Problems with 2010 Toyota Prius STRUCTURE

Air bag did not deployed at the time of accident. damaged/rip apart front bumper...car is total loss as per insurance adjuster. other collided honda cr-v had all its air bags deployed. none on my prius. accident happened at major intersection ,when green light turned on i paddle my car , other car honda cr-v came at a speed to make left turned and hit my front bumper.

Automotive paint is unstable. on the sides there are several points. many paint chips in front of the car. the machine quickly rusts.

I was on the freeway in traffic, going 60 mph. there was road construction coming up ahead. i depressed the brake pedal and nothing happened. the car didn't slow down at all and i crashed into another vehicle. my car was manufactured when the 'voluntary safety recall' by toyota was supposed to address this, but i received no notification, nor did thousand oaks toyota, where i had the car serviced, communicate about it. *js

Went to swap the license plate in my prius after registering in new state. back license plate bolt on upper-right side unscrewed partially and then the bolt housing detached from the vehicle. as a result, the screw cannot be unscrewed and the license plate cannot be removed. called toyota and they knew what i was talking about. said the repair would take one hour and cost $110'for a bolt that malfunctioned. the vehicle isn't technically street legal now and they can't see me for several days. i said that i didn't think a component like that should just break off, and i was told it may have been a result of the wrong bolt size being used. that's unlikely as this car has only ever seen toyota dealerships and that was where it was purchased. very disappointed and it sounds like toyota knows about this issue.

*takata recall i was involved in a major car accident during lunch hour on the 405 south fwy in los angeles, ca. i was struck by a semi truck who was merging into my lane and while i tried to get out of his way by speeding up. i was clipped by the truck and my car careened infront of the truck and was pushed before he applied his brakes. my car then spun out of control across all fwy lanes. i was hit by two other on coming cars before coming to a stop in the carpool lane. all cars including the truck were driving approximately 65-70 mph based on the police report. my foot was on the gas the entire time as i spun out of control. my complaint is regarding the airbags. none of the side or front airbags deployed at the time of all impacts. i had the vehicle inspected by an independant inspection company after contacting toyota. i have yet to hear back from toyota even though they have had the report for almost two months. i finally received the report from the inspector after threatning to have my attorney contact them. i don't know how to read the findings of the report since its all technical engineering. i am attaching the report and hope that someone in your department can review it and followup. thank you

Vehicle was parked. when i returned to the vehicle, the rear window glass had spontaneously shattered/ exploded. there were no signs of vandalism. i understand that this is a problem with the type of glass that is used, and that this is not an uncommon occurrence. examples may be found on youtube.

Ongoing problem should have reported much earlier. body parts are plastic--likely to reduce weight--coupled with undersurfaces to improve aerodynamics and mpg. the front "spoiler" is set too low and snags wheel chocks when parking. this snagging tears connectors in a "cascade" to loosen or tear from other parts. at about 35 mphthe loosened passenger-side inner fender tore loose on a major thoroughfare (fortunately low-trafficed at the time). it was run over and recovered. i asked local dealerabout repair/replacement but couldn't get specifics and let it slide. this inner fender provides structural integrity as well as shielding the washer tank and parts of the engine compartment's innards. lacking that integrity, and with some connector holes torn, wind gusting at road speeds (and further snagging) often causes the wrap-around part of the front bumper to pull loose from its "lego-like snaps" into the fender. were things to tear loose at road speeds on a busy highway the "shrapnel" could cause major accidents. specific dates unknown-has been a continuing issue. --so date below is, therefore, arbitrary.

Affected part# 5141012105 cover. while driving a scraping sound was heard. after stopping and checking, a plastic part under the engine compartment was dragging. we had to drive 5 miles to have the part removed. the service entry of the plastic engine belly protector had broken away. the service entry is not hinged or reinforced in any way to the belly protector. the cost to repair was $271.37 for parts and $50 for installation. this is a very poor design of a part meant to be bent at service!! *tr

Backing up in a private parking lot of an apartment in sunnyvale the evening of november 20 aprox 22:00 hrs. at 2 mph or less an impact was felt to rear of bumper from a stationary object. visibility was poor. an auto body shop determined bumper needs to be replaced and not repairable. pictures available. i feel bumper standard spelled out by nhtsa is not met by 2010 toyota prius. *tr

Inner fender splash shield fell off as i was driving. *tr

Whilst stopped at a traffic light, behind a suburu, the brake failed and hit the suburu. (this was not the first time the brake failed, but fortunately there were no other cars involved when the car did not stop. the driver believed that black ice was involved, but after the incident with the suburu, realized that it was brake failure.) believing that the auto could no longer be trusted, it was sold. toyota insisted it was driver error., and claimed that there was no fault in the breaking system. *tr

The oil door fells off. *tr

We noticed that the carpet was saturated. the dealer told us it was because there were spider webs blocking the drain from the a/c. it was repaired at a cost of $1,554, the work included drying the air bag module and replacement of carpet. we believe this should be the subject of a recall as it is the identical problem recalled for the toyota camry. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius hybrid. the contact stated that the hatch/trunk door would fall unexpectedly and without any warning. the contact mentioned that the door had fallen on her at least three times. the contact was not injured. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the mechanic stated that it was normal for the hatch/truck door to fall. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 70,000. the current mileage was 78,496.

Overhead console sunglass holder cover will not close due to latch stuck inside. only repeated pressing of black spring button will release latch to catch and close cover lip. *tr

Driving at approximately 30 mph and the oil change cover fell off the vehicle. the cover is beneath the car's engine nearest the passenger-side tire. the panel had shown wear and it looked like a plastic fastener failed. the panel was able to be recovered. *tr

I was driving on the freeway, going the speed limit when my bumper bottom became partially detached. it caused me to swerve slightly. i immediately slowed down and put on my emergency lights, driving slowly on the freeway until i could pull off safely. once on the side of the road, i inspected my car and saw a large black bumper piece dragging from the front of the car. i was 1 mile from the toyota dealership, so i drove my car to the dealership. i was told by the service personnel that this was a design issue with the toyota prius as it is very low to the ground and many customers had problems with the bumper. in the two years i have owned my toyota prius, i have noticed that it hits the parking lot separations because it is low. i must stop before the parking lot separation in order to avoid this. it is strange that the toyota would be allowed to be so low as to cause this problem. even more alarming is that my bumper bottom suddenly fell off, without warning. this seems like a potentially dangerous and poor design that should be addressed. *tr

The following event happened twice with this vehicle. tin both instances, the car was running and in park with no one in the vehicle. it then down the driveway with no one in it. in the second occurrence, it appears to have gone into reverse on its own and rolled into a retaining wall causing damage to the rear passenger side bumper and back panel. *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 the car was parked in a hill with the parking brake it suddenly went backwards and hit the wall of the residency across the street like 500 feet down. car was almost completely damage back, train suspension and all doors out of frame. repair will take 8 weeks at a cost of 14850.00. there were no passengers in the car. *tr

Cheap thin black plastic engine cover for oil pan is defective with one edge cracked 100% after only 5 oil changes similar to aircraft aluminum metal fatigue. this plastic flap under oil drain plug is now dragging on the road hanging by a single bolt. ridiculous to fail after opening and closing oil drain pan cover 5 times. we view this as a defect covered under our bumper to bumper 7 year 100,000 mile platinum extended warranty contract for which we paid $1870 on 07-14-2009 for a new vehicle. minor scratches and dust are not proximate cause of failure. *tr

Plastic undercarriage cover loosened and started dragging on highway for no apparant reason. *tr

Dear sir or madam, a few days ago i found abundant evidence of mice activity in the cabin of my 16 month old toyota prius. after some internet research i found out that this is unfortunately an extremely common problem with prius model cars and other toyota models. the presence of rodents in the engine area is of course unavodiable but this is the first time i hear about the car design allow mice to easily move into the cabin. this obviously has severe consequences: i already have to replace the air filter and the padding behind the gloves compartment and i am not sure if any other parts have been chewed away. more importantly this is certainly a health and safety concern. i have to get the car detailed and the air system flushed to avoid toxic contamination from mouse excrements, and this endangers me every time i drive: a mouse crawling in the cabin of the car while i am driving is a major safety issue! it appears that the placing of screens in as few as 4 parts of the air system would stop the mouse access to the cabin, but toyota, both my local dealer and the national service center, claim there is nothing the can or will do, and that, despite the abundant evidence to the contrary, this is a normal occurrence in all cars. many people have posted online about mice and rodents in their prius cars. a feel this is a major safety issue with the car, and i am extremely disappointed that neither the local dealer nor the toyota corporate services are willing to helo me solve this situation and prevent it from happening again. i think the consequences of this design defect should be covered under the warranty and toyota should design a scree part to cover the vents where necessary to prevent this from happening in the future. *tr

2010 toyota prius. consumer states left inner fender liner and front splash shield fell off vehicle. *tgw the dealer informed the consumer that snow had built up between the parts and the engine they protect and eventually the weight of the snow caused the parts to fall off.*jb the consumer stated the fender liner fell off the vehicle for the second time. upon inspection, it appeared that some places where the liner should have been attached to the bumper had never been attached. the dealer was unable to attach the liner to the bumper because the area where it attached to the bumper had come off and therefore, a new bumper was needed to re-attach to the liner. updated 06/01/11 the consumer was informed her claim was not eligible for the arbitration process. updated 06/08/11 updated 06/16/11

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

The front bumper is so low that i have to go over bumps and dips very slowly, when turning into a driveway i'm very afraid i'll get hit from behind by cars going in the same direction because i have to enter the driveway so slowly. i've had numerous close calls. my bumper has damage from dragging when going thru a dip. *tr

I was driving my brand new, 3 weeks old, 2010 toyota prius on a rural road in clark county washington on thursday, march 4, 2010, when i attempted to slow down to make a very sharp left turn. i was applying my brakes when all of the sudden i realized i was not slowing down much and was not going to make the turn. i have maneuvered this turn hundreds of times and know that one must slow to almost a crawl to make the turn. i travel this area at least 1-2 times per week, so i was not unfamiliar with the turn. it felt like my car initially slowed some, but then slowing ceased and i ended up on embankment. the front of my car was damaged severely. i was not hurt but left with a very frightening experience to deal with. i am a excellent driver and have never had a wreck in the 31 years i have been driving. i believe my brakes initially engaged, but then due to the rural road surface, and pebbles left on the road from previous ice and snow, may have caused my brakes to not work as they should have. i attempted to contact toyota but they are closed due to it being the weekend. my car is at the auto body shop as i write this letter. my concern is that i was allowed to purchase a vehicle, that is on the recall list with such a dangerous defect such as "the brakes not working properly." i have a teenage son who is just learning to drive and would it have been him, the accident may have been worse. please advise how you believe i should proceed. i am very concerned, upset, and do not feel safe in this car! and i certainly do not want to transport my children, other family members and friends in an unsafe vehicle that i just spent $33,000.00 on. i was told when i purchased the car that it would be safe, fine to drive, and may not even be on the recall list. it is on the list and it is not a safe vehicle as far as i am concerned. *tr

I own a 2010 prius with approximately 8,400 miles on it. i have only recently began to experience problems that have been reported before by others. when driving over some extremely rough spots, the car accelerates by itself. it feels like the brake pedal becomes an accelerator. my experience is that it only lasts about 2 or 3 seconds but is very obvious. also, i would like to say that i have owned a sienna, camry, avalon and a 2005 prius prior to purchasing my present 2010 prius. this 2010 prius has more squeaks, rattles and stress noises than all of my other toyota products combined. for the last 13 years, i have driven only toyota's ., but have become disillusioned with this car. the road noise is excessive and the mpg shown on the display shows 2-3 mpg more than actual mpg. if i could trade this car in for near the amount i paid for it. i would do it tomorrow. though it is only my opinion, i feel that the quality of toyota products has decreased dramatically during recent years. this is also supported by the excessive number of recalls during recent years. *tr

Narrative description. not a failure but a safety prevention measure 2010 toyota prius 1. event: when backing up the vehicle runs on battery power-hence it is silent when backing up. the vehicle in busy parking lots (walmart) goes unnoticed. 2. failure: i have surprised people who are distracted and don't notice me until they nearly walk into the side of the vehicle. they don't hear the car. 3. failure correction: a back-up warning device should be installed to alert pedestrians (blind folks, neighborhood kids, pets, etc) of a silent, backward moving vehicle approaching. there is several blind spots inherent to the prius when backing. helping others to notice you seems like "an ounce of protection that is a pound of cure" that is measured in a saved life or crippling injury. *tr

Toyota prius 2010 going downhill pushing the brakes to stop before red light in the uneven pavement the car suddenly loses all fours wheels brakes for a fraction of a second . when the wheel that passed the road bump the brakes come back again and stop the car. it happened three time in the last 4 months that i have the car. same car defect in the fuel system. after leaving in the garage for 5 consecutive days, the car did not started automatically as it should do. it made for several seconds a metal to metal noise before the engine finally started to funtioning as usual. seams like the engine starved of fuel. same car excessive vibration on the driver side door panel when the radio or music is on. it stops when i hold with my knee tha panel. *tr