While backing slowly into a parking spot of an inner city supermarket in a busy residential area the car suddenly accelerated. It went over a 1 ft concrete curb limiter into the street and after a 180 degree loop in reverse I finally hit the e-brake hard while at the same time I ran over a pedestrian traffic light and hit a tree with the rear passenger side to a full stop. Air bags did not deploy. During all this period of probably less than 10 seconds the foot brake was not responding any more. After impact the engine did not start anymore and the car was towed from the scene.
2007 Toyota Prius: sudden unintended acceleration
41 of the 2,004 complaints about the 2007 Toyota Prius describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 41
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 34,000
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 1 service bulletin for this area of the car. See below
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration which resulted in a crash in the garage. The failure occurred on two occasions. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,626. Updated 01/21/16*lj
When applying the brakes in traffic on a city road with a posted 35 MPH speed limit, the car felt as though it surged forward briefly and accelerated followed by the anti-lock brake dashboard light coming on and off and then the brakes finally started working to slow the car down. This has happened about 10 times the last few weeks and has nearly caused me to rear-end other vehicles on the road.
Sudden acceleration while entering one of the state of wisconsin emission testing centers for annual required test. I had 10 to 15 seconds to respond after the car took off. I placed both feet on the brake and the car would not stop, as there was no time to try anything else. I had to choose to hit the testing center or a post; I made a conscious decision to hit the post. The air bag deployed. Insurer declared prius a total loss. Car had 2009 recall for floor mats and accelerator at toyota dealer. Picture after crash, showed the floor mats in place. Car had 50,000 mile maintenance at dealer 11 days prior to crash. Updated 02/28/12
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 to 15 MPH she applied the brakes and the vehicle continued to surge forward causing her to crash into a gate. The contact was not injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who advised her that they could not diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle continued to have the same failures for two years on an intermittent basis. Each time the vehicle was taken to the dealer they constantly informed her that they could not diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was contacted by mail and replied by saying they have inspected the vehicle and found no known failures. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000. Updated 3/11/11 *cn updated 1/3/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. While parking, the vehicle suddenly accelerated over a concrete curb and onto the sidewalk. There were no injuries. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who could find nothing wrong. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 41,100.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving 2 MPH, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact was unable to stop the unintended acceleration as the vehicle proceeded over a slab of concrete barriers and crashed into the brick wall of a building. The air bags did not deploy and the contact sustained moderate injuries. A police report was available. The vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 09v388000 (vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal) prior to the crash. The contact called the manufacturer and was awaiting a response. The current and failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
Pulling into parking lot stopped had brakes on (witness to brakes on). Removed seatbelt reached to turn car off. The car accelerated on its own could not stop by applying brakes. Hit two parked pickups which stopped my car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact attempted to park the vehicle into the residence garage, driving at approximately 2 MPH. Suddenly, there was an unintended acceleration. The brakes were engaged and the vehicle continued to accelerate causing the vehicle to crash into a closet in the garage. The contact suffered injury to the neck area. The vehicle front bumper sustained damages. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The identical failures occurred on two separate occasions with no injuries. In addition, the contact experienced malfunctions with the automatic ignition switch, windshield wipers, and the front driver and passenger side automatic window mechanism. The failures occurred sporadically. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. While slowing down at 25 MPH over a bump or rough surface, the contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward and surge. She would lose control for a brief second. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership but the dealer stated that the behavior was normal with the brakes and did not repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 100. The current mileage was approximately 69,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact was driving at speeds of 20 MPH and depressing the brakes while traveling over a road bump when the vehicle abnormally surged forward. The dealer advised that the vehicle was functioning normal and the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle did not receive diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was 1,000 and the current mileage was 21,000.
2007 toyota prius. Consumer states unintended acceleration. *tgw the consumer stated he was parking the vehicle and when he shifted the gear from drive to neutral, with his foot on the brake, the RPM accelerated to approximately 4000, so he pushed the power off button to turn the vehicle off.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
- What is wrong
- Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.
- Risk
- A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Toyota filed an amended defect report on november 25, 2009, stating that dealers will modify the accelerator pedal and, on certain vehicles, alter the shape of the floor surface under the pedal. These changes address the risk of pedal entrapment due to interference with the floor mat. Redesigned accelerator pedals will become available beginning in april 2010 and dealers will replace any modified pedal with the new pedal if desired. Also, dealers will replace any genuine toyota or lexus all-weather floor mats with redesigned all-weather mats, or repurchase the previous mats from owners who do not want the new ones. Additionally, software modifications will be installed on camry, avalon and lexus es 350, is 350 and is 250 models that will ensure that the brake overrides the accelerator in the event both brake and accelerator pedals are applied. Toyota will begin mailing letters to owners on december 31, 2009. Owners may contact toyota at 1‑800‑331‑4331, lexus at 1‑800‑255‑3987.
Recall number 09V388000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2007 Toyota Prius sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2007 Toyota Prius?
41 of 2,004 owner complaints about the 2007 Toyota Prius (2%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2010.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2007 Toyota Prius?
There is 1 recall and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2007 Toyota Prius
Headlights 1,035ABS 96Brake failure 60Stalling 50Door locks 31Jerking 31No deployment 30Loss of power 24Adaptive cruise 22Fuel gauge 22Check engine light 20Warning lights 18Backup camera 11Airbag light 9Power steering loss 8Overheating 7Slipping 7Tire blowout 7Grinding brakes 6Fire or smoke 6Seat belt 6Engine failure 5Oil consumption 5Won't start 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2007 Toyota Prius?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history