I own a 2007 toyota prius which I bought new. If I apply pressure to the brakes and then hit a bump in the road, the brakes seem to release until I get over the bump. I believe this is a known problem in the 2010 prius, but I want to report that I have the same thing happen in my 2007 prius.
2007 Toyota Prius brakes complaints
Page 12 of 12: complaints 311 to 331 of 331, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2007 toyota prius - brakes if driving over a pot hole, bump, or any other non-flat surface, the brakes do not work, the car thrusts forward, & the "ABS" light flashes. This is likely the cause of an accident I had slipping off the road approximately a year and a half ago.
When it is humid and/or raining, the rear brakes of my 2007 toyota prius seize up as I come to a stop. Just before a stop (ie at a stop sign or stop light) the brakes will seem to grab really hard in the back and the car will sort of lurch or jerk forward but be abruptly held in place by the rear. There is a loud noise from the back like a rubbing noise when this happens. The car has been to two toyota dealerships both of which deny that this could be occurring. I insisted that it be looked at and test driven and the mechanic claims there is nothing wrong. This has been going on since I first bought the car in may, 2008. Passengers have witnessed this in the car. It only happens when it is seriously humid (ie on the verge of raining) or when it is raining....every time I approach a stop, without exception. It's like the rear of the car is suddenly superglued to the road and the body of the car/shell of the car continues with the forward momentum/motion. For the category of problem I checked service brake, hydraulic, because that was the only "brake" option I saw besides parking brake. I have no idea if this is the correct category.
From the beginning, my 2007 prius (purchased 5/19/07) has consistently lost braking power briefly if I hit a small bump in the road as I am braking, at low speed, for a stop sign or traffic light. I understand this to be a problem in the transition from regenerative to hydraulic braking. My toyota dealer, in may 2008, could find nothing wrong.
I am writing to report transient failure of the anti-lock braking system in our 2007 toyota prius. Since may 2008 we have noticed episodic accelerations during light braking (at intersections for instance) when the car encounters pot holes, grates, railroad tracks or slippery pavement. We seem to lose control of the vehicle momentarily. Only with heavy brake pedal depression does the vehicle come to a complete stop. Until january 2010 we thought this was a unique feature to our vehicle and we were hypersensitive to its idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately, in january 2009 this defect lead to a low speed motor vehicle collision wherein my wife was unable to stop the vehicle when another driver abruptly pulled in front of her. No one was hurt, thankfully, but both vehicles were damaged. All other nearby drivers were able to stop in time and no other collisions occurred. On december 4, 2009 this same vehicle was involved in another low speed motor vehicle collision when a driver ahead suddenly stopped to avoid a pedestrian. The prius was unable to stop in time (even under heavy brake pedal pressure) and collided with rear bumper of the car ahead. More than $5,000 in damage occurred to the prius alone; though no one was hurt. In both instances nearby and subsequent vehicles experienced no problems stopping. There were no signs of ice or slippery pavement either time. Furthermore, neither my wife nor I have ever been involved in accidents in the past or with other cars. We didn't recognize that this could be a manufacturer's defect until complaints to the federal safety agency became public and widely discussed in december 09 & january '10. Please note, however; our affected vehicle is a 2007 model year and we have experienced symptoms including loss of control and inappropriate acceleration just as described by others in the online community for 2010.
I was driving my 2007 toyota prius in heavy rush hour traffic and cold, wet snowy conditions this past friday night. My brakes failed to engage twice. The first time I was going 5-10 MPH and stepped on the brake to maintain a safe following distance with the car in front of me, which had stopped. It was as if the car was in neutral and a yellow light started flashing on the dashboard (I think this was the ABS system light, but I don't know) and I fortunately coasted to a stop before hitting the car in front of me. There was no skidding or sliding, just a non-response from the brakes. The second time occurred about 10 minutes later and I was again traveling at slow speed and attempted to brake to stay a safe distance from the car ahead. This time I repeatedly pressed hard on the brake and initially there was no engagement and then after approx 5 sec the brakes did engage and I again was able to avoid a fender bender. I drove the car home (white-knuckled) and it has been parked in my driveway over the weekend - we experienced a major snowstorm and I have not been able to drive anywhere. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can get the car towed to a dealership because I don't want to drive it.
I was driving under normal conditions and suddenly my 2007 prius "brake" light, "vsc", "ABS", circle-exclamation point lights all lit up on the dash. Toyota manual states that the user should drive immediately to a dealer. I took the vehicle to the dealer, and after a day's examination, they explained that they cannot locate any issues, the lights are no longer on, and it is safe to drive. A couple of days later, again under normal driving conditions, all of the light illuminate again. I immediately take it to a different toyota dealer, and they indicate that the brake actuator assembly has failed. They explained that it is not safe to drive, and the replacement part alone is $1900 +labor.
This was a first time occurrence for my 2007 prius. I was stopped midway on my mountain, long & steep, dirt driveway trying to park along the rock side. It was too tight to park so decided to continue down to the bottom. I was in reverse and shifted, with my foot on the brake, into drive. The car suddenly bolted forward propelling me through the fence and down a steep embankment to our deck where 12 people were having a dinner meeting. My brakes didn't work, nor did the steering. The bolting force was heard by all on the deck. There is no way I would have pressed the gas by mistake for two reasons: your foot must be on the brake to shift; and as is typical on our steep gravel roads, one never presses the gas pedal while proceeding down. The car propelled 10 or 12 feet forward crossing the drive at a diagonal, crashed through the fence boarding the drop off, and proceeded down the embankment stopping only when it hit the big tree by our deck. To my right were all the guests and my husband, just feet away from the oncoming, out of control car. Had I missed that particular tree, I would have rolled down an even steeper ravine because of rocks to bounce off and very sharp drop off.
2 incidents: 1) 05.15.09 I was approaching a car going 20 MPH; I pressed my brake to the floor but my toyota prius 2007 didn't stop. I tried to avoid the car in front of me. I ran into the explore. 2) 07.27.09 I was exiting my driveway. I tried to slow down, but my brakes failed. I was able to use the emergency break to prevent me entering traffic.
I was driving at low speed in cold weather, under 20 MPH. I lightly accelerated to get through an intersection, then applied the brakes to stop because of a car stopped in the lane ahead. There was absolutely no response from the brakes so I ran into car in front. There was heavy damage to my car (estimated at $4,000 to $5,000), very little to car in front (less than $500). This is the only time this happened. The brakes worked fine for 2 years, and have worked fine since although I have only driven the car to the dealership for checking the brakes and to get the bodywork repaired. The dealership checked brakes, stated that there is absolutely nothing wrong (mechanically) with the brakes. Toyota had a regional representative investigate, and toyota legal officially blames it on me not applying brakes in time. I have been trained to drive on the test tracks at gm's milford proving grounds, and have worked on engine and transmission software for 14 years, and have done a lot of testing on the track and road. I know how to apply brakes, and I know they did not work. Since the brakes are not just the mechanical apparatus, I suspect a computer problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact stated that the vehicle experiences reduced braking ability in rainy weather conditions. On one occasion, the brake warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. She took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure and provide a remedy. The failure mileage was 12,000 and current mileage was 19,000.
Driver was on a local road, accelerated and turned left to pull into a commercial parking lot, then applied brakes when the front tires left the road and made contact with the parking lot entrance (slight concrete curb between asphalt road and lot). The brake pedal depressed fully with little resistance, and neither the regenerative braking system nor the brake pads were activated. After approximately two seconds, the regenerative braking system applied, braking the car normally. No visible indicators were noticed on the dashboard.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. While driving 3 MPH, the ABS indicator illuminated when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle accelerated and proceeded ten feet. The vehicle crashed into a curb and punctured the tire. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the brake system was not the cause of the failure. The tire was replaced. The manufacturer stated that there were no current recalls on the brake system; however, they would have a factory service representative inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected and it was determined that there were no current failures with the brake system. The current and failure mileages were 25,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. While driving approximately 25 MPH on normal road conditions, the vehicle failed to slow down when the contact depressed the brake pedal. She crashed into some bushes on the side of the road and proceeded to a complete stop. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was able to be driven to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to duplicate the failure. The failure occurred another time and caused a rear end crash. There were no injuries. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact was concerned of the safety risk involved. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 20,000 and current mileage was 24,000. Updated 11/25/08. *lj the consumer stated the second time the incident happened, she stepped on the brake, the pedal went down to the floor with no resistance and the consumer crashed into another vehicle. Updated 11/25/08.
My spouse owns a 2007 prius. On or about 7/18/08, she was backing down our driveway. She stopped the car, believed that she had placed it in 'park', and began to step out. The car was not in park, and took off in reverse, running over her leg with the front tire and dragging her across the street. She escaped with large skin scrapes, bruises and a painful leg.
2007 toyota prius with brake problems. Consumer states that the brakes were pressed and the vehicle continued to move backward slowly. He also states that the vehicle didn't stop when brakes were depressed and consequently hit a stopped car.
This incident involves my 2007 toyota prius hybrid that I have owned for almost a year. As I was driving approximately 40 MPH and put my foot on the brake as I approached a red light, the red brake warning came on the dash as did the ABS warning light. My foot went all the way to the floor and I had no brakes. Luckily I had a right turning lane that I could veer into and not hit the stopped vehicles in front of me. As I continued to push the brake to the floor and maneuver the vehicle out of traffic, it seemed to catch a little and I was able to slow the vehicle eventually to a stop. I put the vehicle in park as it was still running, and pulled out the owner's manual. The manual specifically stated that if these two warning lights came on at the same time, you were to "stop immediately and contact your toyota dealership". This is exactly what I did. I had the vehicle towed into their facility that evening. The next day I was interrogated by the mechanic after a diagnostic report was done on my car. He wanted to know when I let the car run out of gas. I have never let my car run out of gas, and in fact that just filled the take the day before this incident occurred. The mechanic couldn't tell me what was wrong and contacted toyota's corporate office. Two days later, I was advised that the reason the brakes didn't work was because I "let the car run out of gas "and this caused the engine to shut off. I argued that the car had never run out of gas and the engine didn't shut off, the brakes went out. The service manager pulled out the diagnostic test showing that "at some point" the car had run out of gas----this test doesn't give a date of when this may have happened. I advised the service manager that the car had 223 miles on it when I purchased it-- this test result could have happened when the car was still at the dealership, not in my possession. The service manager advised me that his "hands were tied" and that toyota had made their decision.
While backing out of my parking space at work, my brakes went to the floor and barely stopped the vehicle. Alarm was going off, so I pulled forward just enough to see if the brakes were working at all and they were probably 98% gone. I parked, got towed to dealer near my home with aaa. I later found out that a pair of ABS skid control relays (2 88263-21010) caused the problem. Nothing mechanical failed. These relays caused my entire braking ability to be lost. I believe this is an unsafe design as there is no mechanical connection available at the pedal if you have this electrical problem. Some mechanical brakes should be available. The emergency brake is on / off only and no in between. I would like to find what legal remedies are available to me as I am considering changing to a safer vehicle due to this design flaw. As in power brakes, if you lose the power brakes, you can still stop the vehicle, though difficult since there is still a mechanical hydraulic system in place even with a failed power booster. *tr the consumer also stated the master cylinder failed. Updated
Driving on a residential street, speed limit of 35mph, at 5:20pm in evening commute traffic, a normal stop transitioned into an emergency stop attempt and minor accident. When the brake pedal was depressed, did not seem to slow. Upon hard braking, brake pedal all the way to the brake stop, no ABS shimmy or increased slowing. (I have never noticed brakes going all the way to the brake stop before, but it happened the following day when driving to body shop for estimate) hit a 2007 toyota tacoma with tow package. Front end damage of 2007 toyota prius estimated at least $3k. No damage to tacoma. San jose pd took report and with no fluids leaking, I drove the car home after the accident. I reported accident to my insurance company and then contact toyota customer service the following day. As previously stated, I drove to local body shop for repair estimate and brakes hit brake stop again (going less than 20mph). Toyota created case file and today (10/05/07) regional toyota inspector is currently inspecting my vehicle at the local toyota dealership.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact stated that his complaint pertains to the anti-lock braking system on all vehicles. He stated that when driving on a road that is wet, icy, or contains snow, he has to slam on the brakes and depress the brake pedal to the floor in order to stop the vehicle. He stated that the tires lock up one by one, which takes all control of stopping the vehicle out of his hands, as opposed to pumping the brakes and maintaining some control over the vehicle. When the ABS is activated, the vehicle shakes, bucks, wiggles, jerks, and makes a lot of noise. The contact did not want to provide any vehicle information other than the year, make, model, and mileage information. The current mileage is 4,000 and failure mileage was 3,000.
When attempting an emergency stop, the brakes failed to operate as expected. There was no feeling of any braking, and there was no surge to indicate that the ABS was operating. The experience was similar to those reported on the web page http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/brake-failure-2007-t1013.html?s=500a78277ea2cb675fac1f9567000bee& I have taken it to a prius dealer, avondale toyota, but in the absence of any computer codes and the fact that subsequent tests of the ABS system did not indicate a problem they were unable to offer any kind of explanation or repair. I had approximately three to four car lengths from me to the next car at about 30 MPH, enough space that I believe I should have been able to brake without collision. When I went from accelerating to rapid braking there was no real sensation of the car slowing down more than slight braking. The other car had minimal damage, but the driver of the other car did hit her head on her steering wheel. I had close to $3,000 in damage to my front end (hood bumper and left fender). *tr the consumer was informed that there was nothing wrong with the brakes design. The brakes are electronically assisted and that the computer will first attempt to use the electric motor for initial braking, then engage the hydraulic system and finally the ABS based on feedback from various sensors. The mechanic did agree, that is possible that while the computer is evaluating the braking efficiency, a delay between the motor only braking and fully engaging the hydraulics and ABS are possible and part of the design. Updated 08/02/07.
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