I have a 1999 Toyota 4runner that has the same problem with the ABS as is being reported for the 2010 prius, only worse. When the ABS kicks in on slick or uneven surfaces, the vehicle goes into a freely-floating mode for 5+ seconds. There is no braking capacity at all during that time and steering is difficult. The vehicle is completely out of control during that time. I have had multiple near-misses which would have resulted in serious harm to myself and others and a few incidences where I ended up running off the road (once into a ravine) or hitting median strips w/O involving other vehicles. I took my vehicle to the Toyota dealer twice about this issue. Once I was told I was nuts, that the ABS couldn't possibly behave that way; and the other time I was told that, "oh yeah, that's how ABS works." No examination or correction was offered. My strategy has been to always touch the brakes so gently that ABS doesn't kick in, but this winters snowy weather has defeated this plan. Whenever I brake on a slick, snowy surface the ABS kicks in no matter how gently I touch the brakes. Last week, I had an extremely harrowing close call when my vehicle went careening out of control into an intersection when another vehicle was passing through it. This was on a side street when I was moving very slowly and had begun the gentle braking at least 30' before the intersection... but the ABS kicked in, and I could not stop before sliding into the intersection. (for the required field asking for the incident date, I'll give the date of this most recent near-miss, but there have been many incidents over the years.)

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA