2015 TOYOTA PRIUS V Complaints

PRIUS V3 LUNGING BACKWARDS 1/21/2016 ON THURSDAY 1/21/2016, I WAS PARKED IN A BIG LOT AND AFTER MY APPOINTMENT, GOT IN THE CAR AND TURNED IT ON. BUT RATHER THAN PULL BACKWARDS OUT OF THE SPOT, I DECIDED TO FIRST MAKE A CALL USING BLUETOOTH. THE CALL TOOK ABOUT 10 MINUTES. I THEN HUNG UP, RELEASED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, AND MOVED THE STICK SHIFT INTO REVERSE WITH MY FOOT, OF COURSE, ON THE REGULAR BRAKE. AS I RELEASED THAT BRAKE, THE CAR LUNGED HARD ABOUT 10 FEET BACKWARD ACROSS THE PARKING LOT "DRIVE", INTO WHERE OTHER CARS COULD HAVE BEEN PARKED BUT LUCKILY WEREN'T. I AUTOMATICALLY AND IMMEDIATELY PUT MY FOOT BACK ON THE BRAKE WHICH STOPPED THE CAR. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS BEWILDERED AND SCARED BY WHAT HAD HAPPENED, COUNTING MYSELF VERY LUCKY THERE WAS NO OTHER CAR PARKED BEHIND ME. I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE ENGINE'S LUNGE, I JUST KNOW THAT I HAVE DRIVEN TOYOTA PRIUS CARS FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, LOVE THEM, AND NEVER HAD ANY DRIVING ISSUES. IN RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM ONLINE, I SAW THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CAR'S POWER TRAIN, SINCE SIMILAR LUNGES WERE DESCRIBED IN CARS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.

THE RADIO/NAVIGATION/TELEPHONE SYSTEM ON THE TOYOTA PRIUS V 2015 STARTED FREEZING A FEW WEEKS AFTER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. THE GPS, RADIO, TELEPHONE ETC. ARE ALL CONTROLLED BY A CENTRAL TOUCH SCREEN PANEL ON THE DASHBOARD OF THE VEHICLE. THE GPS BECOMES UN-RESPONSIVE TO TOUCH AND CAN SUDDENLY NO LONGER BE USED! THIS HAS HAPPENED REPEATEDLY BUT RANDOMLY ON MY VEHICLE, AND MANY OWNERS ARE SEEING THE SAME ISSUE ON THEIR PRIUS V 2015 TOO. AFTER A FEW MILES OF DRIVING, THE SCREEN BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE, AND REMAINS UN-RESPONSIVE UNTIL THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND STARTED AGAIN, ESPECIALLY ON HOT DAYS. THE ONLY WAY CERTAIN OWNERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET A PERMANENT FIX FOR THE ISSUE IS BY A REPLACEMENT OF THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM. IT APPEARS THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN FROM TOYOTA T-TT-0336-15 THAT MENTIONS THE ISSUE. HOWEVER, I HAVE ALREADY BEEN TO MY TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER 3 TIMES FOR THIS ISSUE, AND THEY KEEP SAYING THAT THEY CANNOT "REPRODUCE" THE ISSUE, AND NEED TO ANALYZE FURTHER. I HAVE TAKEN MULTIPLE VIDEOS OF THE ISSUE BETWEEN MAR 25 AND AUG 8 AND SHARED WITH THE SERVICE CENTER. BUT THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND TAKE ACTION. IF IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE, WHY IS TOYOTA NOT RECALLING AND REPLACING THE UNIT, CUSTOMERS LIKE ME ARE WASTING TIME, WAITING ENDLESSLY AND WAITING FOR THE "ANALYSIS" WHEN TOYOTA KNOWS THE PROBLEM, AND MUST FIX THE ISSUE PROACTIVELY! PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE TALKED TO THE SERVICE CENTER AS WELL AS WITH TOYOTA CUSTOMER CARE, TRYING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE IN GOOD FAITH, BUT THEY ASKED ME TO CONTACT NHTSA IF I HAVE ANY COMPLAINT, OR KEEP GOING THROUGH THEIR ANALYSIS PROCESS - THEY ARE NOT READY TO OWN UP TO THE ISSUE AND FIX IT PROACTIVELY, NOT JUST FOR ME, BUT FOR ALL OWNERS OF THE AFFECTED VEHICLES.