2007 Toyota Prius: jerking or lurching

Filed Apr 26, 2015 · Brakes · 85,500 miles · CA

Attempted emergency low-speed stop to avoid a bicyclist running a red light in front of me. Bicyclist took evasive action to avoid collision because the brakes failed to fully activate. Pedal went completely hard, ABS did not activate, and vehicle slowly halted (no jerk or throwing occupants against seat belts, as would happen with normal brakes). System works normally under light braking. Inability to brake fully under low-speed conditions is a serious failure. Road was dry and tires are only a few months old.

Filed Mar 27, 2014 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 90,000 miles · CA · crash

Stop and go traffic on the freeway, accelerating when the traffic started picking up but vehicles in front suddenly stop and as I hit the brakes on the bumping freeway the vehicle does a brief lurch forward as esp light blinks. Vehicle does not stop under this braking condition and feels momentarily like there is no brake pressure. As a result, vehicle doesn't stop in time and hits the vehicle in front even though it could've been avoided had the brakes worked as they should've.

Filed May 29, 2013 · Acceleration, Airbags · 125,000 miles · MD · crash

At approximately 11:20 am, I was waiting to have my car washed at a drive through car wash. A chevrolet pickup truck had completed being washed and was stopped at the exit. The green light came on at the start of the car wash for me to proceed. I moved forward when suddenly the car lurched forward at what seemed to be top speed. I jammed my foot of the brake pedal and held it down but the car continued speeding. I eased the car into the left side wall of the car wash to slow down the momentum, but to no avail. I crashed into the back of the truck. The hood of the prius went under the truck rear bumper. The air bags did not deploy. The prius has been declared at total loss. *tr the consumer stated neither the letter from toyota nor the bosch report indicated an examination of an electronic acceleration system. Updated 04/28/14

Filed Jan 18, 2011 · Transmission · IN

While parked with the car turned on, the engine engages to run the A/C or heater and the car lurches forward. The display screen will sometimes display a warning that there is a problem with the park mechanism and that the car should be shut off and parked on a level surface with the parking brake engaged. My research has LED to the park lock mechanism. Toyota says that the lurch is normal and due to wear on the park lock. The "fix" is to use the parking brake. What if you forget or aren't aware of this? What if the park lock fails and the brake isn't on? None of these is unreasonable to expect. The potential is for the car to move on its own, even with no one present in the car or in the driver's seat. This is an inherently unsafe design and should be pulled from the road.

Filed Aug 9, 2010 · Acceleration · 19,359 miles · NY · crash

Toyota prius 2007 -- while stuck in heavy traffic, my car lurched forward and struck the car in front of it, which in turn hit the car in front. My foot was on the brake since traffic was at a standstill. Applying the brake harder did not stop the car in time to prevent the accident. There were no injuries. This never occurred before. The car has 19,000 miles. Spoke with toyota dealership (smithtown toyota). They denied that there is a problem and said we had a simple accident. Toyota said that this problem does not and has never existed.

Filed Mar 17, 2010 · Brakes · 25,000 miles · CA · crash

I currently own a 2010 prius and have had the brake recall work done. Previously when I was living in belgium, I leased a 2007 prius. I complained to the toyota dealer about the lurching forward of the car when I braked if there was even mildly rough or damp pavement. They told me that it wasn't a problem. My husband and I were in an accident in belgium due to this problem. A stop light turned red and when we tried to stop, the car kept going and we ran into a motorcyclist. Thankfully he wasn't injured but we had about $1,000 worth of damage to the front end of our car that we had to pay for. The dealer continued to claim that there was nothing wrong with the brakes.

Filed Mar 15, 2010 · Brakes · 43,000 miles · PA

I drive a 2007 prius. While going over rough patches, potholes, etc., my car seems to lurch forward and momentarily lose braking control. The vsa light flashes as well. It is definitely worse in the rain, and if I am turning.

Filed Feb 22, 2010 · Acceleration, Brakes · 36,000 miles · NY

This has happened dozens of times, to myself and my wife. We are braking, and whilst braking drive over a pothole or drain. The traction control comes on, and the car disengages the brakes and the car lurches forward. After clearing the pothole, the traction control then disengages, and the brakes re-engage. Several times, I have come close to hitting the car in front. Conditions: clear, sunny, dry roads. Car: toyota prius, year 2007.

Filed Feb 16, 2010 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 35,000 miles · VA

When braking while driving over potholes, speed bumps, manhole covers, or any kind of bump in the road, car lurches forward, and brakes do not work at that moment, in addition, the traction warning light flashes telling driver car has lost traction with road. It occurs every single time the brakes are depressed while driving over a bump, pothole, manhole cover, or any kind of bump in the road. Have come extremely close to rear-ending an individual in front of me at an intersection because there was a bump as I approached the intersection, and was braking to slow down. Have taken to dealer once and told brakes are fine, unable to duplicate problem. Taking back again to have service technician ride with us so we can demonstrate problem.

Filed Feb 12, 2010 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 39,050 miles · AZ · crash

I read about the recall of the 2010 prius concerning the ABS software. My 2007 prius experienced the same problems recently when I ran over a curb at low speed and the car lurched forward at high speed after I applied the brakes and I hit a wall about 5 feet away. Damage to my car was a cracked bumper, slightly dented hood, cracked head light. I used to get 50 to 60 miles per gallon and I can not get over 41 miles per gallon now. I bought new tires and had them balanced and aligned but the mileage had not improved. Damages to the exterior of the car will amount to about 2 to 3 thousand dollars. My toyota dealer says that my 2007 model is not part of the recall. I have read blogs where people with my model toyota have had similar experiences. I believe that the ABS software is faulty in more than the 2010 priuses.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 1,000 miles · PA

I have an ongoing problem with my 2007 prius with braking and traction control in slippery conditions (rain, snow, ice), and on slippery or uneven surfaces (railroad/trolley tracks, manhole covers, etc.). I have reported it to the toyota dealer several times starting in the summer of 2007 and have been told there is no problem. The car seems to lurch or slide under these conditions which is alarming even at very low speeds. The traction control light flashes, and there is a momentary inability to brake or stop the car.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Brakes · CA

When attempting to use the brakes on my 2007 toyota prius when driving over a bumpy surface, pothole, etc., it takes a short distance or 1-2 seconds for the brakes to take hold and slow/stop the car. It feels as though the car lurches forward a bit before braking and the "slip indicator" warning light on the dash flashes. This has happened approximately 10 times since buying the car in april of 2007. I have notified the original dealer (toyota of north hollywood), but was informed that there is no way to correct the problem on my car's particular model.