Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL | |||
| 03/02/2013 | 87000 | ||
| The problem has occurred whenever the donut tire is being used on the vehicle as a temporary replacement for a flat tire - this has occurred on both the two occasions that in which i have had to used them both times on the front tires, once on the left tire and the second occasion, most recent on the left. apparently, the donut tire because of its smaller diameter causes the car's slip differential system to activate (surmised by the icon i see on the dash when this occurs), often for periods of half the driving time - what then happens is that there is a total loss of engine power to the drive chain, the car cannot accelerate or even maintain speed - it essentially coasts or slows. this occurs even when/if the accelerator pedal is depressed to try to feed power to the wheels - the engine is unresponsive. intermittently, the power is restored, and then the cycle begins again. although i have not had an accident due to this loss of vehicle control, i consider myself lucky not to have. use of a donut tire is the only option open to temporarily replacing a flat tire. i think that this system's response to use of the donut tire (which is manufacturer's supplied) is a defect that is dangerous. a driver must be able to maintain and control vehicle speed to prevent and/or remedy a dangerous situation. sincerely, barrett ripin | |||
| 02/21/2013 | |||
| My car will not turn off. after my dash went black my key will not release and my car will not turn off . this is a big safety issue and needs to be resolved asap! | |||
| 12/01/2010 | 32500 | ||
| Dashboard red lights when vehicle starts with: brake failure , abs warning and stability warning. first time it was immediately taken to dealer who could find no problem and reset codes. four days later same warning lights came on and was taken to dealer again. were told hydraulic brake system was ok but brake actuator needed replacement at $2600. could be driven but without abs and stability capabilty. have not corrected this due to high price. shopping around at salvage yards. | |||
| 08/12/2008 | 14107 | 1 | |
| Just completed a left turn behind another vehicle. the other vehicle then slowed to make an immediate left turn into a gas station across the road. i was gently applying the brakes to keep my following distance (10ft, traveling about 8mph). the other car suddenly applied the brakes harder to turn, when i pressed harder there was no reaction until i hit the other car, at which point the brakes engaged and i stopped. *tr | |||
| 07/04/2009 | 51400 | 1 | |
| Approximately 7 months ago my 2007 toyota prius began accelerating during use of the cruise control. i reported the problem to the dealership who said they have no fix for it. i can't use the cruise control in my car for fear the car will not stop accelerating. *tr | |||
| 10/28/2009 | 39050 | 1 | |
| I read about the recall of the 2010 prius concerning the abs software. my 2007 prius experienced the same problems recently when i ran over a curb at low speed and the car lurched forward at high speed after i applied the brakes and i hit a wall about 5 feet away. damage to my car was a cracked bumper, slightly dented hood, cracked head light. i used to get 50 to 60 miles per gallon and i can not get over 41 miles per gallon now. i bought new tires and had them balanced and aligned but the mileage had not improved. damages to the exterior of the car will amount to about 2 to 3 thousand dollars. my toyota dealer says that my 2007 model is not part of the recall. i have read blogs where people with my model toyota have had similar experiences. i believe that the abs software is faulty in more than the 2010 priuses. *tr | |||
| 02/10/2010 | 100 | 1 | |
| This is not one incident, it happens whenever the road is slick (rain, or even sprinkler runoff!) or if i drive over a pothole--the power to the wheels is cut and the engine feels like it is going to stall. it is extremely difficult and nervewracking to drive while it is raining. the most dangerous times that this happens is when i am at a signal, making a right turn i need power to the engine to merge into traffic, and make sure that oncoming traffic is not interrupted. there have been times that i feel like my car won't go or hesitates when i need it to go! and if it's this bad in wet conditions, i would never even consider driving the prius in snowy conditions. i have read that this is all due to a problem in the traction control system. very unsafe!! *tr | |||
| 02/09/2010 | 45000 | 1 | |
| Car did not stop and seemed to accelerate when brakes hit during turn into driveway. hit curb. lost steering control and car had to be towed because of significant damages to wheel and also possibly steering. snowy road. i was already driving very slowly. no reason why this much damage to my car or this level of impact unless car suddenly accelerated beyond my current speed while i braked. car seems to accelerate on slippery, uneven surfaces and evs light comes on, even when brakes applied. acceleration is beyond that seen with normal slippage. it is not simply slippage but actual brief acceleration. *tr | |||
| 02/02/2010 | 29997 | 1 | |
| I have a 2007 prius the following has occurred any time driving over rough patches of road or over rr tracks: the car loses traction and power for a sort time until smooth pavement returns. the vsc lamp on the dash shows up when this happens. i shudder to think what would occur on a rough mountain road or in wet weather. this type of event sounds very much like what's being reported by the drivers of the 2010 prius. in 47 years of driving i've never had a car react in this way. i've compensated by driving cautiously and wait for traction to return but it doesn't feel quite right when it happens. *jb | |||
| 12/16/2009 | 1 | ||
| This description is of an occurrence which may be a the result of a flaw. upon light pressure on the brake pedal, while proceeding over areas with suspect traction, vehicle seems to lose all braking for a small but un-nerving moment. it is as though the abs is fighting the regenerative braking of the hybrid drive. *tr | |||
| 01/18/2010 | 60000 | 1 | |
| 2007 toyota prius breaks fail to work for a split second when the car hits a bump and brakes are applied. with the car slowing down and the brakes are applied, if i hit a bump, the brakes will stop slowing the car for about 0.5 seconds and the low traction light will blink. *tr | |||
| 12/10/2009 | 28752 | 1 | |
| Traction control on the toyota prius does not work properly. when traction is lost on a wheel, instead of transferring power to the other wheel, the traction control system completely disables power to both wheels for approximately 1/2 second. this is dangerous if you are trying to merge into traffic at an intersection and the road surface is anything other than dry asphalt or concrete. fyi -tire condition is not a variable as the vehicle contains 4 winter tires with less than 200 miles of use. the tires are inflated per the recommendations on the door placard. *tr | |||
| 02/20/2008 | 20000 | 1 | |
| I have a toyota prius 2007 that has trac ( traction control) . it has caused me to slide off the road and lose control on any slick surface. i have a patient who just totaled her prius on an icy road and she had been having the same problems with loss of traction due to trac. *tr | |||
| 03/02/2009 | 31000 | 1 | |
| I was almost smashed by a snowplow today because my 2007 toyota prius' trac traction control removed all power from the front wheels thus bringing me to a dead stop in a busy intersection. this occurred on snow/ice. there is no excuse for losing power to the wheels even if they are spinning. the vehicle sensed that one wheel had spun and proceeded to progressively shut down power to the front wheels. i nearly wet my pants when this happened in front of an on-coming vdot snowplow. this was a near crash/death/injury incident. it happened over and over again all day. i search the internet later about it and found this: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/prius_winter.html toyota's response is at the bottom of the article. i think they are downplaying a bigger issue. a simple search on the internet and you can find story after story just like mine. toyota needs to fix this.*tr | |||