I see in the sticky thread " Summary of problems reported on Prius 2010" that under "mechanical" the sub-title reads: "....problem goes away after a few weeks." I just don't see that happening and I think this is more serious than is indicated in that description. I think this is something that should definitely be brought to the attention of Toyota and I'm looking forward to a re-call type fix.
I'll just add my car to the list that has experienced this. Was backing out of my driveway, which is pretty much flat. If it was any sort of grade, I'd have been really worried. I don't believe that stomping down on the brake a few times is an acceptable fix - mearly a temporary work-around. When I go in for first service, I'll ask the dealer to submit it as an issue.
Sorry can't explain but happens to me too. And scares the S&^% out of when it happens while backing out of a parking lot. I think I had just run over someone!
I experienced this a few times in the first couple weeks of ownership but now at almost 2 months and 3500 miles, it has not happened since those first couple weeks.
I concur. I have had this a few before I hit 1000 miles, but at closer to 10,000 miles (9,730 this morning), I have not seen this happen once since the first weeks I owned it in June. I still do not see how a car that is inching along, stopping quickly is a safety issue. I would think that we would not want the car to take longer to react to a brake pedal, but that is just me. Once I 'learned' the right amount of pressure needed in this car to properly apply the brakes when in reverse, (which is less than it was in my prior cars), then I have not had this happen again.
I have to object to the phrasing here, as it seems to be attributing this problem to driver error or lack of experience. While that may or may not have been the case for you, it is certainly not what others, including myself, are describing here. When this happened to me, it was not in my first couple weeks of ownership - I already had 1200 miles on the car with plenty of reverse braking experience. And when it happened, it was not a matter of the 'right amount of pressure'... ANY amount of pressure, gnat landing on the pedal amounts of pressure, would cause the wheels to lock solid enough to make an audible screech. Now I'll grant you that when creeping along in reverse, it didn't pose too much of a safety issue. However, any unexpected behavior of a primary system like the brakes is cause for concern. How do we know it won't happen at other speeds? At other times? You are of course welcome to be as laissez faire about it as you please, but when I buy a brand new car, I expect the brakes to work consistently, reliably, and most of all, predictably.
Rachaelseven, If you are taking umbrage to my statements, then I apologize for making it seem that way. The reason that I stated it that way is based on about a dozen folks who have PMed me, with similar experiences to mine on the blog. Every one of those has stated, in one form or another, that once they got used to the vehicle, this seemed to no longer occur. I assure you that it was not meant to belittle, or attack anyone's driving experience, or style. I would agree that the brakes should work consistently, ALL of the time. Apart from this issue, and the 'floating feeling' that some folks have mentioned, I have never seen or heard of another issue where anyone is complaining or concerned that the brakes may be any issue. That does not mean that this is not possibly one of those issues. I am very curious to see if others are reporting this issue after a few thousand miles on their cars. If this is the case, then there could certainly be something to this. Otherwise, I personally think that this is a non-issue. I would still suggest that folks having this, mention it to their service advisers, as I would hate to see anyone ignore a potential safety issue based on what I stated.
Well, perhaps a little umbrage was taken and probably more than should have been, so I apologize if I was overly sensitive. Mainly I wanted to reinforce the fact that, at least in some cases, this goes well beyond a learning curve type thing and into an actual malfunction. It might well go away, and that would certainly be nice, but I don't think it should be ignored - we are in agreement on that. Fwiw, it only happened to me on one occasion, which only lasted 3 pedal applications before I remembered reading this thread and cycled the car back to park to clear the problem. So a big thanks to PC for having prepared me so well for the problem and here's hoping it does turn out to be a non-issue!
I would also add, as sort of a parenthetical side note, that having to use a phrase like "other than ____ and ____ there don't seem to be any problems with the brakes" is a little unnerving. I would expect that sort of thing in a forum dedicated to the restoration of Triumph TR2s or something, but not in a new car forum
I would just say that I back out of my driveway the same way every day. Then on day 48 of ownership when I back out of the same driveway, the same way, the brakes suddenly grabbed and jerked and I haltingly backed out of the driveway. Days 49-52 have been smooth and normal. I don't think learning to use the brake applies to this issue.
My car has about 4000 miles on it. I've experienced the problem three or four times, none of them in the first two weeks of ownership. The most recent occurrence was this week. The problem goes away for me when I put it in park. There is DEFINITELY something out of the ordinary that occurs, and it is not due to driving style.
most likely it is because you are going in reverse wich is different from going forward. Kind of like braking with yout left foot rather than your right. you just mis-judge
For the love of Pete. Do you have any reason at all to doubt and insult everyone who's experienced this issue? How does this comment help with the resolution of the issue?
Argh! Can we just lay this to rest once and for all? This is nothing to do with misjudging brake pressure or learning how to handle the car or inability to reverse. This is clearly an issue that happens very occasionally, does not happen just in the first few hundred miles (mine happened at 1800 miles) and is nothing to do with driver skill or lack of adjustment to the new vehicle. I back the car up at least twice a day every day. I think by now I know how much pressure it needs, yet I still had the experience. So I really think by now we have enough accounts from enough different people on this thread to say that conclusively.
It happened to me for the first time today. I have 300 miles on my new Prius and was totally caught off guard when it took place. I was backing out of my parking spot at work, and the brakes started grabbing hard causing the car to lurch several times. It was really unnerving. And for the record, I've been driving for 23 years and have 3 1/2 years behind the wheel of my 2006 Prius. I know how to apply the brakes. There is something definitely wrong and I'm going to call Toyota Customer Care tomorrow. I encourage everyone else that has this problem to do the same. Bryan
Nobody has described the additional symptom that I experienced when this happened to me. I was also backing up, and backing out of a driveway that had a slight incline. Normally, easing off on the brake allows the Prius to begin to move slowly backward, but this time there was an unexpectedly large amount of acceleration (no, my foot was not on the "gas"). Because of this "abrupt shooting backward", I had to apply the brake, and jerked to a stop. About 5 times I tried to very, very gently ease off on the brake, and the same unexpected acceleration occured. Each time as I tried to stop the "runaway" car, I was unable to stop smoothly by gradually applying the brake smoothly. There was acceleration, then a sudden "jerk" to a stop. After the 5th time, I turned the car off, waited a moment, and "re-booted" (turned it back on), and the problem was gone. Has anybody else experienced this unexpected abrupt (dangerous) acceleration associated with their "jerky" braking episodes? Had I not applied the brakes, it seemed likely that I would have "shot out" into the street. Certainly, anybody passing on the sidewalk would have been in danger. If I had been parallel parking or backing in somewhere, I might have had an expensive repair bill to deal with. Since this seems to be not limited to reverse, but occurs in forward also, I think this is a significant safety (and liability and repair) issue, probably caused by a firmware "bug".
I had over 800 miles and I have never had any problem backing out from my garage to a slight slope driveway. (I never use the parking brake) Today, I stopped at my daughter's house's driveway and it was slightly sloped and I stepped on the parking brake and turn off the power and stayed inside the car. Later I started the power and release the parking brake and going reverse. The car seems to go much faster than what I used to and I have to step much harder on the brake to try to stop it.
Wow..I thought it was only me! Yes this happened to me also at least 3 times. Last occurrence was about 2 days back. I have @ 2500 miles.
