I have experienced very strong grabbing sensations from the brakes a few times when backing up. The car reacts as though you are slamming the brakes even though only slight pressure is applied.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

Friday; 02/05/2010 I own a 2010 Toyota Prius I have been experiencing when I apply my brakes for months when driving over a uneven surface or a large holes. My vehicle does not respond when I try to slow down or apply brakes. Its like I lost control. I tried to explain this condition to the selling dealer but he did not have a answer up to now. My 2010 Toyota was purchased 09/22/2009.

- Fryeburg, ME, USA

I purchased a 2010 Prius iv at boch Toyota in attleboro mass on Jan 9th. On Jan 20th (odometer about 300 miles), about 5:20 pm I was traveling South in stop & go traffic on allens ave near rihospital (providence, ri) at about 10 mph over a rough surface (including railroad tracks that crossed nearly perpendicular to the road). When I applied the brakes, the vehicle failed to stop properly, until after a few anxious seconds, the brakes finally grabbed and stopped the vehicle less than 1 inch from the truck in front of me. No subsequent occurrence has been noted in the next 300 or so miles. In light of the recent reports of faulty software causing just such malfunctions of the braking system, I am reporting this to the national highway traffic safety division.

- Rumford, RI, USA

I own a 2010 Toyota Prius and noticed problems with braking while crossing the train tracks and hitting potholes. It seemed that the brakes does not work because the vehicle accelerates. You have this feeling of panic that the vehicle won't stop and you will hit the bumper of the vehicle in front of you.

- Sugarland, TX, USA

Driving in slippery conditions and we attempted to stop on a manhole cover and the brakes did not catch. We almost had a crash, but managed to stop just in time. This was not the first time that this had occurred. We had a similar incident when we hit a large pothole.

- Burlington, MA, USA

I was driving my 2010 Toyota Prius over a rough spot in the road. When I tried to slow the car by applying my brakes, they did not respond. In fact, instead of slowing down, my car accelerated abruptly, shooting ahead several feet before I was able to regain control of the vehicle. This episode lasted only a few seconds, and then the breaking function returned. Since I was traveling around twenty miles per hour at the time and no one was directly in front of me, the episode did not result in any accident or injury. While I have had only one occurrence of this brake failure/acceleration since owning my car, purchased at the end of September, 2009, the fact that this car has a history of performing in this uncontrolled way has me deeply concerned about driving it.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

2010 Toyota Prius. From the first week I owned the car here is a description of the problem. Frequently, when first starting the car in the driveway, I put the car in drive, then as it began to move forward - the slightest touch on the brake caused the wheels to lock-up, badly lurching myself and the passenger. After driving for a short while the problem goes away. I took the car in for its 5,000 mile oil change - told the Toyota dealership (rodland Toyota everett wa) about the problem and I was told it was checked out and there was no problem. There is a problem.

- Greenbank, WA, USA

Toyota Prius 2010- when we go into a pothole and apply the brake, the brake doesn't work. Instead, it accelerates. Once, it hit a curb and damaged the bumper.

- Piscataway, NJ, USA

When using the brakes, on several occasions, my vehicle briefly lurched forward. Most of the time it happens when the pavement is wet. It has happened about 15 times over the past 4 months.

- Lincolnwood, IL, USA

Driving my 2010 Prius today, I experienced a brake failure such as the one I've been hearing about on the news. Here's what happened: I was braking, slowing to a stop approaching a stoplight (going no faster than 10 mph at the time), my car rolled over a manhole cover that was slightly lower than the surface of the road (no more than one inch deep) and suddenly it felt like my car was gliding on ice with no ability to stop, the brakes had completely failed; additionally, I heard a slight grinding sound come from the front right wheel well. I took my foot off the brake, re-depressed the pedal, and everything was instantly back to normal. The duration of the incident was no more than a second, but it was terribly alarming just the same. Following this incident, I have contacted two different Toyota dealerships' service departments who stated that they did not currently have any repair plans for this problem, apologized for the "inconvenience, " and one of the dealerships (Toyota of hollywood (ca)) took my phone number while the other dealership told me to wait for a letter from Toyota. I inquired of Toyota of glendale (ca) if I should get a rental car for the time being (hoping to be offered a loaner) and they told me not to, and to 'drive safe.' I'm totally livid, this is a very scary problem to experience.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

I own a 2010 class III Toyota Prius. On several occasions, I have applied the brakes and the brakes seemed to release, causing the car to surge forward, before the brakes re-engaged. Once this occurred when I hit a manhole cover and once on a slippery road but it has also occurred on dry roads with no apparent reason for the failure. I took the care to the dealer on 30 January 2010 who advised me that there was nothing wrong with my brakes.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

I was driving my 2010 Prius East on Ohio street (near state street) in Chicago. The street here has some potholes and manhole covers. When I applied the brakes, the car did not brake; instead, it seemed to surge ahead. I was able to stop the car before hitting a pedestrian. This was the most recent episode of this problem. I did not note the dates of the three prior episodes that have occurred since I purchased the car approximately seven months ago.

- Chicago, IL, USA

During moderate braking when there are uneven or potholes in road there is a hesitation between the dynamic braking and the disc brakes. There seems to be a delay enough to scare the driver especially if it was the first time.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

Since I bought my 2010 Toyota Prius, I have been noticing that when I go over a bump or pothole in the road that the car lurches forward and seems to accelerate or I can't brake. It occurs a few times a week since I bought it in Sept..2009 it is currently at the dealer and I don't know if they will be able to fix the problem. They didn't seem very confident that they would be able to.

- Middleboro, MA, USA

My 2010 Prius hesitated to brake properly/caused a delay at 10mph on the freeway, as a result my left fender made contact with the vehicle in front of me. As result, my insurance increased, I had to pay $500 deductible to repair my bumper. Also the back brakes have squeaked going in reverse since purchase in November 2009.

- Cupertino, CA, USA

I have had a brief failure of the brakes on my 2010 Prius iv. I was driving in town coming back from the school where I teach. I slowed as I came up on another vehicle stopped at a stoplight. Although I had my foot on the brake, it did not start to brake for a couple of seconds. I narrowly avoided an accident.

- Galesburg, IL, USA

As I slow down in my 2010 Toyota Prius, if the car goes over any bumps, I feel an "acceleration" (actually a sudden stop in deceleration) as I am applying the brakes. I went to my Toyota dealer and they acknowledged that they'd heard of the issue, but denied it was a problem.

- Hyattsville, MD, USA

On several occasions, my 2010 Toyota Prius has lurched ahead after hitting a pothole, as described in the Feb. 4 New York times article. No contact or property damage has occurred.

- Valencia, PA, USA

I was coming up to an intersection with a stoplight. The light turned red. I was going over a manhole as I hit the brakes. My brakes did not work and in fact, my car lurched forward. I stepped hard on the brake and eventually stopped. Luckily, the car ahead of me was far enough away or I would have rear-ended it. Another incident happened a few days after a snowfall. The end of my street had some hard, packed snow that the plow left behind. As I came up to the stop sign, my brakes did not work and I ended up in the cross street. I was only going about 10-15 mph at the time that I braked. This incident happened in December 2009, the other in January 2010. Nothing has been done to correct or repair the car.

- Toms River, NJ, USA

I attempted to bring my 2010 Prius to a stop on a dirt road leading to an asphalt surface that was covered with a recent snowfall of about 2 inches. The brakes did not grab for about 3 seconds during which I attempted to pump the brakes. The car had 4 snow tires mounted on it which usually grab right away.

- Chester, NY, USA