2010 Toyota Prius Braking Problems?

According to a post on www.hybridcars.com, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recently received a few dozen complaints about the 2010 Toyota Prius’s braking performance. The Prius owners are complaining about a feeling that the car lurches forward when hitting a pothole or other uneven surfaces.

Some drivers believe the problem results when the system makes a transition from regenerative braking, which helps to recharge the hybrid battery, to conventional braking when more aggressive stopping is required. The system is calibrated to use one kind of braking or the other for optimum braking performance and maximum efficiency. The calibration and sensors are apparently not responding well to potholes and bumpy roads, and thereby producing an unpleasant driving sensation, and a safety hazard for pedestrians.

2010 Toyota Prius owners; have you experienced this issue?

6 Responses to “2010 Toyota Prius Braking Problems?”

1. Erin Salva says:

   March 31, 2010 at 11:43 am

   DANGER (!) I purchased a 2010 prius in JULY 2009 and experienced the brake fade out cornering once in SEPT> It happened once again in JAN when my husband was driving. Two days after receiving the recall I was approaching a stop sign and hit a small pothole… the brakes gave and then kicked back on just in time to stop me before entering the intersection. There were two cars passing through the intersection at the time of the incident. This was a VERY CLOSE CALL… I now understand the seriousness of this issue and am arranging to get the computer patch ASAP>>>>

   Consumers need to know HOW DANGEROUS this problem IS>… I had no idea. Also, Is there a guarantee that this will work ??? I have heard from other consumers that there is no fix for a computer issue such as this.
2. maria says:

   March 20, 2010 at 10:11 am

   Has anyone looked into the possibility of a malfunction of an anti-theft device installed on these cars? Such as the one that slows a car down if a car is stolen and the signal is activated to stop the car.
3. Barbara Mirsky says:

   February 23, 2010 at 11:28 am

   This 2010 Prius Braking problem is also on the 2008 Model

   Deadly and dangerous.

   We have a 2008 Prius which has a couple of dangerous things about it which the dealer says is “the way it’s designed to work”.

   1. I believe they are recalling the 2010 Prius for this problem, but the 2008 has it also. The cars braking system completely releases ALL the brakes, so far I’ve just noticed it in the rear wheels, when going around a curve and the wheel hits a bump and looses traction. The traction control light goes on and all the brakes are gone for a short period of time. It feels as if the car is also accelerating during this period of time, but that could just be a result of loosing the braking system.
   2. The engine “completely shuts off” when the front wheels spin. In snow on a grade which can easily be driven on with a vehicles slipping from time to time, the Prius motor shuts down when a driving wheel spins and all forward momentum is lost – ie after spin, no engine, power, spin, no engine several times the car comes to a stop in the road. I also can’t get up my neighbors driveway if it rains because of this. If crossing a lane of oncoming traffic from a stop sign and the wheel spins we are in “mortal danger” of being hit.
4. Help Desk says:

   February 6, 2010 at 1:30 pm

   @All
   News reports are saying that the software in the 2010 Prius has to be updated to fix problems with the Anti-lock brakes, but that has not yet been official announced as the fix.
5. Dharmang Purohit says:

   January 26, 2010 at 9:19 pm

   My 2010 toyota prius purchased in Nov 09 also hit a problem during last week when there were heavy rains. Slippery Road, ABS and BRAKE (red in Color) were the signs that all appeared together. Even after the roads were much drier, these signs won’t go away. I took them to dealer and they said that they will have to replace “brake accelerator” which is the heart of braking system. Never imagined that I would run with this problem in a new vehicle.
6. Ram Seshadri says:

   January 22, 2010 at 7:18 pm

   Hey:
   I agree that is Braking problem is occurring in the 2010 Toyota Prius. I was surprised when I first hit a speed bump that is in our neighborhood. The car seemed to lurch forward when I braked slowly ahead of the bump. This is weird in a new car.
   RS