While driving on the highway the ABS, vsc, and (!) lights came on. The brake pedal became hard, and I had to push incredibly hard to slow the vehicle. After having the codes read and resetting the ABS, vsc, (!) lights, the brakes worked again until the lights came on again after about 50 miles. The codes have read "accumulator pressure fault".
2008 Toyota Prius driver assistance complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 82, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On friday, november 2, 2018. The brake light and lights for ABS and vsc came on, I brought it on to a toyota dealership service center. He immediately told me without inspecting it that it would be a very costly repair. I received a phone call after they ran diagnostic test and he confirmed it was the ABS actuator that needed replacements at a cost of $2500. And then told me that there was a warranty enhancement but that it expired in june of 2018. The tech also told me that it was no help to call toyota to request repair because they would not be willing to do it. There seems to be so many toyota prius owners who are stuck because toyota is unwilling to repair the issue with the actuator and should do regardless of the limit on warranty or just lift the limit on the warranty. My vehicle only has 100k and I should not have to be paying $2500 to replace a faulty part on the car that toyota is fully aware of.
Driving on city street while very rainy outside, drove through a puddle and felt the brakes loosen, all the warning lights came on and wouldn't turn off. Anti-lock breaking system was offline. Took to toyota dealership, mechanics said the ABS is not communicating with the computer and it would be $2800.00 to fix. Breaks feel loose and are not as responsive anymore.
Powered on vehicle in driveway and while the car was still in park and the brake pedal engaged, the car rolled out of the driveway. I applied additional pressure to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle from rolling out. A week later, the instrument panel warning lights for ABS, vsc, brake system and brake illuminated due to internal malfunctions of the brake actuator assembly. Toyota stated the vehicle is outside of the extended warranty for this known issue.
If I am applying the brakes when I hit a pothole or bumps in the road the brakes briefly stop working and don't re engage for several feet. Thus, if I am driving 30mph, the brakes won't re engage for about 15 feet. I took the car to the dealer twice and they claimed there was no problem. I checked online and found numerous complaints of the exact same problem by other 2008 prius owners. I believe it is a programing problem with the interplay of the traction control system and the ABS system. Apparently there was a recall for a similar problem in the 2010 models but not the 2008 models. I have experienced this problem throughout the life of the car. Please look into this problem
I purchased my 2008 toyota prius as a certified pre-owned vehicle in 2014. Every time the car goes over a bump in the road -- be it a man hold, railroad tracks -- the car traction control light illuminates and the car lurches forward for 1-2 seconds. This has happened countless times. It is a commonplace occurrence when going over any kind of uneven surface on the road. From what I have read, this is common in the 2008 prius and I am wondering why this hasn't been investigated. On july 12th, I was driving in ky in heavy rain, going about 50 MPH. The traction control light came on, I began to hydroplane, and the car accelerated to 60mph and I almost drove off the road. I have been driving for sixteen years and have never hydroplaned. My fear is the car doing the same thing in rain that it does on uneven surfaces on dry road -- lurching forward slightly which is not what you want when driving in the rain.
Vehicle starts, runs for limited time -2-3 mins. Shuts off vehicle starts no electrical visibility on dash.. Blank. Vehicle starts with electrical visibility, runs for 3-5 miles, looses electrical visibility. Updated 12/4/2017*cn vehicle starts with electrical visibility runs for 3-4 miles .vehicle stops, shuts off in traffic. Vehicle will not start. Requires jump start,,. And runs enough to take car to dealer. Vehicle will not start, requires jump start and will not hold charge. Requires towing to dealer. Ma 10/8
I have reported this issue to this website in the past. The traction control disables the drive wheels inconsistently and arbitrarily under many circumstances, often resulting in a real safety hazard. It can happen when starting from a stop on dry or wet pavement or when hitting small bumps/holes at low speeds (25-45 MPH). This is extremely frightening when trying to pull into traffic from a stop on dry pavement - power is cut, slowing entry into moving traffic and increasing accident potential. The local toyota dealer tells us that nothing can be done about it. Surely it's a serious enough hazard that needs to be addressed.
We have two prius cars with same issue - when making a turn from a stop and trying to accelerate quickly the car jerks and hesitate as the anti slip system light flashes and engages. You cannot accelerate quickly into traffic from a dead stop making a turn as the car refuses, jerks and acts like it will stall. Pavement is dry and no gravel. Happens each and every time since I purchased the car. Easy to replicate. Come to a complete stop, then turn right while pressing the accelerator down quickly and the slip system kicks, car jerks, hesitates and then very slowly starts to eventually accelerate.
When making a turn from a stop and trying to accelerate quickly the car jerks and hesitate as the anti slip system light flashes and engages. You cannot accelerate quickly into traffic from a dead stop making a turn as the car refuses, jerks and acts like it will stall. Pavement is dry and no gravel. Happens each and every time since I purchased the car. Easy to replicate. Come to a complete stop, then turn right while pressing the accelerator down quickly and the slip system kicks, car jerks, hesitates and then very slowly starts to eventually accelerate.
My 2008 prius won't stay in gears occasionally gear jumped back from d to n mode. Fortunately, it didn't happen when I drove 70 miles per hour. I went to toyota center and they said I have to pay for the shift lever. I don't know why I should pay for it, it is a defect of this car, not because how I drive this car. Plus, I don't have this money, so I didn't repair for it. I need to report this before someone get killed. I think toyota should recall 2008 prius, to make sure our (customer) safety.
It actually happened two times within a month. In one case, I was turning left to take a ramp with a very low speed around 5 MPH. Even though some parts of the road was icy, but the car didn't slip. It was exactly a several sudden pushes, unintended acceleration, with my foot on the brake only. I was so scared because I couldn't control the car for few seconds, and I thought I totally lost the control of the car. I tried to steer the car safely and turn on my emergency light. Checked the brake again, it was working after that. The second time, happened to me when I was coming out of school parking and didn't have any speed at all. Again around 5 MPH. School is located in residential area. When you get out of the parking, you can only turn right, then there is an intersection with a stop sign almost 50 feet away. On the day of incident, I tried to stop behind the stop sign with no speed at all, but suddenly the car got the same continuous and sudden pushes. It was accelerated unintended. My foot was completely on the brake, but I lost the control again, and I was so lucky that day that there were no cars around the intersection, I tried to steer the car to the left, turned on my emergency light, and tried to push the brake again and again. After few seconds, I found it working. I called the toyota the same day, and they are in the process of scheduling me for inspection. Again, even though the surface was slick with ice, but I didn't have speed, and it didn't look like ABS is working. I exactly know how ABS works, specially when it is snowy or icy. This is very scary. Please investigate. Thanks.
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.
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.
On three separate occasions I started my prius by using the electric start button without the key. The car starts and runs but the instrument panel does not light up. Once I arrived at my destination the car will not shut off. It take approx. 1 hr of running before it will turn off. My dealership indicated they had not heard of this issue but after a diagnostic test, discovered that a computer chip communicating with the start button was the issue. The part is not available for 4 to 6 weeks and they will not release my car to me since they consider it a safety issue. They indicated its part of a recall issue..never heard of it! Hummm. No cost for the fix since it is part of the recall and toyota has provided me with a rental car.
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.
On 09jul2012 4:00 p.m while driving my prius 2008 hybrid, heading home on i15n, the electric power on the vehicle shutdown without any previous warning, or alert. I immediately maneuvered the vehicle to the right shoulder of the highway. Immediately called aaa for a towing into toyota of escondido, located on 231 lincoln parkway, escondido, ca 92026 ph# (760) 746-0674. Today 09/01/2012 - currently experiencing problems with intermittent hid headlight operation: I've got a package 6 2006 prius. One of the headlights keeps going out. I can't really tell when or how it goes out since I can't see it. I'll notice it when I see the reflection in the back of another car. If I turn the bright lights on and off it has no effect, but when I turn them all the way off and back on the light comes back. Request a safety recall for toyota to take care of the electrical corrective actions.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While attempting to accelerate, the contact noticed that the vehicle would pause and the tires lost traction. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated the vehicle was performing normally and could not be repaired. The current and failure mileages were 25,000.
I was leaving the airport and beginning to pick up speed (approximately 30-35 MPH) when I had a very scary incident with my 2008 prius. It suddenly fishtailed to the left, several seconds later fishtailed to the right, and as it yet again began to fishtail to the left, I jammed on the brakes very hard and it corrected. It was terrifying and fortunately there was no one to my right or behind me and the taxi on my left managed to avoid me. I knew that I would never feel safe in my prius again. I immediately reported the problem to the toyota regional manager who said to take it into the dealership. I then spent the next two days reading complaints posted on the internet about the prius. It is chilling to read how many complaints have been filed and the patterns that emerge in the reporting. I took my car into the dealership where the service manager looked over the complaint that had been written up and said, "I never heard of this before." I told him he only had to go to the internet to see how similar cases with the prius have been documented. He told me that I shouldn't believe what I find there. I tried my best to give him a thorough explanation of the problem but he didn't seem much interested in getting a fix on what I was talking about. He asked if I had gone over a bump. "no," I replied, "but why do you ask?" he said that going over a bump can trigger a sensor in the wheel that sets in motion a series of responses. "and going over a bump isn't a problem for toyota?", I asked. He didn't respond and only said that they will look the car over. From reading the documented reports on the internet, I knew exactly what the findings would be. "we don't find anything wrong with your car," he told me. "but you do agree that there is something seriously wrong, don't you?", I asked. He immediately hustled me out of the area. I knew that I could never sell my car to another person in good faith, but I sold it back to the dealership at a big loss.
I have a 2008 toyota prius with vehicle stability control. When the car is going up or down a hill that is slippery, icy or snowy, the vsc kicks in, and all power is shut off to the spinning wheel (s). This renders the car unusable under these conditions. I have been in traffic, and barely escaped running into the car behind me. No injuries were caused, but this feature is potentially very dangerous and even fatal. Toyota should be persuaded to offer or install a way to temporarily disable the vsc.
I own a 2008 toyota prius and have experienced braking problems since I purchased the vehicle. Any time I go over a bump/pothole, while turning, results in a floating sensation, surge forward, and momentary loss of steering. I almost had an accident 2 weeks ago at an intersection when this occurred. Serviced my vehicle yesterday and they claim the skid control system is working as it was designed. There is definitely a fatal flaw in this system and likely a chip issue. Toyota is not doing anything.
2008 toyota prius. Consumer states problem with traction control *tgw the consumer stated she was driving in the rain at a speed of 40 MPH when she noticed the traction control light was flickering on and off more than she previously experienced. She also smelled an odor similar to something burning. She opened the windows to let it clear. However, the smell seemed to linger in the vehicle for at least a mile. As she approached a town, the speed limit was reduced from 45 MPH to 25 MPH so she slowed down and continued to experience the flickering of the traction control warning light while driving on wet pavement. As the consumer approached a controlled intersection at a speed of approximately 20 MPH and was applying the brakes to stop for the red light, the vehicle suddenly shut down as she was unable to steer and had no brakes or traction. As she was about to hit the vehicle in front of her, she slammed on the brakes one last time and was able to stop at the last second. When the light turned green she proceeded to drive in the rain at a maximum speed of 40 MPH and the traction control warning light came on only one additional time until she reached her destination 20 minutes later.
I drive a 2008 prius. When braking and driving over a pot-hole, bump, or other road work the anti-lock braking system engages, and the brakes release for an extended period of time (>1 second) causing the car to coast during this time. I drive on busy city streets and on highways with stop and go traffic, and this uncontrolled brake release represents a safety hazard. I have driven vehicles with anti-lock brakes before, and this kind of braking release is much longer and results in a much greater loss of vehicle control than in other vehicles I have driven. In a specific recent incident, I hit a car immediately in front of me. In the incident, I was driving over bumpy pavement and the car in front of me stopped abruptly. As I tried to brake sharply to avoid hitting the car in front, the braking released because the anti lock brakes engaged, and instead of stopping safely, I hit the car. Although there were no injuries and damage was minor, the incident (and the regularity with which the brakes release under normal driving conditions) seems to me to represent a significant safety problem for the vehicle.
On my 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 (~1/2 second), disconcerting period of lurching/acceleration/loss of braking ability before the car returns to normal. This problem is usually accompanied by the lighting of the yellow skid icon indicator on the dash.
When I am braking and go over a bump in my 2008 prius toyota, it feels like the brakes disengage for a second and the car goes faster. I noticed this mainly during winter driving in snow and ice.
2008 prius. Often when I go over a bump the anti-lock braking system kicks in and it feels as if I have lost control of the car. I don't think I could stop suddenly. I haven't had an accident but I am uncomfortable driving sometimes even in good weather. The service department was no help.
Every time I am braking and go over a bump in my 2008 toyota prius the anti-lock braking system kicks in. When it does so, it feels like the brakes disengage for a second and the car goes faster, like the braking system is failing before it ends up kicking in. My toyota dealer tells me this is the way it is supposed to work but it does not feel safe to me. It has been this way since the first day I bought the car brand new from the dealer.
Frequently while driving on dry, clear and clean roads, my car braking system will seem to fail and feel like the car is going into a skid. The ABS warning light comes on as well - although there is no reason for brake trouble. Seems to be happening more and more frequently lately.
My 2008 toyota prius loses braking power every time I brake when going over a bumpy or uneven surface and it takes 1/2 to 1 second before they re-engage. Took car to toyota dealer and had service technician go on a test drive with me. When the service technician experienced this loss in brakes, he explained that the traction control system was designed to release the brakes on the tire (during bumpy road surface) to prevent lock-up, but if I kept my foot on the pedal long enough the brakes would re-engage. My complaint is the length of time it takes for the brakes to re-engage was too long and might result in an accident. The technician stated that the time lapse was normal/standard for ABS and prius drivers needed to adjust their driving habits to allow for it.
2008 toyota prius -ABS releases brakes while applying brakes over bump or bumpy road surface causing longer stopping distance. Vehicle will stop acceleration in turn if going over bump as thug stability control is activating.
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