Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 07/31/2012 | 286000 | 1 | |
| The rear axle seals repeatedly fail on this vehicle, i'm now having to make a fourth costly replacement of both the rear axle seal and contaminated brake shoes. for the fourth time the rear axle seal has failed which leaks brake fluid onto rear brake shoes, resulting in severe reduction of rear braking power. also, as a result the front brakes are placed under undue pressure and warping of front brake rotors occurs which must also be addressed. while i have previously filed complaints over this same issue since 2005 with both toyota and the nhtsb, there has been no recall initiated. the last time my rear axle seals were replaced was less than 20,000 miles ago. this vehicle only sees normal wear and usage. i am not the only complaint as many others have experienced the same issue based on toyota forum discussions and a search of nhtsb complaint filings. toyota customer service center again refused to assist me in any way with todays complaint filing on 7/31/12. *tr | |||
| 07/31/2012 | 286000 | ||
| The rear axle seals repeatedly fail on this vehicle, i'm now having to make a fourth costly replacement of both the rear axle seal and contaminated brake shoes. for the fourth time the rear axle seal has failed which leaks brake fluid onto rear brake shoes, resulting in severe reduction of rear braking power. also, as a result the front brakes are placed under undue pressure and warping of front brake rotors occurs which must also be addressed. while i have previously filed complaints over this same issue since 2005 with both toyota and the nhtsb, there has been no recall initiated. the last time my rear axle seals were replaced was less than 20,000 miles ago. this vehcile only sees normal wear and usage. i am not the only complaint as many others have experienced the same issue based on toyota forum discussions and a search of nhtsb complaint filings. toyota customer service center again refused to assist me in any way with todays complaint filing on 7/31/12. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 10/27/2011 | |||
| Full blown frame rust mechanic states is 100% invasive affecting steering, alignment, braking, and checking of differential and rear-end fluids due to seized components. frame is totally compromised, needs to be recalled and rectified. | |||
| 07/07/2008 | 132000 | 1 | |
| #1 starter stuck twice-even removed key and engine kept cranking. #2 fuel guage reaes full when empty and vise versa. #3 p0171 engine code keeps throwing #4 brakes fade when applied hard. have replaced pads and rotors and still fade. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 01/28/2010 | 2 | ||
| I have a 1999 toyota 4runner that has the same problem with the abs as is being reported for the 2010 prius, only worse. when the abs kicks in on slick or uneven surfaces, the vehicle goes into a freely-floating mode for 5+ seconds. there is no braking capacity at all during that time and steering is difficult. the vehicle is completely out of control during that time. i have had multiple near-misses which would have resulted in serious harm to myself and others and a few incidences where i ended up running off the road (once into a ravine) or hitting median strips w/o involving other vehicles. i took my vehicle to the toyota dealer twice about this issue. once i was told i was nuts, that the abs couldn't possibly behave that way; and the other time i was told that, oh yeah, that's how abs works. no examination or correction was offered. my strategy has been to always touch the brakes so gently that abs doesn't kick in, but this winters snowy weather has defeated this plan. whenever i brake on a slick, snowy surface the abs kicks in no matter how gently i touch the brakes. last week, i had an extremely harrowing close call when my vehicle went careening out of control into an intersection when another vehicle was passing through it. this was on a side street when i was moving very slowly and had begun the gentle braking at least 30' before the intersection... but the abs kicked in, and i could not stop before sliding into the intersection. (for the required field asking for the incident date, i'll give the date of this most recent near-miss, but there have been many incidents over the years.) *jb | |||