2019 Toyota Prius

I was idling at a parking space and went to turn off my car. The vehicle surged forward and the BRAKE sign came on. I pushed my brake to the floor and nothing happened. I was moving toward a brick wall so I put in in reverse and the car surged backwards. The BRAKE sign came on and I pushed the brake to the floor and again nothing happened and I ended up hitting the car behind me. I immediately took my car to the dealership where they kept it for 3 days and said they could find nothing wrong and it was safe to drive. I just got it back from having the body work done and am afraid to drive it as this might happen again or worse. I am reporting it to let you know and to see if this has occurred and been reported as happening in this make and model previously. I also have 2 witnesses to what happened.

On Saturday [XXX], while shifting to reverse in a back alley to back up slowly, the car engine suddenly and loudly revved and shot backwards at accelerating speed. I slammed on brakes which did not respond at all, thus forcing me to attempt to shift gears which also failed to stop the acceleration. Car only stopped because it went up a curb and hit the corner of a parked vehicle in a neighbors driveway. If I had been on busier street and not a back alley this could have resulted in numerous vehicle collisions and unimagined fatalities. Car is being towed on [XXX] to Advanced Collision Repair on 4511 Central Ave, Columbia Heights, for diagnostic assessment. There were no warning lamps, messages or other indicators prior to this terrifying lack of vehicle control . This was first episode since purchasing car approx one year ago. Incident was captured on neighbor’s home camera. Other neighbor heard the revving and ran out due to spontaneously loud revving of an engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This complete set of Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S 195 / 65 R 15 91S tires has failed in a short span of time. At the beginning of October, we noticed a slight warbling while driving at any speed. An inspection by Les Schwab tires revealed exposed steel belting on the inside of one of the tires, although a quick check found all four tires were failing. A subsequent inspection by our local Toyota dealership found the same problem, with the additional information that the cords had snapped on all four tires. It is relevant to note that these tires only have 44K miles on them, and that the vehicle is garage kept and not exposed to abnormal conditions.

The vehicle has started to exhibit a wobbling feeling when driving, similar to when there is a bubble or blister in the tire. At only 4 years old, and with only 44K miles, we knew this shouldn't be the problem. An inspection by Les Schwab Tires, as well as the Toyota dealership where we purchased the vehicle new confirmed that all four tires are damaged, i.e. the "cords snapped" on the belt, exposing the nylon and steel belts, and putting the vehicle in danger of a blow-out on all four tires. We first noticed this around the beginning of October.

Re: Front left and right Toyo Tires (195/65R15 ) Having passed MA state inspection at the end of August my husband and I headed out for a 500 mile road trip. I purposely went back to the station that did the inspection and asked if the tires looked okay for this trip. I was assured they would be fine. But 100 miles into the trip the front end was shimmying so badly my husband's leg in the passenger seat was vibrating. He didn't sleep that night and said, "I think we should look into new tires if we're going to continue." I found a Town Fair Tire store in Northhampton, MA and booked an appointment. On arrival one of the specialists came out to inspect the tires I wanted to change out and he stopped in his tracks to shake his head in disbelief. His words were, "You have been driving on secondary rubber and just last evening a woman was towed in with her Prius, same year, same mileage but she had blown a tire because of the poor tread." That was all I had to hear. It would be different if it was just me but here were two of us with 34,000 miles on our Prius' and horribly worn out tires. What's the likelihood of that? I am sick thinking that Toyota stuck such cheap tires on a car which could have threatened our lives. Greed is what drives these decisions and it has to stop!

This happened about 3 weeks ago. I drove to work on local roads with no incidents of debris hitting windshield - no visible cracks. After my shift I spotted about a three foot crack in the middle of windshield leading down to passenger side. No warnings or symptoms of a problem. Although car is 2019, I have less than 16000 miles on it & most of my driving is highway & local roads. I’ve read that 2016-2017 Prius had this issue with lawsuit pending which also stated safety concerns over early warning detection system failing due to windshield cracks. Toyota (on phone) said it would cost 1200 to replace. I bought the extended warranty but it doesn’t cover the windshield. No inspection done except by coworkers.

A few weeks ago, at around 10pm, when I was driving on the freeway, my car’s engine temperature warning light suddenly on. The next day, I immediately sent my car to the dealer for a check up, the report stated ‘’ coolant reservoir very low. Pressure tested system found exhaust center pipe leaking coolant internally’’. I was surprised by the problem as I only drove this car for around 3.5 years with 70,000 miles, after talking with friends and doing research, I just realized that was problems for many Toyota owners. I was told by the dealer, the total cost for repair is over $2000 as my warranty had already expired. I believed this is the problem of Toyota, as the part is at flaw and the sudden overheating of engine is really scary. It might endanger people life and property.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while at a complete stop, another vehicle crashed into the rear of the vehicle and the vehicle began to accelerate unintendedly. The air bags failed to deploy. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact stated that he was able to prevent a crash by avoiding several vehicles while continuously depressing the brake pedal. The brake pedal responded; however, there was 62-100 ft. stopping distance delay. The contact veered to the side of the road for a moment. The contact stated that as he restarted the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. There was no police report filed. There was no injury sustained. The contact was able to drive to his workplace. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.