On December 18, 2009 at 4:40 pm in the still-light late afternoon we struck a deer in the road with our 2010 Toyota Prius. The car was less than one month old and still on its first tank of gas. We have lived in a semi-rural area of New Jersey for over 30 years. Deer in the road is a frequent occurrence here. But in 30 years, though we have had countless sudden collision-avoidance stops in other cars including our 2007 Prius, we have never had an accident. On December 18, traveling at approximately 35 mph on dry, but aged asphalt we observed a deer entering the road. To avoid a collision, the brakes were jammed on. But this time the braking event seemed to occur in slow motion. It was the first sudden stop required of this new car. Eventually the ABS system engaged and the car came to a stop, but only after striking the deer with such force that the car sustained $2500 worth of front end damage. Lights, the bumper and front panels needed to be replaced. The airbags did not deploy. Police and insurance reports were filed. Toyota has recently acknowledged a software-based delay of one second in transferring braking from the electronic regenerative system to the hydraulic brakes. At 35 mph, that is an extra 51 feet traveled in that one second before the hydraulic brakes engage. That 51 feet would have provided more than enough distance to avoid the collision. Until this unsafe condition is resolved, we have taken our 2010 Prius off the road.

- Gillette, NJ, USA