I own a 2010 toyota prius. Since purchasing it in august, I have been aware of odd, completely reproducible braking behavior. I have not reported the complaint until now because I assumed it was something normal within the operation of the prius, but with the report in the new york times that japan is investigating the prius braking system, I thought I should file a report. I live near train tracks that have a grade crossing in the middle of a block. The crossing itself is in ann arbor, mi, on w. William st. Between s. Ashley st and s. 1st st. When driving westbound on william st, one travels downhill and encounters the grade crossing near the bottom of the hill, about 20-30 feet before an intersection. Every time I cross the train tracks at this grade crossing--regardless of weather conditions--I notice an alarming loss of braking power that occurs exclusively when crossing the train tracks. At first I thought this was normal, that perhaps the car was just slipping, but now it seems as if this represents the conditions that are under investigation in japan. The problem is 100% reproducible. Typical travel speeds are 15-30 miles per hour. The braking action is only interrupted while traveling over the bumpy surface of the rail tracks, and then braking action is restored. However, if there are cars queued up at the bottom of the hill at the intersection, it often leads to short braking times and has caused concern regarding the effectiveness of the brakes. I have not spoken to my dealership regarding the problem, nor had any service performed on the vehicle regarding the problem. Again, I believed this to be more of a design issue than a performance problem, but it is alarming, nonetheless. Thank you for your hard work keeping america's cars safe.
2010 Toyota Prius driver assistance complaints
Page 5 of 5: complaints 101 to 111 of 111, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dear, the federal safety agency I was driving my prius in november of 2010 and noticed that the braking system was not braking well. I recently was involved on jan 29, 2010 in an incident driving out of the parking lot from work were the brakes failed on the vehicle when I went to stop the vehicle and the car skidded and struck some ice/snow (one the edge of the parking lot) causing damage to my front passenger side bumper. I am not as concerned about the damage as I am about my overall safety in the vehicle. I have reported the problem to toyota and they have responded and I have told them that there is an issue with the braking. I want to take this time to formalize my complaint. I am not checking crash and property damage due to the fact that it is not well defined on this page although I had property damage to the car itself and I crashed into snow/ice on the side of the road.
2010 prius. Car lurches everyday when braking at stop signs. Car drifts forward and does not immediately respond to brake pedal being pushed down. Often happens in the middle of the stop. Brakes will start working but then "slip" in the middle at very low speeds. Doubt the anti-lock brake system could be the problem as speed are very low. Has been occurring since the car was purchase in the summer of 2009.
On thursday, january 28th my wife drove our 2010 toyota prius to work. The was a slight coating of snow on the ground. Less that one block from our house, driving at no more than 10-15 MPH she applied the brakes to stop at a stop sign. She reported that the brakes seemed to lock (not the normal ABS feel) and she lost control of the car, which then slid/skidded into a curb which punctured the front passenger tire. The car appeared to have only a punctured tire which was changed by a aaa service truck. After the tire was changed and the service truck left, I attempted to drive the vehicle to a nearby tire dealer. As I tried to drive the car, I heard and felt a loud scraping noise that sound and felt like the brakes were still engaged. Even though I was now on clear pavement if I at all tried to apply the brakes,the ABS went on, but in an aggressive manner. The ABS also went on a couple of times even without me putting my foot on the brakes. The tire dealer said he thought we might have been the frame and told us not to drive the car. The car was towed to a nearby body shop to be inspected by our insurance company, state farm. As of february 2, 2010 no inspection has taken place. It is our contention that something malfunctioned with the brakes which caused the accident.
I have a 2010 prius. When I am braking and hit some bumps in the road, my car lurches forward with brief spurts of acceleration. This has nothing to do with the gas pedal. It seems that others are having similar issues (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/72662-acceleration-problem-our-2010-prius-gen-v-5.html#post1052091). This could be dangerous, especially on a wet road. And the roads are so terrible in los angeles, that I experience this problem more often than I would like. Hopefully enough people report this problem that toyota takes action.
When I am braking/slowing and turning and hit a curb or chunk of ice, or driving straight and hit a chunk of ice, my 2010 prius brakes will completely go away. This has happened 4 times during the past 3 weeks of winter weather.
The roads were covered with snow and were quite slippery. I was coming down a hill to a stop sign at about 10 MPH. I hit the brakes lightly, the ABS engaged (I could hear/feel the brakes pulse), but the car didn't slow down much. I jammed on the brakes, the ABS was still engaged and the car finally stopped in the middle of the intersection, again slowing down very slowly. If it had not been a four-way stop, somebody would have hit me! I kept driving and the same thing kept happening to me: I hit the brakes, the ABS engaged and the car stopped very slowly. In some cases, it felt like the car even accelerated a little bit before finally (and slowly) coming to a stop. I am a mechanical engineer and used to work for general motors - I have driven lots of cars - and this has never happened to me before. I immediately drove home and drove my 2002 honda civic (which does not have anti-lock brakes) down the same road. While the car did slide in the snow, it stopped in about one-third the distance of my prius. There is definitely something the matter with the braking system and/or the traction control system when the ABS engages.
2010 toyota prius brake failure. Everytime while braking if there is a bump or on even a slight bit of ice on 1 wheel only, the brakes will release completely and go back to accelerating rather than braking. It happens when I exit the highway and there is a change in surfaces from tar to concrete. It happens very often and can happen anytime. This occurs at any speed from 10mph up and I have experienced it from 10mph and as high as 55mph. The problem first occurred around 500 miles on the car and I now have over 8500 miles. This started in august around the 15th. I have a 2007 hummer h3 and I have compared the braking with the same conditions and speeds and the prius is not responding correctly. The hummer brakes even with the changes. I have also compared on a 2006 volvo s60. These brakes are failing and it will eventually result in a crash or a pedestrian being struck. There is no pulsing of the breaks there is only releasing for ice or for any surface other than perfect. There should be some type of repair or recall immediately. I have noticed this but thought it was only me until I saw the msnbc article. I will not let my wife drive this car since she is pregnant. It is not safe. While sitting at traffic lights the traction control light keeps turning on and blinking and will lock the brakes until the gas pedal is pressed. I have never had an anti-lock or any type of breaking issue in 15 years of driving various vehicles.
Unexpected total loss of propulsion after driving on wet road conditions at approx 35 MPH. . 2010 toyota prius with enhanced stability control. No response from gas pedal. Needed to come to a complete stop and restart vehicle to obtain power. Lights and dash display remained on but vehicle had no power to move. Had to coast several hundred feet avoiding traffic to come to a complete stop and "restarting" vehicle. Esc/trac squiggly symbol appeared on dash momentarily. On other occasions I have noticed when stopping on loose surface materials or stopping when driving over uneven pavement that the vehicle unexpectedly lurches forward in a most unpredictable and unnatural way almost as if there were no brakes and the vehicle momentarily attempts to accelerate. The first condition could easily cause an accident in heavy traffic or on a busy freeway since control of the vehicle was not returned to the operator until the vehicle was totally stopped and then shut down and restarted. My sense is that the enhanced stability control and trac system is overly responsive to road conditions and is slow or inhibits the return of control of the vehicle to the operator. I took the vehicle to a toyota service center. They report no error codes or technical service bulletins on the issue. No corrective action taken. My confidence in this vehicle has been severely damaged. I can't imagine the danger of loss of propulsion when driving at a high speed on a high traffic/speed highway.
Narrative description. Not a failure but a safety prevention measure 2010 toyota prius 1. Event: when backing up the vehicle runs on battery power-hence it is silent when backing up. The vehicle in busy parking lots (walmart) goes unnoticed. 2. Failure: I have surprised people who are distracted and don't notice me until they nearly walk into the side of the vehicle. They don't hear the car. 3. Failure correction: a back-up warning device should be installed to alert pedestrians (blind folks, neighborhood kids, pets, etc) of a silent, backward moving vehicle approaching. There is several blind spots inherent to the prius when backing. Helping others to notice you seems like "an ounce of protection that is a pound of cure" that is measured in a saved life or crippling injury.
On my 2010 prius iv which I took delivery of in august, 2009, every time I brake, going over a pothole or large bump, the car lurches forward even though I am stepping on the brake. A few times I almost hit the car ahead of me. This is an extremely dangerous situation, and could result in a crash or possibly hitting a pedestrian. I hope this situation can be resolved immediately, before fatalities result. I k now other people are experiencing the same problem.
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