The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH, the brakes failed when pressed causing the vehicle to crash into the rear end of a second vehicle. During the crash, the air bags did not deploy and the rear driver-side seat belt had sprung outward, although no rear seat passenger was present. The second vehicle's rear driver's side passenger was later treated for an undisclosed injury. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 240,000.

- Newberry, SC, USA

I was shocked to find out that Toyota appears to be falsifying data in order to get out of paying to repair safety problems with their cars. Hiding safety issues may have already led to injuries and death. We bought a 2008 Toyota Prius in 2014. The title with Virginia DMV is dated 08/01/14. On November 4, 2023, after several indicator lights showed up, I found out from my garage that the car's anti-lock braking system was defective and not working. However, according to the garage manager, Toyota had acknowledged a defect with their anti-lock braking system. There had been a recall some years ago for this part on the 2008 Prius, but it was no longer in effect. On November 6, 2023, Brittany at Toyota told me the same thing. Toyota acknowledged in 2016 that there was a problem with the anti-lock braking system with this model of car, and that it would be replaced for free by Toyota. This was a "customer support program" rather than a recall. However, according to Brittany, the notice of this "customer support program" was not mailed to us. It was mailed to the previous owner, who owned it before 2014. We never received it. Of course, the dates do not work. We bought the car in 2014, and the notice went out in 2016. There was no reason to send the notice to someone who didn't own the car. Brittany, pretty innocently, had revealed that Toyota is falsifying records. She said that Toyota is using state DMV records to find car owners and send notices of faulty and dangerous parts. However, this is obviously not true. Virginia DMV issued our title to the car on 08/01/14, well before the recall. The only way I can see this happening is if Toyota is falsifying records so that they have to pay to fix far fewer cars. This practice could easily lead to injury and death. There would appear to be a notification mailing, with a postage bill to prove it, but it could have been at least partly fabricated by using past owners instead of current owners. If Toyota had not falsi

- Springfield, VA, USA

Yes it is available for inspection upon request. My brakes failed going down the road due to a flaw in brake actuator design that had a previous recall. My safety was put at risk as the brakes failed while I was traveling down the road. The problem has not gone away and can be easily reproduced. There are various warning lamps and the car is unable to be driven. Requests for Toyota to repair the vehicle have been fruitless. This is a KNOWN issue on this year and model.

- Stokesdale, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the messages for the parking brake, tire pressure monitoring system, ABS, and VSC illuminated while driving. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the brake actuator and brake pump were faulty and needed to be replaced. The failure was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed of the Manufacturer's Extended Warranty Coverage for the failure however, the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 129,674.

- Nashville, TN, USA

Brake actuator is going bad, they had a recall on it and are refusing to fix it. Brakes are a lot harder to press.

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

The inverter water pump failed while I was driving 50mph, it caused the car to stop working and the brakes malfunctioned as well. When I tried to hit the brakes I had to hit them a lot harder and it still acted like it wasn-€™t going to stop. I was lucky enough that the light up ahead was still green and the cars in front of me started going forward.

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

Vehicle braking system faulting because of lack of pressure from failing ABS accumulator. Given the price of the vehicle on the used market, parts and labor drive the cost of repair to a significant portion of the vehicle's value.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

Abs system began a high pitch tone every time the brake pedal was pressed. Brakes did not function consistently, stopping either jarringly or not at all at a specific pressure. Brake pedal has high resistance. Toyota system diagnosed ABS codes C1252, C1256, and C1391: indicative of a faulty/broken brake actuator.

- Beebe, AR, USA

I was driving at a speed of 30mph on a road with a slight incline. As I descended that slight incline, I began my descent at a speed of 30mph. There was about 250 ft between the descent of the incline, and the red light at the bottom. As soon as I began my descent I lost all brake pressure. Fortunately there was an entrance to a parking lot to my right, just before the stop light. When friction had slowed my car down I was able to find a parking spot to pull over. Accompanied with my failing brakes were all of my brake associated lights on the dash, and the red triangle light. There was also a steady high pitch buzzing noise. Still, without brake pressure I get out to inspect the car. There were no signs of leaking brake fluid and the rotors and pads were in great condition. The drum brakes in the back were also in great working order. After finding nothing of suspicion, I turn the far off and back on. To my surprise all the warning lights were off, and my brakes were once again functioning properly. The only thing changed was a buzzing noise from the brake actuator as it built up pressure. It has now been over a month with no issues from the brakes expect for the lingering unusual noise from the actuator, which I suspect it to mean that the actuator is close to failing. I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle. I took the car to my nearest Toyota dealer the day after the incident. They were not able to read any codes because the codes did not store. They told me they would have to see the car with all the lights on for it to read. Basically meaning, "we can't do anything about it until you're life is at great risk". This problem should absolutely be recalled as I am not the only one to have this issue. Toyota says there top priority is consumer safety, yet they blatantly disregard the issue, and instead do very little to resolve it.

- Rutherfordton , NC, USA

To whom it my concern, I-€™m the original owner of a 2008 Toyota Prius. The car has 93,000 miles on it. I encountered a braking problem one day after starting the car and backing up. The brakes felt spongy and car started to roll backwards with the brakes applied. Had to push harder for the car to stop. The VSC, ABS and brake lights were on, on the dash with a tone I could hear indicating something is wrong. I shut the car down and restarted and problem still existed. I called the dealer and did a little research online and found out the brake actuator had malfunctioned and will need to be replaced. Dealer said there was a program offering an extended warranty, but that has expired in 2018. I never received any letter from dealer or Toyota themselves indicating there was a problem. I called Toyota corporate office and they indicated a letter was sent out in 2016, but I never received any letter. The car now sits and I-€™m trying to figure out if it-€™s worth fixing. This car has meticulously been taken car of and ran great when I was driving it. I will try reaching out to Toyota again to see if there any exceptions to this case. Over 700,000 cars were affected by this problem and was wondering why a recalled was not issued.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

There are no lights on in the dashboard. Everything seem normal and working fine. I was trying to park going like 5 mph, I had to stop because some people were crossing and the breaks failed, car kept going for like 5 seconds, there was a beep and a few lights turned on (break, abs, !). Finally the car came to a sudden and abrupt stop, after that the lights turned back off. It was horrible, lucky I didn't hurt anyone. I drove back home immediately very slow. It happened 3 more times, specially when going in reverse and after a turn. Mechanic said there are no codes and he wasn't able to figure it out. This is a huge safety problem. A recall definitely needs to be done.

- Commerce City, CO, USA

Brake actuator has failed. The brakes no longer are getting pressure, and require a lot of force on the pedal to stop. The brake light is on, as well as ABS, vsc, and ! lights. Apparently this is a known issue, and Toyota was fixing these under warranty up to 10 years / 150,000 miles, whichever came first. My car has 128K miles, but it's more than 10 years old, and thus, the faulty part is no longer covered under the warranty.

- Kealakekua, HI, USA

My VIN number says its a 2008, it is a 2011, Prius my brake booster pump went out and locked my breaks. I ended up on side walk. Called dealer said it was dangerous to drive. It appears that there is a recall/class action. Costing me $1400 for a new system. It was in motion.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

While driving normally down the highway, a buzzing pitch suddenly came up at the same time that a red triangle, ABS, brake, and brake system warnings lighted up. The brakes felt unresponsive, but fortunately, there was low traffic and I was able to get home safely. When I started the car the next day and changed the gear from parking to reverse, the brakes again were unresponsive, and I had to press them completely down to avoid a collision. I was able to get the car to the dealer, and they diagnosed a failed brake actuator. The dealer informed me that there was an enhanced warranty for this part and although the car qualified under the mileage requirements (it had only 76,500 miles), they told me that I was out of that warranty because the car was more than 10 years old. I inquired them about how it was possible that if they knew about this part failure, I was never notified about it as an owner. Then, they explained to me that it was not a recall, that they only informed a customer if his/her car presented that specific problem. The cost of the repair was around $2,750 with parts and labor. From what I have read online, this has been a continuing issue affecting many Toyota Prius as well as other Toyota models, and it seems that Toyota has tried to avoid a recall on it. At least, they should have implemented that enhanced warranty for the vehicle's lifetime if they do not proactively notify about it. I personally was lucky that I did not get hurt, but clearly, this malfunctioning part is a safety hazard for drivers out there and a recall should have been issued to prevent accidents; we are talking about people's lives.

- Tampa, FL, USA

ABS system failing and brakes not working very dangerous to drive

- Redding, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal which failed to stop the vehicle in a reasonable amount of time. The contact attempted to drive the vehicle until the vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to folsom lake Toyota (200 plaza dr, folsom, ca 95630, (916)355-1500) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake actuator failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

- Rancho Cordova, CA, USA

Hi I have a 2004-2009 Prius that experienced a brake actuator failure. Come to find out this is a recalled part, I would love to speak to someone about getting this remedied as it is a $3,000 fix.

- Jacksonvillea, FL, USA

I was traveling at about 35-40 mph on a 4 lane city road & a truck pulled in front of me from a shopping center on opposite side of road from which I was traveling without stopping in center median crossover. I hit brakes but I had no time to stop. I'm not sure the brakes even worked as there were no skid marks from braking. The front driver side of my car hit hard & also damaged drivers side wheel well, fender panel. My airbag did not deploy and my head collided with the steering wheel. It resulted in my having a concussion, whiplash, a fracture in my neck, shoulder pain & nerve issues in my arms & hands, back & hip pain. I know if the airbag had deployed I wouldn't have suffered all the physical issues. This all happened Jan. 11 & I still have pain. The car is a total loss.

- Theodore, AL, USA

On August 31, 2020 drove into town with wife in our 2008 Toyota Prius. Highway speed. No problems. Drove around town-no problem. Stopped at friend's house.when leaving his house, went to start car as always and the following warning lights went on: Brake, vsc, ABS and also, brake pedal went down to floor when engine started. Other than warning lights being on and with brake pedal feel coming back to normal, we drove home. I put a code reader on to see what the problem was/is and clear codes. None were found. Decided to take car to autozone for them to put their code reader on. Once again no problem codes were found. Went back home and called local Toyota dealership and left message for service guy I use if necessary. No response from him. Later, I looked up reported Prius problems on internet and came across your web site where I noticed this Prius problem has been reported to you many times before.called Toyota usa (888-270-9371) and obtained a inquiry reference number. Someone was suppose to get back with me but never did so today I called back in and ended up speaking to a higher Toyota advocate.basically was told the brake part which is not functioning, they had a self imposed recall on it in 2015 and it lasted till end of 2017. If you had a failure during that time they replaced it at no charge..if they knew it was bad part in 2015 or probably before that, they needed to replace all or replace them as the problem presented itself. Per the research I have done, it costs now with them several thousand dollars to fix.the car is not drivable as the brakes can go out at any time. Bottom line is that they knew the part problem existed and limited their liability to a short time period and only on cars that actually had the issue in the time frame allowed. Working brakes on a vehicle is extremelly critical.

- Spring Branch, TX, USA

The manager w/ american transmission told me when the hybrid system starting to go bad ( the inverter water pumper had to be replaced) messed up the ABS pump and module. My mechanic told me it's a bad design. I put 0 mph the sytem is messed right when the start button is pressed this didn't cause an accident this still caused a delay due the pandemic and I need to be refunded and american transmission from Toyota. Please open attachment

- Jackosnville, FM, USA