2010 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

[XXX] We took in 2010 Prius to Toyota Dealership in Pharr Texas because road hazard light, ABS , Brake and low tire alarm came on while driving car. They ran diagnostic and found out that the brake pump assembly and brake cylinder assembly has to be replaced. We called Toyota Cooperate to ask for assistance to pay for cost and after 4 weeks of reviewing issue they said they could not help us because the CSP had expired. This car was given to us by a friend of ours and they had not used it for 2-3 years so we got it we repaired and got car running again. After we drove it we came across this problem with the brakes. This car was was built in the same plant as the other recalled cars going by by the vehicle number . We believe that the CSP should be extended or changed to a Recall? Will you help us or direct us to whom we can contact with this safety issue? I have the Toyota diagnostic report from Toyota and Toyota Corporate Letter on email. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2010 Toyota Prius hatchback suddenly had 4 or 5 warning lights appear on the dashboard and my brakes failed to function properly. It felt like the power brakes was turned off ! Although I did get the vehicle stopped, it surely was a dangerous situation. I understand that Toyota knows about this problem, and have read that it was warranted if this happened before 150,000 miles. My Prius has approx 167,000 miles right now and to replace the Brake Actuator, the cost will be $ 3 - 5 thousand dollars…absurd amount in my opinion. Since this critical feature (brakes) has a long known history of being faulty on Toyota vehicles it should be warranted for at least 25 years and at least 300k ! My Prius is “unsafe to drive” and is nothing more than a paperweight…I repeat, Toyota knows, and has known about this defective brake actuator problem for years and years!!! Please lean on Toyota to up the warranty of this faulty brake problem for the MANY, MANY Toyota owners who have purchased the Toyota product and and NOT screwing the public like they are doing now !

A warranty extension went out a few years back that said one might receive a "CHECK PCS SYSTEM" warning on the dash. This has happened to us, along with 7 other lights on the dash. Between the brakes being much less responsive, and all of the pre-crash warning / adaptive cruise / radar features being disabled, this could have caused an accident. The dealer checked out the car and states that the brake actuator has a leak and that it will be a costly repair - no less than $3000. This suspiciously all happened *just* outside of the warranty window (we are within the allowed number of miles but just out of time), and also suspiciously after Toyota released an upgraded version of the actuator, and *also* after a bunch of people are experiencing the same failure. Our best assessment at this time is that the brake actuators have a factory defect and that a recall should be done.

The brake accumulator has failed on my prius which then deactivates regenerative braking, traction control, abs, and stability control. The lights for traction control, ABS, and stability control and parking brake are shown on the dash. The result for the driver is that the brake pedal has the same pressure, but does nothing until about 25% of pedal travel. At this point, the mechanical brakes will engage and provide a very sudden and jerky application to the brakes. In other words, a very non-linear brake control is present and is incredibly difficult to predict. If this vehicle is operated on the motorway, the safety of the vehicle's occupants as well as others on the road is greatly reduced. Street Toyota has confirmed this issue and its effects. They want to charge $3600 to fix this issue even though the car is only worth $5k. This problem has been investigated in the past buy Toyota and the NHTSA. Toyota has applied an extended warranty for this part meaning that they will only replace it once it goes out. They also failed to notify their consumers about this matter. It is a serious issue that has put many lives at risk and has caused multiple injuries. It is a matter that should not be ignored by either the NHTSA or Toyota.

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and went into LIMP Mode. The coolant temperature and several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the message "Check Hybrid System" was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road, where he disconnected and reconnected the battery to reset the Hybrid system. The contact was able to drive to the residence; however, the failure recurred. The contact used an OBD reader to retrieve diagnostic test code: P261B. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V684000 (Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 148,469.

I noticed that the ratcheting parking brake pedal has stopped ratcheting correctly, and I planned to have it inspected on the next scheduled maintenance. Recently, the brake system illuminated the traction control, ALB and "BRAKE" lights simultaneously, and the braking power diminished by more than half, with no braking until the pedal was halfway down. I depressed the parking brake pedal a few times, which cleared the "BRAKE" symbol and the problem stopped and normal braking returned. This has now happened three times with the same fix. It appears that when the "BRAKE" symbol is no longer illuminated, the problem goes away. This appears to be a software problem that triggers a braking problem to engage the traction control and ABS icons when the "BRAKE" icon associated with the parking brake is illuminated. This web site has other instances reported with the same symptoms, and Toyota had a service bulletin, which has expired, which leads to a $2000-$3000 repair bill to replace a brake booster. It appears to be software related to me, not mechanical. It poses a safety risk because braking performance is severely compromised with no warning. NHTSB needs to look into this, as rear end accidents can easily happen if strong braking in heavy traffic is required to avoid a collision. I recommend that a recall be established to fix this. An alternative cause may be a misaligned micro switch in the parking brake mechanism, which has been experiencing problems. This could lead to the "BRAKE" light being illuminated, and sending a bad signal to the computer.

I was in my 2010 Toyota Prius with my two children when I suddenly lost my brakes, with luck I was able to let off my gas and coast to a stop. Now I am left with a 3,000 dollar repair. I now know what the price of my children and my life is worth to Toyota! To find that this has already been a problem with no notification is ludicrous!

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 50-55 MPH, the ABS, traction control, and brake warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the brake booster assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 139,999.

All the lights on my dash board came on suddenly, and the brake emergency, traction control and ABS lights stayed illuminated. Upon exiting the interstate I could not come to a complete stop at the end of the exit, which was very scary. Fortunately the cars driving on the road the exit merges into did, so we avoided a terrible accident. The brakes were spongy and not operating properly after that. The next day with all the lights still on, I slowly drove (20 mph) to the local Toyota Dealer , who claimed that error code (C1391) was being displayed and according to Toyota, that means the Booster is or will be leaking. Therefore the Pump and Booster needs to be replaced (estimated at $3K). No lights or errors were given before the incident, the brakes just suddenly malfunctioned. However Toyota apparently is aware that the booster and pumps fail without warning, because I discovered with an on-line search that code had a "customer extension" warranty (by googling the code C1391), I called customer service but they refuse to help. They claimed I was mailed a letter in October 2018 (they didn't offer to supply a copy.) However, I never received a letter or any notice from Toyota or the Toyota dealer that I have repeatedly used since I bought the car in 2010 (I have had brakes replaced there when it was under 150k and no one said anything!) Now they are stating that the extension has expired as it was only good up to 150,000 miles or 10 years which ever came first. I can't understand why they have a known brake issue and not replace the part when the vehicle is already at the dealer (It's there for every oil change 3 x a year!) Brakes are an important part of a vehicle, a failure like this should have been recalled, and Toyota should have been made to replace the faulty parts!

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact depressed the brake pedal and noticed an abnormal humming sound. The contact stated that the failure had been intermittent since 2016. The contact stated that the failure had become persistent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 296,842. The VIN was unavailable.