general problems of the 2008 Toyota Prius - part 2

When hitting small bumps travelling at speeds of 25-50mph (such as bumps before bridges) the abs will activate and the pedals go loose. It seems the car can not be controlled for about 3/4 of a second once this occurs. Luckily I have never been rounding a turn or approaching stopped traffic when this occurs or I would not have been able to stop. I had one close call where the brakes seemed to lag before kicking in, then jolting hard after the delay causing me to almost lose control of the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 2 mph and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. She maintained firm pressure to the brake and was able to bring the vehicle to a stop. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact left the vehicle in the dealers possession for further inspection. The approximate failure and current mileages were 12,900. Updated 11/16/10 updated 11/16/10.

I was trying to park my car(Toyota Prius 2008) in the farmers market and the car didn't stop and continued to accelerate and went further about 50 feet and hit a wood pole. Later Toyota service fixed the problem by changing the necessary parts in the vehicle. They confirmed that they took the car for test drive and made sure that everything is ok. But I am still scared to drive that car because of what happened. I have been driving for more than 18 years in this country and do not have any traffic violations or accidents. This was the first time anything like this happened. I also own two other vehicles , Honda odyssey and Toyota camry.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph into a grassy field to park the vehicle. When the brake pedal was applied the vehicle surged forward and struck a pedestrian. The contact engaged the automatic ignition off button for an immediate response. The vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure and the current mileages were 27,000. Updated 5/3/10 a police report was not fied. Updated 05/17/10.

Unprompted acceleration - car accelerated on its own accord. This has happened multiple times and lasts for only a second or so. This complaint is prompted by more severe reports which are very concerning to us in regard to potential hazard.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving approximately 30 mph on wet road conditions proceeding to make a right turn when the engine made a loud surging sound followed by an unintended brief acceleration, however, the vehicle was able to continue normal operation. The manufacturer and dealer were notified of the malfunction. The current and failure mileages were 15,334.

2008 Prius regularly thrusts forward after about 30 seconds from starting the car. Then, car looms back into position. It has always scared me and makes me insecure to drive the car. This has been going on since I bought the car in December 2007, so the date of the incident below is inaccurate. I felt I should report this in light of the recent reports of defects, etc. Thank you.

Throttle malfunction - 2008 Toyota Prius. Driving 50-55 m/h on north 280 near millbrae, CA in heavy rain. Vehicle accelerated without pressing the gas pedal. Engine revved 3 times in succession (sounded like: vroom, vroom, vroom) while accelerating to 65 m/h. All this time I was stepping on the breaks. Acceleration eventually stopped went back to normal after a few minutes. I drove the car directly to the nearest Toyota dealership in daly city but was told that there was no problem with the car. This malfunction only occurred once.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving 60 mph with the vehicle speed control on, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The contact had to shift into neutral gear in order to slow the vehicle down. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer today. The failure mileage was 23,000.

When braking at 10-15 mph and going over a bumpy road surface or pothole, the vehicle stability control light flashes on and off for 2-3 seconds and I experience what feels like a loss of brake power during that time. This happens every time I am slowing down and going over bumpy roads. So far, my solution to correct this failure is to not brake when slowing down over bumpy roads. No parts have been repaired or replaced.

Toyota Prius 2008 less serious - frequent release or lapse of braking by abs (assumed) on irregular roadway small cracks seem to confuse system with significant forward travel of vehicle before brakes reengage. Similar to my earlier 2005 model but more frequent occurrences and longer lapse in pad rotor contact during braking. Most serious brakes failed almost 10 seconds. Travel on wet slushy highway for 2 hours on 55 mph road with uphill grade and slight turn to right driver applied light brake pressure attempting to time deceleration to controlled intersection for green light. Application of brakes slowed vehicle no more then uphill coast, firmer pressure to no effect, full hard pressure no effect, slight release and full slam, no immediate effect, finally abs stuttered/pulsed and stop vehicle.

Most recent failure was a few days ago but this has been a problem since I purchased the 2008 Prius in March of 08--- I thought it was a quirk in the car --- something that just naturally happened when I would go over a pot hole or bumps in the road --- the car would lurch forward --- I had no control over the car --- no brakes --- I didn't realize that this was not a "natural" response until I heard the description on a news broadcast a couple weeks ago. Model years prior to 2010 should be included in the investigation. I am going to make an appointment with my dealer. Thank you.

I was driving slowing to park my car into a lot, my car suddenly took itself. I slammed the brakes so hard, it was hard enough to drop my bag which was on the passenger's seat. Today, 9th of Feb. Nothing was wrong according to dealer shop.

Please include Prius 2008 as well in your investigation. We have a 2008 Prius. About once a week, sometimes more, we drive over a pothole, our car jerks forward/accelerates for a split second just like the 2010 Prius that is being reported. We didn't think about it until the issue with the 2010 Prius news came out.

The brakes fail to work immediately and/or the car speed surges temporarily when braking on a bumpy or surface, such as going over a pot hole. This started happening soon after I started driving the car and happens on a regular basis - the most recent being yesterday. At first, the short loss of control of vehicle speed concerned me, but I have come to expect it now when going over rough road. I started to think it was associated with the abs system and thought maybe it was supposed to work that way. But now, after hearing about the problems with the 2010 Prius, I thought you should know the same problem exists in earlier Prius models.

I own a toy. Pri. 2008,on 02/03/10 I was leaving driveway applied gas,car took off across st. Into tidalflow of at. Ocean at high tide,the car would not shift. Brake or turn off. The police pic's noteded gas pedal was not visible, floor mat was over it, the salt water was in car and upon leaving car it was waist deep. The car was serviced 1/4/10 at Toyota dealer for state inspetion and usual mt. Never mentioned recall of mats which I now find was a well known fact in sept. 09. They are insisting it will dry out and be fine,salt water on any car is deadly buti hybrid. The hour it sat in water prior to tow,the car still would not shut off. I called Toyota that day as tow took car to it,they insisted that there was no issues with 2008 Prius. The car was moving much faster than my 10mph of origin and would not brake,shift or shut off. Water was pouring out stereo speakers and up under hood on/or under engine block,the engine ran for the hour the car sat in salt water. Toyota hsa been absolutely no help and still insists despite an offical recall that there were troubles with 2008 Prius. The police photos say it all.

I am experiencing temporary loss of brakes while braking on uneven surfaces, bumpy streets, potholes, railroad tracks. This is not the same as normal abs activating, but longer and complete loss of braking for a few seconds. Dealer informed me this is by design. All my other cars (with abs) do not experience this in the same conditions. Incident repeated daily during my commute. I have to drive much slower because of this and I want this fixed since if it's by design then its a bad design!!! note this is on a gen2 Prius, 2008 model.

2008 Toyota Prius. On Jan 29, 2010, I was slowly pulling into a parking stall when the accelerator engaged and the car surged forward. I applied the brakes and nothing happened. I let off the brakes and slammed them on harder and the car would not stop. My car hit the side of a am/pm arco station building. I turned it into my insurance and paid the $500 deductible. My car was taken to dealership and they could find nothing wrong at that time. The car has not surged since.

My 2008 Toyota Prius suddenly & unexplainably accelerated.

I wanted to include my voice in the recent complaints about the Toyota Prius brakes. I have a 2008 Prius and have experienced the same issue several times- the brakes seem to stop working and the slick-road warning light comes on when I go over a big bump or pothole while braking. Braking comes right back, but I can imagine this might be a bigger issue if there was a vehicle right in front of me, in inclement weather, etc. I have heard people only mention the 2010 Prius model year, so I wanted to let someone know that the 2008 Prius also seems to be affected. . . Thank you.

2008 Prius: temporary surge in acceleration when you drive over a pothole or a bump in the road. "traction" light comes on at the same time. Happens frequently but not daily. Same experience as is being described in the news today (2-3-10) in relation to the 2010 Prius. Toyota reports that they have not heard of this problem in previous years' models, but we have experienced this problem many times.

I have a 2008 Toyota Prius. Coming up to an intersection I went to go through the yellow however there was a police car beside me so I thought better stop and wait. I pressed on the brakes only to find my car skidded forward. I couldn't stop the car, I could only slow it down with the brakes. My fastest speed was 60km/h. I turned the car through three lanes of traffic into a parking lot and in the middle of it I just turned the car off. When I turned it back on it skidded forward again and when I checked the battery it was empty. I sat there for a while and eventually was able to turn the car on without it accelerating. I removed the mats after the mat recall in this vehicle. The Toyota Prius should be added to the accelerator recall list.

We were stopped at a neighborhood intersection. As we began to let off of the brake to make a left hand turn, the car accelerated uncontrollably. Depressing the brake had no effect on the acceleration. Before we turned the wheel to the left to begin the turn, the car had sped across the 35 foot street, jumped a 6 1/2 inch curb, went through a fence, across another street, and was stopped when it hit a second fence. The total distance traveled from being stopped at the corner until the vehicle was stopped by the second fence was 81 feet. The streets were dry and there were no skid marks on the road. However, due to previous rains, the grass areas were moist. There are no tire marks in the grass from the curb until approximately 6 feet before the stopping point. The front lift of the Prius is around 7 1/2 inches. The vehicle had to have significant momentum to go over a 6 1/2 inch curb in just 35 feet. We filed a claim with our insurance on Jan. 7 and requested that the vehicle be inspected for accelerator issues. The car was towed to Toyota whom, upon their own investigation, stated that there was no evidence of acceleration malfunction. The car is being repaired at a body shop with initial damage estimated at over $6000. We have photographs of the damage to the car as well as the scene of the accident and measurements of distances traveled. In 2009, we received a recall letter from Toyota concerning floor mat issues with our Prius. We inspected our factory-installed floor mats, as instructed by the recall letter, and were awaiting their 2nd notification when the "campaign remedy" became available. The floor mat on the driver's side has a locking mechanism and could have, in no way, obstructed the accelerator pedal. The car should be repaired and ready next week. However, we do not believe it is a safe vehicle to drive. What recommendations do you have?.

At 15k miles the car started to lurch when applying brake. Called dealer and was simply told that is how the Prius is. This action continued and every time it happened we called the dealer and got the same answer. At 60k we were on our way to service for regular maintenance and 2 blocks away the car lurched into traffic. That was the most aggressive the car had ever got and it scared us to the core. When we arrived at the dealer we told them about what just occured and the manager said he wanted to go on a test drive and we were happy to hear it. The manager sat in the car and then decided against the test drive. We were then told that they could research the problem but it would be at a cost to us unless we get the service done as well. We were bothered and couldn't understand why we were being treated this way. We left that dealer frustrated and angry. We then took it to another dealer whom inspected the car and said everything looked fine and by the way we show brake and gas being applied at the same time. The tech said "you should stop driving with 2 feet. " we left that ridiculousness and called Toyota complaint dept. The call was in Dec. 2009 and they didn't see out car until Feb. 2010. And after inspecting the car was given the exact same diagnosis. We avoid driving the car as much as possible. We told the master tech that our dash board shut down while driving on the frwy at 65mph and has the new added problem of lurching while already in motion and we are afraid of our car and for our safety. The master tech said it was all operator error. That appears to be the end result with Toyota and we are highly disappointed. We have been Toyota customers since 1992 and now pay for a car we avoid driving whenever possible. We just want to be in a safe car on the road and feel secure not fear.

The contact owned a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while attempting a left turn and depressing the accelerator, the vehicle would not respond. The contact was in the process of making the turn when another vehicle crashed into the driver side of the contacts vehicle. The vehicle spun twice and came to a stop. A police report was filed and two passengers were reported injured. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact called the manufacturer who took a complaint and stated that someone would contact her later. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were unknown.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While idling at a stop light, the engine revved , and then the vehicle accelerated. She has called the Toyota manufactured, and was advised that the floor-mats caused the failure. She was waiting for a representative to call her back. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealer. The failure mileage was 50,000.

2008 Toyota Prius. On 11/18/09. 1) I was parked and ready to leave the parking spot when suddenly the car had an acceleration backwards. I couldnt stop the car but luckily I was in a tight parking spot and the car hit the object behind (like a tree) under the 45 degree angle which left the deep rear corner bumper dent. (still there). I called in and complained to brooklyn Toyota and drove in for service the same day ( including to do the tire inspection). Toyota dealer didnt find any problems with the car's acceleration or tires but as a result of the dealer incompetence that was unable to detect a nail in the tire -I had a flat tire just 20 min after I left the dealer. I called aaa for assistance incident # 2181 on 11/18/09. I also called advantage Toyota in lynbrook , li to inspect and possibly fix the acceleration and the bumper. They also said they didnt have any recall notices to fix and couldnt fix the bumper unless taken to a paid collision shop. 2) I also had the car in the advantage Toyota service on 11/4/09 for oil, filter, check up and the brakes and tires. I told them I experience loosing traction / brakes after hitting the bumps or the pothole or man holes.

Vehicle body lurches forward when gas engine starts. This happens when the vehicle starts from cold, or when the vehicle is in park and the gas engine starts. We told the dealership this, but they said it was nothing. This happens every so often, not sure what leads up to it.

I am not being melodramatic when I say that I thought I was going to die today. My 2008 Prius accelerated almost out of control. I was merging onto an expressway when the accelerator seemed to have a life of its own and took off at an incredibly high rate of speed. It would not stop, kept getting faster and faster. I managed to slow down the vehicle. It was fine for the 20 minute drive down that expressway. After getting off and getting into city traffic I was stopped at a red light. When the car lunged forward. Thank god I had my foot hard on the brake. It did not brake away only lunged 6 - 12 inches.

Vehicle did not stop as expected in stop and go traffic. I bumped the car in front of me in the morning. And then on the way home I almost rear ended another car. This never happened before or since. I thought something was wrong with me that would make my timing be so off that I would hit another car! I told the dealer about it and they said it was probably "brake fade". I disagreed and stopped driving the car recently while the braking/acceleration concerns are investigated. I have a 2008 Prius.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. She stated that while the vehicle was parked with her foot on the brake pedal, it accelerated on its own without a warning. She then put the vehicle in neutral, it slowed down, and stopped accelerating. The dealer stated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle and they could not duplicate the failure. This problem has occurred 2 additional times. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 36616 and the current mileage was 37000.

Driving on pch in corona del Mar, CA at a speed of approx. 25 mph. Trying to brake at a pedestrian crosswalk where a car was already stopped in front of the Prius. Car did not brake, instead it accelerated and the car that was already stopped at the crosswalk was rearended. Driver of Prius injured ankle. Prius is totaled. Police report was filed.

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 according to the police report, there was only one death and no injuries. Updated 06/15/10.

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.