I recently read the following article http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/03/autos/prius_complaints/index.htm and would like to report that this problem occurs in my 2009 prius. I have had it since 4/09 and it occurs consistently when I am exiting my workplace. I descend a fairly steep paved road and when I hit a specific bump in the pavement, my car accelerates for a split second. This is a regularly repeatable occurrence.
2009 Toyota Prius brakes complaints
Page 8 of 8: complaints 191 to 199 of 199, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While crossing a small bridge over an expressway, applying brakes at the point of bumpy transition caused the vehicle to lurch forward for approximately one second. This caused a sudden panic, but no other effects. This is the second occurrence at the exact same bridge transition and bump over the course of 8 months. There are no recognizable side effects. This has not been reported to the dealer, nor to the company.
On dec 11, 2009, I was driving down a street in cambridge, ma (I had a coworker in the car) and we were in stop and go traffic at a stop light. The car in front of me crawled up to approach the light after several cars had gone through-then stopped @ the red light. I proceeded to do the same. When I applied my brakes to stop there was no response, so I pressed down harder-still no response. I then began to pump my brakes to avoid the accident but there was still no response from the braking system. If the braking system had not failed I would have more than enough response time and distance to stop but my car kept @ a steady speed and ended up rear ending the car in front of me. No one was injured but there was minor damage to the car in front of me and $1800 damage to my car. I've had other instance where I've hit potholes in the past while slowing down- and the brake system would stop momentarily from working. I work in the boston area- where I'm constantly in stop and go traffic. I've experienced 2 previous times slight brake delay-which I've compensated for and give myself more room between my car and the car in front of me. In addition there was one instance 4months ago where I was coming to a stop- and I heard one of the motors (I'm assuming the electric b/c it charges as you stop) rev up and my car jilted forward- as if I had stepped on the gas but I had my foot on the brake the whole time. That was the only instance of that. I've had my car since april 2009 and when the two instances of brake delay occurred, I had the toyota service center check my brakes and they came back stating they were fine. After the accident I did report the failure to toyota and have yet to hear from them about it. I would like to note that there are several sites online with customers complaining about brake failing/delaying at speeds less than 20mph.
Hi there, I rented a new 2009 toyota prius. A couple of days ago as I was driving in one of the inside streets in a neighborhood, I got into an accident even though I was driving with a low speed of 15-20 MPH I rear ended a car that slammed on their brakes all of a sudden. I slammed hard on my brakes and it skidded a little and hit the van rear end bumper ahead of me. The accident did a quite a bit of damage to my rental prius. The front bumper of the car is completely destroyed and will need to be replaced. I took the car back to hertz and they swapped the car; I told hertz to check the brakes thoroughly; because there is a definitely a problem with the brakes at low speed. Please help. Even though my insurance company will take care of the damage; I am concerned about the safety of the other people in the same situation of low speed and brakes do not work.
I am writing to let you know of a problem I am experiencing with a 2009 toyota prius that I purchased new just one week ago and which still has less than 500 miles on it. A couple of days ago I was approaching a stop at an intersection, in town where my speed had been only about 15 MPH. While my foot was on the brake, just prior to a full stop, the car accelerated on its own. I kept my foot on the brake, pressing hard, and the brake eventually overrode the accelerator and stopped. Looking at the dash I saw that the ABS brake light flashed on briefly. It was a sunny day, no rain, no slick surface. No one was in front of me, so no damage to me or anyone else. Another incident happened this morning in my garage. I got into the prius, foot on the brake, pushed the power button, and then a moment later, still in park, I felt a surge. The car did not lunge forward, but I strongly felt the revving and surge of power, and the car lifted from the power. These incidents caused me to search the web for similar experience of others, and I have found many, some with severe consequences. I would also like to add that in hindsight I realize that two other things I have noticed about the brakes might be important to relate. I sometimes hear a slight grinding disk sound when I brake, and I have on a few occasions noticed that the brakes are skipping and the ABS engaging, as if I were on a slippery or graveled surface. Yet that was never the case; the road conditions were dry and tar was in good condition. I know this because I looked back each time to see what might have caused the brakes to act strangely. There was no apparent cause. In retrospect, after having experienced the acceleration at the stop sign, I realize that these other odd braking issues might be symptoms of the bigger braking issue.
My 2009 toyota prius was less than 4 months old. As I was parking in front of my apartment, I could feel the car still accelerating while I had already moved my foot to the brake. Braking as hard as I can I realized my car wasn't responding at all. The car climbed on to the curb into the grass, hit a light pole, tilted to its right side (I was parking to my right) and fell down on its side. I tried to turn the car off, but wont turn off. The wheels were still accelerating as I was trying to get out of the seat belt, called out for help and got out through the driver side window. I called 911. Police helped me turn off the vehicle; until that time, the car was still accelerating on its own. This seems to be a common issue with the toyota prius 2nd generation. This happens when the car is at very low speed (like in my case, while parking) or when its floored all the way. This should be thoroughly investigated. The car is with geico, my insurance company for further investigation.
Hi there, I have a new 2009 toyota prius. A couple of days ago as I was pulling into the parking spot at the garage my foot on the brake, the car started all of a sudden moving very smoothly without any resistance regardless of my attempts to stop it. It was hitting the wall in front of it a couple of times until I managed to power down the car. The front bumper of the car is completely destroyed and will need to be replaced. I took the car to a dealer to check brakes thoroughly. They did and told me that everything is fine with the brakes. Personally I strongly believe that the brakes have mind of their own and I sincerely hope that they will not fail on me in traffic since I am a mother, I have a 1-year old boy. His safety is a top priority for me. Right after my car was purchased it had to stay at a dealer for a week since there was some electrical problem, I believe with doors. Both that fact and now the brake failure make me wonder if my car is a lemon. Please help to sort this out. Thank you!
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 toyota prius. While driving 5 MPH into a parking space, the brakes did not work when the pedal was depressed. On two separate occasions, the vehicle struck a garage door and the contact rear-ended another vehicle due to the brake failure. There were no injuries. The dealer has not been notified. Currently, the vehicle is in the repair shop for the body damage, not for the brakes. A police report was filed. The failure and current mileages were 1,200.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 toyota prius. While driving approximately 25 MPH on a lightly snow covered road surface, the brakes did not respond when the pedal was depressed. The vehicle failed to slow down. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact crashed onto the curb in order to stop the vehicle. The driver was uninjured, but the vehicle sustained severe damage. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for inspection, but they could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle is in the process of being repaired. The failure and current mileages were 480. Four days after purchasing the vehicle, the consumers was heading down a gentle incline toward a traffic light at an intersection shortly after a light snowfall, the street was wet, but there was no ice on the road. As she braked to slow down, she noticed there was no deceleration and continued to press down on the brake pedal to no avail. To avoid crashing into other cars, she veered sharply to the right into a curb and came to a stop. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to the wheel, axle and undercarriage. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and after the inspection, the consumer was informed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The dealer implied the she must have applied the brakes incorrectly and was not accustomed to ABS. A few months later on another wet rainy day, there was a similar incident of brake failure. Updated 04/15/10.
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