2013 Toyota Prius: jerking or lurching

Filed Oct 17, 2026 · CA · crash

I experienced sudden unintended acceleration. While I was making a right turn from the street to my driveway, my car suddenly accelerated on its own and hit the side of the house and the garage door, causing significant damage to the house and the front of my car. My street is uphill, so my car was almost stopped when I made a turn. My car suddenly lurched forward passing the upward incline to my driveway. The windshield cracked due to fallen bricks from my house. I heard the noise of sudden acceleration, and the next thing was my car hitting the house hard. I had my foot slightly on the brake. My chest hit the wheel due to the shock, but the airbag was not deployed. I experienced a mild concussion to my chest.

Filed Sep 10, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · 140,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the ABS warning light illuminated. Minutes later, the vehicle started to brake and lurch forward with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle spun out and crashed into the median. The contact’s chest struck the steering wheel, causing bruising and chest pain. The contact was managing the pain with analgesics. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. A Police report was filed, but the report number was not provided. The manufacturer was contacted and was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Filed Sep 1, 2021 · Brakes · FL

For about a week, I heard intermittent strange noises when I would be stopped in traffic with the brake pedal depressed. On 08/31/21, lights on the dashboard came on - the "brake" light, "Brake system warning light", ABS light, and the "Slip indicator" light. All of these remain on. Braking was feeling sluggish and the brake pedal would decompress to the floor when starting the car. When starting the car on 09/01/21, the car lurched forward although in "park" mode. I drove the car to the lube specialist to have them check the fluid levels, and they said that everything was o.k, nothing to make all the warning lights light up. Then I was referred to a mechanic who works on Pruis cars. His diagnostic tool was indicating that my brake accumulator was bad. This has led me to check for recalls on this model and year and it seems there have been problems submitted on this very issue.

Filed Mar 17, 2016 · Acceleration · 500 miles · WA

This vehicle attempts to go 8 MPH with the accelerator pedal not depressed at all. It does this any time the car is "on", even if it is in reverse. The brake must be applied to stop the car. Even when the brake is pressed, the computer will apply power to the wheels, which results in the brake having to fight against the motors. Sometimes the car can lurch slightly, and once it hit a curb unexpectedly causing damage to front plastic parts. If you are stopped at a red lite, you must apply the brake otherwise it will crash into the car in front of you on its own. This behavior is dangerous and very annoying. One mechanic I spoke to at the dealer said this is normal. It seems senseless and should not be normal. I ask toyota to fix the minor damage to my car and fix this problem.

Filed Nov 12, 2013 · Electrical, Transmission · 3,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns 2013 toyota prius 5. The contact stated that whenever she was driving in reverse, the vehicle would jerk violently. In addition, the interior dome light would illuminate sporadically. The contact stated that all of the lights on the instrument panel and radio console failed to illuminate after starting the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 3,000. The current mileage was 10,900.