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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius Toyota Prius Maintenance & Repair Toyota Prius Brake Problems
84 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 4:34 AM
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Replying to: lynde (Mar 01, 2009 6:55 pm) 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.
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Replying to: jacquesc (Mar 03, 2009 7:32 pm) |
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Replying to: adevine (Sep 29, 2008 12:59 pm) |
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Replying to: sandra21 (Feb 12, 2009 1:31 pm) 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. |
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Replying to: scaredtodrive (Feb 22, 2009 11:17 am) 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
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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!
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Replying to: brendabei (May 17, 2008 11:56 am)
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Replying to: whitey9 (Apr 10, 2009 9:52 am) |
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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. |
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Replying to: brendabei (Apr 10, 2009 9:58 am) They don't know they are not stopping because of their "sliding". The VSSs ( Vehicle Speed Sensors ) don't send a "wheel locked-up" signal because of the sliding of the wheels on the wet metal track. As someone else has already stated, the ABS can be fooled by loose sand/gravel, as well as snow/ice. They do, however, work well on wet or dry PAVEMENT. It should be noted that the purpose of ABS is NOT to stop the car sooner/shorter distance/quicker, but to give the driver the ability to steer the car and avoid an accident while maintaining control of his vehicle. The offshoot of stopping a car w/o the wheels locking up while braking is to give a better stop. One that is a controlled stop. Without the skidding. Many times drivers think they are depressing the brake pedal, but are actually pressing the accelerator in a panic, or by accident. The Audi history has proven that. People sometimes just push on the wrong pedal.
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