2010 Toyota Prius: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed May 24, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA · crash

My car accelerated significantly on its own while I was pulling into a parking stall in a private parking lot. It caused my vehicle to jump a curb and accelerate up a dirt divider and push over a bush that was planted in the dirt divider. Depressing my brakes did not Decelerate the car, so I pressed the Park button to eventually stop the vehicle. I’m not sure what speed it was traveling when it accelerated, but I could smell burning rubber at the end of the incident. I’m not sure when the smell first occurred.

Filed Jun 15, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · IA · fire

While driving our 2010 toyota prius ii on the interstate we began noticing a burning smell. Then, the ABS light illuminated on the dashboard. We pulled onto an off ramp and as we slowed the vehicle down smoke began coming from under the hood. We drove very slowly down the road and the smoke became more prevalent. We turned on a side street and my husband put the vehicle in park, got out, walked to the front, and noticed that the passenger front head lamp was melted and there was a flame. We quickly got our family out of the car (2 kids in carseats in the back). We moved away from the vehicle and the flames become larger and larger. We called 911 and the hood was engulfed in flames by the time the firefighters arrived. They were able to put the fire out quickly, so it did not spread into the front cabin or rear of the vehicle. We had not had any recent work done and the vehicle was fully operational until the time of the fire. We had not been experiencing any problems prior to this incident.

Filed May 14, 2016 · Electrical, Lights · 93,000 miles · WA · fire

My headlight caught fire and severely burned my car. I was driving down the road on a city steet and saw a wisp of smoke and pulled over into a store parking lot. I had no warning lights indicating anything was wrong. It began to smoke more, and I cautiously opened the hood to see a fire coming from my drivers side headlight area. Within seconds there was a blaze, and it took 3 fire extinguishers to put it out. The fire department confirmed that the fire originated from the headlight. I had previously experienced problems with my headlight becoming dull and cloudy. An earlier the federal safety agency investigation did not result in a recall. I think it's the same problem with the headlight, only much worse. If there were not multiple fire extinguishers available the car could have easily exploded before the fire department arrived. It could have easily caused harm to other people.

Filed Aug 29, 2015 · Engine, Lights · 81,654 miles · CA · fire

On february 27, 2015, our house burned in the middle of the night while we were asleep. The fire started in the near vicinity of the right front headlight of the 2010 toyota prius. The car had been serviced just before the fire on february 25, 2015 at the local toyota dealership. The car was off at the time and the key was not in the car at the time of the fire. While we were sleeping, the car evidently caught fire spontaneously at approximately 2 a.m. While it was parked in the garage. The garage door was closed. By the time we woke up, the garage was fully engulfed in flames. We were able to escape the fire. However, our house was too severely damaged (fire, smoke and water) after the fire to be livable, and it is currently being rebuilt. Our family of four (husband, wife and two children, 15 and almost 11 years old) is currently living in a rental house. We lost all three of our cars (the other cars were a dodge durango and a honda accord) and a majority of our possessions. Damages are estimated to be likely in excess of $500,000 including house, cars, damage to landscaping, personal property, furniture, clothing, etc. Our homeowner's insurance is seeking a subrogation claim against toyota for the expenses incurred regarding our claim. The prius is scheduled to have a deconstructive exam soon with multiple parties present and is currently being held as evidence.

Filed May 17, 2015 · Engine · 118,000 miles · CA

Burning oil 1 quart every 1000 miles. Oil consumption. Piston issue. Requires piston rings replacement. Smell burning oil in air vents. Cost of repair at $7,000 per toyota. Toyota says oil consumption within normal limits. This is wrong. Request toyota to repair vehicle and toyota to pay for repairs.

Filed Apr 28, 2015 · Lights · 50,000 miles · MN · fire

I purchased the toyota certified pre-owned prius in july 2013. I first had an issue with the headlight in august 2014 when the headlight kept coming loose from it's casing. This happened again on april 24, 2015 only this time the headlight fell to rest on some plastic and caused the headlight assembly to start on fire. No one was injured. I used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. I believe the socket part of the headlight assembly was defective.

Filed Nov 20, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · WA · fire

Vehicle was being driven when a smell of smoke was detected. Upon stopping, smoke came from the engine compartment. Within 3 minutes the vehicle started on fire, extending to the roll up garage door. The fire burned the engine compartment, passenger area, garage door and siding before the fire department extinguished.

Filed Feb 20, 2014 · Acceleration · NY

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.

Filed Mar 9, 2010 · Acceleration · 36,000 miles · CA · crash · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact was driving approximately 20 MPH with the brake engaged when the vehicle accelerated. The contact crashed into the rear end of a nissan. The weather was not a factor. The contact observed smoke coming from the vehicle. The rear suspension was damaged after the crash occurred. The insurance company authorized the vehicle to be towed to an impound lot. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure and current mileages were 36,000.

Filed Feb 9, 2010 · Brakes · 2,230 miles · MN · crash

1. I live in minnesota. After the first big snowstorm when I was braking on snow and ice, there was a very strong burning rubber-like burning smell, and the braking changed. I started sliding through stop signs and into intersections when on icy pavement. I was very concerned and took the car to the dealership on december 12. They reported there was nothing wrong with the car. 2. On january 5, I was on a totally iced over street in park rapids, minnesota. I made a left turn, then was slowing down to make a right turn into a parking spot. I was going very slowly. I depressed the brake, but the car failed to slow down. I kept sliding and hit the cement parking marker, which punctured the front of the car (in the bumper area). 3. Nothing has been done, and I am afraid to drive the car. I have contacted my insurance company, who have suggested that I ask toyota to cover the damages. I have filed a complaint with toyota, but am still waiting for a return my call. I will be contacting my dealer today.

Filed Feb 5, 2010 · Transmission · 2,500 miles · WA

I have a new 2010 toyota prius, purchased 15 jan. 2010. I have since put 3,292 miles on the vehicle on a trip from washington to california and back, during which conditions from mountains, snow and ice, and dry freeway conditions were encountered. The random problem occurred several times when using the brake pedal to disconnect the cruise control to slow down. The problem is most pronounced when the power applied to the vehicle is increasing to maintain selected cruise control speed. When the brake is applied in these situations, the vehicle tries to accelerate for a second or so, giving the driver the feeling of not being in control. The problem is most pronounced when climbing a steep (6% to 8%) grade. In those cases (2 to 3 times) the power surge was pronounced and seemed to last for 2 to 3 seconds with the smell of burning brakes after the acceleration ended. On the freeway, while the problem is less severe, the driver is left with an uncomfortable situation if coming up on a slower moving vehicle as your vehicle continues to gain on the vehicle ahead even though you are trying to slow down. These incidents occurred over a period of three weeks, so the date below is not accurate.