2010 Toyota Prius SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC

SINCE I BOUGHT MY PRIUS BACK IN JULY 2009, MY BRAKES HAVE BEEN GREAT EXCEPT FOR THE 5 OR 6 TIMES WHEN THE BRAKES DISAPPEARED FOR A SECOND AS I PULLED UP TO A STOP SIGN ON A BUMPY ROAD. IT'S HAPPENED TWICE AT ONE STOP SIGN WHERE I DRIVE JUST ONCE A WEEK. THAT ONE HAS A BIG DIP IN THE ROAD WHERE THEY HAVE REPLACED A WATER LINE AND THEN REPAVED. MY OCCURRENCES HAVE ALL BEEN WITHIN 20 FEET OF THE STOP SIGN AND NEVER NEAR A CAR OR PEDESTRIAN FORTUNATELY. I NOW HAVE 14,000 MILES ON THE CAR. WITH SOMETHING THIS RARE, THE DEALERSHIP WAS OF COURSE UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. THE NEXT DAY TOYOTA ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAD FIXED THE PROBLEM IN LATE JANUARY ON THE LINE BUT HAD NO FIX TO OFFER US YET. BRAKES ARE GREAT OTHERWISE; THE BEST I'VE HAD. RECENTLY I HAVE HAD PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY TO TEST ABS, TRACTION CONTROL AND STABILITY CONTROL. NO PROBLEMS EXCEPT FOR THOSE HALF-DOZEN INCIDENTS. *TR

MY 2010 PRUIS BRAKE PROBELM AS REPORTED IN THE NEWS. *TR

2010 PRIUS BRAKE PROBLEM EXPERIENCED SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010. I WAS TURNING RIGHT INTO A DRIVEWAY FROM A BUSY STREET AND APPLIED MY BRAKES AS I WAS ENTERING THE UPWARD SLANTED DRIVEWAY WHEN BRAKING DISAPPEARED AND I SURGED FORWARD ABOUT ONE TO TWO SECONDS BEFORE APPLYING THE BRAKES A SECOND TIME AND REGAINING BRAKING CAPABILITY. IT'S THE ONLY TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME SINCE BUYING THE PRIUS LAST NOVEMBER, BUT BECAUSE OF THE UNCERTAINTY I READ TODAY ABOUT WHETHER TOYOTA WOULD ISSUE A RECALL IN THE U.S. AFTER DOING SO IN JAPAN FOR THE SAME CARS, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE TO SUBMIT THIS TO YOU. *TR

2010 TOYOTA PRIUS OCCASIONAL LOSS OF BRAKE PERFORMANCE IMMEDIATELY UPON START-UP OF VEHICLE. ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THERE WAS NOTED LOSS OF BRAKING CAPABILITY AFTER SHIFTING INTO REVERSE IMMEDIATELY AFTER TURNING ON THE IGNITION. THIS CAUSED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO FEEL HARD, AND ALLOWED THE CAR TO SLOWLY MOVE AGAINST THE OPERATOR'S INTENTIONS. AFTER ABOUT 5 SECONDS, THE BRAKES BEGIN TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS FOR BRAKE PRESSURE TO COME UP AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE AND THAT I SHOULD WAIT BEFORE SHIFTING INTO GEAR. THIS INSTRUCTION SEEMS COUNTERACTIVE TOWARDS SAFETY, AND THE VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO SHIFT INTO GEAR UNTIL BRAKE PRESSURE IS PRESENT. A SIMPLE SOFTWARE UPDATE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS CONCERN. *TR

SQUEALING NOISE FROM BRAKES/WHEELS WHEN I PRESS BRAKES ON MY BRAND NEW 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. IT'S LITERALLY CAUSING ME HEADACHES AFTER DRIVES AND IS A BIG HEALTH HAZARD. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TWICE TO MY DEALERSHIP THAT SOLD THE CAR AND THEY ARE RECOGNIZING THE NOISE BUT TELLING THAT IT IS NORMAL FOR ALL PRIUS. IF THAT'S THE CASE THEN IT'S A DEFECT IN PRIUS AS SQUEALING NOISE THAT CAUSES HEADACHES SHOULD NOT BE NORMAL. ALSO, I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE FACING THIS. PLEASE CHECK HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON PRIUSCHATFORUMS THROUGH LINK: HTTP://PRIUSCHAT.COM/FORUMS/GEN-III-2010-PRIUS-MAIN-FORUM/68563-SQUEAKING-SOUND-WHEELS-DURING-ROLLING-START-BRAKE-NOISE-MERGED.HTML. *TR

MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS BRAKING OVER BUMPY ROADS. AT CERTAIN SPEEDS FIRM BRAKING OVER BUMPS CAUSES THE WHEELS TO FEEL LIKE THEY ARE SLIPPING. TOYOTA RECALLED THE VEHICLE, AND PERFORMED SOFTWARE UPGRADES THAT I FEEL DID NOTHING TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION. I RECENTLY BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO BE SERVICED AND MENTIONED THAT IT WAS STILL SLIPPING OVER BUMPS BUT THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS NOT ONE SPECIFIC INCIDENCE BUT MULTIPLE INSTANCES. *TR

2010 PRIUS WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STOP IF VEHICLE HITS BUMPS, POTHOLES, MANHOLES, ETC., THE VEHICLE BRAKING SYSTEMS LETS GO FOR A MOMENT AND THE VEHICLE WILL KEEP MOVING FORWARD. I HAVE HAD MY PRIUS INTO MY SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE "RECALL" BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUES. MY SERVICE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH TOYOTA WHO TELLS THEM IT IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE AND TO ADVISE OWNER OF SUCH. THIS IS A CLEAR SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE. MY FAMILY WILL NOT DRIVE THE CAR AND MY FRIENDS WON'T GET IN THE CAR BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD TO EITHER LIVE WITH THE VEHICLE OR TRADE IT IN. NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER IN MY BOOK. THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH THE VEHICLE 5 OR MORE TIMES A DAY DEPENDING ON WHERE I AM DRIVING. *TR

1. BRAKES DISENGAGED ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHILE BRAKING TO A RED LIGHT AND WENT OVER UNEVEN PAVEMENT. 2. CAR IS PARKED IN GARAGE. IN THE MORNING I WENT TO START THE CAR AND UPON PUSHING THE START BUTTON THE CAR STARTED VIOLATING SHAKING AND MAKING A CLANKING NOISE. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED CAR OFF AS THIS WAS NOT A NORMAL OCCURRENCE. I PUSHED THE START BUTTON AGAIN AND CAR STARTED NORMALLY. 3. ON 4/1/10 TOOK CAR TO TOYOTA OF ORANGE FOR RECALL FIX OF THE BRAKES. ON 4/2 WHILE PULLING UP TO A STREET FROM A PARKING LOT THE BRAKES DISENGAGED. THE ASPHALT WAS VERY BUMPY IN THE PARKING LOT. I WAS ON A SLIGHT DECLINE. THE BRAKES DISENGAGED AND CAR LURCHED FORWARD. IT WAS WORSE THAN THE OTHER TWO TIMES. IT WAS SCARY. IF THERE WAS A CAR IN FRONT OF ME I WOULD HAVE HIT THEM. *TR

THE BRAKES ON MY PRIUS HAVE FAILED NUMEROUS TIMES OVER 7 MONTHS IN BOTH CITY AND RURAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. WHEN BRAKE FAILURE OCCURS, THE PRIUS BRAKES NOT ONLY DISENGAGE (FAIL) BUT THE CAR SEEMS TO LUNGE FORWARD. IT'S AS IF I AM BRAKING WITH MY FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL AND THEN LET UP ON THE BRAKE WHILE THE GAS PEDAL IS STILL DEPRESSED. IT IS NOT A SAFE VEHICLE. I HAVE GREAT CONCERN FOR MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY AND OTHERS, PARTICULARLY PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AT INTERSECTIONS.

WHILE SLOWLY DECELERATING USING THE REGENERATIVE BRAKES, THE REGENERATIVE BRAKES TURN OFF OCCASIONALLY AT LOW SPEEDS (5-10 MPH). THERE IS A VERY SHORT (<1 SECOND) BURST OF FORWARD MOVEMENT BEFORE THE ACTUAL BRAKES ACTIVATE. DURING THIS WHOLE TIME THE BRAKE PEDAL IS CONSISTENTLY DEPRESSED. THIS BURST FORWARD DOES WHIP THE DRIVER BACK INTO THE SEAT A BIT DUE TO THE UNEXPECTED NATURE OF THIS EVENT. THIS HAS PROBABLY OCCURRED ABOUT 5 TIMES IN THE PAST 2.5 MONTHS SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. *CN

AS I BRAKED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN AT AN INTERSECTION, MY TWO WEEK OLD 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS STOPPED BRAKING WHEN I HIT A SECTION OF THE ROADBED THAT HAD SOME WINTER DAMAGE TO IT AND THE CAR'S ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ATTEMPTED TO CUT IN. IT FELT LIKE THE CAR SURGED FORWARD, BUT I UNDERSTAND IT WAS JUST A SUDDEN LOSS OF BRAKING AS THE TRANSFER BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT BRAKING MECHANISMS OCCURRED. SINCE I WAS TURNING ONTO A HIGHWAY SERVICE ROAD DURING RUSH HOUR, I FELT THE DELAY WAS A DANGER TO ME AND THE OCCUPANTS OF MY VEHICLE.

AFTER OWNING THE CAR FOR 1 MONTH, I HAVE NOTICED THAT ON OCCASION, WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKES, THE CAR WILL AUTOMATICALLY ACCELERATE FOR A SECOND BEFORE BREAKING. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME, BUT IT DOES HAPPEN A FEW TIMES DAY. I HAVE NO WAY OF FIGURING OUT WHAT COULD BE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS SINCE IT JUST HAPPENS WHEN I AM BRAKING JUST BEFORE IT COMPLETELY STOPS, NO MATTER WHAT SPEED I AM DRIVING. *CN

OUR 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS IS EXPERIENCING PERIODIC, TEMPORARY BRAKE FAILURE/UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. MY WIFE IS THE PRIMARY DRIVER AND STATES THAT ON 4-5 OCCASIONS OVER THE PAST 9 MONTHS, WHEN BRAKING OVER UNEVEN SURFACES AT SPEEDS OF 10-30 MPH, THERE CAN BE A TEMPORARY PERIOD OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION LASTING 1-2 SECONDS. *CN

I OWN A 2010 PRIUS. I NOTICE THAT ON MANY OCCASIONS, THE WARNING LAMP ON THE DASHBOARD FOR THE ANTI-SKID SYSTEM COMES ON VERY EASILY, WHEN THE CAR IS NOT IN ANY DANGER WHATSOEVER OF SKIDDING, AND THAT IT SOMETIMES COMES ON WHEN THE CAR IS ACTUALLY AT A STOP. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT WHEN DRIVING ON UNEVEN PAVEMENT, AT MODERATE SPEEDS OF ABOUT 30 MPH, THE BRAKES DO NOT FEEL RELIABLE, AND THAT SOMETIMES THEY FEEL VERY SLOPPY: SLOW TO REACT AND VERY SOFT IN THEIR IMPACT. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING EARLIER MODEL PRIUS CARS FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND DID NOT NOTICE THIS SAME PROBLEM BEFORE I STARTED DRIVING MY 2010 PRIUS. I AM NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT THE BRAKE SYSTEM AND FEEL RELUCTANT TO DRIVE THE CAR, EXCEPT AT VERY LOW SPEEDS.

WHEN I BRAKE ON BUMPY RAODS, THE CAR SOMETIMES LEARCHES AND THEN THE BRAKES ENGAGE, AND STOP THE CAR.

WHEN ON A SLIPPERY ROAD AND YOU ARE APPLYING MODERATE BRAKE PRESSURE AND THE ANTILOCK BRAKES ARE ENGAGEING AND YOU HIT MULTIPLE BUMPS OR POTHOLES YOU HAVE A MOMENTARY LOSS OF BRAKE PRESSURE AND BRAKING ACTION UNTILL THE BUMPS STOP OR YOU PRESS THE BRAKE DOWN FURTHER AND BRAKING IS RESTORED. I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND ONCE IN OUR PARKING LOT A VEHICLE WAS STRUCK REQUIREING $1200 IN REPAIRS.

I HAVE A 2010 PRIUS AND HAVE EXPERIENCED THE AME TYPE OF BRAKE FLOATING AS OTHERS HAVE REPORTED

ON OUR 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS, WHEN BRAKING ON A FAIRLY STEEP DOWNHILL ROAD, THE CAR SEEMINGLY JERKS FORWARD/ACCELERATES FOR A SPLIT SECOND. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

I HAVE PURCHASED A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS, AND NEVER NOTICED ANY PROBLEM WITH MY BRAKING, UNTIL 1/22/10. I WAS DRIVING OVER A SECTION OF ROAD, THAT WAS UNEVEN WHERE A BRIDGE MEETS THE ROAD. I WAS BRAKING FOR THE STOPLIGHT AHEAD THAT WAS RED AND CARS WERE WAITING IN THE LINE. WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES AT ABOUT 10 MPH, AND HIT THE UNEVEN ROAD SECTION, THE CAR SEEMED LIKE IT LOST BRAKING, FOR AN INSTANT. I HAD TO PUSH HARDER ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO ASSURE A STOP. I HAVE SINCE DRIVEN THAT SAME SECTION OF ROAD TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM, AND IT HAD REPEATED ITSELF, BUT NOT ON EVERY OCCASION. IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS SOME ISSUE WITH THE HYBRID BRAKE SYSTEM...BETWEEN REGENERATION AND FRICTION BUT NOT SURE WHAT THE ISSUE IS. I ONLY HAVE 3800 MILES ON THE CAR SO HAVE NOT CALLED THE DEALER FOR SERVICE YET. WILL PLAN TO DO THAT IF IT CAN WAIT UNTIL THE FIRST 5,000 MILE SERVICE. *CN

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). [XXX] TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I PURCHASED A PRIUS 2010 IN THE SUMMER OF 2009. I CALLED MY DEALER A WEEK AGO TO REPORT THAT I TOO HAD EXPERIENCED THE BRAKING ISSUE THAT WAS REPORTED ON THE NEWS. I WAS NOT SURE IF THE CAR WAS SKIDDING THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED IT, I WAS GOING SLOWLY AND BRAKED OVER A SLIPPERY PATCH AND THE CAR LURCHED BEFORE BRAKING, BUT THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN OVER A ROUGH SURFACE. WHEN I REPORTED THIS TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF MY DEALER, CONICELLI TOYOTA OF SPRINGFIELD, PA, I WAS TOLD THAT NO RECALL HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED, NO OTHER CONCERN OR CARE WAS GIVEN TO ME AT THAT TIME. I DID ASK FOR THE CONTACT INFORMATION OF THE COMPANY AND WAS GIVEN AN 800 NUMBER AND THE WEBSITE. I TRIED CALLING THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE OF TOYOTA TWICE TO REPORT MY EXPERIENCE, AND WAS ON HOLD FOR OVER 10 MINUTES BEFORE HANGING UP WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO LEAVE A MESSAGE. I CONTACTED MY DEALER AGAIN AND SPOKE WITH THE CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGER, I ASKED THAT THEY REPORT MY EXPERIENCE TO YOU AND THAT THEY WORK TO ADVOCATE FOR A SOLUTION FOR THE BRAKE ISSUE. I AM AWAITING A RESPONSE FROM THEM. I AGAIN TRIED THE 800 NUMBER WITHOUT SUCCESS AND THEN ACCESSED YOUR WEBSITE. I WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE A PLACE TO SEND OR POST MY COMMENT/CONCERN, SO I WROTE THIS LETTER. PLEASE ADD ME TO THE 210 COMPLAINTS REPORTED FOR THE PRIUS BRAKING PROBLEM. I AM DEEPLY CONCERNED THAT TOYOTA 'FIXED' THE PROBLEM ON THE PRODUCTION LINE BUT WAS NOT PROACTIVE IN FINDING A CORRECTION FOR THE MODELS PRODUCED BEFORE JANUARY 2010. I WILL BE CONTACTING MY LAWYER AND OTHER AUTHORITIES ABOUT THIS ISSUE. MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY AND THOSE THAT SHARE THE ROAD WITH ME ARE OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO ME. I AM CONCERNED THAT THEY ARE NOT OF THE UTMOST CONCERN OF TOYOTA, WHO WOULD LEAVE US ALL AT RISK UNLESS PUBLIC PRESSURE IS BROUGHT TO BEAR. . [XXX] *TR

THE BRAKES ON MY 2010 PRIUS DID NOT ENGAGE TWO TIMES WHILE DRIVING IN SNOWY CONDITIONS THIS WINTER. I ALMOST CRASHED INTO A CAR BOTH TIMES.

MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS, PURCHASED 12/28/09, HAS BRIEFLY LURCHED FORWARD ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHEN I WAS BRAKING AND CROSSED A BUMP IN THE ROAD. I AM REPORTING ONE DATE BELOW, BUT THE BRIEF BRAKE FAILURE HAS RECURRED REPEATEDLY, ALWAYS AT THE SAME SPOT ON THE ROAD.

IT APPEARS THAT THE CAR EITHER DOES NOT RESPOND OR EVEN ACCELARATES WHEN BRAKING ON UNEVEN SURFACE. IT HAPPENED TO ME MORE THAN 10 TIMES, I HAVE THE CAR FOR 4.5 MONTHS.

ENTIRE SYSTEM SHUT DOWN TOW SERVICE FROM DEALER CAME AND CHARGED BATTERY TO NO AVAIL SYSTEM CAME BACK ONLINE AS VEHICLE WAS BEING RAISED ON FLATBED TOW TRUCK CAR WAS THEN DRIVEN AWAY UNDER ITS OWN POWER DEALER COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM PROBLEM HAS NOT REOCCURRED BRAKE DELAY PROBLEM WHICH OCCURRED PRIOR TO SYSTEM SHUTDOWN HAS RECOCCURRED BRAKE DELAY OR TEMPORARY LOSS OF BRAKING WHEN PEDDLE DEPRESSED HAS OCCURRED BRAKE SQUEEK ALSO REPORTED TO DELALER WHO ADVISES THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BRAKES *CN

WHEN BRAKING WHILE GOING OVER BUMPS, THE CAR LURCHES FORWARD AND DOESN'T SEEM TO GRAB UNTIL AFTER THE BUMP. IT IS ESPECIALLY NOTICEABLE WHEN EXITING A HIGH SPEED ROAD ONTO A DECELRATION LANE. IT HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE PURCHASING THE VEHICLE. I HAVE MADE ADJUSTMENTS IN OPERATING THE VEHICLE TO MINIMIZE THE NUMBER OF OCCURENCES, BUT CANNOT ALWAYS FORESEE THE BUMPS OR RIDGES IN ROAD SURFACES THAT PRECIPITATE THE INCIDENT. *CN