I was driving with the flow of traffic (around 30 mph) on a main surface street in a middle lane of a multilane street when suddenly the engine stopped, and i was unable to make the engine respond. the car immediately began to slow down; i could not make it accelerate to keep in the flow of traffic. i managed to carefully drift over to the right and maneuver through an intersection and glide to a stop on the right side of the road. i turned off the engine and repeatedly tried to restart it to no avail. i called for towing service and had the car towed to my toyota dealer, where the service people said it was an "internal failure" and replaced the inverter assembly. what has terrified me is that i could have been on the freeway driving at least 60 mph, where the consequences would be devastating to me and others. i asked if toyota would be reporting this to the nhtsa, and they said that was an internal determination. i asked if this had happened before to others and did not receive a clear answer. *tr
This has happened several times over the past two years. as i brake at low speeds, the car surges ahead as though your foot is on the accelerator. sometimes it was so subtle, you wondered if it really happened. today (11/23/14) there was absolutely no mistaking it. the car surged forward a couple of feet as i was slowing to turn left. if someone had been stopped in front of me, i would have hit them from behind. *tr
The incident occurred when i attempted to accelerate onto a two-lane highway. because of a slow and sharp u-turn which precedes the short on-ramp, i disabled the eco mode for better acceleration. when i pressed down on the gas, the car immediately emitted a loud sound, became unresponsive and was unable to gain additional speed. even so, there was no other option but to merge onto the roadway while doing no more than 30 mph. in the meantime, the instrument panel showed a "check hybrid system" message along with several warning lights. i managed to avoid oncoming traffic (from behind) and safely pulled onto the grass. attempts to restart the vehicle were unsuccessful with the previous message reappearing each time. the car required a tow to the nearest toyota dealer. i received a call from them the next business day, and they explained the cause to be a defective inverter based on the diagnostic code. fortunately, the repair will be covered under toyota's hybrid warranty. it remains to be seen and i am hopeful this repair will fully resolve the issue. *tr
At about 125,000 miles, the engine warned me of low oil. it was the first such warning ever with this vehicle. at that time i could secure only 2 quarts of the required synthetic oil and it was still over 1 quart low. about 500 miles later i took the vehicle to toyota chula vista and explained. they added 3 more quarts of oil and suggested a series of oil consumption tests. i called toyota motor usa consumer relations and opened a case indicating that i was consuming (burning not dripping) 1 to 2 quarts per 1,000 miles and my mpg had decreased from 46 avg to 35 avg. the oil consumption over the next 3 months averaged 1 qt/600 miles and my avg mpg deteriorated further to 29 mpg. in july toyota chula vista performed a teardown and ended up replacing the lower engine, cylinders rings, and valves. i was informed that other 2010 toyota prius engines exhibited failure/wear of the cylinder walls at about the same mileage. field techs were contacted again by the chula vista service mgr and i contacted toyota national seeking some assistance in the $6,400 repair bill. both local field rep and national declined those requests. what good is a 10 year hybrid battery with a 3 year engine? *tr
Driving on freeway and car overheated. there was never any warnings of overheating problems before. pulled over on freeway and had car towed to auto service. water-pump was not working, fan stopped turning, cost to replace was $1260, toyota would not help as car was out of warranty. *tr
Incident #1 brake: on january 17, 2013 as i was entering the intersection about 20mph, i applied my brakes, but they went straight to the floor and warning light started blinking. i pressed brakes very hard and car almost stop, then, its brakes gave up. there is sudden slight "unintended acceleration" and i almost hit car front of me. but, i am able to manage to drove the car into the center island. brake was totally out, and the car started drove by itself. i panicked and pressed power button to shut off the engine. car drove about 15 feet and stopped. after this incident, i tow my car to the dealer, they told me that lost brake is due to short circuit made domino effect to multiple computers malfunction. they will replace whole computer system, but service man would not guarantee it will never happen again. incident #2 power failed and shut down while driving at highway. on december, 2012 and january 2013. i was driving at highway and trying to merge into the center line, car stalled and prompted "key does not detect" message on the screen. i almost hit from behind by another car. while the car still has a speed about 40mph, i managed to restart the car by depressed brake and press power bottom. it is true this car lose brake and does slight "accelerate". *tr
While making a u turn the vehicle lost power and the check hybrid system warning illuminated. the car died in the middle of the road. the dealer claimed that there was oil in the throttle body caused by overfilling and this is a common occurrence with oil overfills on prius vehicles. the last oil change had been 8,000 miles and more than 2 months previous. the place that performed the oil change agreed to look at car and clean the throttle body. they also checked the oil and made sure it was correct level. three weeks later the same thing occurred. this time the car lost power and the check engine light illuminated. the car died on a freeway transition over pass and we were stranded on the freeway in a very dangerous situation. the car was towed to another toyota dealer and they claimed it was the same thing. the oil change place says absolutely no way is this the problem since they looked at it very closely the last time. i requested toyota to send out a field representative to confirm that this was the cause. they refused. computer codes p3190 and p0a0f hv. *tr
2010 toyota prius at dealership for 25000 mile service. on 11/07/2012 at 1700 the dealership called and reported that the car is "infested with rodents." stated that headliner is saturated with urine/ feces, air and cabin air filters destroyed, wires chewed, rodents found to be living in dashboard, in door interiors, and other areas. reported that this was "the worst case we've seen." car is owned by two professionals- no children who would have dropped food and no food ever eaten in vehicle. purchased new from this same dealership 01/02/2011. dealership now reports that the car is a health/ safety hazard and could cost "thousands" to repair. our internet research revealed that rodent infestation is common in the toyota prius, reportedly because rodents are able to gain easy access through the car's ventilation system. owners reported contacting toyota, who denied liability and denied request for assistance. *tr
While carefully parking my prius 2010 at a hospital it accelerated suddenly and crashed over the cement curb. i say carefully because my prius had done this before but not enough damage was done to file with insurance. there followed another accident and another accident. then this evening while driving into my carport my prius accelerated again. it threw my dog that was in the front seat to the floor but i was able to avoid car damage as i was going to stop. i was barely moving, that is i still had my foot on the accelerator,maybe i could say coasting, when this acceleration suddenly occurred. this was the same type acceleration that caused all the prior accidents. i have reported this to toyota... and now you. hopefully you will help me. my prius is in the carport. it has not been moved. however, it is my only transportation. my prius' latest happening, before the one just stated, the hybrid system quit working during rush hour traffic on the interstate near a busy intersection. this was repaired before toyota sent some one to investigate the prior accidents. if more information is needed just let me know. this prius also had a battery replaced shortly after it was purchased as a new vehicle. this prius has wheel rim scratches. *tr
I have a 2010 prius vin:[xxx] with 37,000 miles. the car experiences random losses of power during which the engine shuts down and does not activate no matter how hard i pump the accelerator. once i turn off and push again the start button, the engine starts up without any problem and i can continue on my way. i have experienced this problem 5 times since september 2012. i have taken the car in to the dealer (caldwell toyota, nj) where it was examined and they told me the onboard computer did not record any malfunction. i am getting worried since some of the power losses happened when i was on highways at speeds over 60mph and i had to coast to a stop in high traffic areas. i would like to know whether other prius owners have reported similar problems and whether you have suggestions on how to proceed [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Car occasionally unintentionally accelerates when hitting a bump for maybe a second. dangerous when it happens as approaching a stop sign or traffic signal. happens maybe once every two weeks. *tr