2011 Toyota Prius

LOVE MY PRIUS UNTIL I STARTED TO BECOME SCARED DAILY BY THE UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS DUE TO THE CAR'S TENDENCY TO LURCH FORWARD WHILE BRAKING OVER BUMPY GROUND OR POTHOLES WHEN COMING TO A STOP OR SLOWING DOWN TO TURN. IT'S RATHER STARTLING AND FORTUNATELY HAS NOT CAUSED AN ACCIDENT YET FOR NO OTHER CAR HAS BEEN AROUND WHEN THIS HAPPENS. A DIFFERENT STORY WITH THE OTHER MORE SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM WHEN NEEDING TO COME TO AN IMMEDIATE STOP DUE TO SUDDEN STOPPING OF THE CAR IN FRONT. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, I EXPERIENCED THE "NO BRAKE" ISSUE WHEN SUDDENLY NEEDING TO PRESS HARD ON THE BRAKE FOR A STOPPED CAR IN FRONT OF ME. I HAD PLENTY OF DISTANCE FOR STOPPING BUT BECAUSE OF THE "NO BRAKE" ISSUE HAD TO STEER OFF TO THE SIDE TO MISS THE CAR. SHOCKED AND CONFUSED AT WHAT HAPPENED, THOUGHT MAYBE I DID SOMETHING WRONG BY NOT PUMPING THE BRAKE. THEN TWO DAYS AGO, I WAS SITTING AT A RED LIGHT WHEN IT TURNED GREEN, TRAFFIC STARTED MOVING BUT THEN SUDDENLY STOPPED FOR AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE TO GO THROUGH THE INTERCEPTION. I PRESSED ON THE BRAKE HARD AND JUST KEPT MOVING RIGHT INTO THE REAR OF THE TRUCK IN FRONT. I NOW HAVE ABOUT $1,800 OF DAMAGES FOR THE TRUCK (NO DAMAGE CAUSED TO IT) HAD AN HITCH WHICH PUNCTURED MY BUMPER AND BENT THE AIR CONDENSER. I HAVE DECIDED NOT TO FIX IT FOR IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. WHEN I DECIDE WHAT'S MY NEXT SAFE CAR TO PURCHASE, I WILL HAVE IT FIXED AND TRADE IT IN FOR IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR I'M NOW SCARED TO DRIVE IT. THE DEALERSHIP REPLY TO MY CONCERN IS THE SAME AS WITH EVERYONE ELSE'S COMPLAINT AND REVIEW I HAVE READ, THIS IS HOW THE BRAKE SYSTEM WORKS AND NO ERROR. THEY DO NOT WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OF THIS FAULTY BRAKE SYSTEM WHICH CREATES UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. FORTUNATELY IT WAS A TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME THIS TIME. BUT WHAT IF IT'S A PERSON WALKING ACROSS THE ROAD IN FRONT OF ME NEXT TIME?? *TR

IN JANUARY 2012, I PURCHASED A NEW 2011 PRIUS III BECAUSE I COMMUTE ROUGHLY 90 MILES PER DAY BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL. THINKING THIS WAS THE OPTIMAL VEHICLE I DIDN'T THINK TWICE WHEN SIGNING ON THE LINE. THIS WAS MY FIRST NEW VEHICLE, AND TO BE HONEST I HAD HEARD NOTHING BUT GREAT THINGS ABOUT TOYOTA & THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY WHEN I STARTED HAVING ISSUES WITH MY BRAKES. PRIOR TO OWNING THIS VEHICLE I OWN A SUBARU IMPREZA SPORT THAT WE HAD TRADED DUE TO POOR MAINTENANCE FROM THE DEALERSHIP, WHO DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO BALANCE THE AWD SYSTEM & PUT A HOLE IN MY BRAKE LINE. BEING THE MY PRIOR CAR HAD BRAKE ISSUES I DENIED THE FACT THAT MY BRAND NEW CAR COULD HAVE THEM AS WELL. THE ISSUE IS THAT ANYTIME YOU HIT ICE, POT HOLES, GRAVEL ROAD, WET ROADS, BUMPY ROADS ETC, YOU LOSE CONTROL OF THE BRAKES. IT FEELS AS IF THEY SLIP/ACCELERATE AND LEAVE YOU IN A MOMENT OF PANIC BECAUSE IT'S NOT ALWAYS A SITUATION YOU CAN AVOID. MY CAR HAS BEEN TO THE SHOP THREE TIMES OVER THE ISSUE WITH A COMPLAINT ON MY BRAKING SYSTEM, AND APPARENTLY THIS IS A VERY KNOWN PROBLEM FROM TOYOTA. IT TOOK MY DEALERSHIP 3 COMPLAINTS BEFORE THEY CONSULTED THEIR PRIUS TECH, AND BASICALLY PRINTED OFF A PAPER WITH EVERY COMPLAINT I LISTED ABOVE WITH NO SOLUTION. THEY TOLD US TO CALL THE TOYOTA CARE NUMBER, WHICH HAS BEEN A PROBLEM IN ITSELF. WHEN MY FATHER SPOKE TO THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE ON WEDNESDAY THEY SAID THEY HAD TO ALLOW THEM THREE DAYS TO ILLICIT A RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT. KEEP I'M MIND THAT THE THREE DAYS FALLS ONTO A SATURDAY, AND THEY THEREFORE WON'T OWE US A RESPONSE UNTIL MONDAY, QUITE FRANKLY THEY WON'T HAVE A SOLUTION TO THIS ISSUE, AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO LET THEIR CONSUMERS DRIVE AROUND WITH BRAKE ISSUES THAT HAVE PUT NOT ONLY ME BUT OTHERS AS WELL INTO NUMEROUS DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATIONS.

WHILE DRIVING AT A SLOW SPEED, THE TRACTION CONTROL, BRAKE AND ABS FAILURE LIGHTS CAME ON. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO STOP THE VEHICLE, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT ACTUATING THE ABS SYSTEM. I WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE USING THE SERVICE BRAKES. SINCE I WAS TRAVELING AT A LOW SPEED, I WAS ABLE TO SLOW DOWN AND COME TO A FULL STOP USING THE PARKING BRAKE. NOW THE VEHICLE IS PARKED AND UNDRIVEABLE. I CONTACTED MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER REQUESTING SERVICE AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE A BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER OR HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER IN STOCK. I CHECKED A SECOND DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT YOU CAN ONLY GET THE TWO UNITS TOGETHER AND THAT THEY WERE ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER WITH NO ETA. SINCE PURCHASE, I HAVE EXPERIENCED THE ISSUE THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE REPORTING WHERE THE BRAKES RELEASE OVER ROUGH ROAD SURFACES AND THE VEHICLE FEELS AS IF ITS ACCELERATING. IF YOU RELEASE AND REAPPLY THE BRAKES IT WOULD STOP. LIKE OTHERS, I DISMISSED THIS AS A PECULIAR DYNAMIC OF THE VEHICLE, HOWEVER I AM NOW CONVINCED THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS DESIGN FLAW IN THIS BRAKING SYSTEM WHICH REQUIRES A DEEPER INVESTIGATION. I HAVE BEEN IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND I CAN ATTEST THAT IT IS NOT NORMAL TO HAVE A TOTAL LOSS OF YOUR BRAKING SYSTEM LIKE THIS, ESPECIALLY IN A WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE THAT IS RELATIVELY NEW AND HAVE LOW MILEAGE. THIS VEHICLE IS NOW PARKED AND AVAILABLE FOR YOUR INSPECTION IF NEEDED. *TR

VEHICLE LOSES BRAKING FUNCTION WHILE TRAVELING OVER POTHOLES, RECESSED MANHOLE COVERS, AND ALL OTHER TYPES OF ROUGH ROAD SURFACES. BRAKING FUNCTION IS DELAYED AND DOES NOT RETURN TO PREVIOUS POWER/BRAKING STRENGTH AFTER TRAVERSING THE OBSTACLE; THIS RESULTS IN THE NEED TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL FURTHER TO RE-ENGAGE ENOUGH BRAKING FUNCTION TO STOP THE VEHICLE SAFELY. SERIOUS CONCERN IS THAT IF THE VEHICLE IS UNDER HARD BRAKING AT THE TIME OF THE EVENT WILL THERE BE ENOUGH TRAVEL LEFT IN THE BRAKE PEDAL TO REENGAGE THE BRAKES ENOUGH TO STOP. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS REGULARLY, ONE OR MORE TIMES PER MONTH, SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR. UP UNTIL NOW MOST OCCURRENCES HAVE BEEN JUST A MINOR ANNOYANCE. I RESEARCHED THE PHENOMENON ON THE WEB AND MANY JUST WRITE IT OFF AS A NUISANCE / MINOR QUIRK OF THE VEHICLE SO I ACCEPTED THAT OPINION AND CONTINUED ON ENJOYING THE CAR. THAT IS UNTIL MAY 21, 2013 WHEN UNDER HARD BRAKING (30-35MPH DRIVING SPEED THEN HEAVY BRAKING TO 0MPH) THE VEHICLE TRAVELED OVER A RECESSED MANHOLE COVER AND IT FELT LIKE IT FULLY LOST ALL OF ITS BRAKING POWER AND NEARLY SENT ME INTO THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE STOPPING HARD AHEAD OF ME. I HAD TO FLOOR THE BRAKES BEFORE I FELT ANY BRAKING POWER RETURN AFTER THE BUMP. THIS ISSUE WILL LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY. PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON IT. *TR

I HAVE EXPERIENCED BRAKE ISSUES WITH MY 2011 PRIUS MODEL SINCE I LEASED THE CAR IN DECEMBER 2011. WHEN I AM TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS AND I TRY TO BREAK GOING DOWN HILL AND /OR BREAK OVER A BUMP IN THE ROAD, THE CAR ACCELERATES PRIOR TO FULLY STOPPING. THIS HAS HAPPENED A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES SINCE I LEASED THE VEHICLE. IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHILE I TRAVEL AT LOWER SPEEDS AND THE CAR LURCHES FORWARD AS I HIT THE BREAKS. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT WAS EXPERIENCED WITH 2010 MODELS OF THE PRIUS AND APPEARS TO BE ANOTHER ACCELERATION ISSUE WITH TOYOTA MODELS IN GENERAL. WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN RECALLS ON THE 2011 PRIUS FOR DEFICIENT AIRBAGS, THIS IS AN EQUALLY CONCERNING FAULT IN THE CAR THAT SHOULD BE REVIEWED. *TR

CAR WAS OFF AND PARKED. WHEN I ENTERED THE VEHICLE TO TURN THE CAR ON, I HELD THE BRAKE AND PRESSED THE POWER BUTTON IN ORDER TO START THE CAR. AND WITH MY FOOT STILL ON THE BRAKE, I SHIFTED THE CAR INTO REVERSE TO PULL OUT OF THE PARKING SPOT. AS SOON AS THE CAR WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE, THE CAR MOVED BACKWARDS WITH MY FOOT FULLY PRESSED ON THE BRAKE. THE CAR FELT LIKE THE BRAKES WERE NOT ENGAGED. I LOOKED DOWN TO MAKE SURE I WAS PRESSING ON THE BRAKE, AND THE BRAKE WAS COMPLETELY DEPRESSED. I COULD EVEN FEEL THE HILL ASSIST THRESHOLD BUT THE BRAKES WERE NOT ENGAGING. IN A PANIC I PRESSED THE "P" (PARK) BUTTON TO TRY TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE ROCKED BACK AND FORTH AS IF THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION WHEN THE "P" BUTTON WAS PRESSED. I GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE TO SEE IF I WAS ON A POTHOLE OR HILL, ANYTHING TO EXPLAIN THE MOVE, BUT NOTHING WAS THERE, COMPLETELY FLAT ROAD. THIS HAS HAPPEN QUITE A FEW TIMES WHEN AT A PARK AND I HAD TO CONTACT CDSP OVER ELECTRONIC ISSUES OVER THIS VEHICLE. I AM NO LONGER GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THIS VEHICLE. *TR