2002 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY BETWEEN 65-75 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS WHEN ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHT INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. SUDDENLY, A STRONG BURNING ODOR CIRCULATED INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND THE ENGINE BEGAN TO OVERHEAT. THE WARNING INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED UNTIL THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF. THE CRUISE CONTROL, POWER WINDOWS SYSTEM AND CELLULAR PHONE POWER OUTLET BECAME INOPERATIVE. THE DRIVER PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE ENGINE OFF. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AND RESUMED OPERATION WITH CAUTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE FAILURE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE TRANSAXLE. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED FOR THE MALFUNCTIONS. THE CONTACT PREVIOUSLY OWNED A 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS AND EXPERIENCED THE IDENTICAL FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 68,500. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

I DRIVE A 2002 PRIUS. IN THE SIX YEARS THAT I'VE OWNED MY CAR, I'VE NOTICED THAT THERE'S A LOSS OF BRAKING, AND EVEN SLIGHT ACCELERATION, WHEN I TRY TO BRAKE OVER A BUMP OR POTHOLE. I'VE EXPERIENCED THIS ABOUT HALF A DOZEN TIMES TOTAL. FORTUNATELY, I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECT. I NEVER ASKED A MECHANIC TO FIX THE PROBLEM, AND I NEVER GAVE IT MUCH THOUGHT (I JUST LEARNED TO DRIVE MUCH MORE SLOWLY ON BUMPY ROAD SURFACES). I SAW THAT THE NHTSA ISSUED A STATEMENT ON FEB. 9 ABOUT THE BRAKES ON THE 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS AND MADE THE CONNECTION THAT PERHAPS MY OLDER-MODEL PRIUS WAS ALSO SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE SAME BRAKING PROBLEM. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS THAT I'VE HAD FOR SOME 7 YEARS. THE STEERING IS VERY SENSITIVE MAKING IT NECESSARY TO ALWAYS ATTEND TO ACCURACY IN STEERING. I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS A CHACTERISTIC OF THE DESIGN, BUT NOW I WONDER IF THIS IS ACTUALLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT BECAUSE OF REPORTS I SEE ON OTHER MODELS" ""IF YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD FOR A SECOND, THE CAR WILL DRIFT INTO ANOTHER LANE," SAID ONE DRIVER AN OCT. 18 COMPLAINT. ANOTHER DESCRIBES IT AS THE MOST TERRIFYING THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO THEM." THIS DESCRIBES MY EXPERIENCE. *TR

MY 2002 PRIUS HAS BRAKING PROBLEMS WHEN IT HITS A ROUGH PATCH OF PAVEMENT OR ENCOUNTERS SMALL BUMPS. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED (NEW). IF YOU ARE SLOWING DOWN AND HIT A BUMP OR A SERIES OF BUMPS, THE BRAKING POWER LITERALLY DISAPPEARS FOR A MOMENT OR TWO. THE BRAKING POWER DOES RETURN, BUT IT ADDS CONSIDERABLY TO YOUR STOPPING DISTANCE. I NEVER REALIZED HOW SERIOUS IT COULD BE UNTIL I HEARD ABOUT THE OTHER TOYOTA RECALLS INVOLVING BRAKES. *TR

I BELIEVE TOYOTA HAS KNOWN OF THE BRAKING PROBLEM ALL ALONG. I PURCHASED NEW, A 2002 PRIUS. IN 2008 MY ANTI-LOCKING BRAKE SYSTEM WENT OUT. THE SERVICE MGR. TOLD ME IT NEEDED A NEW RELAY, AND HE COULD FIX IT FOR $1700. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE SEEN A RELAY COSTING $1700. MY BRAKES STILL WORKED, JUST NOT PROPERLY SO I DIDN'T SPEND THE $1700. AS LONG AS TOYOTA CAN GET THEIR CUSTOMERS TO SPEND $1700. THERE IS NO NEED TO HAVE A RECALL. I HAVE AROUND 47000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE AND AM ON MY THIRD SET OF ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS. MY TIRES ACTUALLY LAST LONGER. I BELIEVE THIS BRAKING PROBLEM HAS BEEN AROUND FROM DAY ONE. I THINK RAY LAHOOD SHOULD CHECK FREQUENCY OF THIS REPAIR AGAINST CUSTOMERS RECORDS, IT MIGHT REVEAL A CONSISTENT FAULT. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS THAT EXHIBITS THE SAME ACCELERATION AS IN THE 2010 RECALL. DURING BRAKING IF I AM TO HIT A MAN HOLE COVER OR POT HOLE THE CAR SEEMS TO LOSE THE ABILITY TO BRAKE AND SKIPS FORWARD. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME I HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD WHILE BRAKING. I HAVE OWNED THE CAR FOR OVER 2 YEARS AND HAVE HAD THE BRAKES REPLACED WITHOUT RESOLVE. *TR

I DRIVE A USED 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS, WHICH NOW HAS ABOUT 86,000 MILES ON IT. IN NOVEMBER 2009 I WAS PARKING WHEN THE CAR SPONTANEOUSLY ACCELERATED. MY SPEED WAS LESS THAN 2MPH, MY FOOT WAS CONTINUOUSLY ON THE BRAKE WHILE EASING INTO THE PARKING SPACE, PRIOR TO THE UNCONTROLLABLE ACCELERATION. SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING I HEARD THE ENGINE RACE AND THE CAR BOLTED FORWARD, UNRESPONSIVE TO MY BRAKING. I ONLY STOPPED WHEN MY CAR COLLIDED HEAD ON WITH A PARKED CAR, WHICH WAS MOVED ABOUT TWO FEET BY OUR COLLISION. IT HAPPENED TOO FAST TO EVEN THINK OF CHANGING GEAR INTO NEUTRAL, BECAUSE I WAS ONLY 5 FEET FROM THE OTHER CAR WHEN THE SPONTANEOUS ACCELERATION OCCURRED. AFTER THE ACCIDENT I LOOKED FOR CAUSE AND I DETERMINED THAT NO OBJECT IN THE CAB HAD ACCIDENTALLY PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, INCLUDING THE FLOOR MAT. I BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE OF THE SMALL NUMBER OF DRIVERS EXPERIENCING UNCONTROLLABLE ACCELERATION OUT OF THE MILLIONS OF TOYOTAS SOLD, THAT THE PHENOMENON IS CAUSED BY TWO OR MORE INDEPENDENT ERRORS IN THE VEHICLE ELECTRONICS, OCCURRING UNFORTUNATELY AT THE SAME TIME. THE CONFLUENCE OF TWO UNLIKELY EVENTS HAS EVEN SMALLER PROBABILITY, THEREFORE FEW OCCURRENCES. FOR EXAMPLE IF THE CRUISE CONTROL FAILED TO DISENGAGE AND ALSO THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DELAY IN THE SIGNAL FROM BRAKE PEDAL TO BRAKE DRUMS, THE COMBINATION COULD BE TRAGIC. THE TOYOTA PRIUS 2002 MODEL WHICH I DRIVE HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED; HOWEVER SINCE THE ACCIDENT I HAVE BEEN EVER ON THE ALERT, PREPARED TO GEAR INTO NEUTRAL. EVEN THIS VIGILANCE WILL NOT PROVIDE SAFETY IF THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MY CAR AND AN OBSTACLE OR CREVASSE IS SHORT WHEN THE FLAW SURFACES AGAIN; GIVEN THE FINITE SPEED OF HUMAN NERVOUS TRANSMISSION, THE CAR'S SUDDEN, UNCONTROLLABLE ACCELERATION NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. *CN

2002 PRIUS SUDDENLY SPEEDED UP JUST BEFORE I GOT TO WAIST HIGH BACK DECK OF OUR HOUSE. I HIT THE CLIP ON SUNVISOR. HAD 25 STITCHES IN SCALP. HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MODEL IN RECALL. CAR WAS TOTALED. DID NOT HAVE ON SEATBELT AS I WAS ONLY GETTING THE PAPER AT THE END OF LONG DRIVEWAY EARLY IN THE AM.*JB

MY 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS BRAKES SOMETIMES DON'T WORK WHEN STOPPING AT A SLOW SPEED. IT HAPPENS WHEN GOING OVER BUMPS AND POTHOLES. THE BRAKE TAKES A SECOND BEFORE MAKING CONTACT WITH THE BRAKE PAD. IT CAN HAPPEN ALSO WHEN GOING OVER MULTIPLE BUMPS AND POTHOLES LEAVING THE CAR UNABLE TO BRAKE FOR A FEW SECONDS. THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP ON THIS ISSUE. *TR

TLA*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, SUDDENLY, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY WITH EXCESSIVE VIBRATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE FAILURE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE STEERING MECHANISM CHIP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED FOR THE MALFUNCTION. ON A SEPARATE OCCASION THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DRIVER FORCED THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT AS A RESULT OF THE WHEEL UNLOCKED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESUME TO NORMAL OPERATION. AT THIS TIME THE VEHICLE IS NOT BEING DRIVEN DUE TO THE POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. UPDATED 03/01/10 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THE SHAKING WOULD STOP WHEN THE WHEEL WAS STRAIGHTENED. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER CHIP. UPDATED 07/19/10*JB