Problems with 2008 Toyota Prius VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Driver in toyota prius was stopped at a red light. according to witnesses, for no apparent reason the vehicle accelerated, rolled or drove into intersection where vehicle was struck by another vehicle. prius driver was killed. updated 03/14/10 *bf *tr according to the police report, there was only one death and no injuries. updated 06/15/10. *jb update 9/21/2011*cw

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius hybrid. while entering the parking garage the vehicle accelerated without intention. as a consequence the vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle. prior to the failure he noticed that the electric power "off" switch was engaged. the estimated cost for damages for each vehicle was $1,000. the failure mileage was 39,000. the current mileage was 40,000.

This is about my prius 2008 model. when it goes over bumps or uneven road surfaces, the car tends to surge forward suddenly and unexpectedly. it doesn't occur all the time, but more than enough times for me to notice. usually, it is when i'm going between 35 and 45 miles an hour over a bump or uneven surface. i correct the surging by applying the breaks gently. i have not yet made the dealer aware of the issue. the approximate incident date i'm reporting is the date at which i noticed it started happening, about one year from when i purchased the car. but since then, it has occurred more. *tr

Was stopped in traffic, at a light. light changed to green. car ahead of pulled forward. i moved forward, ~15-20mph. car ahead stopped. i released accelerator and pressed on brake pedal. car did not slow down, kept moving forward as if accelerator was pressed. brake pedal felt 'hard', it did not move down. i kept pressing the brake pedal. brakes finally took hold and car stopped. luckily i did not hit the car in front of me. *tr

Ltr fwd on behalf of (mi) re toyota braking problem in her 2008 toyota prius, reply to lansing, mi ofc. *tgw the consumer was involved in accident. the consumer was stopped at a stop sign behind two vehicles going south at an intersection, waiting to turn right. the consumer stated her first practice in driving the vehicle, when starting from a stop is to simply take her foot off the brake pedal and allow it to start moving without putting her foot on the gas pedal, to maximize fuel efficiency. as she moved her foot toward the gas pedal, but not quite on the pedal, the vehicle suddenly lurched at a very high rpm and hit the vehicle in front of her, which was about 3 feet. she applied the brakes again, and the same thing happened. the consumer stated the damage to both vehicles were minimal. the consumer stated the incident happened again, but without incident. *jb

Toyota prius, 2008, involved in accident , august 13, 2009 when it accelerated rapidly out of control after being at a stop sign for 4 minutes stopped in a line of traffic, hitting car in front and being very difficult to bring to a stop. went from 0 to 45 mph very quickly and hard to stop .toyota has not responded to complaint or my insistence that it be fixed. was deemed by judge who heard the appeal of ticket to be a mechanical failure. first accident for me in 48.5 years of driving. initially i thought it was brake failure, but after the info came out, it matches exactly the accelerator sticking that has been described. filed complaint with toyota in october and have not heard back. haven was the contact, claim number at toyota is #0910145720. also notified dealer where it was purchased and have not heard from them. was assured i'd hear in january and got a letter indicating that i should take the floor mat out. it happened again in november of 2009, although i immediately recognized it and got the car stopped quickly. i'm now afraid to drive it but need my car to work. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while driving 5 mph into a parking space and slowly depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into a shopping cart. the vehicle proceeded, crashing into another shopping cart and then into a brick wall. the vehicle sustained moderate damage to the front end bumper. the vehicle was repaired by his insurance company. the manufacturer advised the contact to have the vehicle inspected by the dealer. the dealer could not duplicate the failure and found no fault in the throttle system. a diagnostic test was performed and the dealer stated that the computer code indicated that the driver was "depressing the accelerator and brake pedals simultaneously." the contact verified that neither he nor the other driver of the vehicle had ever operated the vehicle in such a manner. there were no additional repairs made to the vehicle. the failure mileage was 10,210 and the current mileage was under 11,000. updated 5/6/10 *cn updated 05/24/10

I own a 2008 toyota prius. on 12jul2008 i was returning home and driving on hwy 70 east,near goldsboro, nc. i was traveling at a speed of approx 55-60 mph. the vehicle was in cruise control. the traffic was getting heavy and i had to slow down. so i put on the brakes and the cruise control did not respond or disengage at that time. so i kept applying pressure on the brake pedal and pulled off of the roadway. when i lifted my foot off of the brake pedal the vehicle again wanted to accelerate. i had to turn the ignition system off and wait a short time. i re-started the vehicle and every seem to be ok. on 13jul09 i had the vehicle checked out by a toyota of new bern, and they couldn't find anything wrong with the vehicle. they stated they would open a case on it and notify there company. i just wanted to write this notice in case it happens again to me or someone else. *tr

Prius accelerates when brakes are applied going over pot holes and sometimes ridges in the road. *tr

Driving home from church july 5, 2009 the beach traffic was bumper to bumper. stop and go traffic. i was stopped behind an suv. the traffic started to move and my prius bolted forward into the suv which in turn pushed it into another suv. my car was totaled. the engine was pushed all the way back into the front seat. this should have been just a fender bender. no one was injured. *tr

While driving my employer's 2008 (or 2009) toyota prius several times in summer of 2009, i pressed the accelerator pedal to the floor to pass, and the pedal stuck in the wide open position. this happened several separate times during the summer of 2009. the car was sent to local toyota dealership, where it was supposedly fixed, however it stuck several times again after repair? this problem had nothing to do with floormats. this happened to other drivers at work of this same car too. i am a professional driver with 40 years of driving experience. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while driving 50 mph, the vehicle accelerated to a high speed and would not slow down. the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle still would not stop. he had to push the power button in order to turn off the vehicle. the vehicle was able to be restarted, but it would not reset itself. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and is currently being repaired. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 3,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while driving 60 mph, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly. the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop accelerating. the vehicle was literally in a "runaway" mode and the engine had to be turned off in order to stop the vehicle. the failure has occurred at least 12 times in the past year. toyota claims to be unaware of this failure and refuses to investigate the complaints. the failure mileage was 4,200.

I was stopped and ticketed by a chp officer on highway 5 south of sacramento, ca after being clocked at 93 mph, while i had set the cruise control of my 2008 toyota prius at 80 mph. *tr

S10 appropriate handling - letter to the secretary from mrs. judy haley gizmo disputing claim by toyota that unintended acceleration of toyota vehicles due to faulty floor mats. *nj the consumer disputed toyota's claim that the many cases of unintended acceleration were due to faulty floor mats. the consumer stated the crash she had was not due to faulty floor mat's which were latched down, but was due to acceleration/brake problems in the computer and electrical systems of the vehicle. the consumer stated she backed the vehicle out of the driveway, she exited the garage and pressed the button to close the garage door. after closing the garage door, she sated she wasn't sure if she placed the gear in drive or neutral, but suddenly the vehicle lunged forward going up to 15-20 mph. within 5 seconds the consumer crashed into the garage door, rammed into the inside kitchen wall causing extensive damage. the air bags didn't deploy. the consumer suffered injuries.

2008 toyota prius. consumer states unintended acceleration. *tgw the consumers wife was driving when she felt the vehicle speed up and pull to the right. she attempted to turn the wheel to the left to compensate, but the next thing she knew, she was hanging from the seat belt upside down. the consumer hit a concrete mailbox and rolled over. the consumers wife suffered injuries.*jb

On two separate occasions my 2008 toyota prius has done the automatic acceleration problem. these were both long before recent reports in april of last year. the first time was on route 84 between the white plains and carmel exits. my vehicle accelerated to between 80 -85 mph. i was in some traffic and flashed my lights at other vehicles in the passing lane because i could not stop! when i regained control of my vehicle several minutes later, i called my dealership and they had me bring the car right in and then told me nothing was wrong with it. they told me it was a brake problem. i had two witnesses my 16 and 19 year old children. a few months later, the acceleration happened again with my 49 year old finance in the car. it was an in town acceleration on the road in front of my house (hooker avenue). again, i regained control in a few minutes, but partially went through a red light because of inability to stop. again, i had it checked at the dealership. again, they put it down as brake related instead of acceleration, they checked the car and said it was fine. i called them after this 2008 toyota incident and they are saying this doesn't happen on my model. it does! they ran another check this morning and again nothing wrong. please do something before someone is killed! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. she stated that three times she has experienced sudden acceleration. once while turning left on the highway at 55mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated. she also experienced brake failure when pulling up to a stop sign, or red light, or driving over a bump the brake did not respond immediately. she took the vehicle to the dealer. the dealer stated the vehicle is not included in the recall and there was nothing they could do, but they would report the failure to the manufacturer. the failure mileage was 25,000 and the current mileage 33,765.

Needing maximum acceleration to avoid being struck from behind, i thrust the accelerator to the floor in my '08 prius. safely avoiding a possible collision, my auto continued to accelerate. the accelerator was stuck in the full down position and could not be budged either by hand or by repeated stomping to release it. i made sure the floor mat was not interfering with the accelerator, which it wasn't. i braked hard and turned off the 4 lane street to the right and was about to turn off the engine when it released as rapidly as it began. i reported it to toyota at my next oil service - but they had no prior experience of this type of complaint. i have since refrained maximum acceleration - but am afraid to let anyone else drive my auto. now that i am aware that there is no direct mechanical connection to to investigate or correct in the fuel system, but instead an electronic one, ("fly by wire" like the new commercial jets), i am even more on edge. thank god, the prius is underpowered. in a more powerful auto, the engine would have overpowered the brakes and led to a possible disaster. electronics malfunction sporadically! please investigate!!!*tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while driving 20 mph, the accelerator in the vehicle launched the vehicle into oncoming traffic. the contact crashed into another vehicle. a police report was filed and there were no injuries. he does not want to drive the vehicle again and feels that the issue should be taken seriously by the manufacturer. the failure and current mileages were 6,000. see also 10273044 *dsy.

I drive a 2008 toyota prius. as i was driving out of the gas station and stepped on the accelerator, the car continued going faster. the brake did not work, the only way the car stopped was by hitting another car. *tr see also 10265332 *dsy.

Electric throttle problem on the 2008 toyota prius. *nj the dealer told the consumer to remove the floor mats. the consumer also received a letter regarding the defect. the consumer stated no one has contacted her regarding a remedy for the defect. *jb

Toyota 2008 prius sudden acceleration, removed the mats prior to the recall, as we figured out by looking at other cars clearance below the gas pedal. i accelerated backwards when trying to park my car. hit a parked car. after removal of the mats, my car has accelerated on two other occasions. i turned the car off after stomping on brake and applying parking brake. i informed john ellway toyota dealership in manhattan beach ca and they were dismissive. this happened long before sudden acceleration was in the media. there is something wrong with my car and they refuse to acknowledge it. the first time it happened, my mother watched me zoom down our alley in reverse as i was attempting to park my car. i have a witness. one two other occasions this has happened, the dealer says that my car is not effected by the recall. i had the all weather car mats in my car that i purchased at the dealer. i removed them, but this still has happened. if something happens to me i want this to be a record of my complaint. *tr

2008 toyota prius. consumer states unintended acceleration which caused an accident.*tgw the consumer stated as he was applying the brakes to keep from hitting a huge dirt mound, the vehicle accelerated instead of braking. he went over the mound onto some railroad racks. the consumer stated he experienced sudden acceleration on several occasions prior to the accident, but dismissed it. the consumer continued to experience sudden acceleration after the accident. the consumer no longer owns the vehicle. no police report was filed. *jb

Accelerator sticking on 2008 toyota prius - 5 to 10 times. i took it to the dealer (beaver toyota - santa fe, nm). the first time they said they did not know what it was since they could not reproduce it. the second time they said it must have been because of the floor mats. the third time i called they said the floor mats even though i had removed them. i am unsure of the first date although it should be in their records. it has not happened in about 6 months. when it happened i would put my left foot on the brake and "pry" up the accelerator with the front of my right foot. the floor mat never seemed to be involved. my dates in this report are approximate. *tr

Accelerator pedal on vehicle failed to return to non accelerating position after accelerating on freeway. vehicle continued to accelerate even while braking. i had to wedge my foot underneath the accelerator pedal to lift it to the full upward position. this incident occurred while accelerating sharply, and has not occurred with gentle acceleration. i have avoided any sudden acceleration with this vehicle , for fear of a recurrence of this problem. there was no floor mat interference while this was occurring, it felt as though the accelerator pedal was being operated without foot contact, as i could feel the pedal depress underneath my resting foot. i am a very experienced driver and have driven commercially for 20 years and have never experienced anything like this. *tr

We have two prius cars with same issue - when making a turn from a stop and trying to accelerate quickly the car jerks and hesitate as the anti slip system light flashes and engages. you cannot accelerate quickly into traffic from a dead stop making a turn as the car refuses, jerks and acts like it will stall. pavement is dry and no gravel. happens each and every time since i purchased the car. easy to replicate. come to a complete stop, then turn right while pressing the accelerator down quickly and the slip system kicks, car jerks, hesitates and then very slowly starts to eventually accelerate. *tr

Vehicle ran off road on curve, driver reported vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control. updated 06/03/10*bf updated ivoq. 06/07/10 updated 9/29/11*cw

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while the contact was driving 15 mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated. the brakes would not engage during the acceleration causing the contact to crash into a nearby pole. no one was injured during the crash. a police report was filed for the incident. the vehicle was towed to a local body shop. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership. the current and failure mileages were 12000.

My mother has a 2008 toyota prius and was pulling into my driveway. the approach to the driveway is uphill and the driveway is more of a parking area with an access apron. for some unknown reason, the car's engine revved (very high rpms - i could hear it from the basement). the car grazed the side of the house, went through a short wall (brick - about 1 foot tall, 1 foot thick and 5 feet long) and an iron deck gate. the car ended up on the deck after breaking off two 6x6 support posts. the deck has horizontal stainless steel cables instead of pickets, and i believe that these are what kept the car from going over the edge - a 25 foot drop. *tr

On a slight incline, with front wheels turned, car started normally then accelerated by itself and was difficult to stop with both feet on brake pedal. acceleration was not suddenly fast but was increasing when i turned car into gravel drive leading up a hill. car stopped with braking and was successfully turned off in the manner required by manual. car restarted and no further problem was experienced. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while driving 75 mph with the cruise control activated, the contact accelerated past 80 mph to pass another vehicle. the vehicle would not slow down afterwards and accelerated past 90 mph. she depressed the brake pedal, but the cruise control would not disengage. the contact attempted to tap the brake pedal and shut off the cruise control manually, but was unsuccessful. she managed to pull to the shoulder of the road and shut off the engine. upon restarting, the vehicle accelerated again without depressing the accelerator pedal. she attempted to reset the cruise control to 60 mph, but it would not respond. the contact waited 30 minutes before restarting the vehicle and it appeared to have moved from the locked position of acceleration. the failure and current mileages were less than 7,250.

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. the contact was driving into a sharp curve; approximately 5 mph. there was an unexpected increase in acceleration. the vehicle failed to slow down during braking. suddenly, the vehicle rolled over an embankment and onto the road. there were no injuries. the police was called to the scene. the vehicle was towed to an auto body shop. the failure was mileage 3,222. the contact had concern of the safety risk involved.

I have a 2008 toyota prius with 10k miles on it. several weeks ago while driving 65 on the highway, the cruise control kicked out and the car rapidly decelerated, almost like it was braking. i could not re-set the cruise control again until after stopping and restarting the car. the problem has again happened 3 more times in the past week. auto dealership says they cannot do anything about it unless i bring it in and can recreate the problem. very dangerous when cruise control kicks out and people are driving closely behind me. *tr

I was parking my car head in first, in an apartment parking lot, i had just pulled into the space, put my foot on the brake and depressed the park button, i then began to reach for the power button when the car uncontrollably lunged forward going up a slight incline, hitting a chain link fence pole and coming to a stop damaging the front bumper. i don't know if it was the brake, or electrical system but, on occasion since this incident, i have accidentally turned the cruise control on and felt a surge of speed but the car was slowed/stopped by using the brake. it's so easy to turn the cruise control on without knowing it and i wonder if it could be a contributing factor to some of the prius problems. *tr

On june 2,2008 my wife brought her new prius into the garage to park it and suddenly it just accelerated and went through the garage door and wall. damages to the car, house, and insurance increases totaled close to $10,000. toyota repaired the prius and we told them verbally how the vehicle suddenly accelerated and they shrugged it off. we had been sent at one time a letter that said we may in the future receive a recall notice but never did. therefore we would hope toyota takes care of these issues so we don't need to take further action seeing it was a manufacturing default. we've sent toyota two complaints already and not even one was acknowledged and being a faithful buyer of toyota's, without action on this issue we may be forced to purchase other make vehicles and we will refuse to further promote toyota unless the issues are remedied to include the home damage and our insurance surcharge. your assistance in this acceleration manufacturing issue which has cost us almost $10,000 is uncalled for and toyota should have begun the process of recalls quite some time ago. thanking you in advance for any assistance you may be able to get for us so we don't have to seek further assistance to get these issues taken care of and my wife's suffering with the concern that this issue could happen again. i have advised her that in such situation if it were to occur she is to shut the vehicle off immediately as well as put it in neutral and put on the emergency break. unfortunately our long standing marriage with toyota may be over with unless we are assisted. *tr

I was driving my 2008 prius at approximately 35 mph and it began to accelerate. i took my foot off of the accelerator, but it didn't stop. i pumped the brake, but it had no effect. it stopped suddenly, and the car operated normally. the incident didn't last long, and hasn't happened again. until i read about the other, more serious incidents with the accelerator i didn't even know how to describe it - i'd never heard of such a thing happening. i would have felt foolish talking to the guys at the service center, so i decided to wait to see if it happened again. *tr

I own a 2008 toyota prius. in april of 2008, 4 months after i bought the vehicle, i was pulling into a spot in the parking structure at work. all of a sudden the engine gunned and the car lurched forward, went over the bumper guard in the spot, and was stopped by the concrete overhang, which totally crunched the hood. at the time, i said to myself, "why aren't the brakes working?" i think this problem may be related to the gas pedal problems currently being reported concerning the toyotas. thanks for your assistance. *tr

I bought a toyota prius 2008 and within 2 months of purchase i experienced sudden acceleration twice. i mentioned the issue to a toyota dealer service agents, but he took it no further nor did i. it has never happened again. *tr

On january 22, 2010, i was pulling into a handicap parking place outside a local restaurant when my 2008 prius suddenly accelerated while my foot was firmly on the brakes. my car went over the handicap barrier and the curb and finally stopped when my car hit the restaurant landscaping. the next morning i called the dealership, talked to three separate people and they wanted me to drive my car in. i told them i didn't feel the car was safe to drive and they should tow it in. they told me they wouldn't do it. next i called my insurance agent and made them aware of the problem because i was afraid to drive the car in fear of injuries that could occur if the car didn't stop again. they arranged to have my car towed in and repaired. the dealership said they checked the car and found nothing wrong with my car. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while making a u-turn she drove over some tracks under normal road conditions. the vehicle suddenly accelerated and when she applied the brake ,the brake would not respond. the vehicle stopped when she turned the engine off. she took the vehicle to the dealer. the dealer stated nothing was wrong with the vehicle and her vin was not included in the recall. the failure mileage was 300 and the current mileage was 5,000. she wrote a letter to the manufacturer but has not received a response. updated 03/19/10.*lj updated 05/13/10.*jb

2008 toyota prius - brakes slip when trying to stop at low speeds, especially on wet roads or on roads with bumps (including manhole covers). this has occurred repeatedly since i bought the vehicle. the dealer, on three separate occasions, said that they ran diagnostics and found no anomalies. i read today that this problem has also been reported on new (2009-2010) toyota prius models, and that the japanese government had ordered toyota to investigate. however the article said that toyota was unaware of any problems with older vehicles. i am filing this complaint in the hope that toyota will extend its investigation to series 2 prius models (2004-2008) as well. *tr

I have a 2008 toyota prius that has an acceleration problem which is not attributable to the floor mat. i also had a 2004 toyota prius with the same problem that resulted in a collision that totaled the vehicle. the 2008 prius was taken to the dealership for the acceleration problem but they can not reproduce it. the 2004 prius was totaled in a collision where the vehicle would not stop. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while the contact was driving approximately 20 mph, the traction control system was in activation and the vehicle began to accelerate without warning. the vehicle was able to slow down during braking. the failure occurred whenever the traction control system was engaged. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the technician informed that the vehicle acceleration was a normal occurrence upon activation of the traction control system. the contact had significant concern of the potential safety hazard. the failure mileage was 20,000 updated 10/26/10. *lj updated 10/26/10*jb

On 2/24/2010 i was driving my 2008 prius, slowing to stop for a red arrow signal. when i was at about 2mph, the car revved, shooting forward into the car ahead of mine. my foot was on the brake, i was not on the phone or distracted with any other activity. as a result, my car suffered minor damage, and there was little to no damage to the other vehicle. there were no injuries and no police report was filed. it was raining. the accident occurred in roseville, ca. my car was supposed to have been recalled for the floormat, but the dealer in my area sent a letter stating not to come to the dealer for the fix until they contacted me. the never have, and after this incident did not ask me to bring the car in to fix that issue. on 3/2/2010, when trying to start the car, i was depressing the brake and hit the start button, however, only the electrical power came on, not the engine. depressing the brake and pressing the button again started the engine. *tr