2010 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

I EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF BRAKE PERFORMANCE ACCOMPANIED BY MANY WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD, INCLUDING ONE THAT INDICATED A PROBLEM WITH THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM IN MY 2010 PRIUS. UPON IMMEDIATELY TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS TOLD THAT TOYOTA EXTENDED A WARRANTY PROGRAM (ZJB & ZKK) FOR THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM ABS BRAKE ACTUATOR/MASTER CYLINDER FAILURE, BUT THAT I WAS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE WARRANTY COVERAGE BECAUSE THE DEADLINE HAD EXPIRED. MY CAR WAS UNDER 150,000 MILES, AS REQUIRED BY THE WARRANTY, AND DISPLAYED THE CORRECT FAILURE CODE AS REQUIRED BY THE WARRANTY. BUT, SINCE MY CAR DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM OR DISPLAY AN ERROR CODE BEFORE THE END OF FEBRUARY 2020, I WAS TOLD THAT I WAS INELIGIBLE. I WAS INFORMED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY OVER $4100 FOR A REPAIR THROUGH THE DEALERSHIP, BUY A NEW CAR OR TAKE MY CHANCES AND DRIVE THE CAR 'AS IS' UNTIL I COULD FIND A CHEAPER SOLUTION. THE CHEAPER SOLUTION WOULD BE TO FIND ANOTHER ABS UNIT AT A SALVAGE YARD, AND HAVE A NON-TOYOTA CERTIFIED MECHANIC INSTALL IT. THERE IS NOTHING TO INDICATE A SALVAGE YARD UNIT WILL NOT SIMPLY FAIL AGAIN. I WAS WELL WITHIN THE 150,000 MILE LIMIT OF THE WARRANTY. SO, I AM TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE REPAIR OF A PART THAT TOYOTA ADMITS IS FAULTY, AND WOULD HAVE REPLACED IF THE PROBLEM WOULD HAVE SURFACED A MERE SIX MONTHS EARLIER? I BELIEVE TOYOTA'S WARRANTY EXTENSION TO BE A MEAGER ATTEMPT AT APPEASING THE NHTSA AND OTHER AUTHORITIES SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO LAUNCH A FULL SCALE RECALL. THEY ARE ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON THESE CARS ON A DAILY BASIS, AS THEY SHOULD NOT ASK THEIR CUSTOMERS TO EXPERIENCE A MAJOR BRAKE FAILURE BEFORE THE MANUFACTURER WILL AGREE TO FIX A KNOWN PROBLEM (OR NOT FIX IT, RATHER, AS THE TIME LIMIT HAS EXPIRED). TOYOTA IS PUTTING PROFITS AHEAD OF SAFETY, DURING A PANDEMIC. I THE NHTSA TO HELP US.

THE RED BRAKES LIGHT, ABS LIGHT AND THE 'YELLOW SKIDDING CAR' ICON LIGHTS ALL COME ON TOGETHER, BUT INTERMITTENTLY. THE BRAKES OFTEN FEEL DIFFICULT TO PRESS DOWN UPON STARTING THE CAR. OFTER WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE ON, THE BRAKES FEEL SPONGY, OR AS THOUGH THEY MAY NOT STOP THE CAR. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONCLUDED THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER AND OTHER PARTS NEEDED REPLACING. I FOUND OUT THAT TOYOTA HAS HAD LOTS OF PROBLEMS WITH THESE BRAKE CYLINDERS.

THE CARS STARTS DOES NOT STAY ON IF I TRY TO DRIVE IT WILL TURN OFF AND DIE OUT .

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER DRIVING HIS VEHICLE FOR SEVEN HOURS, THE CONTACT HAD PARKED THE VEHICLE IN HIS FRIEND'S DRIVEWAY. THIRTY MINUTES LATER, THE CONTACT'S FRIEND RECEIVED A KNOCK ON THE DOOR FROM A FIREMAN ASKING HIM WHO OWNED A PRIUS. AFTER THE CONTACT IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS THE OWNER, THE FIREMAN INFORMED HIM THAT HIS VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FIRE. A FIRE REPORT AND POLICE REPORT WERE FILED AT THE SCENE. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED AS RESULT OF THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED BY THE FIRE AND WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT JUNK YARD. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER OF THE FAILURE AND THE CONTACT WAS GIVEN A CASE NUMBER. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT AN INVESTIGATION WOULD BE LAUNCHED REGARDING THE MATTER. THE CONTACT HAD SENT PHOTOS AND EMAIL CORRESPONDENCES TO THE MANUFACTURER; HOWEVER, HE NEVER HEARD BACK FROM THE MANUFACTURER. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED A RECALL ON HIS VEHICLE UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM) WHICH HE LINKED TO HIS FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT SPOKEN TO A DEALER ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000.

WHILE IN MOTION DRIVING AT 50 MPH, WARNING BEEP SIGNALED AND CAR STARTED SLOWING DOWN. NOTIFICATION ON THE DASHBOARD READ "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM". VEHICLE EVENTUALLY SLOWED TO A STOP AND PUT ITSELF IN NEUTRAL AUTOMATICALLY. TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID IT IS THE INVERTER/CONVERTER.

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER CAUSING IT TO LOCSE SPEED QUICKLY. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA WHERE IT IS HARD TO PULL OFF. IT WILL DRIVE 42MPH UNTIL THE BATTERY DIES. THIS IS MORE COMMON THAN MOST ISSUES WITH THIS MODEL. PLEASE MAKE TOYOTA REPLACE THE ENGINES IN THESE VEHICLES. "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM"

BRAKES SYSTEM WARNING INDICATORS LIGHT UP. BRAKES FEEL WEAK, NEED TO STEP HARDER THAN NORMAL TO START SLOWING DOWN. I LOOKED THIS UP ON THE INTERNET AND THIS A KNOWN DEFECT THAT TOYOTA COVERS UNDER 'CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM ZJB' FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD ONLY. OF COURSE IT HAPPENS RIGHT AFTER THAT COVERAGE PERIOD. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AS IT AFFECTS A KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE.

THE BRAKES WENT COMPLETELY OUT ON THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAD NO ABILITY AT ALL OTHER THAN THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE DEALER SAID THAT THE CAUSE WAS THE BRAKE BOOSTER AND MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER.

I WAS AT HIGHWAY SPEED WHEN FOUR ANNUNCIATOR LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH (MASTER WARNING, BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT, ABS WARNING LIGHT, SLIP INDICATOR). I DECELERATED VEHICLE USING ENGINE POWER THEN APPLIED BRAKES. BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED APPROX. 3/4 TRAVEL (MUCH FURTHER THAN NORMAL) BEFORE BRAKING ACTION FELT. I STOPPED VEHICLE, RECYCLED POWER AND WARNING LIGHTS REMAINED ILLUMINATED AND BRAKE RESPONSIVENESS WAS UNCHANGED. UPON REACHING DESTINATION, I DOWNLOADED ERROR CODE (C1391) THEN CALLED LOCAL TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER. INFORMED THAT ENHANCED WARRANTY LETTER ZJB ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE, HOWEVER COVERAGE EXPIRED 6 WEEKS AGO. SERVICE CENTER DIRECTED ME TO TOYOTA CUSTOMER CARE. TOYOTA CUSTOMER CARE CONFIRMED THAT THE REPAIR COVERAGE HAD RECENTLY EXPIRED AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE WHATSOEVER. DUE TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC, MY DRIVING HAD BEEN SEVERELY CURTAILED SINCE MARCH. NOW JULY, A REQUIRED WORK TRIP LED TO THIS MALFUNCTION. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE CLASSIFIED AS A RECALL AND NOT A WARRANTY WITH AN EXPIRATION. A MAJOR, FLEE-WIDE BRAKING ISSUE SHOULD REQUIRE THE MANUFACTURER TO REPAIR.

PRIUS HAS LESS THAN 100K MILES AND HAS BEEN RUNNING PERFECTLY. TODAY WHILE DRIVING, THE BRAKE, ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS CAME ON SIMULTANEOUSLY AND BEGAN ALARMING, WHILE SUDDENLY MY BRAKE LOCKED UP. THIS COULD CAUSE ACCIDENT AND INJURY IF IT OCCURRED UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES. APPARENTLY THERE WAS A PREVIOUS BRAKE BOOSTER RECALL THAT I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF AND WHICH HAS SINCE EXPIRED. THIS RECALL SHOULD BE REISSUED TO INCLUDE THE MANY 2010 PRIUSES AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM.