Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||||
| TSB-0087-12 | 06/13/2012 | 10045140 | Toyota: accelerator pedal sensor assembly information regarding the inspection, removal, and installation, if lubrication or oil, is applied. *pe | 08/21/2012 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 09/01/2009 | 70000 | 2 | |
| On two occasions, i experienced unintended acceleration in my 2001 toyota prius. the first time it happened, it happened i thought i might have pressed the accelerator by mistake. i had to slam on the brakes to stop the car. i didn't believe anyone would believe my story because of the audi 5000 incidents. then it happened again. then toyota began its recalls. *tr | |||
| 02/10/2010 | 172000 | 1 | |
| Driving my 2001 prius down rt 95 in ct. suddenly lost power. i was able to drive - electric drive only, no gas power. i made to the exit in wesport and found a toyota dealership open. the diagnosis, via codes, was failed accelerator pedal. resetting the computer and restarting the car a few times allowed it to work enough for me to get home. i have still not repaired the accelerator. lately this problem happens nearly every time i start the car...the engine stalls immediately or loses power down the road. restarting 2 or 3 times fixes the problem most of the time. my research has shown that this problem is common, and called big hand syndrome among 1st generation prius owners, and accelerator pedal repair is the common fix. i believe the 2001-2003 prius should be included in the toyota accelerator pedal recall. *tr | |||
| 04/15/2008 | 137700 | 1 | |
| While driving along on interstate, got warning triangle and low main battery information. immediately, car began to speed-up on its own. i applied very hard braking to try and slow down while trying to move to the right lane with traffic on my right. car did not slow down but i managed to avoid traffic and get onto the right lane, where there was an exit from the interstate. i made the exit and was able to get control of the acceleration. i then drove the rough running car to the my dealer off that exit. they replaced the main battery, and everything is now fine. i feel that i was very lucky that nobody got hurt! *tr | |||
| 01/10/2010 | 1 | ||
| I saw that the japanese government is making toyota look into the following complaint in newer model priuses. the vehicle surged forward or temporarily lost braking after driving over a pothole or other uneven surface. this is a reoccuring problem. my 2001 prius has this problem all the time. in addition the car had the hybrid batteries catch on fire , the catalytic converter fail, the ecu for the brakes fail, the power steering fail, the brake pump leak, the computer fail (which caused the car to improperly shift gears). these issues were all fixed for free by toyota except the ecu for the brakes and the brake pump which were fixed, but at my expense. no injuries occured. *tr | |||
| 09/09/2006 | 42000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. while driving between 65-70 mph, the vehicle did not respond when the accelerator pedal was depressed. all of the instrument panel indicators illuminated and the engine suddenly stalled. the vehicle coasted to the side of the road and the engine failed to restart. while the gear shifter was placed in park, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly and crashed into a guardrail. the driver sustained a whiplash and a police report was filed. the vehicle sustained severe damage and was towed to an authorized dealer. the vehicle was repaired for body structure damages. the technician performed diagnostic tests, but was unable to duplicate the failures. the vehicle was taken back to the authorized dealer on five separate occasions for identical failures, but there were no resolutions. the failure mileage was 42,000 and current mileage was 68,000. | |||
| 10/08/2005 | 60500 | 1 | |
| 2001 toyota prius: accelerator sensor failure for several weeks leading up to the failure, there was a slight (but definite) sensation of deceleration when trying to maintain steady speed. at the time of failure, the vehicle hesitated/stalled and the master warning light came on. local dealer (355 toyota, rockville, md) replaced the part at a cost of $700.00. should a part this expensive (and so critical to vehicle function) be failing at 4 years? *nm | |||
| 07/25/2005 | 74000 | 4 | 03/13/2001 |
| Dt: vehicle stalled/died, and lost power while driving 5 mph. throttle body module failed. there was a nhtsa recall but this involved a chemical in the pruis car battery.*ak l. yes. car has broke down several times since. the stalling is still a problem. | |||
| 05/13/2005 | 2 | 10/27/2004 | |
| Going at highway speed, car suddenly lost power, slowed down to a max. speed of 37 mph, running mostly on electrical power. master warning light (triangle with excalmation point) lit up. gas engine would periodically start up, but was not responding to accellerator pedal. after pulling over and shutting down vehicle, i was able to restart and continue normally. | |||
| 11/15/2003 | 37700 | 11/15/2001 | |
| Problems started in november 2003. had oil changed and an hour later all the warning lights came on in the vehicle. immediately returned to the dealership where it took 2 weeks to replace the fuel pump (37,000 miles). since then the car has been back to the dealership an additional 9 times to the current date (may 2005) for several different things. the computer has been replaced two times. the engine has been replaced. the injectors cleaned, then a few months later had to be completely replaced. the throttle body has been replaced. i have been driving the car when it would not acelerate and had to pull over in traffic. the first time the dealership said there were no warning lights when the car got to the dealership and they could not recreate the codes or situation so they could not do anything. the second time (april 2005) all four injectors were replaced as well as the mass air flow system. the car has been in the service department at our toyota dealership for a total of 17 times since the car arrived at approximately 180 days!!! 10 of those 17 times has been because the warning lights have come on. have entered into arbitration and we are awaiting an answer on the decision. | |||
| 03/10/2004 | 45000 | 1 | 01/16/2001 |
| 2001 toyota prius-sudden drop in speed-could not exceed 17 mph. dangerous in traffic toyota replaced computer-old parts not available incident date is approximate-took 2 1/2 months to repair | |||
| 07/21/2003 | 2 | ||
| A reader of the san diego union-trib wheels section responded to an article regarding unexpected acceleration from electronic throttles and the editor forwarded the letter to nhtsa.***no answer required***. *mr while parking in a diagonal parking space the consumer's vehicle accelerated suddenly across a sidewalk and hit an electric box. this sudden acceleration problem happened again while the consumer was parking. that time not accident occurred. *bf *nm | |||
| 09/10/2003 | 60189 | 08/02/2001 | |
| I own a 2001 toyota prius. several times in the last few months i have experienced a loss of power combined with my dash warning lights. i had one similar incident last year. the dealership claims their diagnostics find no problem (no codes = no problem). therefore nothing is resolved and the car remains prone to loss of power, a dangerous condition when traveling on any freeway. by looking at the chat boards (yahoo in particular) it's evedint ai am not an isolated case. i believe toyota has an obligation to address and correct this issue. thank you for your time. richard torok | |||
| 01/01/2002 | 1 | ||
| The consumer states that the vehicle had gone out of control. the consumer was coasting into the driveway, when she placed her foot on the brake, the vehicle surged into the garage and damaged items. the consumer no longer wants the vehicle because she feels unsafe. the consumer said that toyota didn't want to except responsibilty, even though the service manager did report that the gas engine surge could occur in order to charge the battery. *scc *dt | |||
| 08/12/2001 | 1 | 07/01/2001 | |
| At 45mph on dry pavement, clear weather conditions i disengaged cruise control by tapping brakes. so that i could accelerate into traffic. the vehicle pulled hard to the left. i then found myself in a counterclockwise skid across the pavement as i left the pavement i felt the rear of the vehicle drop. now spinning i bounced off a tree and into a drainage ditch with about 1 and 1/2 foot of mud and water. it was then i noticed that one of the wheels (left rear) had separated from the vehicle and was on the other side of the ditch. it all happened so fast i have no idea of the actual cause. the studs which hold the wheel to the axel shearedoff, ans axle snapped, the undercarrage and supports were tangled. fhp officer at site indicated it could have been mechanical malfunction of some sort. because of conditions i contacted toyota as well as insurance co (progressive). no one has yet evaluated the cause. toyotas first comment was what do you expect from an investigation my answerwas to prevent a similar event in the future. as i related the event to every one i also noted that the steering didnot let me correct the skid. the vehicle is currently held in limbo by insurance and toyota. while i am walking. all safety equipment functioned properly.*ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||
| 05/01/2001 | 2000 | 2 | 03/22/2001 |
| We had a toyota prius hybrid gas/electric car the first that came into the usa. the car would reach a certain mileage and the computer which controlled everything in the car would go bad. we would get a few miles from home and the car would not work. it would shut off. we would have to sit for a few minutes and than the car would only go 35 miles an hour or less and we would have to turn around and go home. on one trip to california, when we got to colorado the screen said the go to a service dealer. we had to spend the night in northglenn colorado and went to the dealer . we had to take the car into the dealer so many times. they would replace the computer and all the parts, even the gas tank. the car would also lock you inside and you could not get out. the computer and the electrical system in of this model are all bad. they reach a certain mileage and bad. they were doing all the recalls from our car. they promised us a new prius signature toyota in benton harbor mi, and never got it. finally in 2005 they said they would trade our prius car for another car corolla, but they charged us $8,000.00 more. please help us get our money back. no lawyer will take it since comes from japan. we had tried everything and could get no help. wrote toyota and never got them to reply to us. tried their mediation and they held the papers until the time ran out than sent us a paper saying not valid any more. help us get our money back. let people know that prius cars are bad. do not buy. *tr the consumer also stated the gas pedal would become stuck at times, which caused the vehicle to increase in speed. updated 04/27/10 | |||
| 04/05/2007 | 3 | ||
| Several times when the accelerator was pressed and the car slowed down the check engine light came on. vehicle will drive normally for awhile, but problem seemed to occur at least once every 1-2 years. the last time, i spent $900 to replace an accelerator sensor. this time, the dealership stated i needed to replace the ecm, and the catalytic converter for a total charge of $3500. there were no generic catalytic converters, the one to be used was $1700. also, had been several incidents where there had been issues following an oil change where the dealer said that oil was where it shouldn't be.*ak | |||
| 08/11/2006 | 50226 | 1 | 08/09/2000 |
| Experience: driving a 2001 toyota prius between 60 and 65 mph on i-494 in eagan minnesota. the sensor on the vehicle's accelerator pedal assembly failed i.e. the ability to get gas to the engine stopped. the car was towed to an authorized repair dealer and the part, which failed, was replaced. my complaint has two parts: (1) toyota does not recognize a critical part like the sensor on the accelerator pedal assembly as a part of major significance. i believe it is major safety issue and must be corrected by toyota. i was told by toyota's customer assistance center the part was not defective and it failed because normal use. i am appalled to learn that a 6 year old car with 50,226 miles is equipped with accelerator unit which can fail when the average use is 8,371 miles per year. i am also amazed the customer service center is not interested in looking at this performance as a major defect. they told me they had no record of other incidents with this part. yet when i talked to the prius service team supervisor at two different dealerships, i was informed by each one they had replaced 4 to 5 of them. if my small survey revealed that number i can only guess what a nationwide survey would reveal. 2) in response to my asking toyota to reimburse me for the $810.41 bill their response was i should submit my request for reimbursement to my insurance company or to the firm which owns the car. clearly, a situation of shifting the responsibility of making quality oem parts to a third party to absorb the cost and ignoring the major safety implications created when the accelerator stops functioning in a vehicle driven less than the average car. *jb | |||
| 09/24/2005 | 45385 | 2 | 03/19/2001 |
| (1) normal driving, no abnormalities whatsoever (2) at freeway speed, in busy traffic, without warning: the car lost all motive power (neither gas nor electric working); the hybrid system warning icon displayed on the multi-function display. luckily, in both instances, we were able to move to the shoulder while decelerating. after coming to a complete stop, we referred to the owner's manual which suggested turning the ignition key completely off and then attempting a restart. in both cases the car started up again and was drivable (although in the first case the warning icon remained displayed for approximately 10 miles). (3) took car to toyota dealer who verified failure code(s) stored in onboard memory; dealer replaced accelerator pedal/position sensor assembly. *jb | |||
| 06/13/2005 | 2 | 08/01/2001 | |
| Dt: contact states while driving the vehicle stopped. the accelerator pedal was replaced. *ak *jb | |||
| 05/15/2005 | 55000 | 15 | 02/28/2003 |
| I own a 2001 toyota prius. several times in the last few months i have experienced a loss of power combined with my dash warning lights. i had one similar incident last year. the dealership claims their diagnostics find no problem (no codes = no problem). therefore nothing is resolved and the car remains prone to loss of power, a dangerous condition when traveling on any freeway. | |||
| 02/14/2004 | 44395 | 1 | 05/05/2001 |
| The 2001 toyota prius has a faulty accelerator pedal and should be covered under the 8-year hybrid system warranty. not only are there safety issues with this problem (e.g. sudden loss of acceleration that could cause accidents, incorrect communication between the accelerator and the hybrid system, etc.) but there is a lack on toyota's part to admit that the accelerator is a critical component of the hybrid system. when the accelerator fails, it causes the check hybrid system light to appear on the dashboard and can make the car dangerously unresponsive (especially on the freeway). the hybrid system is expecting information from the accelerator, and when it doesn't receive it, either the gas engine, or the electric engine, or both engines fail to operate. even though two toyota dealers (stevens creek toyota and capitol toyota) agree that this is a serious safety issue, both claim that this repair is not covered under the 8-year hybrid system warranty. however, if this accelerator problem is not directly related, then why does the warning light come on when the accelerator sensor fails? also, why did the dealer who performed the $654.52 repair tell me that the complete accelerator assembly part had just been recently revised by toyota? (i might add that an independent electrical engineer analyzed the part and concluded that the accelerator has an mtbf of 1500 hours. he concluded that every prius owner would be subject to this same hazardous problem several times during the lifetime of the car!!) i have substantial evidence from other prius owners who are experiencing the same problems and would be happy to share this information with your investigation team. in my opinion, these problems are serious enough to merit consideration for either a recall or a revision of toyota's hybrid system warranty policies. i appreciate any assistance you can provide me in this matter and i hope that together we can prevent needless deaths from this unsafe accelerator. *ak | |||