and the car lurches forward. This has happened only on flat streets -- never on hills. The problem occurs about twice a month. In conversations about this problem, the toyota dealer tells me any vehicle will do this, but the anomaly is one I have never experienced in any other car I've owned, including 2 toyotas. In other words, nothing has been done to address this situation, because the dealers say there is no defect. "approximate incident date" question below makes no sense, because this is a recurring problem. Also, "mileage" information is useless, since this has happened dozens of times.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius which was purchased brand new. While driving at various speeds more than 5 MPH over rumble strips in the road, if the brakes were depressed, they would not respond immediately. The failure would also occur during rainy weather conditions. An unknown warning symbol briefly illuminated on the instrument control panel, the contact assumed that this was a normal occurrence for her braking system. Neither the dealer nor manufacturer were contacted to report the failures. There were no repairs made to the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were approximately 35,700.
My 2006 toyota prius loses braking when trying to brake on uneven surfaces. The dash will light up the icon which displays uneven ground and when I apply brakes there is a momentarily lapse when the brake pedal does not respond. Also my left headlight and left taillight go on and off periodically.
On a number of occasions, when I have applied the brakes while driving on a bumpy stretch of road, the brakes have not applied properly on my 2006 prius. The dashboard light indicating a skid would come on and the car would not handle properly. I have reported this to the dealer, who said it was a common feature of ABS systems. I have compensated by not applying the brakes when hitting a bump or pothole, but it seems like the brakes should work in any such situation. This has happened on a number of occasions, most recently several weeks ago. In each case, the road surfaces were not wet, just bumpy.
Brakes seem to fade or release upon stopping at a stop sign. It feels like the brake just gives up for a second. This has happened numerous times. I originally thought the road was slick but it has happened 20 times. I used the yesterdays date since.
When driving on roads that are curved, when changing lanes, or on streets that are wet, the car feels unbalanced, and requires a quick steering adjustment to regain normal operation. Incidents like these occur too frequently, at least three times a week, and when they occur, the vehicle's red skid light is illuminated (I suppose it is related to this model's anti-skid and/or traction control feature that was not standard equipment). Traction control was an optional feature that the dealerships offered in more expensive packages of the 2006 prius bundled together with other items that were not related to driving safety, which made the packages unnecessarily expensive, and was a factor in my decision to not opt for this upgrade. However, given the frequency of occurrence, I felt the need to report this in case other drivers are experiencing similar issues. The date I have selected corresponds to the purchase date of the vehicle, not to any particular incident or accident, as this is a recurring problem. Fyi, tires, brakes, steering, and alignment have all been checked and maintained as per toyota's suggested guidelines.
I have a 2006 toyota prius. If I hit a pothole while I am braking, it feels like the brakes slip for a second and I lose my ability to brake while the car lurches forward. A second later everything is back to normal. The vsa light flashes concurrently with the incident. The first couple of times it happened, it really scared me, and I could have easily been in an accident. Now I make sure to leave more than the normal space between me and the car in front of me in case this happens. I just assumed this was something the car did that I would have to get used to, but now that the 2010 prius recall has been publicized, the issue being described there seems very similar to the problem my car has always had.
I drive a 2006 toyota prius. I have experienced odd skid-like behavior while applying the brakes on bumpy roads or loose gravel. Most notably this happens at low and decelerating velocities (maybe 15 MPH?) when the vehicle encounters broken pavement or loose gravel. It is often associated with the prius' 'slippery surface' icon on the dash being lit. When this occurs it feels like the brakes do not function for a brief period. I have not had an accident as a result, but the experience has occurred at least 4 times over the four months I've owned it. Also, the front hid headlamps flicker on and off periodically making it dangerous to drive at night. I will report these problems to toyota and based on the high volume of identical complaints I believe they should cover the cost of fixing these problems.
I have a 2006 toyota prius and for years I've had the same problem described in the news. At times when I drive over bumpy terrain, the car will lurch forward with sudden acceleration and the ABS light will come on. I can re-gain control by hitting the brakes hard and/or pumping the brakes depending on the circumstance. This has happened many times since I bought the car new in january 2006. In these circumstances, my foot was off the gas pedal. I'm not sure if the brakes were being applied or not, but if they were, they were applied lightly. This happens regularly.
I experience surging when braking.
We own a 2006 toyota prius and have experienced the same loss of braking problems that are the subject of the model year 2010 recall. On february 8th, my wife (with our infant in the back seat) was proceeding through a bumpy intersection and for a split second lost brakes on the vehicle. This is scary. I experienced the same condition more than once last year during snowy/slushy conditions.
I own a 2006 toyota prius. I have experienced the same problem as described in the 2010 toyota prius brake recall on multiple occasions. "the anti-lock braking causes the car to have an "inconsistent brake feel" during slow and steady application of the brakes on rough or slippery surfaces. The ABS is operating as it's supposed to." I have not been in a situation where it has caused or almost caused an accident, but it would only take one time. Please look into addressing this issue.
I have a 2006 prius. I have experienced the braking problem that is reported for the 2010 prius for the entire time I have had this car (since 2006). Occasionally the brakes will fail for a fraction of a second when braking over an uneven surface (train tracks etc). By now I am used to the problem though it does seem to occur more frequently over time. This problem is obviously not confined to the 2010 model. I reported the incident date below, but this is a frequently recurring problem.
Lose brakes momentarily when they are applied on an uneven surface such as railroad tracks, pot holes etc. Abs light flashes then braking returns as long as brake pedal stays depressed. This has occurred from the time I bought my car and I thought it was just a function of ABS brakes until I saw the description of the 2010 prius recall.
I have a 2006 toyota prius that when applying the brakes if I hit a bump, the car feels like it "speeds up" and looses control. This is a consistent problem I've had since we purchased our prius in 2006. I've also filed a complaint with toyota itself.
I have experienced the same braking issue described in the media on my 2006 toyota prius. The brake system appears to fail momentarily when slowing and braking on uneven surfaces. This occurs routinely (weekly) when turning a specific corner in my neighborhood, where the road is uneven. The incident date listed below is the most recent date.
If I hit a pot hole or bump while slowing down the brakes feel like the car is sliding.
My 2006 toyota prius exhibits the same loss of braking on rough surfaces that has been reported for the 2010 prius. I have noticed this on many occasions, when braking a low, city-driving speeds. When I hit a bump, there is a loss of braking. It feels like the car "slips" forward for a moment. I have not experienced this at higher speeds, nor has it resulted in a dangerous driving situation, so I have not thought to report it previously. However, with the announcement of the 2010 prius recall, I am concerned that there has been absolutely no mention of the braking problem in prior year models. I am sure that there many other owners of the 2006 prius who have experienced the same lack of braking.
I drive a 2006 toyota prius. I have experienced odd skid-like behavior while applying the brakes on bumpy roads or loose gravel. Most notably this happens at low and decelerating velocities (maybe 15 MPH?) when the vehicle encounters broken pavement or loose gravel. It is often associated with the prius' 'slippery surface' icon on the dash being lit. When this occurs it feels like the brakes do not function for a brief period. I have not had an accident as a result, but the experience has occurred at least 4-5 times over the year I've owned it. Most of the times that it has happened have been at the same intersection.
The ABS has caused the brakes on my car to disengage when they should be engaged. I notified the toyota dealer a number of times over the past few years and they advised me that it was not a problem. In light of recent information that has come to the public awareness, I thought that it would be important to look further back into the origin of this problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. While driving approximately 35 MPH the vehicle lost complete power, shut off and she had no control over the vehicle; however, she was able to restart it within five minutes. She took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the vehicle needed a new battery which she purchased and installed. Two weeks later, the failure occurred again. She took the vehicle to a second dealer who performed a diagnostics test which a code produced cited that a brake problem occurred. She called the manufacturer and a representative stated that they would notify her. On 3 occasions, when the vehicle was parked, the lights would flash on and off then the horn would honk for about a minute. The vehicle had not been repaired to-date. The current mileage was approximately 57,000. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
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