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Toyota Prius Brake Problems

366 messages,  Last post on Mar 27, 2013 at 6:44 AM

You are in the Toyota Prius Maintenance & Repair Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Prius, Brakes, Hatchback, Sedan

    
Go to NHTSA to file a safety complaint.
Or call Monday-Friday (8 am to 8 pm ET) (888) 327-4236 TTY: (800)424-9153

Messages Page 5 of 37

#39 of 366 Re: I had an accident about 6 months ago because of the brakes [sandra21] by lynde

Mar 01, 2009 (7:55 pm)

Replying to: sandra21 (Feb 12, 2009 2:31 pm)
I have a 2006 prius. about 10 months ago i took it to the dealership due to a brake problem. I told them it only happened in the rain or on wet days. They replied they haven't had any complaints about the breaks. After months of the same problems on wet days, I called again. They said bring it in when it is raining and having a problem. I travel daily as a visiting nurse. Hard to just bring it in when I am in another town. However last week it was raining and on my way home I decided to drive right to Toyota. I took the manager for a ride and nothing happened. Then he started driving and while stepping on the break during the last few seconds of stopping the car stopped short. So he saw I was not crazy. We went back to the dealership and he gave me a loaner and would not let me take the prius home. The next day he called and told me they took the brake drum out and found one of the shoes was not clipped on. So I picked it up that night and drove home. This friday it was raining, as I came to a stop, still not completely trusting the repair the same problem happened. everything went flying off my seat to the floor. I think we all have a very serious problem and need to call the state. I will be willing to be on a committee. please reply................lynde

#40 of 366 Re: I had an accident about 6 months ago because of the brakes [lynde] by jacquesc

Mar 03, 2009 (8:32 pm)

Replying to: lynde (Mar 01, 2009 7:55 pm)
I had an accident this morning...
I was a valet for about 4 years and know exactly how many models drive - but, did not know about this. I regret buying a Prius.
This morning I was attempting to stop in my 6 month old '09 Prius traveling at low speeds in dry conditions. My brakes did not engage until it was too late. So, now I decided to research this problem and think it should be taken up in a class action or recall. If not at least to require a better braking system to be built by toyota.

#41 of 366 Re: I had an accident about 6 months ago because of the brakes [jacquesc] by franny2

Mar 12, 2009 (8:45 am)

Replying to: jacquesc (Mar 03, 2009 8:32 pm)
to all those who have experienced brakes not engaging with the Toyota Prius: I just filed a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hotline at 888-327-4236. Speak to an agent, tell the agent your circumstances and file a complaint. This agency investigates these complaints and IF they find a problem with the car they can actually try to get a recall!!. I don't know if a class action suit is another way to bring this to public attention but it also might be expensive. One thing the NHTSA does is check other similar reports so the more reports filed the better. They also have a website at www.NHTSA.gov.

#42 of 366 Re: '05 Prius brakes [adevine] by vancouver05

Mar 22, 2009 (4:44 pm)

Replying to: adevine (Sep 29, 2008 1:59 pm)
I had exactly the same problem with my brakes grabbing especially on rainy days. On my last trip for service, even though I had been told my brakes were absolutely fine (80% left on brake pads) I insisted they take a better look. Then I was told that the rotors were pitted and rusted and the drums needed replacing completely! They told me I must have been driving with the hand brake on or live close to salty air. I went to another Toyota service place and they said all that needed doing was sanding and lubricating of the shoes and drums ($100 instead of $600), and now they are no problem. I have no idea why the rotors deteriorated. I have started braking harder as I have heard that the brake pads have a cleaning action on the drums. I also don't use the "B"button for deceleration as i think maybe I just wasn't braking enough to keep the drums clean of rust. I am still being told that it is normal for brakes to grab with electric braking but I don't believe this and mine are fine now. If you have a the same problem, make sure you ask your service guy to check beyond the pads and look at your drums.

#43 of 366 Re: I had an accident about 6 months ago because of the brakes [sandra21] by etnpaul

Mar 28, 2009 (6:31 pm)

Replying to: sandra21 (Feb 12, 2009 2:31 pm)
I have the same(similar) problem as you. I have 2009 Prius which is about 2 months
old. I have had several instances of it seeming to speed up. I took it back to Toyota and the service manager said he had noticed that, also - in other cars. After his mechanic looked at it, he said that if I needed any more adjustments to bring it in.
Whether they did anything or not, I do not know, but I thought the problem was gone. On the other hand, I was exceptionally cautious when I approached places ( parking spaces) where I had had trouble.
 
The other problem was 3 situations where there was a complete or partial failure of the brakes to work in low speeds and dry weather - there hasn't been any rain. The first case was in traffic where I would have hit the vehicle in front if the brakes had not suddenly grabbed. The other 2 case (occurring in the last week) were when I was driving slowly, but there was complete failure of the brakes.
 
I am going to call the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. at 888-327-4236 and file a complaint. Also I will investigate the possibility of my car being considered a lemon.

#44 of 366 Re: Prius brake failure [scaredtodrive] by minervinha

Apr 01, 2009 (5:18 pm)

Replying to: scaredtodrive (Feb 22, 2009 12:17 pm)
On 2/27/09, my '05 Prius brakes completely failed. I was going downhill in an urban highly transited road (Rte 123 in VA, close to Tysons Corner). Thankfully I was only going about 40MPH when the light changed to red. The 2 vehicles in front of me stopped. I pressed the break pedal and my car accelerated initially, and then nothing. BRAKES ARE MEANT TO WORK. ALWAYS. I kept pumping the pedal hoping to engage the breaks, but what stopped me was the rear of a BMW X5. Thankfully I was the only injured party, and my injuries are mostly muscular. I could have died. I could have killed someone. In January I had taking my car to the dealer because all the alert lights on the dash would sporadically go off. They kept the car for a week and claimed that the secondary battery needed to be replaced. I got my vehicle back and on 2/23/09 the issue restarted. I was due to take my car back to the dealer the day of the accident.
 
I called a lawyer to see if I had a case, and was told no. I am still researching the issue becuase someone should be held accountable and future tragedies should be avoided.
 
If anyone has started a class action suit, please do let me know as I would like to join you.
 
Minerva

#45 of 366 2004-2009 Prius Brake Failure Rate is High by ganderc

Apr 07, 2009 (11:42 am)

I read that they redesigned the braking systems for the 2010 Prius. That appears to be Toyota's response to the fact that the U.S. Generation 2 Prius (2004-2009) has had low-speed brake failures reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 31 times the rate of such failures reported for the 2004-2009 Corolla, which of course has traditional brakes. Many of the Prius low speed brake failures were in low-speed city traffic, resulting in rear-end collisions without injury. It appears that the several computers that control the complex braking systems were too busy calculating the most efficient way to apply the brakes, and did not get around to actually applying them, until it was too late. Toyota never took responsibility for the problem, but the 2010 redesign indicates they were aware of it. Unfortunately, the NHTSA never initiated an investigation despite the extremely high rate of failures. The detailed failure reports ("complaints") are available to the public on the NHTSA website. The details are these: Through March 2009, 2004-2009 Prius has received 44 complaints of low speed brake failure. 2004-2009 Corolla has received 7 complaints of such failures. Given that about five times more Corollas than Prius were sold during 2004-2009, 44/(7/5) = 31 times the rate of brake failure for the Generation 2 Prius. Let's hope the 2010's brakes work!

#46 of 366 Re: Prius Brakes issue [brendabei] by whitey9

Apr 10, 2009 (10:52 am)

Replying to: brendabei (May 17, 2008 12:56 pm)
You may have been sliding on the wet metal trolley tracks. They can be like ice.

#47 of 366 Re: Prius Brakes issue [whitey9] by brendabei

Apr 10, 2009 (10:58 am)

Replying to: whitey9 (Apr 10, 2009 10:52 am)
The trolley tracks can be like ice, but if I was sliding on them I would have had the ABS start working, and it did not. I just put my foot to the floor with the brake pedal and nothing happened. I was driving really slowly at the time.

#48 of 366 Prius Brakes and Acceleration by etnpaul

Apr 12, 2009 (4:04 pm)

I have had 3 accidents or near accidents with my new 2009 Toyota Prius due to a combination of mysterious acceleration and loss of brakes.
    The first incident (a near accident) occurred when the car in front of me stopped. I was driving slowly but my car suddenly seemed to accelerate on its own and my brakes failed. How I stopped my car I will never know.
    The second incident was when I was driving into my garage. Again the car seemed to accelerate and the brakes did not work. The garage wall was damaged on both sides.
    After this I took the car into the Toyota dealer. They examined it and said if I had more trouble, bring it in again.
    The third incident occurred in a parking lot. The self-accelerating seemed to have been fixed, but while driving slow and looking for a place to park, the brakes did not hold and the result was the car hit a parked car.
   There was over $6000 damage to the Prius and some damage to the parked car. What is really scary is that by the next parked car (only a foot or so away) were a man and 2 children. If my car had hit that car there could have been some deaths - certainly serious injuries.

Messages Page 5 of 37

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