2008 Toyota Prius Speed Control & Cruise Problems

My name is [XXX] ,i am filing this report on behalf of My daughter [XXX] the driver of the vehicle that involved with the unintended acceleration on the 2009 Toyota Prius .On a good clear morning on [XXX] . My daughter drove the 2009 Toyota Prius to work- when she enter to the parking lot at the speed round 5 mile/hour . Just when she was making a left turn on to the entrance gate with her left foot on the brake pedal . On a sudden the vehicle RPM unintended rev up too high and the vehicle had an unintended accelerating to move forward aggressively causing lose control of the steering . Also she could not brake even though her left foot was on the brake pedal and pressing hard to try to stop the vehicle . . This dangerous incident causing her Prius to bumped into the electrical gate panel control box . The accident caused some damages to her Prius and to the entrance gate control box though no body was hurt . But it got us through the terrible experience because it could kill some one for sure . My daughter been driving this commute car daily in the past 5 years and she has the skill of 20 year driving with good record . This Prius of her still have all OEM equipments with no add- on parts-,no modifying part on any systems what so ever- and NO extra floor mat cause we been warned before about the possible of unintended acceleration causing by aftermarket floor mat to any vehicles. . We feel unsafe after the mystery accelerating problem on Toyota Vehicle that could take people lives . So the mystery unintended accelerating on car is REAL . I am currently checked and find out her Prius has 2 incomplete recalls (un-notice to us ) but none of them related to the unintended acceleration problem . We would like the NHTSA to take this problem seriously to save people life . I will included photos of this incidents and willing to provide all information if needed to address this problem, again to save lives . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The inverter water pump failed while I was driving 50mph, it caused the car to stop working and the brakes malfunctioned as well. When I tried to hit the brakes I had to hit them a lot harder and it still acted like it wasn’t going to stop. I was lucky enough that the light up ahead was still green and the cars in front of me started going forward.

MY BRAKE, ABS, VSC, AND (!) LIGHTS ARE ON. THE BRAKES WORK AT ROUGHLY 10% STOPPING POWER. MAKES AN AWFUL BUZZING NOISE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED AND THE WARNING CHIME IS ON CONSTANTLY THE HIGH PITCH RING IS UNBEARABLE. I CALLED MY LOCAL TOYOTA SERVICE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE CHAMPAGNE ENDED NOV 30TH 2017. *TR

FOR THE PAST YEAR SINCE I'VE HAD THE VEHICLE THE CAR ACCELERATES INSTEAD OF SLOW DOWN IF I HIT A BUMP OR BEFORE I STEP ON THE BREAK IT SPEED UP AND SLIPS INSTEAD OF SLOW DOWN.

RUNNING ON A CITY STREET AT 20 MILES, GAS PEDAL WOULD NOT WORK, COULD NOT DECREASE OR INCREASE MILEAGE. BRAKE PEDAL WORKED BUT WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN AND FINALLY STOPPED WITH A JERK. A CONSTANT NOISE AND AND HAS A TOYOTA CONFIRMED BRAKE ACCTUATOR PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA REFUSES TO HELP SINCE EXTRA WARRANT EXPIRED IN 12/2017

I WAS IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT WHERE I REAR ENDED VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I TRIED TO STOP BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP OR EVEN MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO SLOW DOWN. MY ANKLE SUFFERED A SEVERE TWIST FROM TRYING TO APPLY BRAKES. THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM TO STOP BUT THE BRAKES WOULD NOT REACT TO SLOW DOWN VEHICLE. THERE WAS A CAR COMING IN THE ONCOMING LANE SO I COULD NOT GO AROUND VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. MY VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION IN THE CITY AND I WAS GOING STRAIGHT. THE PAVEMENT WAS A LITTLE ROUGH AND MY ABS LIGHT WAS GOING OFF AND ALL I COULD DO WAS HIT VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME DUE TO BRAKES FAILING AND NOT SLOWING ME DOWN.

WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT APPROX. 50 MILES PER HOUR PRIUS LOST POWER AND APPEARED TO BE IN NEUTRAL. DID NOT LOSE HEADLIGHTS. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT DOWN AND RESTARTED WITHOUT INCIDENT BUY AM FEARFUL OF IT HAPPENING AGAIN IN TRAFFIC. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 3 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY AND SURGED FORWARD. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A ROCKED LANDSCAPING. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. UPDATED 8/31/2017*CN

DRIVING 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS WITH 105K MILES ON THE FREEWAY. SUDDENLY, I SAW THE ABS,VCS AND BRAKE LIGHTS SHOWS UP ON THE DASHBOARD ALONG WITH A CONTINUOUS SCREECHING NOISE. I TRIED TO APPLY THE BRAKES BUT THE CAR DID NOT STOP, I APPLIED THE BRAKE EVEN HARDER, STILL THE CAR DID NOT STOP BUT CONTINUOUS TO MOVE FORWARD. IT WAS TRAFFIC TIME ON A MONDAY MORNING, SO I WAS GOING ON 15MPH. WHEN I FOUND THAT MY BRAKE DID NOT RESPOND, I IMMEDIATELY MOVED TO THE CURB AND CALLED AAA. DEALER DID CHECK MY VEHICLE AND SAID THERE IS BREAK ACTUATOR ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACE WITH A PRICE TAG OF 3823 USD. SPOKE TO TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND THE ASSOCIATE TOLD THAT THIS IS A WEAR AND TEAR ISSUE. HOW COME THE BRAKE ACTUATOR BECOME FAULTY ON A 6 YEAR OLD CAR, WHICH WAS ADVERTISED A SAFE CAR. NOTE: I HAD MY 100K SERVICE DONE AND I WAS TOLD EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL. *TR

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

ON THIS DATE WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE 5 NEAR LOS ANGELES MY PRIUS MADE A LOUD NOISE AND STARTED SHUTTING DOWN AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE FAR LEFT LANE. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWED DOWN AND THE VSC ICON AS WELL AS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ICON BECAME VISIBLE, HOWEVER THE ODOMETER WAS BLANK AND I COULD NOT TELL WHAT SPEED I WAS TRAVELING, THE CAR WAS COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. ONCE I MANAGED TO GET TO THE FAR RIGHT SHOULDER THE CAR MADE A STOP. I WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED BY A BIG RIG WHICH HAD TO SWERVE TO THE LEFT SIDE IN ORDER TO AVOID HITTING MY CAR. IT WASN'T UNTIL THEN THAT I NOTICED THE RED ENGINE LIGHT ICON DISPLAYED ON THE CONTROL PANEL NOT THE ODOMETER. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS WARNING LIGHT BUT AFTER LOOKING AT THE OWNER'S MANUAL IT CLEARLY STATED THAT ONCE THIS LIGHT APPEARS YOU NEED TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE OR IT WILL CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I NOTICED THIS SIGN AND IT APPEARED AFTER THE FACT. THE CAR HAD NO ENGINE OIL, WHICH WAS RIDICULOUS SINCE I HAD NOT NOTICED ANY LEAKS AND I TAKE MY CAR IN EVERY 2 MONTHS TO THE DEALER FOR AN OIL CHANGE. THE DEALER HAD NO EXPLANATION OTHER THAN IT DID NOT HAVE ANY LEAKS AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO VERIFY WHEN THE RED ENGINE OIL CAME ON. THIS HAPPENED ON 5/30/14, MY LAST VISIT TO THE DEALER WAS ON 4/12/14 AND AT THE TIME THEY DID NOT DETECT ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE OIL LEAKING. THIS CLEARLY MAKES NO SENSE AND THEY ARE REFUSING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. TOYOTA OWNERS SHOULD BE VERY CAUTIOUS AS THIS SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED THE SENSOR SHOULD HAVE GIVEN ME A WARNING PRIOR TO THE CAR SHUTTING DOWN. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED MANY FATALITIES BEING IN A HEAVILY POPULATED HIGHWAY. *TR

IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TWO TIMES WITHIN A MONTH. IN ONE CASE, I WAS TURNING LEFT TO TAKE A RAMP WITH A VERY LOW SPEED AROUND 5 MPH. EVEN THOUGH SOME PARTS OF THE ROAD WAS ICY, BUT THE CAR DIDN'T SLIP. IT WAS EXACTLY A SEVERAL SUDDEN PUSHES, UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE ONLY. I WAS SO SCARED BECAUSE I COULDN'T CONTROL THE CAR FOR FEW SECONDS, AND I THOUGHT I TOTALLY LOST THE CONTROL OF THE CAR. I TRIED TO STEER THE CAR SAFELY AND TURN ON MY EMERGENCY LIGHT. CHECKED THE BRAKE AGAIN, IT WAS WORKING AFTER THAT. THE SECOND TIME, HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS COMING OUT OF SCHOOL PARKING AND DIDN'T HAVE ANY SPEED AT ALL. AGAIN AROUND 5 MPH. SCHOOL IS LOCATED IN RESIDENTIAL AREA. WHEN YOU GET OUT OF THE PARKING, YOU CAN ONLY TURN RIGHT, THEN THERE IS AN INTERSECTION WITH A STOP SIGN ALMOST 50 FEET AWAY. ON THE DAY OF INCIDENT, I TRIED TO STOP BEHIND THE STOP SIGN WITH NO SPEED AT ALL, BUT SUDDENLY THE CAR GOT THE SAME CONTINUOUS AND SUDDEN PUSHES. IT WAS ACCELERATED UNINTENDED. MY FOOT WAS COMPLETELY ON THE BRAKE, BUT I LOST THE CONTROL AGAIN, AND I WAS SO LUCKY THAT DAY THAT THERE WERE NO CARS AROUND THE INTERSECTION, I TRIED TO STEER THE CAR TO THE LEFT, TURNED ON MY EMERGENCY LIGHT, AND TRIED TO PUSH THE BRAKE AGAIN AND AGAIN. AFTER FEW SECONDS, I FOUND IT WORKING. I CALLED THE TOYOTA THE SAME DAY, AND THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING ME FOR INSPECTION. AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THE SURFACE WAS SLICK WITH ICE, BUT I DIDN'T HAVE SPEED, AND IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE ABS IS WORKING. I EXACTLY KNOW HOW ABS WORKS, SPECIALLY WHEN IT IS SNOWY OR ICY. THIS IS VERY SCARY. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. THANKS. *TR

I HAVE A TOYOTA PRIUS AND IT IS USED AS A TAXI IN SAN FRANCISCO. I HAD NOTICED A FEW TIMES THAT THE ENGINE REVS UP WHILE I WAS AT STOP AND THE BATTERY WAS FULLY CHARGED. IT WAS LIKE THE ENGINE PULSE. IDLE TO HIGH REV AND IDLE AGAIN FOR A FEW TIMES AND THAT HAPPENED FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS WHILE ON THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO ACCELERATE BY ITSELF AT THE FIRST WEEK OF NOV 2013 AND HAPPEN AGAIN ON HIGHWAY 101 SOUTH IN MILL VALLEY CA AROUND 8 PM. I HAVE CALLED CITY TOYOTA AND EXPLAINED ABOUT IT BUT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT JUST TOLD ME TO GET APPOINTMENT TO CHECK IT UP. AS I ASSUME MYSELF AS WELL EXPERIENCED DRIVER WITH 25 YEARS OF DRIVING MULTI TYPE OF VEHICLES, IT IS NOT DRIVER ERROR NOR THE PEDAL NOR THE FLOOR MATS. IT IS MECHANICAL OR ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE ENGINE RPMS INCREASED EXCESSIVELY AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. IN ADDITION, THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A WALL. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL AS A PRECAUTION, BUT WAS NOT INJURED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 54,000. UPDATED 11/14/13*CN

WHILE DRIVING,NO MORE GAS POWER,WARNING LIGHTS ON,VSC TOO.THROTTLE RESPONSE WAS NOT WORKING,TURNED OFF THE CAR FOR FEW MINUTES AND RESTARTED IT,IT WORKED FOR A SHORT WHILE AND DID IT AGAIN... TOYOTA OAKLAND SAID I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE THROTTLE BODY.$1600!!! ONE MONTH AFTER THE WARRANTY WORE OFF. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE CONTACT HAD HER HUSBAND DROVE THE VEHICLE AND THE FAILURE RECURRED CAUSING THEM TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND STORED UNTIL IT COULD BE INSPECTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS GIVEN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 70,000. UPDATED 3/22/13 *CN

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT MANUAL FORCE. IN ADDITION, THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE REAR BUMPER OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A CONCUSSION, WHIP LASH, AND INJURIES TO THE NECK AND BACK. THE DRIVER OF THE SECOND VEHICLE SUSTAINED WHIP LASH. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING LESS THAN 20 MPH WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO PARK THE VEHICLE AND IT UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATED UPON ENGAGING THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP AND CRASHED INTO A CEMENT GARAGE WALL. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE FRAME AND FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE FROM THE SCENE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR BODY DAMAGE AND TO BE REPAIRED. THE CAUSE OF FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THERE WAS A PRIOR RECALL REPAIR PERFORMED THAT WAS RELATED TO THE DEFECT UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 09V388000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: ACCELERATOR PEDAL). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000. UPDATED 08/31/11*LJ UPDATED 2/9/12 *CN

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. IN ADDITION, WHILE SHIFTING INTO REVERSE, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN SHIFTED INTO DRIVE AND THE VEHICLE RAPIDLY ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO A TREE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING A DIAGNOSIS OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS THEN CONTACTED WHO REFERRED HIM BACK TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 30,000. UPDATED 05/24/11*LJ UPDATED 05/25/11 UPDATED 06/16/11

MY 2008 PRIUS HAS BEEN ACCELERATING FORWARD AFTER I GO OVER AMY BUMPS IN THE ROAD. IT HAS ALMOST CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS. I ASKED MY SEALSKIN ABOUT IT AND THEY SAID MY PRIUS WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. MY HUSBAND SAYS THIS IS INCORRECT AND IT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM TOO. I DRIVE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND I AM SCARED THIS WILL END IN AM ACCIDENT OR SOMEONE GETTING HURT. *TR