2017 Toyota Prius

While driving the speed limit of 70mph on a major highway, the sunroof on my 2017 Toyota Prius exploded. There was no warning of any kind: no other traffic nearby so no rock or debris from another vehicle; no overpass or bridge so nothing from above; it was a mild sunny day of 76 degrees so not a weather factor; and by the angle of the glass that remains being in an outward position rather than inward, reveals to me that it was from inside out, not from outside in as if it were a rock hitting. It just exploded. I was the only person in the car. Thankfully, the visor was shut on it or the shattered glass would have caused injury and of greater serious concern is just the sudden sound of what sounded like a bomb going off over my head was enough to cause a reaction which easily would result in an accident. It was a terrifying experience! I was lucky no other vehicles were nearby and could react and safely get off the road. I called 911 immediately and reported it. I have read many such claims from other Toyota owners online (see ToyotaNation.com and search by "exploding Sunroof") and even from a technician at my nearby Toyota Collision Center that it just happened to a friend of theirs also. This is not a one time issue. When I took the car to the Collision Center for an estimate and inquired about the damage, they could find no recall on it by Toyota. This is certainly a dangerous and hazardous issue that needs to be addressed asap before someone is seriously hurt or there is a fatality.

For the second time (first in 2019) I was seconds and maybe two feet from stopping the car to park when, with my foot on the brake, the car suddenly and without warning lunged forward at what seemed like full throttle. The first "crash" was in my driveway. The force was shocking and took off the front of the car. I insisted Toyota investigate and they ultimately denied any liability. After the car was allegedly repaired, I started noticing another phenomenon: every time I would slow down to brake--approaching an intersection or stop sign, etc.--the car would briefly lunge forward before the brakes engaged to stop the car. I reported this to the dealer 2-3 times and each time I was assured that this was "normal" for a hybrid transitioning from gas to electric at a lower speed. Two weeks ago, with a friend in the car, I was pulling into a parking space, foot on the brake and about to stop, when the same thing occurred: without warning, the car lunged forward, at what seemed like full throttle, and crashed into a low concrete wall. Had it been seconds later, we would have had our seatbelts off and gone into the windshield. There were injuries. FYI, I have a pretty much perfect driving record and log thousands of miles each year. I had ZERO problems with the Prius I owned prior to this one. I will never drive this car again.

I PULLED UP TO THE STOP SIGN, THEN PROCEEDED TO GO AND I HAD NO POWER. I SAT THERE FOR 10-15 SECONDS BEFORE THE ACCELERATOR KICKED IN. IT SHOOK ME UP. I PROCEEDED ON AND THEN IT AGAIN HAPPENED. I WAS SITTING AT A RED LIGHT AT A BUSY INTERSECTION AND WHEN THE LIGHT GREEN I HAD NO ACCELERATION POWER AT ALL. PEOPLE WERE HONKING AND YELLING AT ME. IT WAS VERY SCARY. AFTER WHAT SEEMED TO BE AN ETERNITY, THE ACCELERATOR KICKED IN AND I WAS ABLE TO PROCEED. I HAD IT TOWED TO TOYOTA DEALER, THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP.

THIS IS FOR 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME, BUT THERE IS NO OPTION. WHILE TAKING MY KID TO ENROLL IN SWIMMING CLASS, WHILE TAKING TURN INTO THE FACILITY THE BRAKES STOPPED WORKING AND THE CAR WOULDN'T STOP, SOME HOW I DROVE INTO PARKING LOT (I AM NOT SURE HOW I DID IT IN THAT TENSE SITUATION) NONE OF THE BUTTONS WERE WORKING, THE CAR WAS BEEPING SHOWING EVERY THING FAILED AND BY GODS GRACE THE HAND BRAKE WORKED AND FINALLY THE CAR STOPPED. NOW I AM SCARED AS THIS HAPPENED WITH MY KID IN THE CAR. I NEED HELP AND I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE THIS CAR AGAIN AND I TOWED IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER. AFTER EXITING I CALMED DOWN A LITTLE BIT CALLED MY HUSBAND AND HE RECORDED THE ERRORS AND THE SOUNDS. I THOUGHT THE CAR WAS GOING TO BLOW UP.

THE INVOLVED VEHICLES WERE DESIGNED TO ENTER A FAILSAFE DRIVING MODE IN RESPONSE TO CERTAIN HYBRID SYSTEM FAULTS. TOYOTA HAS FOUND THAT IN RARE SITUATIONS, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT ENTER A FAILSAFE DRIVING MODE AS INTENDED. IF THIS OCCURS, THE VEHICLE COULD LOSE POWER AND STALL. WHILE POWER STEERING AND BRAKING WOULD REMAIN OPERATIONAL, A VEHICLE STALL WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHER SPEEDS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

WHEN IT RAINS THE COLLISION DETECTION SYSTEM GIVES OFF FALSE WARNINGS. THE INTELLIGENCE CLEARANCE SONAR (ICS) SYSTEM GIVES AN ERROR AND IS UNRELIABLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND HAS BEEN REPORTED BY MULTIPLE PRIUS OWNER WITH THE ICS SYSTEM: HTTPS://PRIUSCHAT.COM/THREADS/CLEAN-PARKING-ASSIST-SENSOR-AND-INTELLIGENT-CLEARANCE-SONAR-ISSUE.182931/