Cruise Control Problems of Toyota Prius - part 2

While driving on I-430 in west little rock yesterday, I had the cruise control set on 65 mph. As I approached slower traffic ahead, I slowed the car to 60mph using the brakes. I assumed that the cruise control on my car had automatically disengaged at this point and I let off the brakes. The cruise control then caused the car to accelerate back up to 65mph as it never disengaged by using the brakes. This was especially dangerous since it happened near the crest of a hill and caused my vehicle to no longer be at a safe following distance behind the slower car in front of me.

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While driving about 65 mph on a smooth interstate, my 2008 Toyota Prius accelerated when I tapped the brake to take it out of cruise control. I stepped on the brake again and it stopped accelerating, and slowed down. I had removed the floor mat a few weeks prior. I took it to Toyota to have the recall work done, which included a software upgrade. They said after they inspected the car that they determined form the log that the brake and accelerator had been pressed at the same time, twice. I am sure I did not step on both. As I said, I tapped the break to take it out of cruise control, and at the time it accelerated my foot was in the air, not touching either pedal. I suggested the cruise control may be erroneously putting flags in the log as it slows and accelerated to maintain a consistent speed. The dealer refused to report this suggestion or since it would be diagnosing, and said there was no place for them to report that I was sure I had not stepped on both pedals at the same time. Thank you, and I hope you are able to resolve this problem.

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Hi, while driving to work this morning, my left headlight flashed and then stopped working. My 2008 Toyota Prius is about 1. 75 years old with approximately 28,000 miles. I have heard from other Prius owners that they have had problems with their headlights. I have also heard the replacement cost for the headlight is $300. 00. I find that hard to believe, nonetheless headlights in everyother car I have owned seem to have a life of 10 or more years. This is a safety issue because I drive to work early in the morning when it is dark and I sometimes don't return home until after dark. The bulk of my driving has been in the daylight, however I need my car to get to work. Also on 3 occasions my cruise control accelerated beyond where I set it. For example I reset the control after having hit the brakes. I got back to my speed and set the cruise control at 70mph. I noticed a short while later the car was going 95. I hit the brakes to slow down and the car immediately came out of cruise control and slowed down as it should. I now take the car all the way out of cruise control shutting it off after I hit the brakes. I next turn the control back on and reset the cruise. Using the cruise this way I have not had the problem of the car speeding up. Ii figure I will continue to use the cruise this way and observe whether there is any problem. However,I don't believe Toyota intended for the cruise control to be used this way. Thank you.

1996 Toyota Prius - (3) things I have noticed when operating car. (1) when braking and going over rough pavement, car will behave as though it is hydroplaneing - the brakes not slowing the car for a brief period until car settles down. This can happen when going as slow as 5 mph. The faster one is going when hitting the rough pavement, the farther the car will travel before braking sensation re-appears. I believe this occurs everytime I travel rough pavement (la city streets, not back country or 4 wheeling). Note that warning light on dashboard does light suggesting loss of control. I called dealer service center and described problem, they assured me that no safety warnings or recalls had been made. 2) when turning off cruise control, car will accelerate slightly for approximately 1-2 seconds. This is most noticeable when trying to exit carpool lane in heavy traffic and spacing is limited. Again called dealership and assured no safety notices or recalls. I now cover brake when turning off speed control. 3) car just eats up hid headlight (9 in 80k miles + 2 original installed) and taillight bulbs (11 + 2 originally installed). Again no safety notices or recalls. I replace them as I notice them. I have never had both headlights go out at once as described on your website. Note that other than the above issues/concerns, this car has been a great car with no service except for gas, oil changes, and replace the bulbs when they go out.

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The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving approximately 65 mph with the cruise control activated. There was pressure applied to the brake pedal with a sudden increase of acceleration up to 70 mph. The failure occurred on one occasion. The failure mileage was 13,364. The current mileage was 13,647.

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. While driving 70 mph with the cruise control engaged the contact applied the brakes and noticed that the cruise control would not disengage. The contact had to apply the brakes three times in order for the cruise control to disengage. The manufacturer was called and informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealership. The contact stated that the failure with the cruise control was directly related to the sudden acceleration with his Toyota vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 6,200.

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Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) 2007 Toyota Prius (VIN: [xxx] ) - cruise control malfunction. Set cruise control for speed limits between 55 mph and 75 mph; within a few seconds of the cruise control being switched on, car automatically accelerates to an uncontrolled higher speed until the brakes are applied (usually in panic of plowing into another vehicle's rear end).

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There are several problems I've experienced with the 2010 Toyota Prius purchased new 10 December 2009. 1. When using cruise control: ~ theres regularly what feels like an engine surge when the foot brake is applied to turn off cruise control. This happens regularly, including on smooth, level, dry roadways and freeways and at speed settings from 45 to 60 mph. Because of concern about this I now manually turn off cruise control. Three days ago the car was test driven by a Toyota dealership service department employee, who reported using cruise control 6 times and turning cruise control off by applying the foot brake; the report was cruise control shut off immediately when enough pressure applied [emphasis added] to pedal. ¿ ~ on Saturday, February 27, 2010 after the car had been set at 60 in cruise control for some time there was a strong odor (like a car being driven with the "hand" brake on, but my cars wasn't engaged) while on a dry freeway downgrade (gradual, not steep). I turned off the cruise control, continued at the same speed and the odor stopped. This was the first such occurrence. I've used cruise control regularly because of usually driving on freeways 6 days/week. The Toyota service departments test drive three days ago reported not evident. ¿ 2. Shifting from park to drive several times this shifting was successful only after multiple tries. On one recent occasion after several tries and also turning the car off, on again, and then unsuccessfully retrying, I resorted to using the safety connect sos button. There were no doors ajar and no indication of the cause. While talking with the person who responded I periodically continued to try shifting from park to drive; after several attempts the car responded.

Second accident caused by brake failure with acceleration. 2008 Prius in stop and go traffic driving in battery (brake)mode about 10-15 mph. Car in front slowed down, I hit the brake and the car accelerated slightly. I look to be sure my foot was on the brake pedal and it was and then rear ended the car in front. Car in front move forward but Prius wouldn't stop and started to accelerate again so I pushed on the parking brake with my left foot and slowed it down for the second impact. Car in front then drove slowly to a parking lot and the Prius kept moving so I drove it into the parking lot and when it slowed going up the ramp I pushed the parking button stopping the car. I then restarted it and released the parking brake to move further into the parking lot. 4 people injured, 3 seriously. A similar incident occurred 29 September 2008 when driving on cruise control at 26 mph the Prius suddenly turned left hitting a parked car. The video shows I was trying to counter steer hard right. Skid marks showed the left front wheel stopped and the car pivoted on it with acceleration marks from the right front tire.

My 2007 Toyota Prius accelerated unintentionally during a lane change. I hit the brakes and this remedied. The floor mat was not involved. I might have had the cruise control on, but I don't remember for sure.

My 2007 Prius touring can/does experience braking issues when slowing/braking downhill and coming in contact with a manhole cover, pothole, or other "even" road surface. Thought it was the tires, so replaced the original bridgestones for nokians, but the issue still occurs. The "sensation" is you feel like you've lost control of the car momentarily. As a result, I've changed my commute route home and drive much slower (was already driving slower since Prius mileage is dependent on mph). On occasions, the speed (on a straight away) set with cruise control will increase by itself . . . By a couple mph . . . . W/o me doing anything or touching anything. So I'm forced to tap brake . . . . . . . . Occurred this weekend with passengers - they said they felt the surge . . . . .

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. After starting the vehicle, the cruise control light was on but did not engage the cruise control system. The contact shut the vehicle off and restarted the vehicle and the cruise control light stayed on. The contact has not taken the vehicle to a dealer for a diagnostic test. No failure occurred while the contact was driving the vehicle. The failure mileage was 9,800. Updated 03/14/10 the cruise control light illuminated. It would not turn off when the consumer depressed the button. However, when he shut the engine off and turned it on again, the cruise control light did not illuminate. The dealer was unable to find any problems. Updated 05/10/jb.

I was driving my 2010 Toyota Prius using cruise control on a highway. I disengaged cruise control to slow down as a vehicle entered the highway in front of me. Once the second vehicle had accelerated ahead, I re-engaged cruise control at my desired speed. The cruise control engaged, but continued acceleration, as if I was activating the cruise control mechanism's accelerate "paddle", which I was not actually doing. I immediately dis-engaged cruise control, slowed to my desired speed, and re-engaged cruise control. At this point, the cruise control resumed proper operation and I was able to drive at my selected speed.

Sudden, unintended acceleration--2010 Prius on freeway, accelerated with gas pedal to 75. Put on cruise control. Several seconds later, car surged forward, hard and sudden acceleration. First time happened--three days ago, not driven since. Have done nothing yet .

I have a 2010 Prius. We have had the problem with the brakes when we go over a bump. In addition, if I am driving in cruise control and have to put my foot on the brakes, there is a brief feeling of acceleration so instead I have gotten used to turning off the cruise control before putting my foot on the brakes thereby delaying braking for a brief moment.

I was driving my 2005 Toyota Prius at 35mph (on cruise control). Traffic slowed, I tapped the brake to disengage cruise control, the car sped up, would not slow down despite my standing on the brake and I rear-ended the car in front of me. My passenger was badly injured, both cars were towed.

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I own a 2010 Prius and took the car into the local Toyota dealer 2 days ago for the initial 5,000 mile check up to discuss a couple issues I have found with the car. I have experienced on 3 occasions a feeling of brake failure. This has occurred when I am driving over rough road. While the brake is being applied if I hit bumps, the brake pedal drops and I lose the brakes. I have immediately let up on the brake and then reapplied pressure to the brake pedal to get braking back. The dealer tried to achieve the same problem but was unable to replicate it. He said it was just the way the pedal must feel to me. Our daughters both have 2006 Prius' which I have driven and never experienced this problem with their car brakes. The second problem is with cruise control. Again, I have driven a 2006 Prius and used cruise control and not experienced the following in the 06 model that occurs in our 2010 model. The car started to accelerate in cruise mode. We have also found it takes a lot of pressure on the brake pedal to take it out of cruise control. The car jerks when tapping the brake pedal lightly to take off cruise control. The dealer again took it out for a test drive and said this is the way the Prius feels. I know driving the 2006 model it was not the way the Prius feels when you take it out of cruise control.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. While traveling at speeds of 70 mph with the cruise control activated, the vehicle began to abnormally accelerate. The vehicle then decreased speeds far below the speed in which the cruise control was set, without driver intent. The cruise control was shut off and reset. The vehicle began to exhibit the exact same failure. The failure mileage was 47,000 and the current was 48,000.

The cruise control on my 2010 Toyota Prius does not always cancel while braking. This has resulted in unintended acceleration after braking while the cruise control has been set. A driver expects that the cruise control will automatically cancel while applying the brakes but this does not happen under light braking. This is even more pronounced while driving up a steep hill. On January 11th, 2010, I was in a situation where I actually applied the brakes to reduce my speed while traveling up a steep hill and felt the car "fighting" against me to maintain a steady speed. After I had slowed my Prius to match the speed of the car in front of me, the cruise control unexpectedly caused the car to accelerate again, placing me at a less than safe distance to the car in front of me as we crested the hill.

Toyota Prius problem - cruise control malfunction: on 2 Jan 2010 (about 0600 hrs) I was driving a rented Prius (alamo) from palm beach, FL to miami, FL. I was using cruise control and going the listed speed limit for I-95 (65mph). The car seemed to be performing correctly for the first 35 plus miles but then I got into heavy traffic and had to brake. The cruise control released normally and I slowed to about 60 mph. When the traffic cleared I pushed the cruise control "resume" button and the Prius started to accelerate as normal. However, the acceleration did not stop at the original speed I had set and had been driving at (65 mph) but continued to climb to 70 mph and higher to near 75 mph when I had to hit the brakes and shut the cruise control off to slow the car. After that I did not use the cruise control for the remainder of my trip. I just thought there may have been a glitch or operator error and I did not think of it as the problem I recently saw on the news. I live in the republic of panama and did not see anything about the Prius problems until recently. As I said the car was a rental and I just mentioned to the check in person that I had a slight problem with the cruise control but I do not know if it was reported.

Using cruise control feature,when I hit the brake for split second the car speeds up before disengaging cruise control this happen all the time not on just the date below.

I have experienced extreme acceleration when using my cruise control on my 2006 Prius. I have not determined how fast it would continue to go for safety reasons so when it has started to accelerate extremely fast, I would turn off the cruise control so as not to continue to accelerate that fast. I would turn it off as soon as I began to feel out of control with the car.

Since owning our 2007 Toyota Prius, we have called at least 4 times with a problem we have been having. Crazy accelerating at high speed with cruise control. It usually happens when we resume cruise control. Sometimes it extremely speeds up and keeps going beyond the speed set. The only way to get it to stop accelerating is to brake or reset the speed control.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. When driving 65 mph, the vehicle will stall without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, but because the failure could not be duplicated no repairs were made. Two weeks later the vehicle stalled again, but would not restart. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The technician stated that there was no fuel present in the fuel tank. However the vehicle had two quarters of fuel in the tank. Also when the cruise control was disengaged the vehicle would begin to accelerate. The failure mileage was 56,000.

In my 2010 Prius, the vehicle randomly accelerates when the cruise control is disengaged. This happens every 10th or 15th time of disengagement. When the brakes are applied harder the vehicle slows properly. The unexpected acceleration is very dangerous in traffic. The vehicle has been checked by the dealer and I was told that nothing is wrong. I called for a second time and was told the problem is not on the recall list. I will take it in anyway next week.

My 2010 Prius was delivered on December 17, I took it on two long road trips and used my cruise control on both trips. On both trips with cruise control on there was a surge of acceleration. Nothing stuck and when I applied the brakes the cruise control cut off and the car slowed. I have experienced this one other time and again it was interstate driving with cruise control on.

Bought a 2010 Prius in October 2009. It currently has 3500 miles on it. At least three times the car felt as if it slipped on ice when applying the brakes (weather conditions were perfect - no ice, snow or rain). Their is difficulty in clearing fog from the windows and one time I had trouble setting the cruise control.

2010 Toyota Prius, purchased Nov. 2009. Using cruise control, the car accelerated quickly on it's own when I attempted to change speed by using the cruise control lever on the steering wheel. Happened twice, then I stopped experimenting for reasons of safety. The problem is identical to the one described by steve wosniak in public two weeks ago--one that got a lot of press. Acceleration stopped when brake pedal was tapped or cruise control was turned off.

1. After turning off cruise control, vehicle accelerated on its own up to 95m. P. H. Until I was finally able to get it stopped by pressing the brakes to the floor. After getting the vehicle pulled over to the side of the interstate, there was a lot of smoke coming from the front brake pads. I restarted the vehicle in an attempt to get it off the interstate for further inspection. As I exited the highway, I turned the vehicle onto the off ramp but the vehicle did not turn and drove us directly into the guard rail. I contacted Toyota and they have denied there was anything wrong with the vehicle and dismissed my complaint.

This problem has existed since the vehicle was purchased. Cruise control either does not function at all or fails to function correctly. Sometimes the cruise control will not engage. Sometimes the cruise control will engage properly, but after applying the brakes (and disengaging the cruise control) the cruise control cannot be reengaged. Two operations will cause the cruise control to begin functioning properly again: 1) turn the vehicle off; 2) put the shift lever into the neutral position, then back into drive. Returned vehicle to dealer three times for repair. They did not fix the malfunction during any of the three repair visits. Their final response was to claim that the vehicle was "functioning as designed".

2010 Toyota Prius, I pick up the car at the dealer on 20 Nov 2009. When ever I set the cruise control it works fine until I tap the brake to turn it off. The car speeds up. I have to press harder on the broke to get the cruise control to disengage and slow down. Its as if the cruise control is not sensing that the brake was depressed and releasing. I took the car back to the dealer on 12-20-2009 having driven it a month and having a chance to get a feel for the car. They said nothing was wrong that all the cars did this. Every car I have owned has had cruise control on it and has never acted this way. I also drive a rx350 Lexus that does not have his problem.

Rapid acceleration while cruise control engaged. While cruise control was set for 68 mph, I found it necessary to pass a semi. While the cruise was engaged the accelerator was depressed and I was able to pass the truck not having to go any faster than 73. Shortly after, I became aware that the car was continuing to accelerate and I was unable disengage cruise control by braking once normally and braking once hard. . . . The acceleration continued. Speeds were in excess of 93+ and I was finally able to stop the acceleration by disengaging the cruise at the switch. Braking should always disengage cruise and should have slowed the vehicle. It did neither. Fortunately I was on an open freeway. . . . With only weather issues. . . . But this could have been very serious or fatal should traffic had been stopped in front of me.

I drive a used 2002 Toyota Prius, which now has about 86,000 miles on it. In November 2009 I was parking when the car spontaneously accelerated. My speed was less than 2mph, my foot was continuously on the brake while easing into the parking space, prior to the uncontrollable acceleration. Suddenly without warning I heard the engine race and the car bolted forward, unresponsive to my braking. I only stopped when my car collided head on with a parked car, which was moved about two feet by our collision. It happened too fast to even think of changing gear into neutral, because I was only 5 feet from the other car when the spontaneous acceleration occurred. After the accident I looked for cause and I determined that no object in the cab had accidentally pushed the accelerator pedal, including the floor mat. I believe that because of the small number of drivers experiencing uncontrollable acceleration out of the millions of Toyotas sold, that the phenomenon is caused by two or more independent errors in the vehicle electronics, occurring unfortunately at the same time. The confluence of two unlikely events has even smaller probability, therefore few occurrences. For example if the cruise control failed to disengage and also there was a significant delay in the signal from brake pedal to brake drums, the combination could be tragic. The Toyota Prius 2002 model which I drive has not been recalled; however since the accident I have been ever on the alert, prepared to gear into neutral. Even this vigilance will not provide safety if the distance between my car and an obstacle or crevasse is short when the flaw surfaces again; given the finite speed of human nervous transmission, the car's sudden, uncontrollable acceleration needs to be investigated.

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While driving with cruise control engaged and a situation occurs that requires braking; normal brake pedal pressure does nothing. I have to hit the brakes extra hard which significantly slows reaction time. This problem occurs randomly. When I took the car to the dealer I could not get the problem to repeat.

2010 Toyota Prius cruise control caused unintended acceleration when re-engaged. After disengaging cruise control set to 65 and coasting at 50 for a while when the cruise control was re-engaged the vehicle resumed in excess of 70 mph before I disabled cruise control. Date of incident is approximate. I didn't think much of the failure at the time other than that the cruise control was behaving oddly (I have avoided cruise control on this car since). In light of the current investigation I thought I would submit a report.