2011 Toyota Prius Speed Control & Cruise Problems

The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while her husband was driving approximately 40-50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the accelerator pedal failed to go back to the normal position and remained stuck. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's husband depressed the brake pedal, and the engine revved significantly. The driver was able to pull to the side of the road. The driver turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

See attached document for complaint

The conditions listed in Toyota Customer Support Program ZJB for the brake booster and master cylinder occurred after the 10 year in service date on my vehicle. Brake, ABS, and Traction control warning lights turn on intermittently and when this happens brake response is poor and cruise control shuts off. When applying the brakes an audible tat tat tat sound can be heard from the front of the car that sounds like the ABS being triggered. You should have toyota recall impacted cars and fix the issue as outlined in the TSB and support campaign.

BREAK ACTUATOR IS FAILING IN MY 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CAR NOW HAS A UNPREDICTABLE ABS BREAKING SYSTEM. SOMETIMES THE BREAKS WORK AND SOMETIMES THEY QUICKLY FAIL AND A ERROR LIGHT COMES ON. THE LIGHT THAN GOES OUT AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED AND ALL IS FINE. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM THAT WILL LEAD TO MANY ACCIDENTS BECAUSE THE VEHICLE TELLS YOU ITS GOOD TO GO, MEAN WHILE THE ABS SYSTEM IS FAILING TO STOP THE VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY. I AM SCARED BECAUSE I DONT KNOW IF THE CAR WILL DO THIS ON A TURN THEN LOSE CONTROL INJURING MYSELF AND OTHERS.

IN MOTION WHILE ACCELERATING PAST A SLOWER CAR. HEARD AND FELT A PRONOUNCED THUMP AND LOST ENGINE POWER ON BUSY LOCAL THOROUGHFARE. MOVED TO A TURN LANE AND STOPPED. MULTIPLE DASHBOARD LIGHTS AND "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" ON LED DISPLAY. POWER OFF CAR, AND BACK ON TWICE AND GOT THE SAME ERROR ON DISPLAY. FOUND THAT CAR COULD MOVE ON EV POWER AND I GOT IT INTO A SAFER LOCATION AT AN ADJACENT PARKING LOT. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO REPAIR FACILITY. AS A DRIVER THIS WAS DISCONCERTING AS I COULD NOT CLEARLY DETERMINE IF THE CAR WAS AT ALL DRIVEABLE. IF A DRIVER WERE TO STOP IMMEDIATELY IN THE SAME SITUATION THEY WOULD BE ON THE ROADWAY. IF I HAD NOT PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AFTER POWERING ON THE CAR AGAIN I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN I COULD MOVE THE CAR TO A SAFER LOCATION. DISPLAY SHOULD READ "HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE" THEN "LIMITED EV POWER AVAILABLE" THEN "MOVE TO SAFE AREA IF NECESSARY" CAUSE: HYBRID INVERTER FAILURE. REPAIRED BY TOYOTA UNDER 2014 EOE AND NEW 10/2018 RECALL J0A

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED EVEN WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS NOT DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT THE VEHICLE STILL ACCELERATED AND SOUNDED AS IF IT WERE IN NEUTRAL. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED APPROXIMATELY TWENTY TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 154,000.

THIS IS THE SECOND COMPLAINT FOR THE SAME VEHICLE AND THE SAME COMPLAINT. THE FIRST OCCURRED 11/11/2016. I WAS MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN INTO A PARKING SPOT IN THE SAME PARKING LOT. AS I TURNED INTO THE SPOT AND RELEASED MY FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR MY CAR ACCELERATED. THIS TIME I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE BEFORE STRIKING ANOTHER CAR OR THE HANDICAPPED RAMP.

MAKING RIGHT TURN INTO A PARKING SPOT AND THE CAR ACCELERATED STRIKING A PARKED CAR TO MY RIGHT AND MY CAR WAS STOPPED BY A CEMENT HANDICAP RAMP. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE FRONT END DAMAGE TO MY CAR, AS WELL AS THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. THE CAR ON MY HAD THE RIGHT FRONT BUMPER REMOVED AND THE WROUGHT IRON RAILING ON THE RAMP SEVERELY DENTED.

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE - IT CAN BE MONTHS BETWEEN EVENTS - OUR PRIUS MOMENTARILY SLAMS ON THE BRAKES WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHILE NOTHING ELSE IS GOING ON. WE KNOW IT'S NOT OPERATOR ERROR. IT'S HAPPENED TO MY WIFE SEVERAL TIMES AND ME ONCE. WHEN IT HAPPENED TO ME I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT AHEAD ON A DRY, LIGHTLY TRAVELED DIVIDED HIGHWAY DURING THE DAY. EVERYTHING ON THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS UP, ALARMS GO OFF, THE CAR DECELERATES LIKE I SUDDENLY STOMPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL THOUGH MY FOOT NEVER MOVED OFF OF THE GAS, IT LASTS FOR MAYBE A SECOND AND THEN THE CAR IS BACK TO NORMAL. IT'S THE SAME EACH TIME IT'S HAPPENED. LUCKILY EACH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED WE HAVEN'T HAD ANYONE TAILGATING US. WE'VE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER MULTIPLE TIMES. THE FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES THEY LOOKED AT US LIKE WE WERE LOONY. THEY CHECKED IT OUT AND WE GOT IT BACK WITH A MESSAGE THAT SAID THE TECHNICIAN CHECKED THE COMPUTER AND TEST DROVE IT FOR 20 MILES AND THE CAR WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. EXCEPT IT HAPPENED AGAIN. WE FINALLY CONVINCED THEM THAT THIS WAS MAYBE A LEGITIMATE ISSUE AND THEY SAID THEY BROUGHT IN A TOYOTA FIELD SPECIALIST WHO CHECKED THE CAR OUT AND THEY SAID THAT THE ISSUE WAS THE PCS WAVE RADAR SENSOR THAT WAS SLIGHTLY OUT OF ALIGNMENT DUE TO BODY DAMAGE (MY WIFE HAD HIT A SMALL DEER ABOUT A YEAR PRIOR TO THAT - DAMAGE WAS MINOR AND REPAIRED AT A LOCAL BODY SHOP). AFTER THEY REALIGNED THE SENSOR, THE CAR BEHAVED ITSELF FOR ABOUT FIVE MONTHS. UNTIL YESTERDAY WHEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK THE VEHICLE INTO A SPACE AT APPROXIMATELY 3 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. THE VEHICLE TRAVELED INTO A SEMI CIRCLE AND STRUCK A PARKED VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER, BUT NO DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 19,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING AT 5 MPH, A 90 DEGREE LEFT TURN WAS MADE AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AT HIGH SPEED AND JUMPED THE CURB. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 93,081.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK AT 3 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY AND CRASHED INTO A PARKING BUMPER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,000. UPDATED 11/17/2014*LJ UPDATED 4/29/2015*JS

FIRST INCIDENT: WAS TRAVELING APPROX. 15 MPH ON SIDE STREET. ICY CONDITIONS. ATTEMPTED TO STOP AT STOP SIGN AND CAR LURCHED FORWARD, CARRYING ME THROUGH INTERSECTION. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT REPLICATE AND THOUGHT MAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN FULLY SEATED. TOYOTA CASE # [XXX] 2ND AND THIRD INCIDENCES ONE MONTH LATER (BOTH ON 2/23/2013) IN FINE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 25 MPH. ATTEMPTED TO STOP AT STOP SIGN AND CAR LURCHED FORWARD. TOYOTA CASE # [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR.... UPDATED 03/08/13 *BF

2011 PRIUS, USA EQUIPMENT PACKAGE FIVE. 20000 MILES DRIVEN -- RECOMMENDED SERVICE DONE EVERY 5000, INCLUDING THE 20000 SERVICE DONE LESS THAN 1000 MILES AGO. EASTBOUND ON I-78, A FEW EXITS WEST OF ALLENTOWN PA. SPEED LIMIT 65, RADAR CRUISE SET TO 68 AND DEFAULT THREE-BARS [MAX DISTANCE]. ALL WAS GOOD FOR 30 OR SO MILES OF ROLLING HILLS AND LIGHT TRAFFIC. THEN, WITH NO CHANGE IN TRAFFIC DENSITY OR AVERAGE TRAFFIC SPEED, THE PRIUS STARTED SLOWING DOWN -- AS WOULD BE QUITE APPROPRIATE IF THE DRIVER AHEAD OF ME HAD EASED UP ON THE GAS. 60, 55, 50, 45. NOT QUICKLY -- NO WHERE NEAR AS QUICKLY AS IF I WERE TO TURN OFF THE CRUISE. IT WAS AS THOUGH THERE WAS TRAFFIC SLOWING DOWN AHEAD AND THE RADAR WAS JUST RESPONDING TO IT. BUT THE TRAFFIC AHEAD WAS NOT SLOWING DOWN. NO BEEPS, NO BRAKE ASSIST -- THE PRIUS JUST GENTLY SLOWED DOWN -- IN FACT, THE 'CAR AHEAD' ICON WAS STILL DISPLAYED ON THE CRUISE INDICATOR -- BUT IN REALITY, THE CAR AHEAD WAS FAR BEYOND WHERE 'CAR AHEAD' SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISPLAYED. HE WAS STILL DOING 65 WHILE I WAS DOWN TO 45. I WAS WATCHING AHEAD AND BEHIND ME -- STILL WONDERING IF THE RADAR HAD SEEN SOMETHING I WAS MISSING -- AND DIDN'T REALLY RESUME ACTIVE CONTROL TILL CARS BEHIND STARTED TO GET CLOSE [I REALLY WAS CONCERNED THE PRIUS SAW SOMETHING I DIDN'T!]. AS THE CARS BEHIND GOT CLOSER, I JUST PUSHED DOWN ON THE GAS -- NEVER DE-ACTIVATED THE CRUISE -- AND WHEN BACK AT 60 OR SO, THE CRUISE AGAIN STARTED TO ACT 'NORMALLY'. THERE WERE NO CODES RECORDED, SO I DON'T EXPECT THE DEALER TO EVEN WANT TO LOOK AT IT. TOYOTA HAS NOT RESPONDED ON THIS ISSUE SO FAR [OTHER THAN TO SEND SPAM ADVERTISING EMAIL]. *TR

WE'VE BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE DRCC (DYNAMIC RADAR CRUSE CONTROL) ON OUR 2011 PRIUS. THE DRCC LOCKS UP (FREEZES) -LOCKING ONTO A PHANTOM VEHICLE AHEAD AND ACTIVATING THE BEEPER/APPLYING THE BRAKES -' EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO VEHICLE IS AHEAD! THIS CREATES A SAFETY HAZARD AS THE CAR SUDDENLY DECELERATES AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS WITH NO WARNING TO VEHICLES BEHIND. WE HAVE HAD 7 OCCURRENCES OF THIS PROBLEM. A SEARCH OF THE HTSA DATABASE YIELDS TWO SIMILAR REPORTS (10448415 & 10421208). IN ALL CASES THIS HAS OCCURRED ON CLEAR SUNNY DAYS AS THE CAR WAS PASSING A SEMI TRACTOR-TRAILER ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY WHEN OUR CAR WAS PASSING THE SEMI'S CAB. IN MOST CASES, THERE WAS NO VEHICLE IN FRONT (CAR IN CONSTANT SPEED MODE) - IT JUST SUDDENLY ACTED LIKE THERE WAS ONE! WHENEVER THIS OCCURS, THE CAR KEEPS BRAKING AND THE ONLY IMMEDIATE SOLUTION IS TO TURN DISENGAGE THE CRUSE CONTROL. WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS HIGH (ABOVE 90 DEGREES) WHEN WE RE-ENGAGE THE DRCC, THE UNIT IS STILL LOCKED UP! WHAT CLEARED THE LOCKED UP CONDITION WAS TURNING OFF THE CAR. ON ONE OCCASION, WHEN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE HAD DROPPED BELOW 90 DEGREES THE DRCC CLEARED ITSELF. I HAVE A LOG OF ALL 7 OCCURRENCES OF THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA ABOUT THIS PROBLEM (CASE #S [XXX] & [XXX]) AND THEY HAD ME TAKE THE CAR TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER WHO USED THEIR TECHSCAN TOOL TO DOWNLOAD ANY SYSTEM GENERATED ERROR CODES - THEY FOUND NONE. (OF COURSE, IF THE SOFTWARE DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THAT MALFUNCTION HAS OCCURRED, NO ERROR CODE WILL BE GENERATED.) THE DEALER ALSO TOOK THE CAR OUT ON A COUPLE OF (SHORT) TEST DRIVES, BUT THE SYSTEM PERFORMED NORMALLY. *NOTE: A POSSIBLE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT, WHEN HOT, THE RADAR UNIT IS PICKING UP SIGNALS FROM THE TRUCK'S SATELLITE POSITION REPORTING SYSTEM. THERE ARE SEVERAL ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING FAULTS THAT COULD LEAD TO THIS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

DROVE OVER A SPEED HUMP, AND AS THE FRONT TIRES HIT THE LEVEL PAVEMENT, THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD. RESPONDED TO BRAKES JUST FINE. HAPPENED AGAIN A WEEK LATER AS BOTH FRONT TIRES SIMULTANEOUSLY WENT OVER AN EDGE DROPOFF AT A CONSTRUCTION AREA. *TR

PERIODICALLY, AFTER GOING OVER A BUMP AT FAIRLY LOW SPEEDS, THE CAR WILL ACCELERATE. IN LIGHT OF THE OTHER UNINTENDED ACCELERATION ISSUE REPORTED UNDER ODI 10499911, I WONDER IF THESE TWO EVENTS ARE RELATED -- POSSIBLY SOMETHING TO DO WITH GOING FROM THE MOTOR TO THE BATTERY? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 15,000. UPDATED 8/11/14*CN

FIRST INCIDENT: WAS TRAVELING APPROX. 68 MPH ON 405 FREEWAY IN LOS ANGELES (DOWNHILL INTO THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY). DRY CONDITIONS. ATTEMPTED TO STOP AS CARS AHEAD OF ME BEGAN TO SLOW/HALT AND CAR LURCHED FORWARD, CARRYING ME TO ALMOST HIT THE CAR AHEAD OF ME, STOPPING ONLY INCHES BEHIND. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT REPLICATE AND DISMISSED MY CONCERNS. MULTIPLE SIMILAR INCIDENTS ALL IN GOOD WEATHER HAVE OCCURRED. MOST RECENTLY ON SURFACE ROAD WITH UNEVEN PAVEMENT, TRAVELING AT LESS THAN 15 MPH. BRAKING FOR STOPPED VEHICLES AHEAD, RESULTED IN CAR LURCHING AHEAD. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY AFTER THE BRAKES AND START BUTTON WERE DEPRESSED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 28,600.