Recall for brakes DID NOT fix the problem

I live in North Alabama so we only get a couple of days of a few inches of snow. Regardless, I did everything I could to 'drive dumb' in powder and refrozen snow including maximum braking with one side on the snow and ice and the other dry pavement as well as steering at maximum acceleration up hills and going down. No matter how abusive I drove, the traction control worked, flashing the indicator light, every time and the car remained in control.

We didn't have any 'black ice' this year and others have reported that in deep snow, the car can get stuck 'in high center.' I have no doubt there are severe conditions that can not be handled but we didn't have anything like that this year in my part of Alabama.

Bob Wilson

 

The 2010 is quite capable in winter conditions. I would say it did just as good or better than my 97 Camry (with studded winter tires). Could it get stuck? Sure but just about any low riding car can.
I also think the Prius handled better around icy corners than my 99 Outback! The Outback would often slide out, but the Prius tracks very nicely.

 

Taking a 0.5 % chance on an accident plus or minus injury doing something we have to do every day is not something I want to do. If I want to take risks, I will go paragliding or white water rafting.

 

Then stop driving and stay at your house

 

Very clever response. I bet you are proud of your wit.

 

You might want to stop eating too, you never know what cancer you might get from the preservatives. You do eat everyday don't you?

With all the talks about the braking issue, I still haven't seen any nice big accidents yet. Damn. Correct me if I am wrong, there were less than 100 "reported" issues out of 2 million+ cars. If my math is correct, that equals to .005%.

 

It's almost like the movie, a poltergeist? It's almost cool. I was going down hill and went over a couple of bumps. I looked at my wife and said, did you feel that? She said yes and that she had felt the same sensation when going over bumps on another road.

Sometimes you feel a lack of acceleration, which I take as normal and expected. On rare times, it seems like out of control acceleration, which is a big difference.

First time Prius owner with less than 6 weeks on the car. Overall, love the car. Maybe it takes a poltergeist to make it get over 50 mpg which I'm getting.

 

I have never gotten over 44mpg, even my wife only got a best of 48mpg. At 40mpg+, I am not going to cry or whine over every little drop.

 

Too bad your math was out by a factor of 100 the first time. Enough said.

 

If 2 mil (10E6) number is correct, 0.0005% is a correct math result.

 

100/2000000=.00005 . I think that is .005%. Enough said. Perhaps guys who are afraid to drive shouldn't do math :cheer2:

 

The problem still exists. I can replicate the problem almost 100% of the time on my ride home from work. The problem also happens in random areas where the road is sub-par. Took the car to my Toyota dealer and they basically said we are going to see if any error codes come up but most likely we cannot help the problem. Very very very dissatisfied with this answer. They also could not guarantee my safety if the sudden/abrupt acceleration happens while driving on snow/ice/rain. Please advise.

 

Mine works after the flash

 

Assuming that the reflash was done on your Prius, then this is as good as it gets. You might consider better tires if you are running the OEM tires, but other than that there isn't much you can do, other than switching to a different car.

Tom

 

It is not uncommon that one intermittent problem also has a second, less frequent problem. The key is to collect the symptoms and see what the new problem includes:

Since this is recreated 'almost 100% of the time,' are there any specific locations, street or intersection addresses where it occurs most frequently?

You mentioned on 'home from work,' is it only going in one direction or does it also happen going to work?

At what speeds are you going when this happens?

Does it happen more frequently with light, moderate or heavy braking?

Does it happen more frequently with rain or snow or the same when dry?

There is not realistic way folks on the Internet can do anything about interceding with Toyota. However, there has been at least one report that the fix was not applied. It is a fair thing to ask the service writer to have a technician read your ABS software version in the vehicle.

Bob Wilson

 

I also had my update and a couple days ago I felt the "problem" again.

I am not worried at all.
I have read about the Prius and its drive train. I am happy that I have car that can recuperate energy while braking. I am well aware that the generator of the P3 is pretty powerful. As soon as one of the front wheels loses contact the other one cannot transmit braking power as well (everyone knows it the other wa round - if one wheel spins when accelerating on slippery roads without electronic help you are stuck).
The "problem" can just happen when I am braking lightly (no regular brakes), so I usually have enough space to come to a stop by pressing the brake pedal some more.

I have a car with special abilities - I know about the differences and maybe disadvantages and act accordingly: If I need to come to a stop (on any road condition) I have to push the brake pedal - if braking power is insufficient, I push it harder - (if it is still not enough, I have been going too fast - my fault).

So much about braking.

No dealership can guarantee your safety in a car. Most accidents happen because of operator error. There are no confirmed acceleration problems with the Prius.
There are probably a few percent of accidents due to technical failure (often missing maintenance) or electronic problems. That is a risk I live with - it makes life much easier and more comfortable.

Just enjoy a car which is by far not perfect - but still the most fuel saving mid size car available!

Martin

 

I too can recreate the sudden surge while braking when going over a bump. I also had the recall procedure done. The bottom line for me is that I will not let anyone else in my family drive this car because it is unsafe. Toyota has not fixed the problem in my car and they are unresponsive when I mention the problem to them.

 

This is my first post on the brake issue on PC. I truly do not understand how this became an issue in the first place. It is not exclusive to hybrids at all. As a matter of fact, my old 2000 Chevy Z-71 was the worlds worst at ABS shutter release. That is all that is occuring. I replaced my old truck with a 2009 Chevy Silverado Hybrid...does the same thing over a rail road track or on washboard pavement coming to a stop. You can go slower over the pavement where your tires are going to give way, or you can accept the fact they ABS releases. Fact is, you are going to fast over pavement that your tires accually leave the pavement as they bounce! Even if it is just one tire. Now, we just traded our GenII for a GenIII and both of those cars did it but WAY LESS than either of my two pickup trucks do. And I can notice I can move much more slowly in the Priuses and they still do it. But the fact is, the tires are skipping or bouncing over the pot hole, rail, washboard, loose gravel, etc. They are working the way they are designed. To release when one tire senses a slip. While you would not expect this on dry pavement, you should expect it at intersections and railroad tracks. I have had this happen in Honda Accords, and several rentals I can not recall the model of but Fords and Chryslers. This has been around with us since the advent of 4 wheel ABS. I am not discounting that the Prius did not have some brake issue greater than this, I am just seeing that this has compounded it.

 

Can you provide more details about how and where to recreate this problem?

Bob Wilson has been aggressive at trying to duplicate these incidents, and needs more details. He had quite a list of locations for the pre-recall version of the problem, and even an accelerometer recording of a case in his own car.

 

Exactly my point. We decided our 2009 Prius was unsafe after the brakes failed resulting in an accident on a smooth dry road. We were satisfied with the dealer who agreed to take it in trade for a different non hybrid car. Total cost to us $5000. At least no-one was seriously injured. We reported to NHTSA. There are roughly 60 pages of reports of brake problems. Far more than any other model.