2003 Toyota Prius

OCCASIONALLY, WHEN BRAKING, THE CAR WILL BEGIN TO BRAKE, THEN LURCH FORWARD A LITTLE, AND THEN BRAKE AGAIN PROPERLY. IT'S DISCONCERTING AT BEST AND SCARY AND DANGEROUS AT WORST. I'VE HAD THIS BRAKE PROBLEM FOR YEARS BUT FINALLY REALIZED THAT IT'S A SIGNIFICANT TOYOTA FLAW WITH THE ABS, AND THAT NEWER PRIUSES AND LEXUSES WERE RECALLED BECAUSE OF A SIMILAR PROBLEM. TOYOTA DID NOT RECALL THE 2001-03 PRIUSES AND REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT IT'S ANYTHING BUT THE RESULT OF AGE (AS PER AUG 2020). HOWEVER, I'VE SEEN ONLINE THAT MANY OWNERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM SINCE THEY FIRST BOUGHT THE CAR! I BOUGHT IT USED AND CAN'T REMEMBER HOW LONG IT'S BEEN HAPPENING. IT'S NOT EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR. IT HASN'T CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, BUT IT CERTAINLY COULD. AND IF I CRASH INTO SOMEONE, IT WILL BE CONSIDERED MY FAULT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S VERY CLEARLY TOYOTA'S FAULT! I'M VERY DISTURBED THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN REPORTING THIS ISSUE FOR YEARS, THAT TOYOTA DEALERS HAVE REFERENCED IT AS A PROBLEM, TOO, AND THAT TOYOTA REFUSES TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND FIX THE PROBLEM.

THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT COME TO A STOP WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. AN ALARM/LIGHT INDICATOR CAME ON FOR ABS BRAKES AT THE SAME TIME. I HAD TO APPLY THE EMERGENCY BRAKES FOR THE VEHICLE TO COME TO A STOP. I WAS ABLE TO AVOID TWO VEHICLES AND CAME TO A STOP IN THE BUS STOP AREA. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED FOR REPAIR BUT THE REPAIR SHOP CANNOT FIND THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WITHOUT THE NEED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE BRAKING SYSTEM. FOR A VEHICLE WITH ONLY 36K MILES THIS SEEMS HIGHLY UNUSUAL AND A SEVERELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. *TR

ABS BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON THEN WENT OFF. I BROUGHT CAR TO MECHANIC WHO CHECKED BRAKES. THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES. THEN I HEARD A HIGH PITCHED ALARM SOUNDING NOISE WHILE THE ABS BRAKE LIGHT WARNING WAS ON, THEN BOTH WOULD TURN OFF THEN ON THEN OFF.....THERE IS NO RHYME OR REASON TO WHAT IS CAUSING THIS TROUBLE. WHEN I CHECKED THE INTERNET, OTHER PRIUS OWNERS COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS AS WELL. SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND AFTER ALL THE "CODES" HAD BEEN FIXED, THE ALARM SOUNDED YET AGAIN. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL NOTICE FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I TOOK MY CAR IN A WEEK BEFORE THIS INCIDENT BECAUSE I NEEDED SERVICE AND WAS GOING ON A TRIP TO SAN DIEGO WITH MY 5 YR OLD DAUGHTER. KEYES TOYOTA IN VAN NUYS DID EVERYTHING TO IT AND REPLACED MY FRONT BRAKES AND INSPECTED EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE OTHER BRAKES... SO YESTERDAY, IM ON THE FREEWAY AND SUDDENLY A PIERCING, LONG BEEP HAPPENS AND 2 WARNING LIGHTS COME ON. " BRAKE AND ABS" ... I'M THINKING " WHAT JUST HAPPENED! I JUST HAD MY CAR MADE PERFECT THE OTHER DAY!!?? .. AND THEN, NOT TWO MINUTES AFTER THOSE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, MY BRAKES COMPLETELY FAILED!! PEDAL TO THE FLOOR NOTHING! :-( ... I WAS SOOOOOO SCARED.... I PUT MY HAZARDS ON AND CREPT OVER TO FIND A SHOULDER .... I WEAVED OVER WITHOUT CAUSING AN ACCIDENT THANK GOD SO I GET TO THE SHOULDER THANKFULLY BUT IT'S A SHORT SHOULDER... AND IM PRAYING AS I ROLL TO A STOP .. I'VE BEEN BACK AND FORTH WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND TOYOTA CORPORATE THESE PAST 24 HOURS BECAUSE I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY OVER $2000 FOR SOMETHING THAT IS THE MANUFACTURERS FAULT!!... I COULD HAVE DIED OR KILLED SOMEONE...WHAT IF MY DAUGHTER WAS IN THE CAR AND I WAS AT AN INTERSECTION SLOWING FOR A RED LIGHT!!?? OH MY GOD!... SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE... I'M FULLY READY TO SUE TOYOTA...GO TO THE NEWS OUTLETS...LOS ANGELES TIMES...ANYONE WHO WILL MAKE THIS PUBLIC... NO ONE SHOULD DIE BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT.... AND NO ONE SHOULD DIE BECAUSE A CORPORATION WON'T OWN UP! ..I'M PUTTING A STOP ORDER ON THE REPAIR TOMORROW MORNING....I'M HOPING YOU CAN HELP ME AND OTHERS WHO COULD POTENTIALLY BE FATALLY INJURED (OR THEIR CHILDREN) FROM AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM THAT JUST FAILS! BOTH THE DEALERSHIP AND CORPORATE JUST SAID " WELL, THAT PARTICULAR PART ONLY HAS A 3 YR WARRANTY OR 36,000 MILES AND SO AFTER THAT IT'S THE OWNERS RESPONSIBILITY. REALLY? IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY IF YOUR CRAZY FAULTY CAR KILLS ME OR MY CHILD? NUTS! *TR