10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 4
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 52,677 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Since I bought my 2010 Prius I've experienced problems with the brakes. The car experiences a sudden surge of power when going over bumps or hitting potholes if the brakes are being applied at the time. This happens at any speed at any time of day, only when the brakes are being applied lightly. This problem occurs several times a week, always when hitting bumps, potholes or uneven pavement. It always is a sudden, very brief surge of power, sometimes enough to push me back into the seat. So far there have been no consequences other than very frayed nerves. I've reported this to my dealer who responded that the car was a new technology and I simply didn't know how to drive it properly. I learned in subsequent conversations directly with the mechanic that others had complained about this problem but they had no idea what was causing it. To date, the dealer has done nothing about it. The only thing that fixes the problem is to brake further from a stop or to roll over bumps before braking. I'm very concerned about a situation where I need to brake suddenly but the car surges, possibly causing a crash.
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
When breaking my 2010 Toyota Prius, if I go over a bump or pot hole, it feels like the brakes cut out and my car jolts forwards. It seems to happen only when I go over a bump or something that would shake the car a bit. Nothing has been done as of yet to correct the problem. Tw*
- West Deptford, NJ, USA
I have a 2010 Prius. When I go over small bumps while breaking, the brakes stop working and the car accelerates for a bit. Disconcerting.
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
After pushing the power button and then shifting out of park to either drive or reverse, the vehicle lunges and I have to apply the brake, which makes the vehicle jerk. Sometimes the gasoline engine starts before I shift into gear sometimes it doesn't. this process is repeated over several times for a minute or so, then it corrects itself. I am just inching along lunging, braking, jerking... this has occurred about ten times over the eight weeks and 2540 miles since purchased August ll, 2009. Took to dealer, on Sept. 29, 2009; they kept it for about 2 hours, could not duplicate and said all systems checked out ok. At that time the problem had occurred about six times. Since that date, this continues to happen intermittently. This has happened only when in my own drive or in parking lots. I am fearful that it could happen on the road and cause an accident and injury to myself and/or others. The dealer and Toyota case manager say that they must be able to duplicate the problem before anything can be done to correct it. Since it happens only on occasion, it will be difficult to duplicate.
- Young Harris, GA, USA
- San Diego, CA, USA