2015 Toyota Prius

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW IN 2025 AND I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING BRAKE FAILURE ISSUES EVERY TIME I ATTEMPTED TO BRAKE OVER EITHER A POTHOLE, A SLICK SURFACE LIKE A METAL SHEET AT ROAD CONSTRUCTION OR WET ROADS THE BRAKE WOULD FAIL. ALL THE RED WARNING SIGNS WOULD COME ON IN THE DASHBOARD AND THE BRAKES WOULD MAKE THAT LOUD HORRIBLE NOISE. I LOVE MY PRIUS, I DON'T WANT TO GET RID OF IT. I WAS HOPING TOYOTA MOTORS WOULD HAVE A FIXED FOR THE BRAKING SYSTEM BY NOW AS THIS IS VERY UNSAFE SPECIALLY INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS. MY GOAL IS TO PASS THIS CAR TO MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER WHEN SHE GOES TO COLLEGE IN 2021, BUT THIS MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE IF TOYOTA DOESN'T TO UP WITH A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM.

THE BRAKES ON MY 2015 PRIUS TOTALLY FAILED AND I HAD TO SWERVE TO AVOID CRASHING INTO THE CAR STOPPED IN FRONT OF ME. I'VE BEEN DRIVING FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS AND HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS. IT WAS TERRIFYING. TO WIT: I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 20 M.P.H. ON CITY STREETS IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, IN APRIL 2019. AS I DROVE OVER A BRIDGE, TRAFFIC WAS COMING TO A STOP AT A RED LIGHT 200 YARDS IN FRONT OF ME. I DROVE OVER A NARROW METAL PLATE--THERE ARE SEVERAL ON THE BRIDGE--AND HIT THE BRAKES, BUT MY CAR DIDN'T SLOW. A WARNING LIGHT FLASHED--A STABILITY CONTROL LIGHT, I BELIEVE, DUE TO THE METAL PLATE. I PRESSED THE BRAKES TO THE FLOOR AS MY CAR ROLLED DOWNHILL ON PAVEMENT. MY CAR DID NOT SLOW AT ALL. I LOOKED IN THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR AND SAW THAT THE LANE TO MY LEFT WAS CLEAR, SO I SWERVED INTO IT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKES. THE CAR SLOWLY CAME TO A STOP WELL BEYOND WHERE I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HAD MY BRAKES WORKED PROPERLY. THE INCIDENT WAS SO TERRIFYING THAT I HAD TO PULL OVER TO COLLECT MYSELF. MY BRAKES WORKED PROPERLY AFTER THAT. A FEW DAYS LATER, I TOOK MY CAR TO PENSKE TOYOTA IN DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA, WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR, AND TOLD A SERVICE AGENT WHAT HAPPENED. I ASKED HIM TO FIX THE PROBLEM. AFTER SERVICE TECHNICIANS INSPECTED THE BRAKES THAT DAY, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKES APPEARED TO BE FINE AND, BARRING A RECALL, NOTHING COULD BE DONE. I'VE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR SINCE THEN, BUT I'VE WORRIED THAT THE BRAKES COULD FAIL AGAIN. THEN I SAW THE JAN. 3, 2020 ARTICLE BELOW. AS A RESULT, I'VE RENTED A CAR AND HAVE STOPPED DRIVING MY PRIUS. THIS IS A TERRIFYING, LIFE-THREATENING PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED NOW. HTTPS://WWW.DAILYNEWS.COM/2020/01/03/A-SOUTHERN-CALIFORNIA-TOYOTA-DEALER-WANTS-THE-CAR-GIANT-TO-FIX-AN-ALLEGED-BRAKE-DEFECT-BEFORE-PUTTING-LIVES-AT-STAKE/ P.S. I'M NOT SURE OF THE EXACT DATE THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED. DATE BELOW IS MY BEST ESTIMATE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE THE CONTACT'S DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE BRAKE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT INFORMED HIS DAUGHTER TO CHECK UNDER THE HOOD FOR POSSIBLE LOW BRAKE FLUID. WHEN EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT, THE CONTACT'S DAUGHTER RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE WARNING INDICATOR TURNED OFF. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM NOTIFICATION (ZJB) REGARDING A DEFECT WITH THE BRAKE BOOSTER OR BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP, WHICH COULD CAUSE THE BRAKE LAMP WARNING INDICATOR TO ILLUMINATE. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED FRONTIER TOYOTA (23621 CREEKSIDE RD, VALENCIA, CA 91355, 661-255-7575) OF THE NOTIFICATION AND WAS INFORMED THAT A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WOULD NEED TO BE PERFORMED BEFORE THEY COULD MAKE ANY REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO NOTIFIED OF THE NOTIFICATION AND PROVIDED THE SAME INFORMATION AS THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1909041948. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.

I ENTERED MY PARKED, STATIONARY PRIUS, PRESSED MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, DISENGAGED THE PARKING BRAKE AND PRESSED THE ON/OFF BUTTON TO TURN THE CAR ON. MY FOOT REMAINED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY RACED AND THE CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AT HIGH SPEED. I STOMPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE CAR KEPT MOVING. THE SOUND OF THE ENGINE WAS LOUD ENOUGH THAT PEOPLE IN NEARBY HOUSES HEARD IT. MY CAR WOULD NOT SLOW WITH MY EFFORTS TO BRAKE. I TRIED TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL AND PARK BUT THE CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN. IT RACED ACROSS THE STREET AND PLOWED DIRECTLY INTO A NEIGHBOR'S STONE WALL. MY CAR BECAME WEDGED BETWEEN THE WALL AND A LARGE TREE. I HAD TO EXIT THE VEHICLE FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE AS THE DRIVER'S DOOR WAS PRESSED AGAINST THE TREE. AFTER THE COLLISION, INTERIOR LIGHTS WERE NON-FUNCTIONING EVEN WHEN THE DOOR WAS PROPPED OPEN. THE CAR WOULD HAVE CRASHED THROUGH THE HOUSE IF IT HAD NOT BEEN STOPPED BY THE WALL AND TREE.

TOYOTA SENT ME A LETTER STATING THE BRAKE BOOSTER MAY CAUSE ISSUES WITH MY CAR AND ALL MY LIGHTS CAME ON FOR THIS ISSUE. TOYOTA TOLD ME TO TAKE CAR TO DEALER FOR REPAIR UNDER NEW WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR BRAKE BOOSTER ISSUES. DEALER IS NOW TELLING ME IT'S NOT COVERED SO I NEED TO PAY FOR REPAIRS. I ASKED WHAT I'M PAYING FOR AND THEY STATED NEW BRAKE BOOSTER. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE??

AS I WAS DRIVING OUR 2015 TOYOTA PRIUS AT ABOUT 30 MPH ON A SURFACE STREET AND GOING STRAIGHT, WE CAME UPON A METAL CONSTRUCTION PLATE OVER THE ROADWAY SURFACE AND THE BRAKES WERE AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED TO THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO VEHICLES DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME WITHIN 100 FEET. THE VEHICLE DID NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, BUT THIS SUDDEN ACTION COULD HAVE CAUSED A COLLISION.