2014 TOYOTA PRIUS V Complaints

INQUIRED RE LAW SUIT RELATED TO INVERTER FAILURE AND RECALL.LEARNED MY WARRANTY WAS EXTENDED TO COVER POSSIBLE FAILURE OF INVERTER.NO REPAIR WAS MADE.OTHER PARTY CONTENDS PART FAILURE IS DANGEROUS.TOYOTA SAYS IT IS RARE AND CAR WILL LIMP HOME.I SAY EXTENDED WARRANTY IS INSUFFICIENT REACTION AND PORTENDS DANGEROUS FAILURE.I SAY FIX THE INVERTED.MY INVERTER HAS NOT YET FAILED. POWER DROP IN TRAFFIC IS DANGEROUS.

TOYOTA ISSUED SAFETY RECALLS E0E AND F0R FOR THE FAILURE OF THE HYBRID INVERTER. IF THE INVERTER HAD NOT FAILED YET, THE TOYOTA'S REMEDY IS A 'SOFTWARE RE-FLASH'. THE SOFTWARE REFLASH 'REMEDY' IS NOT SUFFICIENT. THERE HAVE BEEN AN EXCESSIVE NUMBER OF INVERTER FAILURES AFTER THE SOFTWARE RE-FLASH 'REMEDY' FOR THESE RECALLS HAS BEEN COMPLETED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVERS, AS IT LEADS TO UNINTENDED DECELERATION ' THE PRIUS SPONTANEOUSLY ENTERING 'LIMP-HOME MODE' OR EVEN A 'HYBRID SYSTEM SHUT DOWN'. THIS IS DANGEROUS AS IN RESULTS IN DRASTIC REDUCTIONS, IF NOT THE COMPLETE LOSS, OF POWER. THESE UNINTENDED DECELERATION OCCURRENCES PREDOMINANTLY HAPPEN WHILE THE VEHICLES ARE IN MOTION ' MANY TIMES AT HIGH SPEEDS. BETWEEN ONLY TWO DEALERSHIPS, WE HAVE DOCUMENTED APPROXIMATELY 100 INVERTER FAILURES AFTER THE E0E AND F0R SOFTWARE REFLASH 'REMEDY' HAS BEEN COMPLETED. DURING ONE INVERTER FAILURE, WHICH TOOK PLACE AFTER RECEIVING THE E0E SOFTWARE RE-FLASH, EXCESSIVE HEAT WAS GENERATED WITHIN THE INVERTER THAT MELTED STEEL BOLTS AND CREATED AN ELECTRICAL ARC THAT BLASTED TWO HOLES THROUGH THE ALUMINUM CASE OF THE INVERTER ASSEMBLY. THE DRIVER STATED IF SHE HAD EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE WHILE ON THE FREEWAY, 'SHE WOULDN'T BE HERE ANYMORE.' THE VEHICLE WAS A 2012 MODEL YEAR AND AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE IT HAD ONLY 31,222 MILES ON IT. INSTANCES OF UNINTENDED DECELERATION WILL CONTINUE TO GROW DAILY UNTIL TOYOTA IMPLEMENTS A SUFFICIENT REMEDY THAT WILL PREVENT THESE LOSSES OF POWER FROM OCCURRING. ATTACHED PLEASE FIND A REPORT DETAILING, FOR ONLY TWO DEALERSHIPS, THE INVERTER FAILURES WE'VE EXPERIENCED AFTER THE E0E AND F0R SOFTWARE RE-FLASH REMEDIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. ALSO ATTACHED, PLEASE FIND THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INVERTER WHICH EXPERIENCED THE ELECTRICAL ARC. PLEASE CONSIDER THAT "DATE THIS HAPPENED" AS THE FILING DATE OF THIS REPORT. *JS

SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, THE ODOMETER HAS BEEN OFF BY ABOUT 2 MILES PER HOUR AT 65, AND 3-4 MILES PER HOUR AT 95. THIS MEANS THAT THE OBOE GET IS RECORDING 4% HIGHER MILEAGE THAN WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING DRIVEN. MY CAR IS NOT ALONE, MANY PRIUS V MODELS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE A SOLUTION. THIS NOT ONLY VOIDED MY 100,000 MILE WARRANTY 3-4K MILES EARLY, BUT IT MAKES THE FUEL ECONOMY LOOK BETTER ON PAPER THAN IT ACTUALLY IS- A SELLING POINT THAT TOYOTA TAKES ADVANTAGE OF. TO ME, THIS IS JUST AS BAD AS WHAT VOLKSWAGEN DID WITH THEIR DIESEL VEHICLES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 TOYOTA PRIUS V. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH AND APPROACHING A STOP, THE BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE RELEASED WHEN THE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE SURGED FORWARD. THE CONTACT HAD TO RELEASE AND REAPPLY THE BRAKES IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED AT LEAST TWELVE OTHER TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,000. THE CONSUMER STATED THE FAILURE MORESO RELATES TO A BRAKING FAILURE RATHER THAN SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE "SURGE" THAT WAS FELT WAS RELEASING OF THE BRAKES AND AN ABRUPT HALTING OF THE DRIVER'S COMMANDED DECELERATION. THE BRAKE PEDAL HAD TO BE DEPRESSED TO THE FLOOR OR RELEASED ENTIRELY AND DEPRESSED AGAIN. *JS

THE HEAD GASKET IN THE ENGINE FAILED AT 200K MILES AND WHEN STARTING THE CAR IN THE MORNING THE WHOLE CAR HOOK AND SHUDDERED. THE SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED TO ALL MY OTHER PRIUS V MODELS AT APPROXIMATELY 200K MILES SO I THINK THIS IS A FAULTY GASKET TOYOTA HAS USED IN ALL ITS PRIUS V MODEL CARS FROM 2012 TO 2016 YEARS THEREFORE THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OF THESE CARS WHICH TOYOTA SHOULD FIX WITHOUT CHARGE. I SPENT MORE THAN $4000 TO FIX THE PROBLEM IN EACH CAR. I HAVE 21 PRIUS V CABS AT THE MOMENT MOST HAVE ALREADY HAD THE HEAD GASKET CHANGED AND THOUGHT I"M DONE WITH THIS PROBLEM AND TOYOTA SHOULD TAKE THE BLAME FOR THIS RIGHT NOW. I SPENT $30K TO BUY THIS CAR AND AFTER 2 YEARS FOR IT TO FAIL ON ME THAT'S MESSED UP. EVEN THOUGH IT'S A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE THAT STILL SHOULDN'T BE THE PROBLEM.

THE HEAD GASKET IN THE ENGINE FAILED AT 120000 MILES AND WHEN STARTING THE CAR IN THE MORNING THE WHOLE CAR SHOOK AND SHUDDERED. THE SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED TO MY FRIENDS CAR A 2015 MODEL AT 70000 MILES SO I THINK THIS IS A FAULTY GASKET TOYOTA HAS USED IN ALL ITS PRIUS V MODEL CARS FROM 2013 TO 2016 YEARS THEREFORE THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OF THESE CARS WHICH TOYOTA SHOULD FIX WITHOUT CHARGE. I SPENT $3985 TO FIX THE PROBLEM.

HALFWAY THROUGH PARALLEL PARKING, RIGHT REAR OF CAR BY CURB, FOOT LIGHTLY ON BRAKE, WAS ABOUT TO SHIFT TO D AND WAS LOOKING AROUND FOR ANY PEDESTRIANS SHORT-CUTTING IN FRONT OF CAR BEFORE SHIFTING, WHEN CAR ACCELERATED, NOT STOPPING IN SPITE OF BRAKE, UNTIL SMASHING INTO TREE. (I WAS THROWN AROUND BUT NO ONE ELSE WAS HURT, LUCKILY)

WHEN DRIVING AT 30 MPH, CAR HAS VIBRATION..TOOK BACK TO DEALERSHIP. BRAND NEW CAR, HAD TO PUT 4 BRAND NEW TIRES ON IT. COULD NOT GET IT TO BALANCE..AFTER TWO NEW TIRES..AFTER ALL NEW TIRES BALANCES..ALIGNMENT OK. COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT, BECAUSE IT STILL HAD THE VIBRATION. TALKED TO HIGHER MECHANICS @ TOYOTA VIA PHONE SAID "NATURE OF THE CAR".BEFORE AND AFTER THE 30 MPH IT SMOOTHS OUT AND NO VIBRATION.

PRIVUSV DIMMING REAR VIEW MIRROR. THE MIRROR DOES NOT DIM PROPERLY. THE SENSORS SEEM TO BE IN A LOCATION THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME DOES NOT PICK UP THE LIGHTING FROM THE CAR BEHIND. THIS IS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER. I HAD THE MIRROR REPLACED BOT IT HAD NO EFFECT ON FIXING THE PROBLEM.

VERMIN ATTRACTED TO ECO-FRIENDLY HIGH-VOLTAGE WIRING SHEATH LOCATED IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. VERMIN CHEWED THROUGH SHEATHING AND EXPOSED BARE HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL CABLE. VEHICLE PARKED AND SECURED WHEN EVENT OCCURRED.