The most recent brake problems are focused on the latest generation prius Photo TFLcar.com
Toyota's brake problems continue to mount as complaints have now spread to the company's iconic brand the Prius....specifically the 2010 model as the Japaneses government has ordered Toyota to investigate the car's braking system.
"In the U.S., more than 100 complaints alleging poor brake performance have been lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against the 2010 Prius, a newly designed version of the car that was introduced last summer."
Check out a recent video review of the 2010 Prius HERE.
But perhaps the one complaint that really matters is the recent one lodged by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Wozniak claimed that his 2010 Prius (not involved in either recall), "goes wild but only under certain conditions of cruise control."
"This is software. It's not a bad accelerator pedal. It's very scary, but luckily for me I can hit the brakes," he added.
Wozniak went on to say that he tried to contact the the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute and Toyota without any success.
So is the solution to the current problem only a mechanical one or is it a software glitch related to car's drive-by-wire system?
Toyota spokesman John Hanson claims that, "After man years of exhaustive testing we have not found any evidence of an electronic (software) problem that would have led to unwanted acceleration."
The most recent Prius complaints seem to center around the car's braking performance on bumpy roads.
"The complaints received via our dealers center around when drivers are on a bumpy road or frozen surface," Paul Nolasco, a Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman in Japan, said. "The driver steps on the brake and they do not get as full of a braking feel as expected."
The current generation of the Toyota Prius is the third best selling car in Toyota's U.S. model line.
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Comments
Wozinaks difficulty comes from not knowing how to operate his vehicle. Using the cruise control incorrectly to increase vehicle speed is operator error not a brake problem
Another fine example of the media on a rampage to develop a story. Steve Wozniak wasn't even talking about a "potential" brake pedal feel in his interview the other day. Toyota builds an excellent product. Would the NHTSA be handling these isolated concerns in a similar manner with companies like GM in which we as taxpayers are a substantial shareholder?
Yes, I have a 2001 Prius that has this exact problem. I complained to Toyota and received no action. My feeling is Toyota has become like GM years ago. Our 2004 4Runner doesn't have this problem, but has about 20 other design flaws.
My 2010 Prius bucks down my driveway sometimes, with the brakes sticking as it bucks...not every time, but it has done this maybe a half dozen times since I bought it in August.
steve did not have the same brake problems that are the key issue. my 2010 prius surges forward while you are pressing the brakes and a tire hits a bump or pothole. i'm not concerned for my safety, i love my prius and toyota will come back bigger and stronger after this.
I have an '07 Prius, and I know that if you hit a good bump, the Automatic Traction Control or whatever it's called takes over to try to keep you from sliding or skidding. When that takes over, you have very little control of the car. My guess is that the feeling of not being able to brake is caused by that.
There's one bump on my way to work that isn't very big but if I don't dodge it it always triggers the traction control.
According to the troops on PriusChat.com the Woz issue is as follows:
If you have the Advanced Technology Package, you have the Collision Avoidance feature which involves radar in the front to prevent you from hitting things like the car in front of you. So, if you have cruise control on and you lean on the accelerate lever as you come up behind someone, the radar kicks in and prevents further acceleration. If you keep leaning on the accelerate lever (basically telling your car to ram the guy) you don't continue to accelerate but the cruise control set speed continues to rise. Then if you switch lanes, the obstruction is gone, and voila... uncontrolled acceleration while you get up to the rather bogusly established set speed. Well, "uncontrolled" until you tap the brakes which is presumably what you would do if you ever did this unwittingly.
So I'd call this a big driver defect and a small cruize control defect which is pretty hard to be confused or worried about.
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