general problems of the 2018 Toyota Prius

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The brake pedal was applied but failed to respond. The driver crashed into the front passenger side of the Lexus. The vehicle continuously moved forward. The contact was eventually able to pull over safely. The pre-collision malfunction warning light illuminated. The brake malfunction light was flashing. The air bags did not deploy. There was no reported fire or injury. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who could not determine the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then towed to an autobody center where it remained. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.

I entered a large, strip mall parking area and was driving at the vastly reduced speed one would use in such a situation. My intention was to park my car to enter a store in the mall. I turned a corner to park on the side of the building (parking options were limited). As I entered a parking space (moving at the speed one would drive to do so; essentially incredibly slowly; moving forward into the space at almost 0 mph and already applying the brake). Suddenly and with no warning, the car violently lurched forward at a vastly increased speed. I pressed down on the brake harder to try to stop the vehicle, but it propelled into and over the concrete curb stop and into the thick brick wall in front of me. There is considerable damage to the front end of my vehicle as a result. I was horrified at this dangerous situation. My safety was definitely at risk. I feel very fortunate that I wasn't seriously injured (and that no one, either a pedestrian or another driver, was involved in the accident). The airbags didn't deploy and I was of course, wearing my safety belt, which kept me from any severe injury. I do feel some physical injury effects this morning however (sore neck, shoulder, back; a slight headache). I'm not aware of any warning lamps, messages, etc. Going off, but I must say everything happened very quickly. I've reported the accident to my insurance company & filed a claim. Given that the incident happened on the evening before the July 4th holiday, my insurance company scheduled vehicle towing (flatbed) for my car. It's my understanding that it's being stored at the tow company location & will be delivered tomorrow (Wednesday, 7/5/23) to the certified body repair facility recommended by my insurance company and chosen by me. An insurance adjuster will be doing their evaluation, likely in the next few days, at the earliest tomorrow morning. I've also advised the insurance company of these details & told them of my safety concerns and fears.

Stopped at red light, then the car didn't accelerate when hitting gas. Engine revs but the car does not accelerate. It happened multiple time when the car was out in sun with full ac on(100f). Happened once in intersection and almost got hit head on.