I started noticing a high pitch noise sporadically on my car after it was a few months old. If I stopped and restarted the car, the noise would go away. When I brought it to toyota they could not reproduce the problem. It would happen about 1-3 times per month and some months not at all. On this particular trip about a month ago, I did not notice the noise on start up (I had a cold that affected my hearing), but did hear it after getting on the highway. There was no where to reasonably pull over and restart the car safely, so I kept driving. After about 15-30 minutes the speedometer cluster/dash that displays the speed, fuel and drive position went blank and the noise went away. Searching online there were at least a handful of others who either had their speedometer replaced under warranty or otherwise with the same issue. I also found a recall on the 2009, a year earlier, prius for the same issue and yes the same company makes the part. I brought my car to the dealer asap and the dealer wanted to charge me $120 to diagnose. When I questioned them, they said they need to take the dash apart, which is a lie as this would be more expensive as per our conversation. I asked for a quick computer diagnosis and they refused. I then called toyota who said my car is long out of warranty for this part and that because I didn't pay for a diagnosis they would not take it further. When I pressed on with them they hid behind confidentiality when I asked about others who had this issue and then they said even if I paid for a diagnosis and this was found defective there are no promises. They want ~$1,200 to fix this defect.
2010 Toyota Prius acceleration complaints
Page 3 of 11: complaints 41 to 70 of 287, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving with the flow of traffic (around 30 MPH) on a main surface street in a middle lane of a multilane street when suddenly the engine stopped, and I was unable to make the engine respond. The car immediately began to slow down; I could not make it accelerate to keep in the flow of traffic. I managed to carefully drift over to the right and maneuver through an intersection and glide to a stop on the right side of the road. I turned off the engine and repeatedly tried to restart it to no avail. I called for towing service and had the car towed to my toyota dealer, where the service people said it was an "internal failure" and replaced the inverter assembly. What has terrified me is that I could have been on the freeway driving at least 60 MPH, where the consequences would be devastating to me and others. I asked if toyota would be reporting this to the federal safety agency, and they said that was an internal determination. I asked if this had happened before to others and did not receive a clear answer.
While returning from work at 5:30 pm, 02/18/14 on highway 90 west to albany, ny, with cruise control set to 50 MPH, the accelerator pedal got stuck on my 2010 toyota prius. The pedal did not return back to its original position even when I turned off cruise control. I spontaneously tapped the accelerator pedal in the hope of releasing but did not yield any results and the vehicle maintained its speed. Applying brakes made no effect and did not curtail the car. It continued to move with almost the same speed even when brake pedal depressed. I had no control on my car in one of busiest freeways. I continuously applied the brakes and tried to merge to the right most lane with hazard blinkers on. It took more than 5 miles panic ride trying to avoid trucks and other cars to merge to the right lane. Even with the brake fully depressed, the 2010 prius did not slow down and I managed to reach the shoulder lane which had gravel & snow. Then I pressed park button and switched off the engine by pressing the power button. I could feel the wheels lock up but the prius continued to move with strong rubber burning smell. Finally, I engaged the parking breaks to stop it from moving into the freeway. After complete stop, with difficulty I manually pulled up the accelerator pedal. This entire ordeal was shocking and an unbelievable narrow escape from a major catastrophic event. I thanked god & called 911 and the highway patrol police came to the spot and promptly helped to move the vehicle and myself from the freeway traffic. The 2010 toyota prius was moved to toyota dealer service center where I purchased the car & performed every scheduled maintenance service punctually. Incidentally the last service and certification was in 12/2013. It is obvious that even regular dealer maintenance service and certification did not help this vehicle. Report filed with toyota motor customer service.
While carefully parking my prius 2010 at a hospital it accelerated suddenly and crashed over the cement curb. I say carefully because my prius had done this before but not enough damage was done to file with insurance. There followed another accident and another accident. Then this evening while driving into my carport my prius accelerated again. It threw my dog that was in the front seat to the floor but I was able to avoid car damage as I was going to stop. I was barely moving, that is I still had my foot on the accelerator,maybe I could say coasting, when this acceleration suddenly occurred. This was the same type acceleration that caused all the prior accidents. I have reported this to toyota... And now you. Hopefully you will help me. My prius is in the carport. It has not been moved. However, it is my only transportation. My prius' latest happening, before the one just stated, the hybrid system quit working during rush hour traffic on the interstate near a busy intersection. This was repaired before toyota sent some one to investigate the prior accidents. If more information is needed just let me know. This prius also had a battery replaced shortly after it was purchased as a new vehicle. This prius has wheel rim scratches.
When braking, such as when approaching a stop sign or stop light, in the presence of bumps, potholes, or rough/uneven road surfaces, the car noticeably and forcefully "lurches forward", and there is momentary loss of control of the vehicle's stopping mechanism. *tr...updated 02-03-15 *bf
Car occasionally unintentionally accelerates when hitting a bump for maybe a second. Dangerous when it happens as approaching a stop sign or traffic signal. Happens maybe once every two weeks.
Vehicle surges when brakes are applied while traveling over railroad tracks or rough pavement. Surge lasts for 1 to 2 seconds until braking resumes. Vehicle behavior can be easily replicated.
I have a 2010 toyota prius that really has me concerned. Twice recently when applying the brakes, it has lunged forward and I was forced to punch the brakes very hard with both feet to make it stop. It really scared me. Luckily there was nobody in front of me or I would have had an accident. I took it to the dealer (walker toyota in miamisburg, oh) to have it checked out. The service department looked back at the computer on the car and saw two instances where the brake and accelerator were pressed at the same time. So now they are trying to tell me it is user error. They said I must have inadvertadly hit the accelerator pedal while I was braking. No I did not!!! I have owned this car for over three years and this has never happened before. Now it has happened twice in the last two months. I don't think so... I called toyota corporate and they advised me to get a second opinion. So now I am taking it to voss toyota in beavercreek. I also noticed recently that my gas mileage has dropped significantly in the last six months. It's much worse than it's ever been since I have owned it. I'm not sure it it is related or not???
I have a 2010 toyota prius that really has me concerned. Twice recently when applying the brakes, it has lunged forward and I was forced to punch the brakes very hard with both feet to make it stop. Both times I was on city streets going about 35 MPH. It really scared me. Luckily there was nobody in front of me or I would have had an accident. I took it to the dealer to have it checked out and am awaiting the verdict.
On multiple occasions, I have experienced issues with the car suddenly accelerating while I'm pressing the brakes. Specifically, this appears to occur when braking on uneven surfaces (ie construction areas, pot holes, etc.). This can obviously become a deadly situation if one is trying to stop the vehicle and with this problem run into the car/vehicle ahead. Most recently this occurred on the surface streets in low speed, in traffic. It feels like the car lurches ahead while applying the brake. I was told by the service people at toyota that I was making this up. I can recreate it given the right surface.
Today, 1/21/2013 at approximately 245pm while drive back from disney with my family on the florida turnpike(mile point marker 294 nb) at approximately 65-70 MPH our 2010 prius suddenly lost power and "check hybrid system" came on. Mind you I was traveling on a major road when the car suddenly kept decreasing in speed and I just turned on to the median and the car rolled to a stop. Luckily there was a florida safety patrol behind me who put on his flashing lights until I was safely off the turnpike. Car would not restart and had to be towed. Car arrived at xxx(dealer) toyota at 502pm and I am awaiting a call back on the problem. This is a safety issue. Also, there was no warning before the car failed. Thank you. This is what I filed with toyota minus identifying data.
My prius iv, purchased new in 2010, intermittently had a lunging forward problem when going over speed bumps, pot holes etc. I would have to stop it by braking quickly, so I didn't collide with a car ahead. I informed toyota of this problem within the first year. They tested it and said they could find nothing. I mentioned this to them on various occasions when I took the car for its periodic maintenance of 5000 mile intervals. On december 26, 2012 I was stopped waiting to go left when I was rear-ended. I went to pull over to the side of the road to assess the damage. When I accelerated to get to the side of the road,the car took off crazily, at a high rate of speed for about 6-7 seconds, zigzagging uncontrollably on the 2 lane road. If there were cars coming toward me, I would have been in a head on crash. I immediately called toyota service of scranton,pa and asked them to see and assess the car's problem. They made an appointment and concluded.said there is no problem internally, and suggested removing the after market floormat. I then proceeded to show them the same problems many customers are having with the prius , including an article by steve wozniak, the co-founder of apple company, who had acceleration problems with his 2010 prius. I called the main toyota headquarters later, explaining the problem and they too said there is no malfunction , only mentioning the floor mats again.. This is not the case as the car has had acceleration problems from the beginning and to further clarify, I was able to finally stop the car... The mat was no where near the accelerator. I am afraid to drive this for others' safety, my passengers and my own safety. I take care of my cars faithfully. You can view my records. I am also fearful if I trade this car, someone else might get injured or killed. Can you please check and advise.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact stated that while in reverse with the brakes depressed, the vehicle abnormally lunged backward two feet. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for numerous diagnostic tests but the dealer could not duplicate the problem. The failure could not be remedied and the contact traded the vehicle for another. The failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic stop, the vehicle accelerated independently and without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they stated that they would not diagnosis the vehicle and that he needed to contact the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 47,000. ..updated 12/11/12 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle would lunge forward at random times, when the brake was full pressed and also when the parking brake was set. Updated 12/12/12
Traveling on parkway when we were approaching a vehicle going south down at approximately 55 we were traveling 72 with cruise control engaged, I tapped the brakes to try and slow and nothing happened I then held the brake pedal down for more than 15 seconds with no success, tried to disengage the cruise by pulling back on the handle on the steering wheel and still it would not disengage, we struck the truck at 72 MPH only because we had no where else to go and the vehicle would not disengage cruise. The cruise control light was still illuminated after the vehicle came to rest after impact and the vehicle brakes still did not appear to function, this vehicle was a toyota lease and was told multiple times by toyota that the issues was recalled by toyota and that this vehicle had the recall performed.
The unintended acceleration accident happened on 7/18/2012, ~6:20 pm at company's parking lot. I backed my 2010 prius slowly. Then I saw a car coming on my way. But before I took any action, this prius suddenly started accelerating, it went wildly, and turned more than 360 degree backward in the parking lot in just a few seconds. Since the car parked between a building and a slop, from the front mirror, first, I saw the building wall and glasses, then I saw the slope, then I saw a car parked close to my car: no! Don't hit that car! That is the last thing I remember. Because of the fast turning of the car and because I was so terribly scared, I lost conscious after that until the prius hit the truck and bounced back and stopped by itself. After a few seconds, I woke up and realized: I am still alive. I got off the car and saw prius passed the two curbs and hit the truck. The two tires on the driver side got flat because they passed the curb very fast. I was so scared that I couldn't recall of anything for a few days until weekend. Why did the car lose control? One may argue that I stepped on the accelerator. This could happen to new drivers, but not to me because I have been driving for so many years and always a good driver. Many times I saw a car on my way when I was backing, I always stopped right away. And I was healthy in a normal day in normal mode, alert as usual. Why would I step on accelerator when backing? Even if I mis-stepped on the accelerator, I can always switch to brake right away. But I could?t do anything about the car on the day. It was out of control completely. After I lost conscious, my hands were off the steering wheel and my foot didn't step on anything, the car didn't slow down but still moved fast and passed two curbs easily. Such a manipulation can only be done when the car is in acceleration, and by itself. Please investigate it asap!
When going over bumps in the road or potholes, it seems like the car loses control. It seems like it slides out or jerks forward. It catches itself after a couple seconds but is scary.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. While traveling 50 MPH, the contact noticed that the vehicle abnormally accelerated. In order to stop the acceleration the contact shifted into neutral. The vehicle was neither diagnosed and or repaired.the VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were 46,000.
The dynamic radar cruise control system suddenly applies brakes while, or soon after, passing a large truck (18 wheeler). Happens rarely. But when it does happen, it is always while, or soon after, slowly passing a larger truck on an interstate and traveling about 70 MPH. When it does occur, it normally occurs when the front of the prius is slightly behind the front of the truck (in the immediate lane to my right) where the truck should be outside the range of the radar. The last time, though, the prius was well in front of the truck, there was no vehicle in front of me. And, yes, there was no dirt, snow, etc. On the front of the car that might affect the operation of the radar.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact was driving approximately 45 MPH with the headlights activated and suddenly without warning, the headlights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was maneuvered cautiously to the side of the road. The contact planned to take the vehicle to a dealer for diagnosis and repair. Additionally, whenever the brakes were engaged while driving over a bump or uneven pavement, an unintended acceleration would occur. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact was braking in an attempt to enter a parking space when the brake pedal became stuck. The vehicle then accelerated abnormally and the vehicle crashed into a concrete wall. The vehicle bounced back as the acceleration continued and the vehicle then crashed into the concrete wall a second time. The contact powered the vehicle off in order to stop the abnormal acceleration. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for repair and inspection. The contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
My issue is similar to others that have complained. When traveling a low speeds and I hit an unexpected bump the vehicle surges forward. This is very dangerous and one that I would hope toyota take notice and address immediately.
I first reported this to toyota prior to the initial 2010 recall, the car was less than 1 month old and I have reported it on numerous occasions via the toyota website. On the few occasions I lent the car to friends they have had the same experience. Description: when traveling at relatively slow speeds and an unexpected bump comes up and the brakes are engaged early, once going over the bump the car losses brake power for a few seconds and jolts forward. It is very disconcerting b/c in those split seconds if one is not prepared the car hurls forward and could if all odds are against me, the car could kill someone if they are walking in front of the car. I reported it to my dealer, my dealer's inspector went out on test drive with me, we were able to recreate the incident when he was driving as there are a few spots in my neighborhood that it happens every time. He put the computer on the car but it did not read there was a problem. He called the national technical office, who eventually came out, I left the car at the dealership. They recreated the problem and according to the local technician they put a camera in the wheel to film the situation. I was later told by my local technician that it was determined that there was not a problem with the car and that the situation is normal where the tire catches an uneven surface and goes into overdrive. I have had dreams that I would kill someone in this car. Noone is allowed to use this car for the same reason. I fear for my life and the life of anyone walking in front of me on a street I do not know. It happens almost every 2 weeks. It is scary! Please help! This is the first new car I bought in 25 years and I am unable to get rid of it b/c I had to pay so much for it. When I inquired what my options were, toyota said none, that there is no problem with the car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the adaptive cruise control feature would unexpectedly malfunction and force the brakes to engage. The contact stated that if the vehicle traveling in front of him were to turn to the left or right, his brakes would suddenly engage. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, where the contact was informed that the vehicle was operating to specifications. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000.
2010 toyota prius, with 29000 miles. Pulling into a parking lot at a very slow speed, applied brakes to stop car, but it did not stop it, it started jerking forward, until it stopped when it struck a fence, injuries occured as a result, seat belt did not old back driver, and driver wipped forward and back striking steering wheel. Vehicle was towed to toyotta dealer. Still wating for toyota corp to advise of error that occured, data from cmputer has been downloaded by a private firm and delivered to toyota. 8/9/11 accident occured on 7/25/11 at 14:30.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact stated that as the engine was started, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and caused the contact to crash into a parked vehicle. No one was injured. The police were called and a report was filed. The insurance company was called and had the vehicle towed. There was extensive damage to the vehicle but the contact was awaiting an assessment of the damages from the insurance company. The manufacturer had not yet been contacted. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 20,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. While driving approximately 71 MPH with the cruise control activated the vehicle began to accelerate and decelerate on its own. The cruise control light illuminated and began to flash on the instrument panel erratically. The vehicle had a dynamic radar cruise control feature which recognized when there was a vehicle in close proximity and was also illuminated; however, there was not a vehicle within close proximity. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle would not stop until the cruise control was manually deactivated. The contact had not used the cruise control feature since the failure occurred. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 18,250. Updated 09/28/11*lj updated 2/21/12
I travel quite a bit these days and on my way home from coachella music festival, my brakes gave out. I mean to say, pushing the pedal all the way down, no resistance, no slowing, a completely limp pedal....until I repeatedly stomped on it and the car locked and skidded to a stop, feet away from the car in front of me. The brakes returned intermittently, so I took the right hand lane at 40mph and tested the brakes regularly until I got to my dealership. Scariest thing ive ever experienced. Ive had the car since august 09' and currently have 43k miles on it. I know thats a lot, and its unfortunately outside of my warranty now, but I wanted to log it here, as soon as I could. It started one day before the freeway incident, whenever I would depress the pedal, a loud high pitched squeak would come out. I didnt think much of it outside of "better get that looked at" but didnt notice any brake failure. The next morning, I turned on the car and every dashboard light came on and a fast consistant beeping went on for about 5 minutes, during which time the brake pedal had zero resistance. I sat there with a serious wtf look on my face, when out of nowhere, the dash lights went away, as did the beeping, and the car drove as normal with full regular brake pressure (besides the squeak). I received a call back from the dealership. They say it's going to be $3k for a master cylinder replacement and that toyota corporate wouldn't aid in the cost, despite my hybrid warranty still covering the hybrid ecu (the master cylinder unit includes the ecu). [xxx] (my dealership service manager) said herself that it was not my fault and that the part is not repairable, "it either works, or it does not. It must be replaced". This could have been catastrophic, had I been any closer to the car in front of me. The failure of one part (which failed through no fault of the customer) rendering the brakes nearly useless is too scary not to report here. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u
Tl*the contact owned a 2010 toyota prius. While driving approximately 5 MPH the contact applied pressure to the brake pedal but the brakes did not respond. The vehicle lunged forward and crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle was towed to dealer where the vehicle was repaired. A police report was filed. The contact sustained injuries to her head and a torn meniscus to her knee. The treatment for her related injuries had been on-going since the crash occurred. The contact no longer owns the vehicle. The dealer assumed ownership of the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.
2010 prius 4 dr hatchback the speed control on my prius uses radar to speed up and slow down. If I come up on a car doing 45 MPH and I'm at 55, the vehicle slows down. When I turn to the other traffic lane, and the lane is clear the car accelerates rapidly. On a number of occasions I have braked to disengage the cruise control, I fell like I don't have control of the car. The fix: adjust the computer so speed acceleration is slower. I think it is a crash hazard.
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