Problems with 2010 Toyota Prius ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The problem that is causing the head lights to burn out simultaneously needs to be resolved. it is a safety hazard for this to continue. purchased a toyota prius 2010 in december 2010. since that time, the head lights have been a problem. each time there is a problem, both head lights burn out simultaneously. the first time the head lights failed was august 7, 2012 when there were five of us in the car driving 15+ miles with about a third of the drive on many residential streets that were not well lit. the dealership in florida was called and it was explained that both headlights burned out at the same time and that it must be something other than the bulbs because headlights do not burn out together at the same time. the service representative quoted that the cost of the repair to replace the head lights was about $150. he did not ask if the car was under warranty and he did not acknowledge that it could be something in the electrical system. he did not suggest that the car be brought in to have them put it on diagnostic machines to verify where the problem may be.we opted to replace the bulbs ourselves. the second time both head lights burned out simultaneously was october 21, 2012 and we again, replaced the bulbs ourselves. the cost of the bulbs including tax is $54.36. this morning is the third time both lights have burned out at the same time again. the prius has 35,840 miles. this is not reasonable. we have already spent $108.72 to replace the bulbs twice. it is unreasonable. it is extremely unsafe not knowing when and where the head lights will burn out. we have teenage drivers and it is upsetting to know they are not in a safe vehicle. *tr

Driving 45 mph down busy 4 lane street when car just went out of gear from drive to neutral and wouldn't go into gear. car came to a stop in heavy traffic and i was almost hit by several vehicles. had to push to side of road. called dealership and they sent a tow truck. they said they had never heard of this happening before but while i was sitting there waiting for a ride i went online and saw that this has happened to hundreds of people. the others affected by this defect said that heat causes a magnet to detach taking the car from drive to neutral. i am very thankful that this did not happen on the freeway or could have caused fatalities. toyota has not recalled any vehicles or made notification to owners. this is dangerous and i'm only putting complaint in now since i didn't know how to previously. found out 2 days after incident that the dealership has had this issue with more than 100 vehicles and that they were not being honest when they said they never saw this before. toyota needs to get the word out before someone is killed. *tr

My low beam headlights became noticeably more dim -- dangerously so as i began to need to use high beams to see anything beyond 30' in front of me. this began in 2012. then my low beam lights began to go out -- one side, then the other. we replaced them ourselves with high quality replacements (after we found out it would cost over $200 for labor and headlamp at our dealer). we were told by the dealer that the problem was only ours -- they had "never heard of it before." over the past three years, we have replaced 6 headlamps! today was the 6th replacement and we had it done at the dealers where we were told, again, that this is a problem that they have never heard of before. several times, i have had to drive home from work at night in the dark with no low beams (both went out) and use my high beams while cars heading toward me flashed their lights because of the blinding effect of using highbeams. please help!!

Tl* the contact was driving a 2010 toyota prius. the contact was driving 40 mph when the vehicle stopped in the street. prior to the vehicle stopping, a beeping/alarm sounded, the seat belt locked in place and the warning on the dashboard flashed brakes.

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. the contact stated that the low beams failed to illuminate properly. additionally, the low beams lights failed to function when driving. the contact had to apply the high beams when the failure randomly recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the driver and passenger side low beams but the failure recurred three year after the repairs. the contact replaced three lights on the driver and two on the passenger side for the low beams but the failure persisted. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

We have owned this vehicle since it has been new and have replaced the driver's side front headlight annually. this time it went out just 4 weeks after a local mechanic replaced the bulb. when i took it to toyota and complained of the problem and asked about a warranty fix i was told that the prior bulb had been installed incorrectly and now the entire headlight should be replaced for $500. this is the same problem we have always had. *tr

Our 2010 prius is unsafe during the daytime driving when we are required by road sides to turn on our headlights in certain roads, when we comply the headlights go on, but the dash lights go dark and we are unable to read the speedometer etc. i went to a toyoda dealer and they said nothing could be done to fix the problem. today, aug 6, i personally spoke with toyoda motor sales in torrance ca., on my complaint 1107281155, and was told toyoda could do nothing on 2010 prius which all have the same problem. i offered to pay to fix it as i am on roads requiring daylight head lights on several times a month. i feel that toyoda should recall all prius and fix that problem, there is no excuse for a dangerous sistuation like that especiallly when i can receive a ticket for not using the headlights during the day or if i do not being able to read the speedometer etc. i feel that throughout the west many roads require onlight headlights. i would like a formal investigation about this matter. *tt

Having a car accident on highway. this accident raises the concern about safety issue of toyota prius.one part of main battery cable underneath the car was not well protected or covered. when a solid object right hitting the cable with blast sound , the cable was broken apart., we lost all the power, the car totally was dead on the highway. we have 3 people in the car, my 85yr old mother, my wife and me. it is horrible. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius hybrid. the contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the vehicle stalled and a hybrid system failure message came on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to come up with a concrete diagnosis but stated that the failure might had been caused by a one volt over charge on the hybrid battery which happen as a result of excessive braking. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 41,000 and the current mileage was 43,000.

Second occurrence of this problem in three weeks. driving downhill on a residential street at 25 mph, slowing to a stop without applying the accelerator. suddenly lost engine power. applied accelerator, no response. continued to lose speed as i rolled silently downhill toward the intersection. applied brakes and stopped. restarted the engine and it started up fine. the previous incident also occurred on a downhill grade, on an exit ramp from an parking garage. fortunately both incidents happened at low speed and not in heavy traffic. i previously reported the first incident. toyota dealer checked vehicle after each incident and could not replicate the incident or find a computer code that would explain it. since this was the second occurrence and was familiar to me, and since i was not in traffic, i let it happen while observing my own actions, trying to check for driver error. my foot was not on the brake.the car was in drive. while the car was slowing, i tried pressing the accelerator deeply and then pumping the accelerator to see what would happen.. there was no response, and no sound. the same was true three weeks ago-no response to pushing the accelerator, even deeply, and no sound. three weeks ago, the first time it happened, i also tried cycling through the "modes" (ev, prius, eco, power) with no effect. each time, i hit the power button to power off, and then i hit it again to restart. powering off and then restarting, both times, seemed like "rebooting" a computer. fortunately traffic conditions both times gave me ample time to reboot. will this happen again? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after sitting idle for a few days. the vehicle was towed to a dealer and they advised the contact that the failure was due to the battery being unused for more than 10 days. the dealer advised that the battery should have been disconnected before allowing the vehicle to sit idle for so long. the contact was able to restart the vehicle after receiving a jump start. the failure mileage was approximately 6,500.

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the low beam head lights failed and could not be re-illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the light bulbs needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred five times. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 40,000. updated 10/29/13*cn the consumer stated both of the low beams went out simultaneously. also, when the wires were wiggled the lights would come on. the dealer suggested to turn to the vehicle off, and then turn it back it on. the consumer believed there was an electrical or computer problem.

Passenger door latch failed in my toyota prius, it opened as i was moving, then i closed from inside and when i got to my destination it did not open anyway,even with remote. so i got out thru other door. *tr

My windshield wipers stopped working for a short time. i have an idea of what could cause this issue among other problems. i had a problem with a vehicle i once owned that the engine would stop for no reason. the dealer could not find a problem but as a precaution he replaced the small wiring harness. my car never failed again. about 6 months later amc came out with a directive to replace the small wiring harness on all of these cars. the problem was that the two ends of the harness were manufactured by different companies that used different plastic.the plastic in the connectors would react with one another and produce a gas. the gas would coat the contacts and cause them to go open. in my case when i restarted my car the contacts would arc and it would run okay until the contacts got coated again. i think this condition could cause almost every problem toyota is having. i don't know if this condition is related to any of the problems they are having but it might be worth looking into it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. the contact stated that he engaged the panic stop button but the vehicle hesitated before stopping and caused the contact to crash into the rear of another vehicle. a police report was available. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was not notified. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was approximately 1,700 and the current mileage was approximately 2,000. updated 02/02/11 *cn

My toyota prius headlights go off frequently while driving. i must turn them off and on to have them come back on. it used to be one or the other at a time, however now both lights will go off at once. i was driving in very dark conditions when it happened last time and the road was pitch black. the fact that it was late at night is the only way i knew both lights were out. if i am driving at dusk or dawn, it is a major safety concern because it would be difficult to tell that my lights are off while i'm driving, but very difficult for others to see me coming down the road. it only takes a few seconds for an accident to happen. the toyota dealership acknowledged that it is a known issue and initially said that the replacement would be covered. then came back and said they have not been recalled so it would be out of my pocket. i was also told that i could just continue to turn the lights on and off when it happens because the life of the bulbs should not be up yet. that is not a good solution to me because i don't always know when one or both lights goes out and when it might be difficult for other drivers to see me. i feel that this is a known hazard that should be rectified by recalling/replacing these bulbs. *tr

My prius engine would not cut off while i had my wife's avalon electronic key in my pocket touching my prius electronic key. i was sitting still but each time i cut off the engine by holding down the power button, with my foot on the brake, the engine would start back up. it wasn't until i moved the avalon key from my vehicle that the prius restored normal actions. could this contribute to the problems with toyota's products? *tr

The first time i drove my brand new 2010 toyota prius at night and the dashboard cluster was illuminated, i saw what appears to be smudges on the inside of the split screen. the defects appear only on the portion of the split screen that regulates the hybrid system -- in other words, the computer that controls the car. i brought the car to my local toyota dealership for a warranty repair. they stated "some type of fluid or cleaner has gotten behind the cluster and spotted. not covered by warranty." if this were correct, and it is not, the screen would have to be porous; which in itself would be a manufacturing defect. i contacted toyota customer service in california and they stand by the dealer and state "this is not a defect toyota motors will cover. we consider your case closed." my private mechanic thinks there might be a problem with the evaporator behind and integrated with the dash - coupled with the heat & humidity - which might be causing the blotting out of portions of the hybrid screen cluster. further, he tells me that whether or not this can effect the safety of the hybrid system and the operation of the vehicle, he does not know. he states that in order to determine what is causing this the complete dash assembly must be removed. i cannot believe toyota motor corporation has learned nothing from their mistakes of the recent past and is denying any responsibility on the part of the manufacturer of this brand new automobile. i believe this problem is a manufacturing defect that has probably shown up on other vehicles and will continue to show up on additional vehicles no matter how adamantly toyota motor corporation denies it is a manufacturing defect. i watched what i thought were sincere apologies by mr. toyota when he appeared before the united states congress. looks as though nothing has changed in corporate japan toyota. *tr

2010 toyota prius, no accidents, but close calls. when i am slowing to a stop, and if the vehicle hits a rough spot in the road, for example a pothole, the brake pedal lowers slightly and the car appears to have the anti lock braking take over and the car speed decreases slowly under the control of the abs and may not stop in the remaining distance to a stop sigh or traffic light. at least 4 times, 3 since the software update for my car, i have been stopping and within about 20 feet of the stop sigh there was a significant bump or pothole and with my foot on the brake continuously i noticed that the brake pedal depressed slightly and my rate of slowing decreased and my car drifted past the stop sign. this all happened with my foot still on the brake. i told the toyota dealer about this and was informed that it is the way the car is designed, that any time that the computer senses a wheel slip, the abs takes over. but on dry road conditions, this is problematic because in my area there are often un repaired roads with ruts, potholes, bumps and etc. near the intersections. having the abs take over provides a lag time in the stopping of the car and each time i have gone past the stop sign and slightly into the intersection approximately 5 feet into the path of other vehicles. i am an engineer with nasa and know what i am doing and have been told that this is a design feature, but this feature can and has left me exceeding my planned stopping distance and could have lead to an accident. *tr

2010 toyota prius. the consumer stated he experienced two safety issues; loss of brake effectiveness and engine race *tgw when the consumer applied the brakes when going over bumps/rough roads, or in marginal conditions due to snow/ice when approaching a stop sign, he would lose braking effectiveness. the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for a recall repair on march 24, 2010. however, he continued to experience loss of brake effectiveness. the consumer pulled into a neighbor's driveway after driving less than one mile from his home. after pushing the park button, but before pushing the power button, the engine began to race. it was not at an extreme high rpm and it was not for an extended period time, but it did last for several seconds. after the vehicle went down to normal rpm, after a s second or two, it began all over again. the consumer stated it was not a surge as the vehicle was not in gear at the time. *jb

Although i took my vehicle in for the recall (2010 prius) last week, the vehicle repeated the loss of brake/surge issue this morning. i also reported to my toyota dealer last week about abnormal, sudden braking. when applying normal pressure to the brakes, on several occasions the brakes have locked violently, sending me and my passengers against our seat belts. toyota claimed that the recall may make that better. it has not. thirdly, i reported last week to toyota that the car has on occasion shaken violently and made a loud clanking noise (like a washing machine off balance) upon start up, causing me to jump out f the car for fear of it blowing up. they said they had never heard of this. my co-worker, a fellow 2010 prius owner, reported the same issue. *tr

New 2010 prius ll commuter car suddenly accelerates or scoots when both feet are on the brake. the vehicle takes the same route to and from work daily. on every trip, when the right front wheel passes over a recessed manhole, the vehicle accelerates. i immediately push harder on the brake to stop the vehicle. the manhole is about 30 feet in front of an intersection, so i am already decelerating and braking when i cross over the manhole. this is scary because, if i the car doesn't stop, it will take me out into the middle of the intersection. both feet are on the brake. i have driven for over 40 years, and this the strangest thing i have ever experienced. *tr

Suggestion for testing toyoto acceleration problem: the tracks on a printed circuit board can behave as an antenna and generate false signals to the processor. cell phone, gps signal radiation, etc., could be causing false signals on the board(s) in the toyoto vehicles. check it out !!

2010 toyota prius iii abs recall was applied by dealer toyota city of brooklyn park, mn on 3/17/10. prior to this recall update to my car, i had experienced the issue once since purchase of the car on 10/23/09. now since the abs update has been applied, i have experienced the issue 3 times in 5 days. the last experience was today and the worst yet where i felt i lost brakes completely while slowing the car and braking. i estimate my speed was about 15 mph going over a minor pot hole. *dt

True! gear problem! remember airbus flipping our of control when they came out with fly by wire? the joy stick gear is default to shift into neutral when normal push bring it in to reverse. no way to put it in neutral. i thought the same thing & was in denial until i realize that its impossible to put it into neutral when thing is speeding out of control. don't take it lightly- i did bought a 2010 prius just now & realize - u can't put it - in neutral. i was in denial. also, ventilator fan suddenly accelerates when u try to switch the modes. *dt

I have a complaint about the toyota problem. information is available from myself,since i have a specific skill that gives me the ability to diagnose theses type of problems that others do not have in their skill-set. i have a doctorate in a certain field that allows an understanding of these and other usually un answerable problems with computers and equipment. even the faa problems with denial of service in the system is pretty simply answered. so now,lets get to the complaint,you folks would never engage me and pay my consultant fee to fix these problems,as i have tried and tried to inform so called smart bureaucrats and engineers on this and other problems,because you boys and girls are just too smart to go down any road that you have not been approved to go down usually' there is a fix for the toyota problem,but i do not believe toyota really wants it fixed,and i know that sounds goofy,but if you knew other sensitive information that i know,you might agree. so,bottom line,the us govt. personnel will as usual round file any offers of assistance from guys with my set of skills,and the problems will continue to create the terrorism events here. i can usually shame you kind of folks and say something like,prove me wrong,and that doesn't even get a flinch either. *tr

I have a 2010 toyota prius. there are three driving modes: ev, eco and power. ev is all electric, for very short distances at speeds under 25 mph. every time i use the ev mode, and accelerate past 10 (ten) miles per hour, the system beeps and the display alerts that i am exceeding the speed, and shifts onto another mode. i am unable to use the ev mode as advertised by toyota. i have taken the auto to the dealership and they refuse to acknowledge the auto operates in full electric mode , at low speeds, for short distances. *tr

My prior prius was repurchased by toyota 09/09 with severe electrical issues which only escalated. i believe the man in ca because that happened to us on the highway, and our car behaved as if it were 'possessed'. now my 2010 is having intermittent issues, including an anti-skid/ braking light that we'd thought was remedied by resetting an abs actuator friday-it was on since test driving the car-but i was told many excuses, and eventually they were aware but did not know how to correct this. (?) i'm concerned about driving this vehicle as my 2007 trapped us in the car twice-911 called in a panic-plus my small daughter's safety was at risk just by owning that crazy car. please see if you can locate that car and inspect it-you will see this is not some chance situation-and now i am extremely concerned about our new car 'performing as designed' when brake warning light comes on when applied! feel free contacting me on this!! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. the contact took the vehicle to an authorized dealer to have the recall repair performed; however, the turn signals began activating on their own after the repair was made. the warning indicator illuminated which indicated that the vehicle was in danger or the front wheels were going to spin out of control. there was also a very loud buzzing indicator that startled the contact while he was driving. the dealer was informed about the failure and advised the contact not to drive the vehicle. the contact has not spoken with the manufacturer . the vehicle has not been repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 400 and the current mileage was 435. updated 04/21/10

Purchased 2010 prius on aug ll,09. have returned to dealer 5 times, beginning on sept.29, 09, to report same problem...which is that at random times when i shift from "p" to either "d" or "r", the vehicle lunges and when i apply the brake, it is like hitting a brick wall. this process is repeated several times in sequence...lunge, brake, lunge, brake..then it corrects itself and drives normally. i cannot predict when this will occur, sometimes it is weeks and hundreds of miles between occurrences; sometimes only a few miles and hours between incidents. the dealer always says they have not been able to reproduce the problem, therefore no diagnosis or repair. i have reported to toyota customer ser. and was assigned a case #. have had ongoing conversation with tcs rep to report this and several other problems, i.e. various warning lights at inappropriate times..."key detected in vehicle" while driving down the road... etc. am always told "scan shows no problems". i think there is a problem with electronics. unsafe, frightening. latest incident on 3/05/10. dealer installed software fix for brake recall on 2/10/10. at times must repeatedly move gear shift lever before it responds. *tr

1. on friday, february 26th, 2010 i had my 2010 prius "fixed" at a toyota dealership for the brake/acceleration recall. i had experienced braking/acceleration issues only 3 times in 5 months of owning the vehicle before having it recalled. 2. in the last 2 days i have experienced the braking/acceleration problem twice. the problem seems to have gotten worse. essentially what occurs is a sudden jerking forward of the car, whether or not the braking system is depressed, typically when going over rough terrain or uneven pavement. i occurred both times at relatively low speeds between 10-20 miles an hour and the acceleration lasted only a second or 2, but is very alarming, especially if a car is in front of you. *tr

Leased a toyota prius 2010. 2 weeks later the check engine light kept on coming in for no reason. *tr

Driving my 2010 prius when suddenly the auto turned off. interior lights came on and dash stated key was located within the cabin indicating car was off. dealership notified and computer saw the error message. dealership stated that they don't know what happened but call back if it happens again. *tr

I own a 2010 prius. i have owned the car since oct 2009. twice i let the car sit in my garage without driving it for 6 days. the battery completely discharge over the 6 days such that the car has to be jumped in order for it to start. both times i took the car to toyota service center and both times they did not find anything wrong with the car. there solution was to not let the car sit undriven for that long. however, if i took the car to the airport and left it while i was gone for a week, it would not start when i return. this is not acceptable to me since i travel a lot. according to toyota i have no recourse. *tr

I believed the problem is in the brain box of the 2008-2010 prius/etc in are area where the navy generate low frequency signals are garage doors go up and down at will .we had no idea until the navy admitted it. now whit cell towers set up every where and who knows what signal are generated thru them. who to say that it is at some point it effecting some of the toyotas after all they are rolling computers when they stop the erratic behavior and then reboot without a trace. *tr

I own a 2010 toyota prius. since purchasing it in august, i have been aware of odd, completely reproducible braking behavior. i have not reported the complaint until now because i assumed it was something normal within the operation of the prius, but with the report in the new york times that japan is investigating the prius braking system, i thought i should file a report. i live near train tracks that have a grade crossing in the middle of a block. the crossing itself is in ann arbor, mi, on w. william st. between s. ashley st and s. 1st st. when driving westbound on william st, one travels downhill and encounters the grade crossing near the bottom of the hill, about 20-30 feet before an intersection. every time i cross the train tracks at this grade crossing--regardless of weather conditions--i notice an alarming loss of braking power that occurs exclusively when crossing the train tracks. at first i thought this was normal, that perhaps the car was just slipping, but now it seems as if this represents the conditions that are under investigation in japan. the problem is 100% reproducible. typical travel speeds are 15-30 miles per hour. the braking action is only interrupted while traveling over the bumpy surface of the rail tracks, and then braking action is restored. however, if there are cars queued up at the bottom of the hill at the intersection, it often leads to short braking times and has caused concern regarding the effectiveness of the brakes. i have not spoken to my dealership regarding the problem, nor had any service performed on the vehicle regarding the problem. again, i believed this to be more of a design issue than a performance problem, but it is alarming, nonetheless. thank you for your hard work keeping america's cars safe. *tr

My 2010 prius stalled in traffic cutting off all power including emergency flashers. the vehicle would not restart for 8 minutes. i immediately took car to the dealer and reported my problem. i was told it was a software glitch which was immediately corrected. *tr

2010 toyota prius - when braking, if you hit a bump or pot hole in the road, the car lunges forward (accelerates). you have to really pay attention for this occurrence or you will rear end someone. i has happen about 5 times now. this seems to be a electronics issue not a pedal problem. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. whenever the contact drove the vehicle while wearing sun glasses he stated that it was difficult for him to see the speedometer. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that nothing could be done to correct the problem. the current and failure mileages were 1000. updated 3/24/10 *cn updated 05/10/10*jb

I was on a trip to arizona and when driving in my 2010 prius from flagstaff to phoenix during the evening, the batter display's top segment glowed red many times in the descent from flagstaff. it was a very difficult to drive to keep the top segment from turning red as the vehicle was coasting and i did not want to exceed the speed limit so i really did not now what to do. i decided to shift to neutral so the engine was not breaking. however in neutral i was wearing out my vehicles brakes which also worried me because of the possibility of overheating the brakes. i looked in my vehicle manual but nothing as in the booklet about this type of occurrence. so i asked my toyota service personnel at rudy luther toyota in golden valley, mn and they had not heard of this problem. he gave me a the telephone number for customer service representatives at toyota and after discussing this incident with many people in customer service at toyota, the end result was "that the battery was fully charged and when this occurs the top bar will glow red but this will not effect the battery". i do not know if this is true or toyota is just putting me off but others at the following toyota forum have also experienced this problem. is this a safety problem, i do not know. is it a battery warranty problem, i do not know. but please look at this forum thread and maybe you can discuss this more fully with toyota. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/67994-all-bars-battery-indicator-4.html on the return trip and here in minnesota i have not had this problem occur as there are not many long descents. *tr

We recently purchased prius 2010 v with technology option. after driving it for two weeks car design has caused a life-treating situation for driver and two passengers (one of them being a child) by stopping at the intersection in a non-drivable condition in a way of high traffic in the night. car had to be blocked out by police for 1.5 hours and later towed to dealership. later investigation revealed that inability to drive was caused by instrumental panel light dimmer turning off instrumental panel when headlights are switched on. note that dimmer itself was not operated by the driver (it might have been moved unintentionally some times earlier) and actual act of turning instrumental panel off was triggered by turning on headlights which increased dimming level to "full off" state. this car does not have any "non-electronic" instrumental panel and so is not drivable with it off. in fact both driver and passenger was not aware that car is even on at that time because there is no "drive" shift indicator except on instrument panel, and first reaction was to try and restart the car, which further make drive shift position uncertain. this is extremely unsafe design. dimmer should not be able to make care not operable. in this car without any non-electronic instrumental panel, it should be never possible to completely turn it off. this function should be eliminated to prevent an eventually fatal accident that is waiting to happen (or maybe already happened). note that car manual does not mention: 1) that instrumental panel can be completely off with the dimmer 2) that there is a dependency between dimming level and headlights. this issue has been experienced by multiple other users as indicated by these threads: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-audio-electronics/11744-blank-instrument-cluster-panel.html http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/9053-when-my-headlights-my-dashboard-dark.html. *tr

1. i bought my 2010 prius new from a toyota dealer in early december of 2009. 2. when i am applying the brakes to slow down, if i hit a pothole, bump, or speed bump the brakes will stop working and the car will lurch forward. i have experienced this brake failure at least 20 times, with varying severity. it can happen any time i am trying to slow down and hit a bump or pothole (e.g.. trying to slow down because the car in front of me is stopping, or because i am approaching a stop sign or red light, or because i am turning or going into a curve). so far, this brake failure has not caused an accident but it has caused me to come very close to hitting the car in front of me on one occasion. i have come to no longer feel safe driving my prius because i cannot trust the brakes when there are bumps or potholes in the road. 3. i brought my prius to the service center of the dealership where i purchased the car. i brought the car in on 2/4/2010. that evening when i spoke to the mechanic, he told me that the brakes are normal and that he did not do anything to fix my car and that i could pick my car up. i then spoke with the manager and told him that i did not feel safe driving the car until they fixed the braking problem. my car is still at the dealership and has not been fixed because they are refusing to acknowledge that the brakes are not functioning safely. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. while driving the vehicle at various speeds using the headlights during the day the contact noticed that the instrument panel became very difficult to see. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the failure could not be determined. the current and failure mileages were 13000.

I purchased a 2010 toyota prius in august, 2009. during the fall, 2009, i experienced two incidents, which in retrospect, i think involved sudden acceleration. on both occasions, i was driving home from work and went over a spot on the road which, because it was dark, i couldn't see for sure, but which felt like a pot hole. (i also think it may have been raining on both of these occasions, although i can't recall for sure). immediately after hitting what i think was a pot hole, i felt the car suddenly and dramatically accelerate. both times i applied the brakes and the car stopped accelerating. at the time, it did not occur to me what was going on. but, now thinking about it, i think it likely that the sudden jolt to the car, perhaps combined with moisture, caused some type of electrical malfunction, which thankfully, was short-lived (or at least stopped by braking). shortly after these incidents, i mentioned them to my wife. she reported that she had experienced very much the same thing on a separate (i.e., a third occasion) driving our prius. *cn

As many previous owners described, i am also having problems with the brakes at low speed since the beginning of owning this vehicle (october 2009). dealer couldn't replicate the problem. although the car went through the recall for the break system is still having the same issue ever since. the other issue with the brakes happens after rain. it makes a screeching noise without performance being effected. it goes away usually within a half an hour. this has been an ongoing thing too for few years by now. the other issue i had as well as others is dimming of lights that has been occurring since last year. we needed to switch the lightbulbs more frequently than seems normal. didn't even think it was out of the ordinary until i read the comments here about it. the other problem i started to have is with a stereo display system and the voice activation for the bluetooth. the display had some weird lines on it after a very cold or a very hot day (radio was working fine just the display was not working properly). eventually goes back to normal but this started happening the last year or so. the same time also had a problem with the voice activation unit which turned on unexpectedly and turned back on in 10 seconds after each time i turned it off. this was happening for a good 30 min at that time. this only occurred twice but both times was after a hot day last summer. this year so far haven't happened yet.

My 2010 toyota prius does not always recognize the key and will not open doors and not start the vehicle. the gear shift jumps out of gear going from reverse to drive and vice versa. the heater does not work properly. i am afraid to drive my newly purchased vehicle. please advise. *tr

2010 toyota prius software defect in the engine control system. consumer states while reversing before the start up operation is complete the brakes grab. *kb the consumer parked facing an upslope at the dealer to get his license plate installed. to leave, the consumer put his foot on the brake and pressed the power button. as the dashboard started to light up, he shifted into reverse, released the parking brake and the foot brake and started to ease down the ramp. as the consumer applied the foot brake, the brakes grabbed badly. the consumer released and re-applied them, and again they grabbed. the grabbing was severe enough that the vehicle was not safe to drive and the consumer just stopped. the consumer believed the behavior indicated a defect in the software that controlled the start-up sequence. the control computer should not allow the vehicle to be shifted into drive or reverse until the power-on operations have been fully completed. *jb

Tl*the contact test drove a 2010 toyota prius from a authorized dealer. he states that he was wearing polarized sunglasses. he had extreme difficulty reading the instrument panel cluster and speedometer gauge which exhibited dim lighting. the vin was unavailable. bl updated 10/09/09 *cn the consumer stated the vehicle has a dashboard display just below the windshield that reports the speed, fuel level and other operating information. the display is a reflected image of a vacuum-fluorescent display inside the dash. unfortunately, the reflection path polarizes the displayed image so that it is all but unreadable through polarized sunglasses. updated 10/16/09.

While slowing down (foot on the brake) for a light or road bump, the car suddenly accelerates until i press harder on the brake. this has occurred about 10 times since i purchased the car summer of 2009. no accident but almost rear-ended the car in front of me several times. brought to toyota and told nothing was wrong and i wasn't used to the abs system. this can't explain the sudden acceleration and near miss accidents. *cn