WASHINGTON — In another unpleasant turn of events for Toyota, the 2010 Prius is the subject of a spate of complaints about brake performance coming in to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Office of Defects Investigation has received a few dozen reports of defective brake performance on the model, most dated within the past two months. An example of owner feedback is the report from an owner of a new 2010 Prius with 400 miles on the odometer who states, "When the car goes over an uneven or bumpy [surface,] the car accelerates or lurches forward....this has occurred at least four times." Others report a "disturbing lag," "jerky brakes" and "the brakes feel like they cut out for a brief (well under a second) period."
One driver suggests that the car's change-over from regenerative to friction braking could be the cause of the problem.
NHTSA has not yet opened an official investigation into the issue. The Detroit Bureau blog quoted a Toyota spokesperson as saying the company is "aware of the complaints filed with NHTSA" and that "We are investigating the issue based on internet traffic, customer comments to Toyota Customer Relations, and NHTSA complaints. It is too early to speculate the final conclusion(s) of our investigation and subsequent actions."
Inside Line says: Another potentially dangerous issue with the previously bulletproof name of Toyota on it. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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charleybear says:
04:11 PM, 02/03/2010
We have an 04 and not had any problems with the brakes, the car has 111,200 miles tires shop told us we still have between 30 to 40 percent of the pads left. I also had an 02 with 130,000 miles and no problems. We have discovered that ABS in general dose strange things on rough roads, our MR2 would unlock all the wheels when we hit a rough patch during heavy braking, replaced by the 04. Also the same thing with our Infinti G37, replaced the 02. The prius dose take some getting use to, the 02 seamed to grab more the 04, but both have a totally unique feel.
margieprius says:
07:32 AM, 02/03/2010
I have the 2010 Prius, and have brought the car back to the dealer 3 times for issue's concerning the brakes. The first two times, the dealer checked the brakes and told me there is nothing wrong, the third time, when I told them I am going to hold them liable that there is an issue with the brakes- I was met by a very knowledgeable man who went with me for a test drive to try and duplicate the issue. He is fully trained in toyota everything specifically the prius. We were not able to dublicate the issue, the car has about 20K miles on it and I have expereinced this very odd feeling, when driving over a slightly bumpy road, and attemping to slow down, versus, an emergency stop situation, the car feels like the brakes are not working, my seat belt tighens, and it is a very strange sensation, like brake failure, but then if you press very hard you will stop, its like a switch in braking, it is a very uncomfortable feeling, like you have no control. It is not speed related, I have expereinced this at speeds as slow as 5 miles and hour or going over a speed bumb. He explained the braking system, but something is just not right..so glad it is finally getting the attention required. What the expert did tell me is there are less complaints in the west coast, and that leads me to believe it is road surface contigent..lets hope they fix it, becasue it is bound to cause major injury. I love my car, but when I am on a bumby surface, I as so cautious of who and what is around when slowing my vechile..
rodger12 says:
01:13 AM, 01/04/2010
Edmunds.com actually PUBLISHING a damaging story about an Asian brand? OMG! Japan Inc. must of missed a payment to the Inside Line editors.
tomsjay says:
10:25 PM, 12/31/2009
I am a '06 Prius owner. I have experienced the same. They can't be attributed as deffects per se but the nature of "hybrid vehicle dynamics". The "lurching forward on bumpy roads" is when the ABS and VSA is activated. The brakes are released for a moment and you feel like you lost breaks. But the brakes comes into action after the momentarly release. But you will feel you lost the breaks and become nervous for a moment. this may be due to that the ABS releases all break pads instead of the slipping wheel. I don't know if this is the way ABS/VSA work in other vehicles.
The next problem is also real. looks like the regenerative system is allowed to work till last moment before the pads get into full action. i guess this may be to take advantage of the maximum Kinetic energy to last moment before real breakes are applied. This is also in a flash (fraction of a second). This is also felt when you apply sudden breaks and in certin situations. But you feel lack of break force and will get panic.
These technologies works OK in normal driving conditions. But due to the varying drivin
g needs and in demmanding situations it might behave differently. same technology carried over to '10 model.
This shows that the vehicle technology (like regenerative breaking) should be really proven before it is applied to vehicle dynamics( you can have hybrid engines but not breakes). not even ideal testing tracks can simulate realtime driving conditions..
We will still feel confident in a 15 year old vehicle since whatever mechanism it has is proven. Having said that i still like my Prius. Very nice vehicle. a technological marvel. May be these are part of evolution. learning from mistakes. Toyota is obviously the one of the most respected motor companies. they became complacent lately though, and that is typical lifecycle for any corporate. somepoint they think whatever they make will be be sold..this is all part of the game..Honda is on the way..
solara31 says:
12:02 PM, 12/29/2009
Toyota's quality on their current generation of vehicles is not up to par on their past, and it is disturbing that there is more and more questions arising from them hiding safety defects in their cars dating back to the 1990s. It takes decades to build up a good reputation, but only months to ruin it.
atenza94546 says:
05:24 PM, 12/28/2009
Other auto maker is time to play catch up. Its kind of like when the big name Mercedes Benz used to be bullet proof, too. Now a days you can see so many Merc breaking down on the side of the road crying for help. Toyota is not bullet proof and they never was it just so happen, so many dumb Americans buying Toyotas for the past half century. I'd like to see Toyota to closing out more plant in U.S. Then we will see how dumb Americans will be digging themselves into a bigger hole by losing more jobs in U.S.
93aero says:
11:15 AM, 12/28/2009
lol someone wanted credit for their work real bad i guess. Oh toyota, how the mighty have fallen. I for one am glad to see this happen. I've never been the biggest toyota fan, and they had this coming when they came out with the Venza....karma toyota, karma.
rex21 says:
10:35 AM, 12/28/2009
I knew Toyota was crappy back in the early 90's. Hell with Toyota and we will never buy anything Toyota makes.
detroitbureau says:
09:00 AM, 12/28/2009
Folks,
I'm deeply disappointed to see the author of this piece completely lift a story that was generated by an investigative report developed by TheDetroitBureau.com. There is absolutely no credit and no linkage reflecting the extensive work on a major story.
This is not in line with the professionalism that InsideLine normally shows and we would hope to see it corrected immediately.
For those who wish to see the detailed initial report, and to follow up with subsequent reports that will be coming this week, please go to:
http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2009/12/nhtsa-tracking-braking-loss-on-prius-hybrids/
Thank you, IL editors, for correcting this.
firstclass says:
08:34 AM, 12/28/2009
Toyota is starting to become the equivalent of Ford in the 80's and early 90's. They built their reputation and created a name for themselves and now their selling their cars on their honored name. Toyota should have learned from fords mistake because I still know people that will never by a Ford again. So now when you by a Toyota you get ugly styling and less then reliable reliability. how long is Toyota's fix list going to get?