2011 Toyota Prius

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE CONTACT CALLED WESTBURY TOYOTA AT 516-272-4499 (LOCATED AT 1121 OLD COUNTRY RD, WESTBURY, NY 11590) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE PART WAS AVAILABLE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT BACK TO THE DEALER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WHILE DRIVING AND NEEDED TO BE TOWED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 116,480. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

BRAKE BOOSTER AND ACTUATOR FAILED AND ERROR CODE C1391. VEHICLE IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND TOYOTA KNOWS THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF CASES INVOLVED WITH THIS ISSUE. THE YEAR PRIOR SAW A MASSIVE RECALL OF 87,000 VEHICLES WITH THE SAME ISSUE. THE SAME ISSUE HAS CARRIED OVER AND TOYOTA REFUSES TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS ISSUE.

BRAKE ACTUATOR HAS GONE OUT GIVING A CODE OF C1391. I HAVE HAD THE CAR LESS THAN A YEAR AND THE BRAKES ARE NOW GRABBY AND NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE GEN 2 PRIUS (MY PREVIOUS CAR) AND WAS COVERED UNDER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY. APPARENTLY THE GEN 3 PRIUS HAS THE SAME ISSUE AND TOYOTA HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY OF THE 2010 PRIUS TO THE MANUFACTURING DATE OF 11/2010. MY PRIUS WAS MANUFACTURED IN 12/2010 AND I WAS JUST NOTIFIED IT WOULD BE $4000 TO FIX THE ISSUE THAT IS A KNOWN MANUFACTURING DEFECT. APPARENTLY TOYOTA DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM THE FIRST TIME AND IT'S A DIRECT SAFETY ISSUE WHEN THE BRAKES DON'T WORK AS INTENDED.

MY CAR ONLY HAD 120K MILES AND THE BREAK BOOSTOR AND ACTUATOR BREAKS DOWN WHILE WE WERE ON THE ROAD. MY WIFE DRIVES THE CAR WITH MY 3-CHILDRENS. SHE WAS ALMOST HIT THE OTHER CAR ON HIGHWAY BECAUSE THE BREAKS SYSTEM STOPS WORKING AT NORMAL MODE. THE DASH BOARD SHOWS ALL KINDS OF BREAK, TRACTION CONTROL, AND ABS LIGHTS . THIS IS A LIFE THREATNING ISSUE AND TOYOT NEEDS TO REPLACE THIS PART WITH NO CHARGE BECASUE IT HAS A MANUFACTURING DEFECTS AND THOUSANDS OF PRIUS OWNER HAS THE SAME ISSU.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40-50 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND AN ABNORMAL NOISE WAS HEARD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ABS WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DIFFICULT TO DEPRESS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. MARIETTA TOYOTA (750 COBB PKWY S, MARIETTA, GA 30060, (770) 422-1490) WAS NOTIFIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 182,000.

THE PROBLEM MY CAR EXPERIENCED HAPPENED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON I-110 IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA AND PRESENTED ITSELF ABRUPTLY (THROUGH THE CAR'S WARNING INDICATORS AT LEAST) ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 31ST HEADED TO PENSACOLA BEACH FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND FROM OUR HOME IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA. ALL THE CAR'S BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON SIMULTANEOUSLY AND WITHOUT WARNING, THE MASTER BRAKE LIGHT, THE ABS LIGHT, FIVE DIFFERENT LIGHTS IN ALL. I PULLED OFF THE INTERSTATE, WENT TO AN AUTOZONE STORE, CHECKED THE BRAKE FLUID LEVEL AND BRAKE PADS (ALL LOOKED NOMINAL) AND GOT THE CAR'S COMPUTER CHECKED FOR WARNING CODES (NONE CAME UP). SEEING NOTHING CATASTROPHIC, BUT BEING UNSURE OF WHETHER OUR CAR WAS REALLY SAFE TO DRIVE EVEN THOUGH THE BRAKES STILL FELT FUNCTIONAL (IF A BIT OFF), WE GOT THE CAR BACK TO BATON ROUGE AND BROUGHT IT TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP'S (ALL-STAR TOYOTA, ON AIRLINE HIGHWAY) SERVICE DEPARTMENT. WE HAD NOTICED FOR SOME WEEKS PRIOR INCREASINGLY FREQUENT BUZZING SOUNDS ' ANYONE WITH A PRIUS KNOWS THESE, SUCH AS WHEN YOU TURN THE CAR OFF ' MADE BY (I'M TOLD) THE CAR'S BRAKE ACTUATOR PRESSURIZING THE BRAKE FLUID. THIS ESCALATING FREQUENCY OF THE NOISE, AND A CERTAIN CONSTANT 'PULSING' OF THE SOUND WHEN THE BRAKE WAS SLIGHTLY APPLIED, BUT NOT PUSHED DOWN TO THE FLOOR ' I NOW UNDERSTAND TO BE SYMPTOMATIC OF A FAILING BRAKE ACTUATOR. FOLLOWING SOME RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED IN 2013 TOYOTA ISSUED A RECALL FOR THOUSANDS OF 2010 PRIUS AND OTHER TOYOTA AUTOMOBILES FOR A PROBLEM WITH BRAKE ACTUATORS; ALSO, IN 2016, A WARRANTY EXTENSION AND PART REPLACEMENT WAS OFFERED TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF 2004 THROUGH 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS VEHICLES FOR PROBLEMS WITH BRAKE ACTUATORS. IN THAT MORE RECENT MATTER, OWNERS WERE OFFERED A WARRANTY EXTENSION TO 10 YEARS AFTER FIRST USE OF THE CAR OR 150,000 MILES, OR UNLIMITED MILEAGE OR AGE UP TO THE END OF 2017.

TAKATA RECALL MY 2011 PRIUS HAS AN ISSUE WHERE THE BRAKE BECOMES SPONGY AT RANDOM WHILE DRIVING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. THE BRAKE, ABS, AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS ALL ILLUMINATE SIMULTANEOUSLY. AFTER RESETTING THE COMPUTER, THE ISSUE COMES BACK WITHIN 10-30 MINUTES OF DRIVING AT RANDOM. TOYOTA TOLD ME IT IS A $3,000 FIX AND THERE IS NO RECALL FOR MY YEAR. MY CAR HAS 110,393 MILES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS LISTED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO KEARNY MESA TOYOTA (4910 KEARNY MESA RD, SAN DIEGO, CA, 858-413-9625) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE COMPUTERS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1812113112. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,000.

ON DECEMBER 8TH, 2018, I WAS DRIVING EASTBOUND ON INTERSTATE 10 IN PHOENIX, AZ AT APPROXIMATELY MILEPOST 141 AROUND 5:45 PM. SUDDENLY, I HEARD A LARGE, *BANG* WHICH SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT. I IMMEDIATELY CHECKED MYSELF FOR INJURIES AND FELT THE CAR TO DETERMINE IF A TIRE WAS BLOWN. I WAS INTACT, AND THE TIRES SEEMED OK AS WELL, BUT I HEARD THE NOISE OF AIR ESCAPING FROM THE VEHICLE. AFTER TURNING SOUTH ON I-17, I EXITED ON THE FIRST STREET, EXIT 199, JEFFERSON ST. I TURNED LEFT AND LOOKED FOR A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER. IT ISN'T A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, SO I SLOWED DOWN AND CONTINUED TO LOOK AROUND THE VEHICLE AS I TRIED TO FIND THE PLACE WHERE THE AIR WAS ESCAPING. FINALLY, I CRACKED OPEN THE SLIDING DOOR AT THE TOP OF MY SUNROOF, AND I NOTICED SHARDS OF GLASS. I IMMEDIATELY CLOSED IT AND WAS RELIEVED IT HAD NOT BEEN OPEN WHEN THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED. I DECIDED I MUST GET HOME IMMEDIATELY, PROCEEDED BACK TO THE FREEWAY, AND DROVE HOME. WHEN I ARRIVED, I NOTICED THE SUNROOF WAS SHATTERED - ONE MAIN HORIZONTAL SHATTER AT THE CENTER AND TWO MORE VERTICAL SHATTERS AT EACH END. I CHECKED THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE FOR A PROJECTILE AND FOUND NOTHING. AFTER RESEARCHING FURTHER, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE GLASS HAD BROKEN SIMPLY DUE TO POOR DESIGN. I IMMEDIATELY FILED A CLAIM WITH MY INSURANCE COMPANY, FARMERS. THE CLAIM NUMBER IS 910380. I HAVE ALSO CONTACTED TOYOTA TO GET A RESPONSE, BUT I HAVE NOT HEARD BACK. I AM FORTUNATE THAT THE SUNROOF WAS NOT EXPOSED. THERE IS A PAPER-THIN SLIDING DOOR THAT BLOCKS THE SUN. EVEN THOUGH THE SUN HAD SET, I HAD LEFT IT CLOSED, AND IT PROTECTED ME FROM THE SHARDS OF GLASS. THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECT THAT TOYOTA NEEDS TO ADDRESS. IT IS DECEMBER IN ARIZONA, AND THE TEMPERATURE WAS 69 DEGREES WHEN I LEFT TO RETURN HOME YESTERDAY. IT'S NOT A HEAT ISSUE. IT'S LIKELY A GLASS DEFECT. I LOOK FORWARD TO OBTAINING MORE INFORMATION.