Problems with 2007 Toyota Prius VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) 2007 toyota prius (vin: [xxx] ) - cruise control malfunction. set cruise control for speed limits between 55 mph and 75 mph; within a few seconds of the cruise control being switched on, car automatically accelerates to an uncontrolled higher speed until the brakes are applied (usually in panic of plowing into another vehicle's rear end). *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact experienced a sudden acceleration while driving 18 mph. the failure occurred when the contact a stop light. as the contacts foot released the accelerator pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerating. after three attempts the contact was able to apply enough pressure to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. the current and failure mileages were 43,279.

This has happened dozens of times, to myself and my wife. we are braking, and whilst braking drive over a pothole or drain. the traction control comes on, and the car disengages the brakes and the car lurches forward. after clearing the pothole, the traction control then disengages, and the brakes re-engage. several times, i have come close to hitting the car in front. conditions: clear, sunny, dry roads. car: toyota prius, year 2007. *tr

I drive a 2007 prius. recently when driving over pot holes, the stability control kicks in and the vehicle lunges forward ( unintended acceleration). this behavior is pronounced on bigger pot holes and less in severity on uneven roads or smaller pot holes. *tr

I am experiencing momentary brake failure while driving over bumpy roads in my 2007 prius similar to that described by owners of some 2010 priuses (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/020410_toyota.pdf). i have experienced this since i bought the car new and have treated it as a quirk of that particular car. after hearing about the recall and software fix for 2010 models, i inquired of my local dealer about a software fix for my '07 model. they said there was no recall of the '07s and therefore the repair would be at my own expense. i live atop a hill, and the road coming down it is often bumpy, causing the momentary loss of braking. but we are used to it by now and know to begin braking extra early on this stretch of road, but if there is an available fix for this problem, i want toyota to provide it soonest. *tr

My 2007 toyota prius accelerated unintentionally during a lane change. i hit the brakes and this remedied. the floor mat was not involved. i might have had the cruise control on, but i don't remember for sure. *tr

Abs, vsc, brake failure. *tr

Car did not stop and seemed to accelerate when brakes hit during turn into driveway. hit curb. lost steering control and car had to be towed because of significant damages to wheel and also possibly steering. snowy road. i was already driving very slowly. no reason why this much damage to my car or this level of impact unless car suddenly accelerated beyond my current speed while i braked. car seems to accelerate on slippery, uneven surfaces and evs light comes on, even when brakes applied. acceleration is beyond that seen with normal slippage. it is not simply slippage but actual brief acceleration. *tr

My 2007 prius touring can/does experience braking issues when slowing/braking downhill and coming in contact with a manhole cover, pothole, or other "even" road surface. thought it was the tires, so replaced the original bridgestones for nokians, but the issue still occurs. the "sensation" is you feel like you've lost control of the car momentarily. as a result, i've changed my commute route home and drive much slower (was already driving slower since prius mileage is dependent on mph). on occasions, the speed (on a straight away) set with cruise control will increase by itself ... by a couple mph .... w/o me doing anything or touching anything. so i'm forced to tap brake ........ occurred this weekend with passengers - they said they felt the surge .....

I have a 2007 prius the following has occurred any time driving over rough patches of road or over rr tracks: the car loses traction and power for a sort time until smooth pavement returns. the vsc lamp on the dash shows up when this happens. i shudder to think what would occur on a rough mountain road or in wet weather. this type of event sounds very much like what's being reported by the drivers of the 2010 prius. in 47 years of driving i've never had a car react in this way. i've compensated by driving cautiously and wait for traction to return but it doesn't feel quite right when it happens. *jb

I have a 2007 toyota prius. when braking, the brakes feel "tacky" and/or there is a judder feeling, which makes the car stop suddenly or abruptly. this occurs when only applying a very light touch to the brake. secondly, when applying brakes over icy patch or bump, car will continue to roll for a split second. there is an electronic sound at the same time the brake and roll occurs. *tr

When i apply brake on a pothole or a small patch car does not stop and didn't immediately respond to the brake pedal, and it is always scary for me, in los angles you don't have good roads in many places. *tr

I have a 2007 toyota prius and i have experienced poor braking and slippage when traveling over bumpy and/or wet surfaces, the most noticeable of which is the non-asphalt surfacing around and between railroad tracks. i understand you're aware of this on the 2010 models, but it happens on the earlier models too, and these should be made part of the recall. this has happened to me on multiple dates, the latest is below. luckily, i leave more room between me and the car in front than the average person. *tr

I have a 2007 prius. i don't know if it is the braking system or a sudden acceleration but i have definitely experienced a surge when braking. this does not happen all the time but has happened on more than one occasion. it feels like the car stops braking for a second and surges forward before re-engaging the brakes. *tr

Since owning our 2007 toyota prius, we have called at least 4 times with a problem we have been having. crazy accelerating at high speed with cruise control. it usually happens when we resume cruise control. sometimes it extremely speeds up and keeps going beyond the speed set. the only way to get it to stop accelerating is to brake or reset the speed control. *tr

When driving over pot holes, my 2007 toyota prius tends to "slip" i.e. goes out of control momentarily until all 4 wheels return to a smooth surface. one of the annunciator panel lights (anti-skid?) also lights up when this happens. i thought this was a peculiarity of the car but now i see many others have experiencing it as well. *tr

I am a 2007 prius driver and i want to report that i too have encountered the brake problem described in the news. i never attributed the problem to the car until i read the article. the problem always happens on ice for me and has always occurred at slow speeds. i press the brake and nothing happens, my stability control doesn't kick in, and my abs doesn't engage and my speed didn't change. at the time i attributed the problem to ice. i had to tap my brakes several times before the system reengaged and the car slowed down. i've read that some car owners experience a feeling like the car isn't slowing down because of a switch from hydraulic to electrical braking but my braking distance was greatly increased and i ended up past my intersection. luckily no one was around me at the time and i've been very cautious about brake distances on ice. i live in minnesota and we've had a very icy winter. the first time this happened was just a few days before christmas and it happened twice since, always on ice. i've had the car for three years and this year is the first time i noticed it but this is also the first very icy winter we've had since i purchased the car. *tr

I was pulling into a parking spot at the local federal express hub and the vehicle would not stop. it jumped the curb and went into the trees then stopped. i was braking the whole time. damage to the car was minor cosmetic scratches. *tr

We own a 2007 prius. i was pulling into a parking space doing maybe 5 mph, and my car suddenly lurched forward and ran into a cement planter approx 2 ft tall. my front bumper ended up top of the planter. i know i did not have my foot on the gas pedal. we had already removed the floor mats. this resulted in over $6k in damages to my car, that my insurers paid for; except my deductible. we also had the problem with the intermittent loss of our headlights; and replaced both of them. we just received a notice from toyota telling us we will be receiving a 'credit' for the either part or all of the cost of the headlights; which was substantial. we did take pictures of the damages from the accident. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. while traveling at speeds of 10 mph attempting to park in her garage, the vehicle failed to stop when the brakes were applied. the vehicle continued to abnormally accelerate. the brake pedal fell onto the floor board and would not engage. the vehicle proceeded to crash into the garage door. the dealer advised stated that there were no unusual failures in the vehicle. the manufacturer confirmed that the vehicle was under recall for defective floor mats but not for her accelerator pedal. no repairs were made to the vehicle. the approximate failure mileage was 26,000 and the current mileage was 27,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact received a recall notification under nhtsa campaign id number 09v388000 (vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal). the technician refused to repair the vehicle under the first recall remedy. there was concern of the potential safety hazard; however, no failure has occurred at this time. updated 3/8/10 *cn the consumer stated he received the recall for the pedal modifications, but when he arrived at the dealer, he was informed they were not going to perform the recall and they were waiting for a permanent fix. updated 04/06/10.*jb

I have owed both a 2005 and 2007 prius and have experienced two problems with both vehicles that are a safety concern, although no accident has resulted from these problems. 1) in snowy conditions, when traveling up an incline, the traction control system can turn off power to both drive wheels with the result that the car can not make it up the hill. granted this can happen even to a more conventional car, but the prius does this under circumstances when other cars have no problem negotiating the hill. the owners manual claims that this is to protect the electric engine, however, it seems that there should be an override of some sort that allows the internal combustion motor to turn the wheels when traction is poor. this system has also led to circumstances in parking lots during snow, where it becomes impossible to move the car even though other conventional cars are able to negotiate the snow without a problem. 2) in circumstances where the prius must merge quickly into traffic for instance when turning into busy traffic at an intersection, if you floor the gas pedal the car initial accelerates, but then the acceleration fades dramatically, before it resurges. this can be circumvented by not pressing the gas pedal so hard, however, the instinct is to step on the gas as hard as possible. this is not only hair-raising when it happens, but also could lead on an accident. *tr

Our leased 2007toyota prius sometimes "jumps" forward unexpectedly when going over a stone or bump on a dirt road or other street, briefly increasing acceleration. this has happened when traveling a straight road and also when taking a corner onto a dirt road. braking doesn't slow down the acceleration, increasing the chances of a collision with a vehicle or other obstruction that may be in front of our car. *tr

On friday, december 4, 2009 at about 4:15 pm, i had a sudden acceleration incident with my 2007 toyota prius. i had not had any prior difficulty with this vehicle in the approximately 34,000 miles i had driven since i bought it new. however at this time when i tried to back the car about 50 feet backwards into a motel parking spot (actually there were 3 open spots in a row), it responded very abnormally. i started the car, put it in reverse and gently applied pressure to the gas pedal. instead of creeping backwards at ~5 mph as i had intended, the car "took off" at about 30-40 mph. i stomped on the brakes with both feet and initially didn't slow down. i felt an impact as my car grazed a parked vehicle. my car jumped over the curb at the parking lot edge, passed over some short bushes and entered a culvert. somehow i was able to turn the car and it carved a 180 degree curve and came to a halt about 75 feet after it passed into the culvert. fortunately i did make this sharp turn since there is a 4 lane highway on the other side of the culvert. there were no injuries and only slight damage to the other car, but an estimated $7000 of body damage to my car. the police were called as well my insurance company. the owner of the other vehicle was located. my car was towed to a local toyota dealership. since that time, the local toyota regional office sent out a representative who inspected my car and "during a road test no abnormal braking or acceleration problems were found." i have since been in contact with toyota usa in torrance , ca. i have spoken with a "case representative" who has not been helpful. finally after 5 or 6 phone calls, i was able to get the address of the legal department. i wrote them a letter on january 20 and have heard nothing from them. i also called and left messages on february 2 and 4. as a physician interested in public health i don't want my family or anyone else to drive this car. my faith in the toyota company is diminished.*jb

On 11/29/09 in the afternoon as i was pulling into a parking slot in a trader joe's parking lot, my 2007 toyota prius suddenly accelerated forward over a curb, across a crosswalk and came to rest against a tree. space covered by the car from acceleration to the tree was about 20-25 feet. witnesses attest that i was using my brake as they saw the lights. i did not have time to attempt to shift the car to "neutral." the floormats were not interfering with the accelerator pedal (i have pictures) and the floor mats were hooked down. fortunately no one was hurt including me. there was slight damage to the front drivers side bumper of an empty car parked facing me. there was substantial damage to the front of my prius. as i stated, there were two witnesses who gave me their contact information and said they would be willing to testify for me if necessary. there was a trader joe worker who called a tow truck. the driver of the other vehicle with the minimal damage was quite upset and called the police who came and wrote a report. my car has never suddenly accelerated before - this was the first time. the car was towed to hooman toyota in long beach. in response to my complaints to toyota, a regional team was sent to evaluate the accelerator mechanism. the car is currently being repaired however toyota has not been in touch with me to tell me their findings. toyota's behavior to my complaints of safety issues has been to tell me that the only problem they have is floormats and that my problem has never been reported before. their implication is that i was at error. my insurance company state farm initially held me responsible for not controlling the vehicle. when i refused this decision, sf did more research and changed their ruling to find fault with toyota and will try to get reimbursed for repair costs and my deductible. i expect my car to be ready next week and am deeply concerned that the problem will not be fixed. *tr

We own a toyota prius. when we turn on the heater and turn it to the feet, warm air starts blowing from the vent on the driver side to the face. we took it to the dealer "capitol toyota", capital auto mall, san jose, ca. the dealer said that they would charge big time to fix it since we were just over 36,000 miles in 30 months. we didn't get it fixed. we believe that this issue is somehow related to its electrical/electronic systems issue. we also noticed about 2 weeks ago when we were parked in the line for gas, that the engine suddenly was roaring as if we were revving it to very high speeds without even the heater or a/c being on. we also think it has related front defrosting issues. *tr

I have a 2007 prius and the accelerator has stuck 3-4 times on the highway. *tr

On october 19, 2009 i was driving south bound on the i-5 when the gas pedal on my 2007 toyota prius got stuck and it wasn't the floor mat. i know this because i didn't have a floor mat in the first place. the major problem is on the prius the push start button failed so you couldn't turn of the vehicle and when you tried to put it in neutral it would fail (not sure why), i am assuming do the speed you are going the computer does not allow you to put it neutral or turn it off. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius hybrid. the contact was driving approximately between 60-65 mph on normal road. the accelerator pedal began to stick. the driver side floor mat was entrapped underneath the accelerator pedal. the driver was able to remove the floor mat while pressure was being applied to the brake pedal. the vehicle was able to slow down. the identical failure occurred on a separate occasion. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. the failure mileage was 60,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact stated as he was driving his vehicle surged and accelerated forward. the contact stated when he hits the brake sometimes the vehicle will stop and sometimes it does not stop. an independent mechanic test drove the vehicle and stated it does surge and it should be service at the dealer. this happens a couple times a month while driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. a claim was file with the toyota manufacturer. the failure mileage was 37,000. updated 05/11/10.*jb

I own a 2007 prius, and have enjoyed the car ...however, sometime in october,2009, i was driving to a wedding shower and the car suddenly accelerated when i was entering a multi-lane expressway.. it would not decelerate when i eased off the accelerator..and i had to veer across lanes to avoid hitting a truck in front of me. simple braking did not stop the acceleration, only very hard and continued and panicked braking. on the way back, on an area of interstate that was free of vehicles, i was able to recreate the acceleration by 'stomping" on the accelerator. again, it would not stop accelerating when i took my foot off the accelerator..and only after stomping the brake a lot did it return to regular responsiveness. i have not "tried" that again, and my husband did try, but could not duplicate my experience. we contacted our local toyota dealer (greentree in clarksville, in) and they were not responsive. later in the fall, after the recall about floor mats, we were told to take the floor mat away on drivers side, and a "fix" would be developed. i am now fearful of the car. i am reporting now because i do not believe that the prius problem is a simple floor mat issue (never did, but am a woman and certainly not "knowledgeable" so as to refute toyota's engineers..). *tr

I suspect the current toyota recall is more than a floor mat malfunction. i own an '07 prius. ninety percent of the time the car shuts down immediately upon "firmly & briefly" depressing the power button, precisely as described in the owner's manual. however, about 10% of the time it does not shut down on the first push, and will move forward when i take my foot off the brake. i have to push the power button a second time to stop the engine. the dealer actually told me i should push the "park" button before pushing the power button to turn the car off. it says nothing about doing that in the manual. now they're saying you should hold the power button 3 seconds to turn off the car? the manual says (p. 141 and elsewhere) "the hybrid system will start and stop by firmly pressing the "power" switch briefly with the brake pedal depressed." three seconds is certainly more than "briefly," and more than it takes to turn off the engine 90% of the time. fortunately, i haven't hit anyone or anything, i've gotten used to it, and i'm careful to be sure the engine has actually stopped before i take my foot off the brake. once in a while, i have to push the power button a second time, an inconvenience hardly worth mentioning. however, i'm now concerned that the minor problem i'm experiencing could progress into something much more dangerous. look at the mat: someone would have to deliberately install it so it was over (rather than under) the accelerator pedal to cause a problem. i don't think it's the mat. i think there's a problem with the computer. *tr

Accelerating from a stop light, at about 30 mph the prius engine felt and sounded like it began to accelerate at maximum rate. braking had no effect on slowing the vehicle resulting in running through a major intersection at a red light. the car was stopped by shifting into neutral, coasting to a stop, and pushing the power button. after waiting 2 minutes, the car was restarted and ran with a problem. this occurred once in september 2009. toyota's remedy is to replace the floor mats, however, the floor mat was secured to the carpet and was verified at the time of the incident that it was far from interfering with the gas pedal. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. while driving 55 mph the contact attempted to accelerate and pass another vehicle when the accelerator pedal had became stuck to the floor. the contact pushed the pedal back into position which stopped the acceleration. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the failure could not be reproduced. the current and failure mileages were 22000. updated 03/16/10 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle accelerated three times after the mats were removed. updated 07/13/10*jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. he stated that when he approached a stop light and engaged the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated without warning. the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. the air bags deployed; however, the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer to be repaired. the dealer confirmed that the failure could have been due to the floor mats. the vehicle is being repaired and the insurance company will be responsible for the repair cost. the contact is very concerned of the safety risk and the possibility that the failure could reoccur. there were no injuries. the failure and current mileages were 15000.

I have also experienced the unintended acceleration in a 2007 prius. it would not slow down; but it readjusted after about 20 seconds of me tapping the gas pedal to regain control and alternatively hitting the brake. just wanted to make sure that you had the data point. *tr

I was "t-boned" on my drivers' side on july 3, 2009 in my 2007 prius. the car had extensive damage and the electric motor was dismantled and replaced (same one) as part of the repair. at the time of the accident it was fine and i averaged about 48-52 mpg. it was in the toyota repair shop from july 7th through late august and wasn't returned until mid-september. i have not been driving it since i last picked it up because i did not feel safe it . the problem was never found and i was told "...if we can't find the problem, we can't fix it...if it happens again, bring it back, it's under warranty." yesterday (november 4, 2009) i had to drive it to work (downtown) because my husband had our van and i found that it is still accelerating in odd ways like it did when we got it back in september. while in stop and go traffic at a low speed when i went to accelerate to a higher speed (appx. 50 mph) it wasn't accelerating properly, then suddenly "kicked into" acceleration then i had to slow it down with the brakes. the toyota hybrid engine dismantling manual (i found online when i was told toyota could not find the problem) on page 1 #1-5 shows how the vehicle should be operating. as i've described since august, the day i first picked it up, this is not how it's functioning. in light of the news yesterday, the national highway traffic safety administration found no defect exists in vehicles with properly installed floor mats. and in fact, the nhtsa said, toyota vehicles have a very serious defect. i would like to know what toyota can do now to get my prius working properly (or consider it totaled) before i (or my family) are in a horrible accident like the 16 people who have already died or the 200+ who have had serious accidents as a result of this issue! by the way, there are no car mats in it, but there were before the accident and this issue never occurred before toyota's "repairs" to it! *tr updated 11/13/09

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact stated that whenever she was driving the headlights came on and shut off intermittently. occasionally, the headlights would not come back on for fifteen minutes after they shut off. the accelerator pedal also began sticking to the floor; however, there were no floor mats in her vehicle. the dealer informed her that for $400 they would replace the bulbs in the vehicle. there were no related recalls. the vin number was unknown. the failure mileage was 75,850.

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. while driving approximately 25 mph the vehicle in front of him made a sudden stop; however, after engaging the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into hit the vehicle in front of him. the vehicle he crashed into also crashed into another vehicle. there were no injuries. the contacts insurance rate will double due to the crash. the failure mileage was 29,000 and the current mileage was 31,500. updated 12/7/09 *cn updated 12/08/09.*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. while parking her vehicle, it began to accelerate rapidly. the vehicle drove over the cement curb and then crashed into a store-front. the driver sustained injuries to her neck and shoulders. a police report was filed. the vehicle was repaired through her insurance company. the failure and current mileages were unknown

Sudden acceleration in 2007 toyota prius when using cruise control to increase speed in small increments. canceling cruise control and resuming manual control regained control of the vehicle. this happened twice. i have not used the cruise control since this incident and have told my wife not to use it either. *tr

1. safety ' while driving on a bumpy road in darien (west avenue near the train station) last year the prius brakes did not stop the car. although the speed was low (about 5mph), the resultant accident damaged its front end and the car in front of us. 2. drivability and safety ' the cruise control holds the minimum speed but allows over speed conditions. while returning from danbury on route 7 the cruise control holds 40mph until going downhill. on downhill slopes the speed increases and intervention is required to turn off the cruise control and apply the brakes. 3. drivability ' during cold weather the main battery accepts a charge but does not return much energy to the drive system. the mileage decreases by 10-15mpg. toyota of stamford refused to do a free safety inspection. *tr

My toyota prius accelerated at extremely high speed as i pulled into my driveway. i crashed through the garage door into the boxes and furniture stored in the garage. i had my foot pressed all the way down on the brake but could not slow down or stop but accelerated to a very high speed. there was significant property damage and car damage. it was reported to allstate. no other vehicle was involved. the airbag did not activate! i do not know the exact speed other than to say it was extremely fast and very, very terrifying! *tr

At 4:45 pm on 2/5/2009 , i drove my 2007 toyota prius west on sw andover st. in seattle wa. i slowed as i made a right turn to park perpendicular to the street with a 6 foot high chain-link fence in front of me on top of a retaining wall. the bottom of the wall is 6 feet below street level on a paved parking area. as the prius approached the fence, i braked to stop, but the car did not slow ,so i floored the brake. the car hit a fence post, pulling it out of its mount and then the car moved over the top of the wall pushing the pole and fence over its hood & roof,. the front of the prius dropped to the area below the wall while the rear remained on the top. the fence mesh stretched but slowed the prius's forward movement and kept the rear from going over the wall.. the dashboard was still lit and i lowered the electrical windows and yelled for help. the first arrival told me to "turn off the car". this is significant because the only way he could have known the car was running was if he heard the sound of the prius's gasoline engine that only kicks in at higher speeds. i opened the door and jumped down to the pavement. the police came and made a report. i did not receive a citation. the prius was extracted by a tow company and hauled away. fortunately i received no physical injury. the chain link fence was truly a safety net. on 2./12/ 2009, my insurance company , usaa, declared my prius "totaled" and made a settlement payment. i thought perhaps my brakes had failed. i had my prius receive a routine 25,000 mile check at the toyota dealership just eight days before the accident. from articles on www.consumersafety.com i learned that similar accidents with the prius have happened to other people. after reading their experiences, i now believe that "unintended acceleration" was the more likely cause of my accident. *tr

I own a 2007 toyota prius. about a year ago, my accelerator malfunctioned while i was driving. my car suddenly wanted to dramatically increase speed and i had no control over it. i almost got into a really bad car accident. now i'm hearing that this exact thing is happening to other people with the same car as me. i have tried calling my local toyota dealership, and they just tell me that there is nothing they can do about it until i get a recall in the mail. i have tried calling customer service, and no one ever picks up the phone. i have emailed toyota expressing my very strong feelings about this, and i have yet to received an email back. i am very upset about this. i am very scared to drive my own car, and i do a lot of driving. i can't pay to get my car fixed because i am a student. i feel like toyota is just telling people that they are doing everything they can to help their customers, but i feel that they have treated me with the exact opposite attitude. i also feel like they aren't going to take this problem seriously until there is a tragedy from this malfunction. i really need my car fixed before i get into a bad car accident, but toyota doesn't seem to care. *tr

Vehicle was sb in lane 2 of 2 when it is reported that the driver lost control struck a guard rail on the right then traveled across two lanes crossing onto a shoulder where it eventually struck a tree. eye witnesses saw no brake lights at any point. autopsy concluded that the driver died from trauma caused by impact with the tree. the vehicle was a 07 prius. *tr

First time the prius surged the car had just left the freeway and the cruise control was still engaged. the prius surged at 55 miles an hour for a hundred feet till we gained control. the second time several months later we left the freeway with the cruise control still engaged and could not slow the car. we raced through hood river, or at speeds in excess of 60 miles an hour riding the brake through traffic and pedestrian crosswalks- our brakes smoking. finally the driver found a parallel parking place to slide into and were able to punch the button and turn off the car. the driver having the car in park turned the car on again . the motor was still in full throttle. the driver left the car to find a restroom. i stayed in the car with the engine off. i reached down to the accelerator pedal and with light pressure pulled the pedal up. when the driver returned and started the motor it was at normal speed. we took the car to griffith motors in the dalles ,or on the dec. 10, 2009. the factory rep drove the car ( w/ 21,690 miles on it after he drove it) and on his report wrote "no problem found". *tr

I was driving home from work on the morning of august 16th, 2008 when my 2007 prius began to hydroplane. i struck the left guardrail , spun right and then the car catapulted across the interstate. i hit a concrete barrier and the car then rolled onto its left driver side and skidded maybe 100'. i chalked it up to the roads being wet but the odd thing was that the car accelerated once i hit the left guard rail and started to cross over the interstate. at this point, the brakes and steering would not work. i crashed head on into the concrete barrier on the right side of the interstate. my story sounds very much like some of the posts i have read. it is frightening that so many people have experienced the same ordeal and that toyota continues to deny it and blame it on the floor mats! *tr

Just completed a left turn behind another vehicle. the other vehicle then slowed to make an immediate left turn into a gas station across the road. i was gently applying the brakes to keep my following distance (10ft, traveling about 8mph). the other car suddenly applied the brakes harder to turn, when i pressed harder there was no reaction until i hit the other car, at which point the brakes engaged and i stopped. *tr

I have a 2007 prius, and every time i go over a bump in the road, my car accelerates,and i get a run away feeling that lasts about 30-45 seconds. in addition, when i am at rest, and the motor is on and my foot in on the brake, the car makes a noise as if the horn is lowly honking. i have described both of these things to my dealership, and they told me that they never heard of this problem before. they said that they checked it out. it still remains. *tr