general problems of the 2002 Toyota Prius

Anti-lock brake failure. Failing to pressurize.

Driving speed less than 25mph on familiar surface street with need to stop for a car about 75 feet (estimate) in front; should have been an easy stop; applied brakes but car accelerated (I think only electric motor); further brake pressure did not stop the car, continued to accelerate (estimate 30 mph); fender bender crash of driver side front fender into passenger rear fender and side bumper. Very familiar with car (19 years driving it) and very familiar street near my home; confusion was not a factor; no airbags on either car activated; I was able to stop when I was beyond the struck vehicle. I plan on not driving car further and have asked Toyota dealer to take it back for junk without a definite reply so far.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Prius. She stated while pulling out from a driveway and applying the brakes, the brakes did not engage and caused her to crash into another vehicle. The vehicle sustained extensive damages to the entire front structure and was towed from the scene. A police report was filed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint filed. The failure and current mileages were 24,000.

I have a 2002 Toyota Prius that exhibits the same acceleration as in the 2010 recall. During braking if I am to hit a man hole cover or pot hole the car seems to lose the ability to brake and skips forward. This happens every time I hit a bump in the road while braking. I have owned the car for over 2 years and have had the brakes replaced without resolve.

My 2002 Toyota Prius brakes sometimes don't work when stopping at a slow speed. It happens when going over bumps and potholes. The brake takes a second before making contact with the brake pad. It can happen also when going over multiple bumps and potholes leaving the car unable to brake for a few seconds. Thank you for any help on this issue.

I drive a 2002 Prius. In the six years that I've owned my car, I've noticed that there's a loss of braking, and even slight acceleration, when I try to brake over a bump or pothole. I've experienced this about half a dozen times total. Fortunately, I have never been in an accident because of this defect. I never asked a mechanic to fix the problem, and I never gave it much thought (I just learned to drive much more slowly on bumpy road surfaces). I saw that the NHTSA issued a statement on Feb. 9 about the brakes on the 2010 Toyota Prius and made the connection that perhaps my older-model Prius was also susceptible to the same braking problem.

Brake pedal position sensor. Intermittent failure. Cannot start car even though foot is on brake. Sometimes required as many as 20 tries. Condition persisted from 2006 until repaired Jan 2010. At first once every few week and progressed to several times a day.

2002 Toyota Prius accident the consumer stated she was leaving a meeting when she attempted to release her emergency brake. She was parked on an incline and has parked there once a month for over a year. Before she knew what was happening, the vehicle started to roll backwards at such high speed that she was unable to control it by braking. Therefore, she side swiped another vehicle and caused over $10,500 worth of damage to both cars.

While decelerating and driving over speed bump/raised cross walk, brakes feel like they release and the car surges forward. Has happened on a regular basis when similar conditions exist (pot holes, or anything that might cause loss of traction on 1 wheel). Dealer insists that this is "normal" for anit-lock brakes. Really just a matter of time before it results in rear-ending someone due to unexpected surge.

I have always had problems with the brakes on the Prius, but the dealer keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with it. Yet you first hit the brakes on they are ok, but if you have to hit them hard - no brakes. . . Yet the dealer can't find anything wrong with it. "the computer doesn't show anything wrong" I guess I will have to kill someone before I can get them to listen and fix the problem. The last 12 years have been a nightmare. . . . . . Why can't we get them to recall this? I seen so many people you complain about the same thing yet nothing is done?.

My 2002 Prius has braking problems when it hits a rough patch of pavement or encounters small bumps. This has happened since it was purchased (new). If you are slowing down and hit a bump or a series of bumps, the braking power literally disappears for a moment or two. The braking power does return, but it adds considerably to your stopping distance. I never realized how serious it could be until I heard about the other Toyota recalls involving brakes.

Since I purchased my Toyota Prius in late 2001, it has intermittently surged when the brake is pressed. While I do not have the high speed surges that other drivers have reported, periodically when I am at low speeds and press the brake to stop, the car will slow to a stop, then lurch forward, requiring me to press the brake harder to maintain control. I reported this to Toyota in 2001 and 2002, but I was told that this was normal for a hybrid, which was fairly new technology at the time. I am concerned that in the future I may have a higher speed surge. So far my surges have been low speed, and I have been able to control them by pressing the brake harder.

2002 Toyota Prius braking problem the consumer stated he didn't see the issue as a braking problem; rather a control conflict. Whenever the problem occurred, the vehicle was moving down a slight grade on a road surface having its share of paving patches, frost heaves, etc. The slight downgrade causes the vehicles speed to increase, or perhaps an intersection appeared ahead and for whatever reason the brakes were gently applied in order to slow the vehicle down. When the problem occurred, the symptom was a brief interval and the vehicle seemed to accelerate and then normal braking resumed and the vehicle slowed down. Just prior to the brake activation, the vehicle is in regeneration mode, in which the electric propulsion motors are acting as generators, where energy motion is being extracted and converted to electrical energy to be stored in the vehicles battery. Whenever the brake pedal is activated, the first thing that happens is that the motor now become generators are forced by the control system to convert significant energy of motion into electrical energy. The consumer believed that the normal braking system shuts down. The consumer believed the problem was with the abs.