Problems with 2005 Toyota Prius SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. the contact was driving 20 mph and applying the brakes when the skid control warning light illuminated. the vehicle began to slide uncontrollably. the contact was able to gain control. the failure would occur during braking in low gear; traveling uneven roads or gravel. the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired at the time of the complaint. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

While stopped at a stop light, my brakes failed and pedal released to the floor. toyota of visalia service manager stated that computer showed codes c1357 and detail code 28. they were unable to determine case of brake failure, or duplicate problem. although i requested they replace components that may be responsible for the incident, given the catastrophic possibilities associated with brake failure at high speeds, they refused. *nm

1. multiple events, in order of frequency: a) high speed w/cruise control (65-75mph) b) high speed before braking (65-75mph) c) hitting a bump before braking 2. multiple events: a) car suddenly accelerated on its own and was difficult to slow / occurred multiple times, maybe 12-15 occurrences / gained control by turning cruise control off and firmly pressing on brake pedal b&c) car was initially unresponsive to braking / multiple times, approximately 3-5 / eventually slowed after firm compression on the brake pedal 3. multiple events: a) i no longer use cruise control b&c) i am very observant whenever i brake. *tr

I have reviewed my service records and it is quite clear that i have had problems with the "electrical" system in my car since april 2006 @ 3,370 miles. this was also the same time it began to accelerate from a stopped position for the first time, when i noticed that the braking system began to "feel" different, when the car began "slipping" on perfectly dry roads, and when my steering wheel would lock up. i find it difficult to believe that the failure of my brakes and my intermittent acceleration issues are not somehow related to the cars "computer" system and not mechanical issues. i have filed complaints with toyota for these issues (cases # 200807100210, 200811030088). i experienced my first braking issue on 27-jun-2008 (25,133 miles). while i was able to bring the car to a stop eventually, the slowing of my car was a very gradual process requiring heavy pressure on the brake with minimal braking response. i went to the toyota dealership. the dtc code at the time was c1247 with "code 179" stored, there was "no brake assist." the dealership reset the memory and reinitialized the linear solenoid valve and calibration. the brakes were reported to have returned to "normal." on 09-jul-2008 (25,551 miles), i returned to the dealership because my brakes failed again. this time my brake failure resulted in a car accident (the person i hit stated at the time of the accident he had whiplash but he never contacted me afterwards). toyota replaced the skid control ecu and rechecked operation reassuring me once again that the brakes had returned to "normal." on 03-nov-2008 (29,575 miles) as i was driving over 65 on a major highway my brakes again failed (dtc c1247, code 179). toyota case #08300402. at this point the repair shop replaced the brake stroke sensor. i am concerned because my car had an acceleration issue on 13-feb-2010 and i find it to be "slipping" again on dry roads. similar problems to those i had before my brakes failed. please help. updated ivoq 04/02/10 updated 04/08/10.*jb

We ordered a 2005 prius in the fall of 2004 and received delivery in may 2005. my wife drives the car more often than i do and she informed me that during times of wet or rainy conditions the brakes "grab' when applied. this braking problem was not apparent during the first year. i've experience the brake "grab" evertime i drive it in wet weather, and even though i try to avoid it by gently applying the brakes, they they still "grab" this is just not a "one time" occurence...i have read the reports from other prius owners about the brakes. if there is a fix, and there should be, toyota should take care of this and not be in denial. *tr

I have been complaining to the dealer since i have had my 2005 prius (i bought it new) that at slow speeds on occasion when i just very lightly touch the brake my prius will suddenly stop as if i had slammed on the brakes. they insist that they have to see the problem before they can do anything about it. naturally the car doesn't do it when they have it for service. i selected "service brakes hydraulic" below because, you don't have a selection for just "brakes". *tr

I noticed a problem with breaking. it would lunge forward if i hit a manhole cover or any bump. i complained to the toyota dealer and they told me it was normal because of the abs. it didn't seem normal and i've gotten used to it but i was frightened the first few times. *cn

Brakes stopped working. *jb

Please be advised that the braking problem in the toyota prius is not a 2010 model problem only. i complained to my dealer at least 3 years ago that my 2005 prius lurched forward when braking on bump or even a manhole cover. they did not consider it a serious problem at the time. your investigation needs to go back to earlier models! *tr

I own a 2005 prius, bought new. i now have 130,000 miles on it. it has been serviced and maintained at scheduled intervals, mostly by a toyota dealer. #1: i have complained to the dealer since the first winter that i bought the car that the "traction control system" is dangerous in bad weather conditions. whenever the road is slippery, if the car senses wheelspin, it cuts power to the engine. this is scary if you're pulling out into traffic on a rainy day, as the car will sometimes just quit running for a second, leaving you vulnerable to oncoming traffic. snow is far worse. i live on a hilly road. if it's snowy the car will slow down, and simply stop trying to move forward on the first steep slope i come to. it doesn't matter how hard i mash on the accelerator, or if i back off and try again, the car will not attempt to move. once the car stops moving forward it begins to slide backwards, and control is totally lost. i was nearly killed the first time this happened (in about one inch of snow) as my car eventually slipped sideways across the oncoming traffic lane. an suv came down the hill and nearly broadsided me before i was able to get my car turned back down the hill. (my car was equipped with aggressive snow tires at the time.) ever since then, if i'm coming home from work in the snow, i leave my car in the shopping center at the bottom of the hill and call my husband, who picks me up with his ford bronco. # 2: anti-lock braking. the 2010 prius's aren't the only ones with problems; mine does the same thing. if i'm braking on a bumpy stretch of road or over a manhole cover in the rain, the car will cut power to the brakes, causing the car to feel like it's surging forward. again this problem is much worse in the snow. going downhill on a snowy, slippery hill the anti-lock brakes repeatedly cut braking power, which actually causes the car to accelerate to unsafe speeds. my dealer tells me that this is how the car works, and nothing can be dome to correct it. *tr

Dt: the contact stated while stopping the brakes released. the parking brake was used to stop the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealership, but they could not duplicate the problem. there have been no repairs made at this time.*ak

The brakes "slip" when driving over a bump or pothole in the road. this experience is similar to what has been described in the 2010 prius model recall. i am driving a 2005 prius hybrid and have experienced similar slips since i purchased the vehicle in october of 2005. to date the slipping has not resulted in a crash, injury or failure however i have had some close calls. *tr

I am an owner of a toyota prius 2005. after reading the investigation about the 2010 prius brake problems i feel i experience the same problem in my car. when brake sometimes it feels as though the car momentarily speeds up before the braking action occurs. it is brief (about a second in duration) and then the car brakes as expected. i have asked the service department of toyota dealerships i've had my car serviced at several times about the sensation and was told this was normal as the car switch regenerating the batteries to when the hydraulic brakes are engaged and nothing to worry about. i understand toyota has admitted a problem in the 2010 model year but i feel the same problem exists in my car and would like to make sure that the investigation is not just for 2010 model year of the toyota prius. *tr

Applying brakes when going over slight road disturbances causes complete loss of braking temporarily, followed by a brief surge (acceleration). no other vehicle i've owned has had this problem. additionally slight road disturbances (mild bumps) cause traction control to turn on inappropriately. no other vehicle i've owned has had this problem. the dealer (specifically the sales person) was initially contacted in 2005 about these issues and it was reported back to me that this was normal. now i am finding out that many other owners are complaining about this problem, some of them in brand new 2010 vehicles. the initial incident date is aug 2005, but the problem continues to this day. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. while driving at 30 mph and attempting to stop, the brakes failed to engage for about three seconds. on one occasion, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle did not stop and crashed into another vehicle in front. the driver in the other vehicle sustained injuries and a police report was filed. the vehicle was towed and repaired. the contact called the dealership and the manufacturer but was told that they could not assist because there was no failure with the vehicle. the failure mileage was unknown. the current mileage was 35,235.

After listening to publicity about the 2010 prius problem i realize that i have had the same problem of brake fade in my 2005 prius. there is a bridge section that i drive over several times a month. this bridge section is 1 inch higher than the asphalt road and on a steep hill immediately before a stop sign. so if i am braking as i hit the bridge section, i notice an immediate brake fade. so for all these years, i assumed it was an abs peculiarity with car unweighting. i've learned to brake hard immediately before i enter the bridge section, release the brakes as i hit the edge of the bridge section, brake hard on the bridge section and release as i drop off the section, then brake to the stop sign. i have never experience this problem in other situations but i am aware of the brake fade and might be anticipating the problem. it has been occurring since i purchased the car in 2005. *tr

While test driving a new '05 toyota prius i came to the conclusion that its braking system is inadequate. emergency braking while turning easily induces under-steer because of the regenerative braking. as the aggressive brake-assist takes over there is "snap" over-steer and front wheel lockup. for average drivers this can result in complete loss of control.

2005 toyota prius--experiences braking and handling failures when braking on uneven or wet surfaces. when we are braking and hit a pothole, gravel, railroad tracks or wet surfaces, the car feels as if we are losing control of it, and braking seems to temporarily stop. the "skid danger" light comes on, even at very low speeds. this happens nearly every time we brake under these conditions. also, at idle (ie. stoplights), the car will frequently lurch forward slightly, even with the brake pedal fully depressed, especially when engine transfers from electric to gas. we were told early in our ownership that this is normal "dieseling". these have been on-going problems, since we purchased the car in 2005 (new), that we thought we were "imagining" until hearing all of the reports of similar problems.toyota claims that the prius braking issues only affect the 2010 prius, but we see it firsthand on an on-going basis. *tr

2005 toyota prius -- floormat becomes lodged between pedals. -- while driving at high speeds (60-70 mph) on the freeway, i noticed a loss of sensitivity on both the brake and gas pedals. i had to press very hard to get a reaction from either pedal. as a result i was unable to keep driving at the same speed as the surrounding cars. everything else seemed to be operating normally. the sensation continued for a few minutes until i could safely pull off of the freeway. upon investigation, i realized that the floormat had come unhooked from its restraints and stuck between the pedals and the floor. i secured the floormat to its hooks once again and continued driving without trouble. this has happened a couple times since, but i recognize the symptoms and fix it promptly. however, i fear that another owner might experience this when they need to brake or accelerate suddenly to avoid an accident. (i noticed another posting that described the same problem). perhaps toyota should install locking hooks rather than the current ones that easily twist and unhook from the mats.

I read lots of news reports yesterday that the 2010 prius has a braking issue when run over speed bumps. my 2005 prius has a similar behavior which semi-known cause which might explain this, while being slightly dangerous in another way. when one drives a 2005 prius too fast over a speed bump, or through another situation which causes the car to think one of its wheels is slipping or spinning at a different rate than the others, the car temporarily (as i believe is in the instruction manual) flashes a briefly appearing indicator light on the front panel indicating it is slipping, and temporarily cuts back on engine power. avoiding this requires knowing the driving behavior of the prius, and i wonder if this is the behavior certain 2010 prius owners may be noting. {if one is looking at the road and scared by the sudden drop in engine power, one may never look down at the dash to see the indicator flash for 1-2 seconds either.} normally this is might seem like reasonable, but this becomes potentially extremely hazardous should one try to make a sharp right turn onto a higher-speed main road (40 mph+) from a dead stop on a side road with a high rate of acceleration to attempt merge into high-volume, fast-moving traffic. in such cases (especially if water is present, but even if the road is dry), i have had the anti-skid feature kick in and cut back on engine power for a half-second or so, which risks stalling the car temporarily in front of an oncoming vehicle. as a result, i try not to do any maneuvers like this, even though other cars often can "burn rubber" a bit and do this. nothing has been done to attempt to correct the issue, as it is presumed to be normal behavior for the car, and i never had a car with anti-skid abilities before. seeing this was common for me at first, but is now somewhat rare (less than once/month) due to changing my driving habits. (my2005 prius lacks vehicle stability control; but has the standard anti-skid safety feature.) *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. the contact stated that when the traction control engaged, the brakes would release for a second. he noticed the issue on a bumpy road and he saw the traction control engage when the light on the dashboard illuminated. the problem occurred whenever he had to brake on a bumpy surface (1-2 times a month). he had not taken the vehicle to the dealership or called the manufacturer to-date. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 98,100. the failure mileage was approximately 2500.

Braking on 2005 toyota prius. when slowing to a stop and you hit a bumpy surface or manhole cover the antilock brakes go off and the brakes release for approximately 1-2 seconds and you feel as if you are skidding on ice. *tr

Please note this is my second complaint about my prius's brakes, but it is not a duplicate complaint. my car has two problems with it's brakes which seem to me to be unrelated. my prius brakes very oddly when driving in the rain, or in the early morning when there is appreciable dew/condensation. when gently depressing the brake pedal at a constant pressure, the car decelerates slowly, then abruptly transitions to very rapid deceleration, as though i had slammed the brake pedal down hard. it is very difficult to modulate the braking. this happens several times, then seems to ease up as the vehicle is operated for around 15 minutes. on several occasions i have reported this to the toyota dealership. they have sometimes dismissed the complaint out of hand, and once attempted in vain to replicate the defect, unsuccessfully. in any event, i have always been told my brakes were operating normally. please note that this is not the same problem as the brake failure which occurs when braking while riding over a rough or uneven surface, which my vehicle also does. at least, i assume the two problems are unrelated. i have filed a separate complaint form for that problem. *tr

Feb. 4, 2010 -- similar to what is being said about the abs brakes in a 2010 toyota prius not working properly if the vehicle has hit a pothole or is going over wash-board type surfaces, i have noticed that my 2005 prius has done the same thing when i go over very rough/choppy road surfaces. this has happened since i bought it brand new in dec. 2004. i never thought much about it until the recent reports of the 2010 model. i just chalked it up to the wheels bouncing in reaction to the surface. *jb

The prius braking problem is not limited to 2010 models. i have a 2005 prius and have noticed that after applying the brakes, if the car moves over an uneven or slick surface, the brakes seem to disengage for a moment. an example is applying the brakes while traveling over a crosswalk stripe that has been moistened by fog or rain. the car seems to lurch forward as the brakes seem to disengage and the slip indicator light comes on. then the brakes come back on. this can be somewhat disconcerting and could be hazardous if there were an obstacle or pedestrian immediately ahead. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. the contact stated while driving at unknown speeds, the brakes would not engage when depressed. the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. the contact stated the failure would occur intermittently for years. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 427 and the current mileage was 50,000.