10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 3,757 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 55 mph across the railroad tracks, the brakes would release momentarily before being reapplied. The contact also experienced the identical failure after driving over a pothole. The failure occurred about two hundred times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the contact had not called the manufacturer when the complaint was filed. The current mileage was approximately 33,000. The failure mileage was approximately 10.
- Edina , MN, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. He stated that while driving at low speeds less then 5 mph when braking and going over a slight bump on the road the brakes disengaged momentarily. The failure occurred frequently and continued to do so whenever he drove on an uneven road. The dealer has not been notified. No repairs were made to the vehicle. He also stated that he does own another vehicle experiencing the same brake failure. The failure mileage was 2 and the current mileage was 27000.
- Adalac, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. While driving 30 mph going down hill on a wet road the vehicle surged forward when she engaged the brake pedal and crashed into a vehicle. The brakes fully engaged after she crashed. The failure only occurred whenever she drove over a pothole. The dealer advised the contact to have the vehicle diagnosed and stated that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The failure has occurred 5 to 6 times. No repairs have been made to date. A police report was unavailable. The failure mileage was 12000. The current mileage was 15500.
- Snoqualmie, WA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that when driving approximately 15 mph over an uneven surface and trying to depress the brake pedal, the ABS light illuminated and seemed to hydroplane for a short time. The failure never occurred on smooth surfaces. She called the dealer and was told that the brake system was "too perfect" which was why she experienced the failure. She had not spoken with the manufacturer to-date. The current mileage was approximately 10,000. The failure mileage was approximately 10.
- Hull, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 30 to 40 mph, the driver encountered a bump whenever she drove over a bump or a pothole. The vehicle resumed normal operation; however, the failure occurred whenever encountering a bump or pothole in the road. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician stated that the occurrence was normal contributing to the anti-lock brake system. The failure mileage was 500. Updated 4/27/10 the consumer stated while braking, there was a momentary lapse in the brakes. Updated 05/17/10
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 20 mph and engaging the brake pedal and making contact with a pothole the vehicle would accelerate. The dealer has not diagnosed the failure and it continues to occur. The failure mileage was 16,000.
- Lutz, FL, USA
My 2009 pruis had a braking problem I took it back to dealer I told them I thought it was a software problem and it caused my car to spin out on a wet road it is fixed now and has not done it again.
- Stone Mountain, GA, USA
I own a 2009 Toyota Prius and am experiencing the same problem with braking that the 2010 Prius' are having. When braking on an uneven or bumpy surface, it seems like there is a momentary pause or hesitation.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
2009 Prius - I've had what felt like the car was recovering from a skid but there was no skid. During this time I sometimes see the skid warning light on and hear one wheel spinning fast. It occurs very rarely but when it does occur the road is wet or bumpy. An easy way to see this problem is to drive down the fdr North of the triboro bridge. If you want a test track of bumps this is it. It has occurred randomly since I got the car. A friend with a 2004 Prius reports the same problem. I guess we just thought it was something the Prius did. I haven't thought of it as a safety problem.
- Mahwah, NJ, USA
The problem is that our 2009 Prius at times seems to accelerate momentarily when the brakes are applied. My wife and I drove this car for eleven months and didn't realize we had a problem until I had to drive the car during the start of the snow storm with 2" of snow. I was going down a hill that I have driven on in different cars a number of times in the snow. With the Prius, everytime I applied brakes to keep the car at slow speed, it seemed to accelerate a bit before the brakes would work, thereby causing the rear of the car to slide sideways. The loss of control was of great concern to me (I had my wife and granddaughter in the car). So I inched down the hill. A considerable number of cars backed up behind our car. Since then I have noticed the momentary acceleration before breaking on a number of occasions in dry weather as well.. today, I took the car into newark Toyota world in Delaware and explained the problem to them, including the service manager. They drove the car and said they ran the diagnostics but couldn't find the problem. I am sorry but, to me, that's not satisfactory because neither my wife nor I trust this car in inclement weather. Someone should look into this problem before something serious happens.
- Avondale, PA, USA
- Washington, DC, USA