2001 Toyota Prius VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

THE CAR ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING AT HIGH SPEED ON IT'S OWN IN A PARKING LOT AND RAMMED ITSELF INTO THE WALL DEPLOYING AIRBAGS. MY MOTHER WAS DRIVING AND WAS SENT TO THE E.R. SHE WAS SLOWLY BACKING UP WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED FIRST IN REVERSE HITTING A WALL AND THEN SWITCHED IN DRIVE ON IT'S OWN WITH HIGH ACCELERATION RUNNING INTO THE OPPOSITE WALL WHICH DEPLOYED THE BAGS. AFTER READING ONLINE ABOUT THESE VEHICLES, THE ACCELERATION SURGING IS A COMMON PROBLEM.

ON TWO OCCASIONS, I EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN MY 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, IT HAPPENED I THOUGHT I MIGHT HAVE PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR BY MISTAKE. I HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES TO STOP THE CAR. I DIDN'T BELIEVE ANYONE WOULD BELIEVE MY STORY BECAUSE OF THE AUDI 5000 INCIDENTS. THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THEN TOYOTA BEGAN ITS RECALLS. *TR

DRIVING MY 2001 PRIUS DOWN RT 95 IN CT. SUDDENLY LOST POWER. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE - ELECTRIC DRIVE ONLY, NO GAS POWER. I MADE TO THE EXIT IN WESPORT AND FOUND A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP OPEN. THE DIAGNOSIS, VIA CODES, WAS FAILED ACCELERATOR PEDAL. RESETTING THE COMPUTER AND RESTARTING THE CAR A FEW TIMES ALLOWED IT TO WORK ENOUGH FOR ME TO GET HOME. I HAVE STILL NOT REPAIRED THE ACCELERATOR. LATELY THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS NEARLY EVERY TIME I START THE CAR...THE ENGINE STALLS IMMEDIATELY OR LOSES POWER DOWN THE ROAD. RESTARTING 2 OR 3 TIMES "FIXES" THE PROBLEM MOST OF THE TIME. MY RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON, AND CALLED "BIG HAND SYNDROME" AMONG 1ST GENERATION PRIUS OWNERS, AND ACCELERATOR PEDAL REPAIR IS THE COMMON FIX. I BELIEVE THE 2001-2003 PRIUS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE TOYOTA ACCELERATOR PEDAL RECALL. *TR

A READER OF THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIB WHEELS SECTION RESPONDED TO AN ARTICLE REGARDING UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION FROM ELECTRONIC THROTTLES AND THE EDITOR FORWARDED THE LETTER TO NHTSA.***NO ANSWER REQUIRED***. *MR WHILE PARKING IN A DIAGONAL PARKING SPACE THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE ACCELERATED SUDDENLY ACROSS A SIDEWALK AND HIT AN ELECTRIC BOX. THIS SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEM HAPPENED AGAIN WHILE THE CONSUMER WAS PARKING. THAT TIME NOT ACCIDENT OCCURRED. *BF *NM

(1) NORMAL DRIVING, NO ABNORMALITIES WHATSOEVER (2) AT FREEWAY SPEED, IN BUSY TRAFFIC, WITHOUT WARNING: THE CAR LOST ALL MOTIVE POWER (NEITHER GAS NOR ELECTRIC WORKING); THE HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING ICON DISPLAYED ON THE MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY. LUCKILY, IN BOTH INSTANCES, WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE TO THE SHOULDER WHILE DECELERATING. AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, WE REFERRED TO THE OWNER'S MANUAL WHICH SUGGESTED TURNING THE IGNITION KEY COMPLETELY OFF AND THEN ATTEMPTING A RESTART. IN BOTH CASES THE CAR STARTED UP AGAIN AND WAS DRIVABLE (ALTHOUGH IN THE FIRST CASE THE WARNING ICON REMAINED DISPLAYED FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES). (3) TOOK CAR TO TOYOTA DEALER WHO VERIFIED FAILURE CODE(S) STORED IN ONBOARD MEMORY; DEALER REPLACED ACCELERATOR PEDAL/POSITION SENSOR ASSEMBLY. *JB

2001 TOYOTA PRIUS: ACCELERATOR SENSOR FAILURE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE, THERE WAS A SLIGHT (BUT DEFINITE) SENSATION OF DECELERATION WHEN TRYING TO MAINTAIN STEADY SPEED. AT THE TIME OF FAILURE, THE VEHICLE HESITATED/STALLED AND THE "MASTER WARNING LIGHT" CAME ON. LOCAL DEALER (355 TOYOTA, ROCKVILLE, MD) REPLACED THE PART AT A COST OF $700.00. SHOULD A PART THIS EXPENSIVE (AND SO CRITICAL TO VEHICLE FUNCTION) BE FAILING AT 4 YEARS? *NM

GOING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER, SLOWED DOWN TO A MAX. SPEED OF 37 MPH, RUNNING MOSTLY ON ELECTRICAL POWER. MASTER WARNING LIGHT (TRIANGLE WITH EXCALMATION POINT) LIT UP. GAS ENGINE WOULD PERIODICALLY START UP, BUT WAS NOT RESPONDING TO ACCELLERATOR PEDAL. AFTER PULLING OVER AND SHUTTING DOWN VEHICLE, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND CONTINUE NORMALLY.

2001 TOYOTA PRIUS-SUDDEN DROP IN SPEED-COULD NOT EXCEED 17 MPH. DANGEROUS IN TRAFFIC TOYOTA REPLACED COMPUTER-OLD PARTS NOT AVAILABLE INCIDENT DATE IS APPROXIMATE-TOOK 2 1/2 MONTHS TO REPAIR

I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER COMBINED WITH MY DASH WARNING LIGHTS. I HAD ONE SIMILAR INCIDENT LAST YEAR. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEIR DIAGNOSTICS FIND NO PROBLEM (NO CODES = NO PROBLEM). THEREFORE NOTHING IS RESOLVED AND THE CAR REMAINS PRONE TO LOSS OF POWER, A DANGEROUS CONDITION WHEN TRAVELING ON ANY FREEWAY.

DT: CONTACT STATES WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE STOPPED. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS REPLACED. *AK *JB

THE 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS A FAULTY ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE 8-YEAR HYBRID SYSTEM WARRANTY. NOT ONLY ARE THERE SAFETY ISSUES WITH THIS PROBLEM (E.G. SUDDEN LOSS OF ACCELERATION THAT COULD CAUSE ACCIDENTS, INCORRECT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ACCELERATOR AND THE HYBRID SYSTEM, ETC.) BUT THERE IS A LACK ON TOYOTA'S PART TO ADMIT THAT THE ACCELERATOR IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR FAILS, IT CAUSES THE "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" LIGHT TO APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD AND CAN MAKE THE CAR DANGEROUSLY UNRESPONSIVE (ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAY). THE HYBRID SYSTEM IS EXPECTING INFORMATION FROM THE ACCELERATOR, AND WHEN IT DOESN'T RECEIVE IT, EITHER THE GAS ENGINE, OR THE ELECTRIC ENGINE, OR BOTH ENGINES FAIL TO OPERATE. EVEN THOUGH TWO TOYOTA DEALERS (STEVENS CREEK TOYOTA AND CAPITOL TOYOTA) AGREE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, BOTH CLAIM THAT THIS REPAIR IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE 8-YEAR HYBRID SYSTEM WARRANTY. HOWEVER, IF THIS ACCELERATOR PROBLEM IS NOT DIRECTLY RELATED, THEN WHY DOES THE WARNING LIGHT COME ON WHEN THE ACCELERATOR SENSOR FAILS? ALSO, WHY DID THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED THE $654.52 REPAIR TELL ME THAT THE COMPLETE ACCELERATOR ASSEMBLY PART HAD JUST BEEN RECENTLY REVISED BY TOYOTA? (I MIGHT ADD THAT AN INDEPENDENT ELECTRICAL ENGINEER ANALYZED THE PART AND CONCLUDED THAT THE ACCELERATOR HAS AN MTBF OF 1500 HOURS. HE CONCLUDED THAT EVERY PRIUS OWNER WOULD BE SUBJECT TO THIS SAME HAZARDOUS PROBLEM SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE LIFETIME OF THE CAR!!) I HAVE SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE FROM OTHER PRIUS OWNERS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR INVESTIGATION TEAM. IN MY OPINION, THESE PROBLEMS ARE SERIOUS ENOUGH TO MERIT CONSIDERATION FOR EITHER A RECALL OR A REVISION OF TOYOTA'S "HYBRID SYSTEM" WARRANTY POLICIES. I APPRECIATE ANY ASSISTANCE YOU CAN PROVIDE ME IN THIS MATTER AND I HOPE THAT TOGETHER WE CAN PREVENT NEEDLESS DEATHS FROM THIS UNSAFE ACCELERATOR. *AK

I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER COMBINED WITH MY DASH WARNING LIGHTS. I HAD ONE SIMILAR INCIDENT LAST YEAR. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEIR DIAGNOSTICS FIND NO PROBLEM (NO CODES = NO PROBLEM). THEREFORE NOTHING IS RESOLVED AND THE CAR REMAINS PRONE TO LOSS OF POWER, A DANGEROUS CONDITION WHEN TRAVELING ON ANY FREEWAY. BY LOOKING AT THE CHAT BOARDS (YAHOO IN PARTICULAR) IT'S EVEDINT AI AM NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. I BELIEVE TOYOTA HAS AN OBLIGATION TO ADDRESS AND CORRECT THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. RICHARD TOROK

THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE HAD GONE OUT OF CONTROL. THE CONSUMER WAS COASTING INTO THE DRIVEWAY, WHEN SHE PLACED HER FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE SURGED INTO THE GARAGE AND DAMAGED ITEMS. THE CONSUMER NO LONGER WANTS THE VEHICLE BECAUSE SHE FEELS UNSAFE. THE CONSUMER SAID THAT TOYOTA DIDN'T WANT TO EXCEPT RESPONSIBILTY, EVEN THOUGH THE SERVICE MANAGER DID REPORT THAT THE GAS ENGINE SURGE COULD OCCUR IN ORDER TO CHARGE THE BATTERY. *SCC *DT