2012 Toyota Prius V

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE (SPEED LESS THAN 5 MPH) AND APPLYING THE BRAKES THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR SEEMED TO SPEED UP. THE CAR JUMPED THE CURB AND STRUCK A TREE. A GOOD SAMARITAN ASSISTED AND ACTUALLY GOT IN THE CAR AND FOUND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. SHORTLY AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATION. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT THE CAR HAS EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS. IN 2014 WHILE PULLING INTO THE DRIVEWAY THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND STRUCK THE HOUSE. SHORTLY AFTER THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATIONS. TOYOTA WAS NOTIFIED AND INSPECTED THE CAR'S COMPUTER AND BRAKING SYSTEM PER CASE NUMBER 1410012557. AFTER THE INSPECTION TOYOTA SAID THAT THERE WERE NO BRAKE ISSUES FOUND WITH THE CAR AND STATED THAT IT WAS SAFE TO DRIVE. OBVIOUSLY THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM IN THESE CARS.

ON JAN. 3, 2018 WHILE MOVING AT A MINIMUM SPEED (LESS THAN 15 MPH) I APPLIED THE BRAKES AND SEVERAL WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED (BRAKES, ABS, TRACTION CONTROL) ALONG WITH A WARNING SOUND. THIS WAS ON A CITY STREET, DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE. I WAS ABLE TO BRAKE TO A STOP. I THEN ATTEMPTED TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE AT A VERY LOW SPEED BUT SOON LOST ALL ABILITY TO BRAKE THE VEHICLE AND I COASTED TO A STOP. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER. I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE ACTUATOR HAD FAILED AND WAS CHARGED $3288 PLUS TAX FOR THE REPAIR. I RECEIVED THE CAR ON JAN. 9, 2018 FROM THE DEALER. ON JAN. 12, 2018 THE CAR FAILED ONCE AGAIN IN THE EXACT SAME MANNER. THE DEALER KEPT THE CAR UNTIL FEB. 1, 2018 AT WHICH TIME THEY RETURNED THE CAR TO ME AT NO CHARGE, STATING THEY HAD CHANGED THE SAME EXACT PART AS BEFORE. THE CAR HAS 84,000 MILES AND I PURCHASED IT NEW. I UNDERSTAND TOYOTA HAS ISSUED RECALLS FOR THIS ISSUE ON OTHER MODELS BUT NOT ON MY VEHICLE. I HAVE RETAINED MY REPAIR INVOICES BUT AM UNABLE TO UPLOAD THEM AT THIS TIME.

ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 17, 2017 AT ABOUT 3:00 PM I WAS DRIVING WITH MY FAMILY (WIFE AND TWO KIDS) IN SOUTH FLORIDA ON US HIGHWAY 1. THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR AND I WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 55 MPH. THEN WITHOUT ANY WARNING A NUMBER OF TROUBLE INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH. WHEN THE LIGHTS CAME ON I WAS DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE WITH JUST ENOUGH GAS PEDAL INPUT TO MAINTAIN MY 55 MPH SPEED. STARTLED BY THE LIGHTS I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF THE THROTTLE AND ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE BRAKES. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE BRAKE PEDAL I HAD LITTLE TO NO BRAKES AND I HAD TO 'STAND ON THE BRAKE PEDAL' (PRESS IT AS HARD AS I COULD) TO GET THE CAR TO SLOW AND EVENTUALLY STOP WHILE PULLING ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. I WAS SCARED AND SHOCKED AT THE SAME TIME. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON THINKING IT MIGHT FIX THE PROBLEM. IT DID NOT. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR HOME AND THE VERY NEXT MORNING TOOK IT TO SOUTH DADE TOYOTA. I WAS ABLE TO GET IT HOME AND TO THE DEALER BY DRIVING VERY SLOW KEEPING A VERY LARGE SPACE CUSHION AND STANDING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN I NEEDED TO STOP. WHILE I DID NOT CRASH UNDERSTANDABLY I WAS SCARED BECAUSE YOU SHOULD NOT JUST LOSE BRAKES OUT OF THE BLUE. AT THE DEALER THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILED AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT COSTING $5734.94. I DID RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT TOYOTA ISSUED A WARRANTY EXTENSION ZG1 FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM BUT WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT MY VIN WAS NOT PART OF THE PROGRAM EVEN THOUGH MY VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE EXACT PROBLEM. I REACHED OUT TO TOYOTA COOPERATE AND WHILE THEY AGREED THAT YES I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM MY VIN WAS NOT PART OF THE PROGRAM (THEY GAVE ME A CASE # 1712180647). HOWEVER THEY DID OFFER $2207.57 AS A GOOD WILL GESTURE TOWARDS THE REPAIR. I PAID $3527.37. TOYOTA KNOWS OF A LIFE SAFETY PROBLEM AND HAS CHOSEN TO LIMIT THE PROGRAM. MY MILEAGE WAS 106,451 AND UNDER THE PROGRAM WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED.

SINCE I FIRST BOUGHT THE CAR IN 2012 I NOTICED THAT EVERY NOW AND THEN WHEN I PUSHED DOWN THE BRAKE PEDAL TO SLOW DOWN FOR A STOP, IF THE CAR HIT A SLIGHT BUMP IN THE ROAD, THE CAR WOULD MOMENTARILY ACCELERATE INSTEAD OF BRAKING. IT FELT LIKE I WAS LOSING CONTROL OF THE CAR. (NOTE: SINCE I DID NOT RECORD THE DATES, PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE CHOSEN AUGUST 1, 2017 AS A RANDOM DATE JUST SO I COULD CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT STEP BUT THIS HAS HAPPENED FROM TIME TO TIME SINCE 2012.)

NOVEMBER 4, 2017 - CAR WAS PARKED IN OUR DRIVEWAY. PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE TO BACK OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY. THE BRAKES FAILED. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS REPEATEDLY PUSHED DOWN, THE CAR JUST WOULD NOT STOP. IT ACTUALLY FELT LIKE THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING! THE CAR RAN OVER OUR MAILBOX AT THE END OF OUR DRIVEWAY. THE MAILBOX GOT DRAGGED UNDER THE CAR AND THE CAR ROLLED OUT ONTO THE STREET. FINALLY, WE PUSHED IN THE POWER BUTTON AND THAT WAS HOW WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO STOP. OUR MAILBOX GOT TOTALED AND DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF OUR CAR, AS THERE IS TWISTED METAL HANGING DOWN SCRAPING THE GROUND. THE BRAKES STARTED TO WORK AGAIN A FEW MINUTES LATER, AS I WAS ABLE TO PULL IT BACK INTO THE DRIVEWAY OFF OF THE STREET. ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 ' CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT. WHEN REVERSING OUT OF THE PARKING SPACE, THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK. AFTER REPEATEDLY PUMPING THE BRAKES, THEY FINALLY ENGAGED JUST BEFORE IT HIT A CAR PARKED BEHIND US. WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A FREAK ONE-TYPE EVENT, SO WE DIDN'T REPORT IT.

NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 15V449 MANUFACTURER RECALL: FOR / HYBRID INVERTER/POWER MODULE (IPM) CRASH INVOLVING PRIUS V (OWNED BY ANOTHER PERSON - MY MOTHER WAS HIT AND KILLED BY PRIUS V) OCCURRED ON SR 105. PRIUS V TRAVELING N ON OUTSIDE LANE CROSSED INSIDE LANE AND 11' GRASS MEDIAN BORDERED BY CONCRETE INTO S BOUND INSIDE LANE AND COLLIDED MY MOTHER DRIVING ONCOMING VEHICLE ON INSIDE S BOUND LANE. WOMAN DRIVING PRIUS V WAS KILLED ON IMPACT, AND MY MOTHER DIED LATER THAT DAY AT UF HOSPITAL JACKSONVILLE. TWO WITNESSES DRIVING BEHIND MY MOTHER SAW CRASH AND SAID THE PRIUS V APPEARED TO BE ACCELERATING ACROSS MEDIAN. CRASH OCCURRED APPROX. 2 MONTHS BEFORE TOYOTA'S RECALL ON JULY 15, 2015 OF 109,000 PRIUS V HYBRIDS. THE PRIUS V THAT KILLED MY MOTHER WAS PART OF THIS RECALL. IN FEB 2014, THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE PRIUS ECU. THE PRUIS V HAD THE SAME ECU, BUT TOYOTA CHOSE NOT TO RECALL THE PRIUS V UNTIL ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF LATER, 2 AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER MY MOTHER'S FATAL CRASH. IF THEY HAD RECALLED THE PRIUS V IN 2014, WOULD MY MOTHER STILL BE ALIVE?