Warnings problems of the 2010 Toyota Prius

The brake and pre collision system suddenly fail without warning.

My car, a 2010 Toyota Prius, level v has about 161,000 miles on it, and I have driven about 140k of those miles over the last 13 years. I have traveled around the DC/maryland area and also taken the car on long trips. The car has been reliable, safe, and predictable. . . Except in one place/instance. I have probably driven a dozen times or more to the bwi airport from my home in chevy chase. On the return drive on [xxx], as I drive towards an overpass that is just before the [xxx] exit, my Prius goes into "emergency approaching collision" mode. The brakes automatically forcibly apply, the seatbelt/lap harness grab me, and there is an emergency beeping from the system. The first time this happened. . . Probably 10 years ago, it was very startling. My car was traveling about 60-65 mph. Luckily, there were no cars behind me. . . And I remained calm enough not to overreact. I was so startled that I needed to pull over to regain my composure. In one of the numerous other cases on this happening, my wife was in the car and she basically wanted me to sell the car because she felt it was unsafe. Because I am aware of the situation with my car, I always am cautious when I am driving towards the [xxx] exit. I drive slower, watch carefully for surrounding vehicles beside or behind me. But even yesterday, I was driving very slowly (approximately 35 mph). While I did not feel the system take aggressive avoidance/safety actions, still the warning beeps did take place. . . A little unnerving, but I had come to expect a problem at that site. In any event, I did want to bring the matter to your agency. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

A warranty extension went out a few years back that said one might receive a "check pcs system" warning on the dash. This has happened to us, along with 7 other lights on the dash. Between the brakes being much less responsive, and all of the pre-crash warning / adaptive cruise / radar features being disabled, this could have caused an accident. The dealer checked out the car and states that the brake actuator has a leak and that it will be a costly repair - no less than $3000. This suspiciously all happened *just* outside of the warranty window (we are within the allowed number of miles but just out of time), and also suspiciously after Toyota released an upgraded version of the actuator, and *also* after a bunch of people are experiencing the same failure. Our best assessment at this time is that the brake actuators have a factory defect and that a recall should be done.

My brakes have been making hissing noises whenever I press on the brake pedal for the past year. While driving on the freeway 300 miles from my home, numerous lights on my dashboard came on including brake, vsc, pcs, abs, triangle and "check pcs system" warning message. The brake also makes pumping noise every 4 seconds. The vehicle has no regenerative braking. The brake pedal is mushy and doesn't slow the car down until the pedal is fully depressed. I contacted Toyota and was told that there was a customer support program zjb that covers 2010-2015 Prius vehicles for brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies. However, that program only covers 10 yrs 150 miles. My Prius has 110k miles but it's 21 months passed the program coverage. The car is dangerous to drive and Toyota will not honor the recall. I am stuck with a car with no brakes.