Prius TV Interview

Have any of you actually GONE to the NHTSA website and read the reports submitted by owners? Almost always they say it happens when they are approaching an intersection attempting to come to a STOP. That means they're WELL below 20mph when it happens- and likely more in the single digits when it happens. So, I stand by my position that what I'm experiencing is identical to most of those complaints submitted to NHTSA. For instance, here are just five snippets from what is now over 400:

"COMING OUT OF A PARKING LOT DOWNHILL ... HIT A BUMP ... BRAKES FAILED AND ALMOST SIDESWIPED BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC"

"MOMENTARY BRAKE FAILURE WHILE STOPPING UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. SPECIFICALLY, WHEN I HIT A BUMP WHILE BRAKING SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THE BRAKES MOMENTARILY RELEASE"

"ON MY WAY TO WORK THERE IS A STOP SIGN WHERE I NEED TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. JUST BEFORE THE STOP SIGN THE ROAD IS UNEVEN. WHEN I BRAKE THERE, I FEEL A JERK AND JUMP BEFORE THE CAR STOPS."

"TEMPORARY BRAKE FAILURE WHEN BRAKING OVER POTHOLES OR BRAKING IN A TURN"

"MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS BEEN HAVING BRAKING ISSUES. IT HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES THAT WHEN I AM STOPPING AND HIT A BUMP THE BRAKES SEEM TO NOT ENGAGE .MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS BEEN HAVING BRAKING ISSUES. IT HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES THAT WHEN I AM STOPPING AND HIT A BUMP THE BRAKES SEEM TO NOT ENGAGE ."

I could go on...but that's pretty indicative- it's usually when people are TRYING TO STOP, not just applying the brakes while moving at higher speeds over potholes, etc. And, last time I checked, when you're ATTEMPTING TO STOP you're not moving at higher speeds.

By the way, for the record, there are now well over 400 complaints in the "hydraulic brakes" section of their website- and there are two more brake sections people may be posting complaints in. I don't know how many of these are the issue we are all talking about but it seemed that almost all that I looked at were.

 

Tideland,

Then, perhaps everyone's barking up the wrong tree, because if you look at the bulk of the complaints on the NHTSA website you will find that almost uniformly all the complaints center around LOW SPEED operations, like trying to STOP at an intersection, or turning...and I supsect most of those types of operations where one is attempting to STOP the car, happen at single, or near single digit speeds.

Perhaps that's why so few of those experts attempting to replicate it have not..they're moving too fast and not replicating the real conditions that those of us who've experienced it, have been in when it happens.

 

please dont shout.. ( caps lock )






wel ok i dont care about the caps lock but some may do. and well. its not really needed or is it?

 

I don't shout, that's how the reports get submitted on the NHTSA website...I was just copyclipping...sorry about that! The bolding and uppercase inside my body of text was by me to really place emphasis on the fact that most of these perceived failures occur at VERY slow speeds, usually why attempting to stop or at slow turning speeds...not at speeds that are typically in the double digits. Last I checked when I'm attempting to stop at an intersection or slowing into a turn I'm not moving at 20mph or more..not anywhere near.

 

then its your hydrolic brakes
take your car to the dealer and show him with a testdrive what happening..
if he thinks its not major then wait until its fixed or not.
and if the dealer also thinks its a major hassard then let him keep te car and give you a temp replace so he can fit the problem under warranty.

 

I will pay particular attention to my "parking speed" when next I take my Prius out. You're right, it might be 10mph. I'll take note and get back to you on it. But, in any case, almost all cases of this say the same thing, that this occurs when ATTEMPTING to stop or SLOWING to make a turn. These are low speeds and not highway driving speeds. I'll check it this afternoon for sure and post what I find.

 

Evan,
I checked my speed as I parked my car just now. I was moving at 9mph when I hit the uneven surface in front of my house. Now, I've only experienced the brake dropout twice in my four months of car ownership and it's quite likely that I was moving faster when it happened.

So, it's totally within the realm of possiblity that I may have been moving at 10 to 12 mph as I was likely in a hurry to get home from work. I didn't feel as if I was parking fast, just a normal turning and braking off the pavement into my parking space here at home. Still, it happened to me when I brake during a turn on uneven surfaces at slower speeds. Those seem to be the three contributing factors.