2010 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

The Traction control, ABS, and Brake light all came on simultaneously. It was random with no trigger. The brakes feel spongy, and will not regenerate to charge the hybrid system.

Hazard lights flashing, flashes faster at higher speeds. Hazard button useless. Mechanic not sure what is the problem; reset codes. Problem went away for a few days and then came back.

My Toyota Prius has significant problems with mice entering and living in the vehicle. They stay in the cabin filter area and there is evidence they come into the cabin and deposit feces on the floor mats, glove compartment and air filters. There are numerous instances of this on online forums and it appears Toyota does not design to deter rodents. Vent openings are large and unscreened and there are numerous areas in the car that are perfect for mice and rodents to live. Other cars do not have this issue. Toyota must design their cars better so as not to be infested with mice. They must screen openings to vents and other access points and limit areas that are appealing to mice and rodents to live. This is a health and safety hazard. Recently a mice died somewhere in the dash area behind the glove compartment and it has created a horrible smell. I do not leave food in my car and keep it very neat and clean. This is clearly a design issue and many people have reported this on Prius and Toyota forums. Thank you for taking this concern seriously. It has cost me a lot of money and been very difficult. [XXX] Prius Owner 7 Years. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond as needed; causing the stopping distance to be extended. The contact stated that the ABS, brakes, and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ABS system and brake booster needed to be replaced. The local dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that NHTSA Campaign Number: 10V039000 (Service Brakes, Air) had expired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 220,000.

My brakes have been making hissing noises whenever I press on the brake pedal for the past year. While driving on the freeway 300 miles from my home, numerous lights on my dashboard came on including brake, VSC, PCS, ABS, Triangle and "CHECK PCS SYSTEM" warning message. The brake also makes pumping noise every 4 seconds. The vehicle has no regenerative braking. The brake pedal is mushy and doesn't slow the car down until the pedal is fully depressed. I contacted Toyota and was told that there was a Customer Support Program ZJB that covers 2010-2015 Prius Vehicles for Brake Booster and Brake Booster Pump Assemblies. However, that program only covers 10 yrs 150 miles. My Prius has 110k miles but it's 21 months passed the program coverage. The car is dangerous to drive and Toyota will not honor the recall. I am stuck with a car with no brakes.

I drive a 2010 Toyota Prius. Color of the car is Pearl White and its starting to peel off and bare metal of the car is getting exposed. Exposed metal will start rusting and start impacting the sturdiness of the car and eventually the safety. Toyota Manufacturer already has a recall in place for several Toyota models for same pearl white paint as shown in link below but Prius model is not part of it. I feel Prius model should also be included in this recall plan as it uses same Pearl white paint. Its a manufacturers defect and they should fix it at their expense. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/defects-autos-paint-toyota-warranty-extension-1.5459368

On March 25, 2022, I was driving my 2010 Toyota Prius, approx. 209,000 miles. When I had parked my vehicle, and turned my A/C on, my vehicle started to make this annoying beeping noise non-stop and all of the light on the dashboard had lit up. My brake lights, ABS, and the slip indicator all came on. When I went to drive my vehicle all of sudden my brakes did not respond. I had to force break and push down on the brakes very hard, to the point where I'm flooring the brakes. I checked with Toyota to see if there was a recall on my vehicle, and they told me that there were no recalls. When I did my research on 2010 Toyota Prius, I found that this is a common issue that the brake actuator and brake booster pumps are faulty on these vehicles. I did not receive a recall notice for this vehicle. Currently, my vehicle is not drivable and not safe to drive. For this to happen out of nowhere with no warning is unacceptable.

I was driving on the road and right before a stop light my car jumped as if someone hit me from behind. After looking in my rear view and seeing no one on me I realized something else happened. I look at my dash and check hybrid system light was on. I was in traffic at the light waiting and looked it up on my phone to find out what to do. Some article said to pull over and turn it off and restart it. The light turned green and traffic started moving so I started to drive. I thought I could probably make it home but the car started driving a lot slower than usual. I really didn’t want to pull over because it was in a bad part of town but I felt like I had no choice because the car was barely moving. It seemed more dangerous to be on the road with other drivers. So I pulled over and parked and tried starting it again. It wouldn’t shift to drive so now I’m stuck and can’t get home unless I pay to get my car towed. I get my car towed to the house. I put a meter on the battery and it was fine. I put a diagnostics tester on it and came up with these codes POA1A and POA94. I contacted hybrid mechanic that doesn’t work at Toyota and he said to take it in to a dealership and sent me the ZE3 warranty letter and said they would fix it. I paid for it to be towed to the dealership. There were already a lot of cars waiting to be serviced when I got there. Anyway, they said they would fix it after they did their diagnostics after I paid $120 for it. That was 3/21/2022. I sent CSR the ZE3 letter and he said it wasn’t covered. It’s like he didn’t even read it. A day later he said he needed to talk to a warranty administrator then a day later he said it would be covered but I don’t qualify for a loaner but they can give me a rental for $45 a day. I friend let me borrow their car for a couple days. Now as of writing this it’s midnight 3/30/2022. I still don’t have my car and I’m about to be without a car unless I buy one or rent one. No ETA on the part being delivered either. I’m SOL.

As nitrogen is released into the brake fluid, the brake pedal may have reduced hydraulic pressure. Under certain circumstances, this condition could affect stopping distance and increase the risk of a crash.

A number of things have failed on this car. 1. The hybrid battery pack system shut down and warned that I needed to see a mechanic. My mechanic diagnosed that the hybrid invert was defective and causing the battery pack to fail. 2. When braking at both low and high speeds, the car increasingly struggles to come to a stop. When applying foot pressure, you can hear the pump winding - this occurs while at rest as well as when trying to slow the car down. There are times when applying the brake that the floor pedal will lock and cause the car to skid while barely reducing the speed of the car. I have had multiple near accident incidences as a result and put myself and others at risk. 3. The car ferociously vibrates every morning - discovered that the head gasket has failed prematurely and due to the car overcompensating for the failing hybrid battery that is being impacted by the failing hybrid inverter. All problems have been reproduced and diagnosed at independent service centers. Multiple codes, warning lights and messages have alerted me to engine and battery issues - all of which appeared after the various issues and failures.