Toyota Prius shudder problems

Filed Sep 1, 2020 · Brakes · 92,600 miles · CA

I was comfortably driving my 2010 toyota prius down a city street on a thursday afternoon--about 25 MPH, light traffic--when suddenly--without any trigger or warning--I lightly pressed down the brake pedal to slow down for a speed bump, and the brakes shuddered, the brake pedal seemed to twitch, and the car started making a loud shrieking and grinding noise every 3-5 seconds. For the record, my 2010 toyota prius has been regularly serviced at my local toyota dealership since I purchased it in 2018. The loud shrieking felt like it was coming from below my feet and from the drive shaft. I pulled over--the shrieking and grinding continued. I stopped the car--the shrieking and grinding continued. I got out of the car--the shrieking and grinding slowed after a few minutes. When I turned the car on again, the shrieking and grinding started and the car was beeping in a way I'd never heard before. Fortunately, I was about 4 blocks from my local toyota dealership. I asked them if I was safe to drive the four blocks or if I should get the car towed, and they said I should be safe to drive. I drove to the dealership with the car shrieking and beeping. The brakes felt squishy and unreliable, but the dealership has said I should be fine. I dropped off the car. The next day, I got a call from the dealership saying that my brake booster pump and brake cylinder assembly had totally failed. When I asked the technician if there was something I could have done to prevent this, he said, 'no, this is just something that happens to these cars.' the brake failure occurred on thursday, august 27, 2020. The phone call from the dealership occurred on friday, august 28, 2020.

Filed Sep 6, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 163,500 miles · CA

Water leaking from engine cowel getting into ignition coils which is causing engine to shudder and stop sometimes too. Seems to be a known toyota issue yet not being rectified by manufacturer. Seals seem to allow water to get into the ignition coils hence the issue. Vehicle is stationary when first observed then shuddering and misfiring occurring as vehicle is being driven also leading to loss of power as its being driven which is quite dangerous on highways.

Filed Jan 28, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · 400 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

A brand new:2015 only driven for two days, went out of control after completing right turn. Driver stopped at red light. Turned right while accelerating with full control of vehicle. Completed right turn while accelerating to attain highway speed in 45 MPH zone. Upon completion of turn driver turned steering wheel less than 2 inches to drivers right to continue bearing on strait course down highway. Immediately thereafter steering wheel shuddered, and steering wheel rotated hard to the right for what seemed like a 110 plus degree rotation. The prius out of control veered sharply to the right and smashed into curb. Driver injured back, hand, and foot. ...updated 03-11-15

Filed Sep 18, 2014 · Steering · 168,000 miles · IN

Made a left turn out of my driveway after starting vehicle. Steering began to violently shudder and shake, causing temporary loss of control (my grip was lost on the wheel). I was able to grab the wheel more forcefully and regain control and complete the turn. Had this happened on an interstate ramp, I may not be here to file this complaint. According to the toyota national service registry, my vehicle has already received the service covered under the federal safety agency campaign 11v304000 which makes me very, very very nervous. Please contact me for further details.

Filed Jun 28, 2014 · Steering · 145,000 miles · TX

While driving, the steering wheel begins to shudder. At one point, it power steering makes a spontaneous turn to the left, which I prevent with my hands, but nevertheless moves the car to the left enough to cause an accident if the driver is not paying close attention, or happens to be too near another car. The power steering immediately shuts off, and the rest of the trip continues with no power steering, until the car is turned off. The next time the car is turned on, the power steering is back (until it happens again).

Filed Apr 11, 2013 · Brakes · 65,800 miles · VA

I was driving to work this morning and a man stepped off the curb right in front of me (not in a crosswalk). I hit my brakes, and hit a pothole in the road at the same time. The car accelerated and felt as if it was shuddering, it was not braking at all even though I mashed the pedal to the floor. I was forced to swerve to miss the man, which I thankfully did. After that I got moving again I applied the brakes and they worked fine. When I arrived at work I tried it again by finding some potholes in the parking lot. @ 15 MPH the problem occurred again only when I was hitting the potholes while applying the brakes. I went to toyota.com and found this has been an issue since feb 2010. I purchased my car in nov 2010; I then called my service dealer and talked to the service manager who claimed to have never heard of that problem even though I told him I found the info at the pressroom.toyota.com website. He then proceeded to let me know I should not believe everything I read in the internet and offered to let me bring it in and he will look at it. I am leaving work early today to have it looked at.

Filed Nov 7, 2012 · Steering · 75,000 miles · NC

Two years ago, my car began exhibiting steering issues. When turning, both in reverse and drive, the steering wheel would shudder violently. After a few seconds, the shuddering subsided and the car steered normally. The issue was especially bad when the car was cold and improved as the car warmed up. Over the past couple of years, the issue has worsened, occurring with increasing frequency and with increasing violence. The steering wheel now jerks uncontrollably as I drive, and the steering wheel shudders when turning, sometimes so violently that I cannot hold onto the wheel or control the car. Turning left is becoming progressively difficult; the car pulls constantly and sharply to the right even though the tires on the car were just aligned. The 2003 toyota prius was already recalled for steering issues exactly as I describe. Toyota claimed the issue lay with the pinion shaft nuts. The pinion shaft nuts in my car were already replaced, per the recall. However, the steering problem persists and is growing worse. From my research, other 2003 toyota prius owners describe the same problem, and the same failure of the recall repair to remedy the problem. Mechanics not affiliated with toyota have told me this is a common, well known issue with the 2003 toyota prius. According to the toyota recall notice, "if the steering wheel is repeatedly and strongly turned to the full-lock position, there is a possibility the nuts securing the pinion shaft in the steering gear box assembly may become loose." (http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+prius+eps+pinion+shaft+nut+june+2011+recall+faq.htm). However, my car has been driven gently and maintained well throughout its life. Despite my careful care of the vehicle, it has become dangerous to drive. I believe the recall insufficiently addressed the steering issues endemic to the 2003 toyota prius.

Filed Dec 2, 2011 · Steering · 20,000 miles · TX

On cold days, when driving for the first time, the steering wheel will start shuddering back and forth violently and rapidly if I try to turn the vehicle. This occurs regardless of the road condition at speeds of less than 10 MPH. The shuddering stops only when I straighten out the wheel.

Filed Mar 19, 2011 · Steering · 30,000 miles · TX

2003 prius hybrid; steering wheel shudders quite frequently; this shuddering happens backing up and turning corners; sometimes it shakes so violently the steering wheel is pulled from your hands; we contacted toyota and several dealerships; no recalls on this vehicle for this problem because they said it was fixed on the 2002 models; our vehicle only has 33k miles on it and there is a part failure with the potential for causing a life threatening incident to take place; toyota and dealership reps take no responsibility for this safety issue; told we can have steering replaced for about $3k even though car only has 33k miles on it; may not fix the problem they said; we are afraid to drive the car and to sell it to someone else because of this safety issue; this is a serious problem with cases listed all over the internet; toyota rep said there have been no complaints; they know it exists, but they do not want to address this serious problem; some government group needs to step in and make toyota responsible for a recall of this year vehicle and have the steering replaced for free.

Filed Jan 29, 2011 · Steering · 148,000 miles · TX

Steering wheel, uncontrollable shudder, will literally rip itself out of your hand or grip. Usually happens during the first of the day when it's relatively cold. While slowly moving the vehicle, the steering wheel will start to vibrate violently, in an un controllable manner. Sometimes the power steering will just error out while driving down the street during the day, loosing all power steering as well.