There is a leak inside the 12v battery compartment that houses the battery and the electronic brake controller. The car's hatch leaks water in from rain and car washes and it collects around the 12v battery. In this prius, this area has the battery, electronic brake controller, and further back is the hv battery. There should not be any water that can leak into this area with the electronics. There are many google threads regarding owners experiencing this problem with water leaking inside the car's back area. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed because the battery and brake booster is in this exact area where it can affect the safety of the car when driven.
2008 Toyota Prius brakes complaints
Page 6 of 14: complaints 131 to 160 of 391, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Everytime I drive the car and engage the brakes over an uneven, bumpy, or slick surface, the anti lock brake system engages. When it engages the car no longer slows down, it is like the brakes are completely gone for 1-2 seconds until the brakes re-engage. I have had several close incidents of almost hitting other vehicles. I have not done anything about it because it is a company vehicle and nothing bad has happened until today. The anti-lock brakes system disengaged the brakes and I ended up rear ending another vehicle.
When I brake and also go over a bump my 2008 prius lurches forward. The traction control light illuminates. The brakes become ineffective. This caused me to have an accident last night. The cars before me came to a sudden stop. I was driving 15-20mph but unfortunately I hit the brakes while unknowningly simultaneously going over a bump. The faulty traction control system sent me into a 1-2 second lurch forward with zero brakes. When I finally was able to have brakes I had to maneuver the vehicle to the left of the car ahead scratching the aura and denting my front right panel. This is not the first time the brakes have failed but it is the first time I was involved in an accident because of it. Toyota drivers need to leave a 4 sec. Space between cars to make up for the 2 sec. Lapse in brakes.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact sated that while driving less than 10 MPH on a wet road surface, the brakes failed to respond when engaged and went straight to the floor. In addition, the brake pedal became stuck to the floorboard when depressed. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder where the brake pedal was released. The vehicle resumed normally and was later taken to the dealer, who advised that the battery failed and caused the brake actuator to fail. The dealer replaced the battery. The failure and current mileage was 61,000. Updated 02/11/2014 *bf the consumer stated there was no resistance and the pedal did not get stuck, but it had no effect in stopping the vehicle. After several seconds, the consumer coasted to the shoulder at which time, the brakes started to work. Also, the battery was replaced. A month after the incident, the instrument cluster failed again, with no warning lights and it had to be replaced.
Traveling at 40 m.p.h. A pickup truck pulled out onto the roadway ahead about 150ft. I depressed the brake and the vehicle slowed quickly at first to roughly 35 m.p.h. When the ABS warning light displayed for a brief moment to about 30 m.p.h. After the warning light stopped flashing; 2 flashes, about 1/2 of a second, the pressure was solid and the vehicle slowed minimally. I managed to stop the vehicle in time, but felt that the brake system had failed to properly slow the vehicle. It felt like stopping a train. I feel unsafe in this vehicle under these conditions and have seen a lot of similar incidences reading online. I'm concerned for my the safety of my family and other motorist, and feel that toyota should take the responsibility to resolve this issue with these vehicles.
I rear-ended the car in front of me in a very low speed accident, listed on my ticket as 1+ MPH by the police officer who witnessed my accident while at the scene attending to an already-occurred accident. When I was 2-3 car lengths behind the car in front of me, going approx. 5-10 MPH, I saw their brake lights go on, and I pushed the brake pedal and nothing happened. I pumped the brakes, and nothing happened. When I realized that my car's momentum was not slowing in the slightest, and that I was going to hit the car in front of me, I tried to maneuver into the vacant right lane, but the failure of the car to even slow down made accident avoidance not possible. When I struck the car in front of me, the blow was primarily with the left front corner of my car contacting the center of their bumper. My car was totaled; their car need a new rear bumper but only for cosmetic purposes. I will testify under oath in a court of law that the brakes in my 2008 toyota prius failed, and that is why I had this wreck.
Normal traffic, dry pavement, level surface, clear visibility 40 MPH. I was following in traffic, not particularly close behind a full size pickup truck. The truck stopped very quickly. I performed a 'panic' stop by depressing the brake pedal as hard as possible and maintained the pressure. My prius slowed but did not stop prior to hitting the truck. No airbags deployed. As I pushed the brake pedal as hard as possible, there was never any 'chattering' characteristic of hydraulic brakes being applied with accompanied ABS pulsating activity. I believe there was never any 'switch' between the hybrid regernerative braking and to the hydraulic braking. I truly believe in any other car w/o the regenerative/hydraulic bake switch, the car would have stopped in a much shorter distance. The car is now being repaired, after which I will have the brakes examined.
There has been a chirping sound coming from my brakes. Im not sure when it began I just thought it was a normal occurrence recently my dashboard lights or indicator lights have come on I took my car in to the dealer and they told me that it needed a new actuator pump which would cost around 3000dollars to replaceafter doing some research online I discovered that this is a ongoing problem with these cars this actually a pump is defective on a lot of these cars this car should be recalled and the problem should be fixed by the dealer.
I purchased a used 2008 prius with approx 30,000 miles. Since purchase from a dealership, it only gives at best 41.9mpg, 2nd.. I have had to jump start it on 4 occasions due to a dead battery and the fluid doesn't go far enough to clean the windshield. On the most recent occasion with 35,000 miles..... A week ago I attempted to start the vehicle and it would not. I got it jump started again, I noticed a critical light came on (a triangle and ! Sign in red). I brought it to the dealer who said I needed a new battery. I have an extended warranty which they say does not cover it and so had to pay $395.71. I called toyota corporate who offered $300 credit towards any service. The service dept informed me this battery has a 1 year warranty. 3.. I also have noticed a lack of traction after going over small bumps on the road. This happens on any surface when driving at 25mpg or faster... Feels like it kind of goes faster.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH and depressing the brakes, the pedal became hard and required additional force to be depressed. The ABS and another unknown warning light illuminated immediately after the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised her that the brake actuator assembly failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 75,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while traveling downhill at 30 MPH, the brake was depressed but failed to engage. The contact had to steer the vehicle into a ditch in order to avoid a crash. The contact was not injured. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard and was not inspected for the cause of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 100,000. The VIN was not available.
On 20 may 2010 at 11,966 miles every brake/stability warning light came on (including the warning for the parking/emergency brake which was not engaged), regenerative braking appeared to have failed, and hydraulic/friction brakes behaved as if ABS was acting at a very slow pulse rate, approximately a 5-second cycle. For about 2 seconds during the "off" portion of this cycle the brakes were effectively inoperative, with the parking/emergency brake the only source of braking. This behavior persisted after shutting down and restarting the car. The dealer's service department reported that three errors had been logged: c1247 - stroke sensor c1300 - ABS ecu malfunction c2318 - low voltage error resetting the computers cleared the warning indications and restored normal brake system behavior. At my behest, the dealer worked with toyota engineering to identify why a low voltage would cause a computer failure which could cause substantial loss of braking ability. They kept the car for 8 days but did not appear to complete any sort of root cause analysis of the failure. On 17 december 2012 at 27,324 miles the brakes again failed with the same set of warning lights illuminated. This time, ABS does not appear to be active at all. For the first 2-5 cm of brake pedal travel, in the regime where regenerative braking would be active, no braking is evident. As the pedal is further depressed, the hydraulic/friction brakes abruptly engage. Pressing harder does result in increased braking though braking is rough. No pulsation as might be expected from ABS was noticed. No attempt was made to brake hard enough to lock up the brakes. The vehicle is currently at the dealer.
2008 toyota prius (runaway toyota) 09/18/2012 at home depot parking area. As I was in a parking stall, I stepped on a brake to come to a complete stop, suddenly the car took off with its fully force. The brake pedal did not work. My right foot was on the brake pedal and not on the gas pedal. My car jumped over a wheel stop and banged onto a tree and stop. Insurance agent came by shortly as well as a police. The car was towed to the big island toyota who denies defects. Without my knowledge toyota made national claim so that my car is frozen-no one can touch it, until I sign a liability waiver (releasing toyota from any liability) . Meantime they said I need to pay parking charge to hold my car in their service department. Toyota wants me to sign a liability waiver and insurance company to repair the car so that they can whole sale the vehicle. My car 2008 toyota prius was recalled in 2008, the service department did something to the gas pedal. I want the world to know the car is not safe, it can trigger the gas pedal to go full when brake is stepped on.
On 8/29/12, I got into my 2008 prius in the parking lot of the easton, md giant food-store to return home. This lot is on a slope just above a parking lot for walmart, with a paved road between the 2 lots. The parking lots were very crowded. I needed to get to the road separating the 2 lots in order to go home. I had just started the prius and put it into drive when it started to roar loudly, jumped out fast, and accelerated rapidly, even though I brake multiple times. The brakes seemed to make it accelerate faster. I was not touching the gas pedal, only the brake, but the car was roaring and out of control. On the way out of the giant lot, the prius hit 3 cars. The noise was very loud, and the car was out of control. Pumping the brakes or holding them down did nothing to slow the car, and the noise was terrifying. The brakes did not work, and the prius continued to make a very loud roaring noise. The speed of the car made steering difficult, if not impossible, and there could have been injuries. The prius then left the giant parking lot, went down the mulched slope, crossed the street, bumped over the curb, and went up the walmart slope hitting a small tree. The car was probably going at least 40 MPH and came to a stop only after it plunged into an unoccupied black car parked in the walmart parking lot. It was severely damaged and towed away. No one knew who the owner was at the time the police ordered it towed away. An occupant would have been severely injured or killed.during the above, the prius continued to run and the airbag functioned, keeping me uninjured. The brakes and the accelerator failed totally. Four vehicles were damaged, one of which was totaled. But as far as I know, there were no injuries??for which I am grateful. This prius should not have been on the road despite having only 74,000 miles and its apparent good condition.
The car warnings went on and displayed the symbol for brake systems failure. The car brakes went out and then the car sped up slightly until the brakes re-engaged. I was driving slowly and was near my home, so no one was hurt thankfully. We had to have it towed because the car manual said not to drive it more than 3 MPH when you have a brake systems failure. It was determined that the defective parts were the electric water pump and the mechanical water pump. Toyota has recalled 2003-2007 electric water pumps for the prius. My concern is that this could have been a tragic accident if we were going faster. My question is whether the 2008 electric water pump for the prius need to be recalled?
Around 4:30pm on saturday afternoon, we opened the car door to run some errands and were startled by a piercing noise. The dashboard was lighting up (ABS & vsc) and although the car started, the dashboard remained lit and the beeping continued. When driving the car to the dealership, the brakes did not brake fully. After a $58 diagnostic test, we were told that acc pressure sensor needed to be cleared and if we returned with the same problem, we may need to replace a "brake actuator part" (cost = $2,560). Before this incident, on saturday afternoon, we drove the car on the interstate for about 150 miles. For the last 15 minutes of our trip, we were driving through heavy rains on the interstate and on side roads. We did not experience any problems when driving the car in the rain, but are wondering whether or not the water affected the brakes.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the brakes failed, which caused the vehicle to crash into another vehicle. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed at the scene and towed away to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the brakes functioned properly and there was no failure. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the failure was the contact's fault. No assistance was offered. The failure and current mileages were 50,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Pulled out of parking lot, started accelerating, went to hit brakes and brakes failed. Brake pedal travel was more than normal, started pulsing brakes. Dashboard lights came on (not sure which ones). Problem also occurred in september 2011, and toyota reset the "brake stroke sensor" charged us for this work, and recommended replacing the sensor (~500). Dealership stated this was not covered under warranty due to over three years. Even though it was a safety issue, they did not replace sensor at that time.
Whenever I'm braking the vehicle and it goes over a bump in the road the anti skid braking system engages and blinks on the dash and there is a brief several second loss of braking and I can feel the brakes disengage.
While entering a highway onramp in my company's 2008 toyota prius, the car suddenly began accelerating out of control without application of the gas pedal. I had to press hard on the brake just to hold the car at 65 MPH. The car was surging and lunging forward, and I worried I wouldn't be able to find a place to pull over before losing control completely. For the next 5-10 minutes, as I approached traffic in front of me, the car continued to accelerate, even though I had my foot on the brake the entire time. At one point I noticed the car was reaching speeds in excess of 95 MPH. A loud rattling noise ensued and an electrical smell filled the car. Eventually, the brake completely failed to have any effect, and, barreling down the highway at 90 MPH, I put the car in neutral, but it continued to accelerate. At this point I had my right foot on the brake pedal and depressed the parking break all the way to the floor with my left foot, this slowed the car slightly, but not enough to regain control. Finally, I turned the car off completely, and with my hazard lights on, managed to pull the car away from traffic and off on the shoulder of the highway, where I coasted for a long distance, speeds decreasing gradually until eventually it stopped. Smoke and a burning electrical smell filled the car. I filed a police report with an officer who happened to also be on the shoulder, giving someone a speeding ticket. My company towed the car to a dealership, and an investigation is supposedly underway, though I'm not optimistic about any sort of resolution based on the testimonies I have read from others who have experienced the same thing. Luckily, in my case, this didn't result in an accident, and noone was killed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact was braking from 15 MPH and entering into a parking lot but the brakes did not respond. The contact continued to apply pressure to the brakes until the vehicle came to a stop. The contact stated that the vehicle sustained scratches due to being in close proximity to a building. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and stated they would send an inspector to investigate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
2008 toyota prius. Consumer states two problems with vehicle, the ABS release momentarily causes a brief surge forward any time there is a small bump in the road when braking and consumer also states he nearly rear ended another vehicle at a stop light when he almost couldn't stop, even by putting his entire weight on the vehicle. *tgw the consumer also believed the pedals were designed too close together.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated while applying the brakes after driving over a bump, the vehicle lunged forward. The anti-skid light turned on and then off. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 21,000.
What happened on 12/23/10 was that I was going to turn around in a short driveway, approximately 6 ft long, that was on a steep incline. As I came up to the driveway, I took my foot off the accelerator to move it over to the brake. My foot was completely off the accelerator and, when the car hit the incline, it sped up really fast. I had to jam on my brakes to keep from crashing into a garage door. My main complaint, though, is that there is some sort of override system built into the 2008 prius so that, when you drive over certain potholes or bumps in the road -- but not all of them -- and your foot is on the brake to slow the car down, the car automatically speeds up to move you out of the pothole or over the bump. This overrides the brakes so that there is a possibility that you could run into the car in front of you if it was stopped or into something blocking the road or a garage door. It happens when you are braking to slow the car down, whether you are going down a hill, around a curve or coming up to a red light or stop sign. You have your foot on the brake and the car speeds up momentarily. There is a square metal plate that is slightly lower than the tarmac in the road about 1/2 mile from my house. The road is a canyon road so it is a hillside road that is very narrow. Every morning when I drive to work, I have to drive over that plate and, every time I do, my car speeds up. This happens with other 2008 priuses that friends have, it's not just mine. It is very scary and everyone I know who has a 2008 prius knows that it is a bad design flaw that could possibly cause an accident or injury. Something needs to be done to stop the override system. It's very dangerous.
Tl* the contact owns 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that when driving at any speed over a road bump, the brakes would fail momentarily. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop but the contact was advised that the vehicle would need to be diagnosed by an authorized dealer. The manufacturer advised that the vehicle would be inspected within sixty days. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 40,000.
2008 toyota prius, when I hit a bump or pothole at relatively low speed, the car sometimes goes into "anti-skid" mode, leading to a brief disconcerting period of lurching/acceleration/loss of braking ability before the car returns to normal. This problem is usually accompanied by the yellow anti - skid icon indicator on the dash.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact heard a squeaking noise when he applied pressure to the brake pedal, whether driving the vehicle or while it was stopped. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was told that the failure was common but it was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000 and the current mileage was 60,743.
1. In the k-mart level parking lot when starting to press on the brake pedal the car shot forward about 6 feet. Note that the driver's side has never had a floor mat. 2. Brakes were tested at the dealership where the preowned car was purchased and the dealer said that there was no problem with the brakes. 3. This problem recurred four other times, the most recent of which was on the way to the car dealership where the toyota gas pedal recall work was done. After the gas pedal recall service was completed the service manager road tested the car and then had the brakes checked and informed me that the brakes were okay and told me that I didn't know what anti-lock brakes felt like in a hybrid, although I had owned three other cars with anti-lock brakes.
July 16th our son was driving his 2008 prius when the brakes failed and there was acceleration with the car. He rearended an SUV at a stop light. We took the vehicle to the toyota dealership where we purchased the car. They were going to check it out, but due to the fact of an accident, they had our son call toyota to give them a report of what happened. Toyota said they would send a rep. To examine the car, which they would not be there for 2 weeks. We waited and they finally arrived around august 4th or 5th. The dealership called and said we could come and get the car, which I was concerned not knowing if there was defect or not. The toyota dealership told us toyota takes all responsibility out of their hands. I felt that was ridiculous since they sell toyota vehicles. On august 12th our son called toyota and they said that there would be a letter coming in about 35 days. We are still waiting and feel the dealership and toyota has done nothing but pass the buck. We also purchased another prius at the same time. By the way they both told my son in the beginning that there had been a recall. After everything that happened our son realized that there were several other incidents that took place with the car and thought it was him, until this accident happened. We feel that there is also an electrical issue with this car because there has 2 new batteries installed in the car since purchased in 2008. We just want answers!!!!! There was $1800 dollars damage sustained with this accident. It seems to me that no one here wants to take responsibility with some answers.
I own a 2008 prius. I have complained twice to my toyota dealership that at times, when braking on a bumpy road it feels as if my brakes momentarily release. Some times it will take your breath away. I will not allow my daughters to drive this car because of the uncomfortable sensation. I know the car will stop (it always has) but for a split second it is frightening. Both times I have been told by my toyota dealer that it is the anti-lock brake feature kicking in. Once they test drove it for about 15 minutes and said there was no problem. I drive it daily and I may only experience it twice a week. 15 minutes will not tell them anything.
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