2011 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN TRYING TO STOP, THE VEHICLE WOULD LOSS CONTROL OF THE BRAKING WHEN GOING OVER EVEN THE SMALLEST OF BUMPS. A FEW TIMES EVEN THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT WOULD LUMINATE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. IT ALSO APPEARED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE JUST SLIGHTLY DURING THIS BRAKING RATHER THAN SLOWING DOWN. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE HOW THE VEHICLE FELT, IS AS IF IT WAS "HYDROPLANING", THERE WAS NOT CONTROL OVER THE STEERING OR BRAKING. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE GOES OVER ANY TYPE OF BUMPS, OR POTHOLES. I HAVE CHILDREN AND THIS IS DEFINITELY A CONCERN. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS IS "NORMAL", HOWEVER I FEAR IT IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

OWNER OF VEHICLE DRIVING TO WORK WHEN THEY OBSERVED A RED GLOW IN FRONT OF THEM. THE OWNER THEN OBSERVED SMOKE FROM THE FRONT. THE OWNER PULLED OFF ROADWAY AND MORE SMOKE DEVELOPED. THE VEHICLE THEN CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE FIRE CONSUMED THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. A FIRE SCENE EXAMINATION WAS PERFORMED AND THE ORIGIN WAS DETERMINED TO BE IN THE PASSENGER SIDE DASH AREA WHERE CIRCUIT BOARDS AND WIRING BUNDLES WERE LOCATED. THE FIRE RESULTED IN A TOTAL LOSS OF THE VEHICLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN MAKING A TURN THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD BECOME STUCK IN THE POSITION THE VEHICLE WAS TURNING TOO. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,117.

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SLOT IN A PARKING LOT, WHICH WAS ON A SLOPE, I APPLIED THE FOOT BRAKE WITHOUT ANY RESPONSE WHATSOEVER. THE VEHICLE GAINED ENOUGH SPEED TO JUMP THE SMALL STOP-CURB AND HIT A CONCRETE WALL NEXT TO IT. THE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR WAS JUST OVER $4000. I THOUGHT I HAD MISSED THE PEDAL. ON JUNE 12TH AND 15TH, I HAD TWO MORE INCIDENTS OF THE BRAKE PEDAL GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR WHILE EITHER AT SLOW SPEED OR STOPPED. MY DEALER SAYS IT WAS A PROBLEM ON THE 2010, BUT HE HAS NOT SEEN IT ON A 2011. MY WIFE NOW REFUSES TO DRIVE THE CAR. *TR

THE PRIUS BRAKES DO NOT WORK WELL UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. WHEN I SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE AND AM OVER UNEVEN PAVEMENT OR A POTHOLE, THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT LURCHES FORWARD FOR A SPLIT SECOND. MY REACTION IS ONE OF PANIC AND TO PRESS HARDER ON THE BRAKES. MY WIFE AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS FOUR TIMES SINCE WE HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. WE FEEL VERY UNSURE OF THE BRAKES AND WORRY FOR BICYCLISTS OR PEDESTRIANS. *TR

THE CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT AT 6:45 AM. WHEN I RETURNED TO THE CAR AT 3:45 PM, I FOUND THAT THE DRIVERS SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED SOMETIME THAT DAY. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF COLLISION OR IMPACT. THE CAR WAS DIRTY, AND THE DUST HAD NOT BEEN DISTURBED. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS 227 MILES OVER THE WARRANTY FOR THE AIRBAG (AT 60,227 MILES TOTAL). THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND FOUND NO ERROR CODE OR REASON FOR THE AIRBAG TO HAVE DEPLOYED. I CONTACTED TOYOTA AND HAVE NOT YET BEEN GIVEN ANY INDICATION OF HOW THEY WILL HANDLE THE INCIDENT, THOUGH I WAS QUIZZED EXTENSIVELY. THE COST TO REPAIR THE EXTENSIVE INTERIOR DAMAGE TO THE CAR IS $3000. *TR

THE HEADLAMPS BURNED OUT ON VEHICLE START-UP FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN 73,451 MILES. THE HEADLAMP BULBS LAST AN AVERAGE OF 14,700 MILES. I WEAR LATEX GLOVES AND AM CRITICALLY CAREFUL TO NEVER TOUCH THE BULBS, BUT THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE CAR CLEARLY HAS A POORLY REGULATED POWER SUPPLY THAT STRESSES THE BULBS AT START-UP. MY PREVIOUS 2006 PRIUS ATE HID BULBS, SO I INTENTIONALLY PURCHASED A 2011 MODEL VARIANT THAT USED CONVENTIONAL HALOGEN BULBS TO ESCAPE THE CONSTANT BULB FAILURE ISSUES WITH PRIUS. TO NO AVAIL. CONSTANTLY BURNING OUT HEADLAMPS IS A CONTINUING TOYOTA SAFETY HAZARD THAT NHTSA NEEDS TO FINALLY ADDRESS. *TR

FROM THE VERY START OF MY OWNER SHIP OF A NEW TOYOTA PRIUS, THE CAR STARTED LUNGING WHEN I WOULD TRY TO STOP. IT HAS CONTINUED TO DO SO AND I FINALLY ASKED A FRIEND WHO ALSO HAS A PRIUS IF SHE HAS THAT PROBLEM TOO AND SHE DOES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BUT I FEAR THE SAFETY OF A CAR THAT LUNGES WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO BRAKE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. UPDATED 11/24/2014 *JS

THE INSTRUMENT DISPLAY IS TO DIM TO READ IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT, ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING DIRECTLY TOWARD THE AFTERNOON SUN ON A CLEAR DAY. MY WIFE, WHO VIEWED THE DISPLAY AS A FRONT-SEAT PASSENGER, AGREES WITH ME. TO SEE HOW FAST I WAS GOING, I HAD TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD AND ALLOW MY EYES TO ADJUST TO THE DARKENED DISPLAY FOR SEVERAL SECONDS. AS A RESULT, I WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN A STEADY SPEED ON THE HILLY TERRAIN. DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS, MY SPEED VARIED ERRATICALLY BETWEEN 70 AND 80, MORE OR LESS, ON AN INTERSTATE WITH A SPEED LIMIT WAS 75. DESPITE MY GENERAL MISGIVINGS ABOUT CRUISE CONTROL, I FINALLY HAD TO RESORT TO IT TO STEADY MY SPEED. THE INCIDENT ABOVE WAS MY WORST EXPERIENCE, BUT VIEWING THE DISPLAY IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NEW. MOREOVER, THIS WAS ALSO A PROBLEM WITH A 2005 PRIUS WHICH WE PREVIOUSLY OWNED. THIS IS A GENUINE SAFETY HAZARD! THE TWO VEHICLES MENTIONED ABOVE, AT LEAST, AND POSSIBLY OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLES, NEED TO BE RETROFITTED WITH A DISPLAY THAT CAN BE READILY SEEN IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT, BUT WHICH CAN BE ADEQUATELY DIMMED FOR NIGHT DRIVING. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE BRAKING ON AN INCLINE, AN ABNORMAL METAL-ON-METAL NOISE WAS HEARD FROM THE VEHICLE. THE NOISE WOULD BECOME LOUDER WHEN THERE WAS ONLY ONE OCCUPANT IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FIVES TIMES HOWEVER, THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,456.