2001 Toyota Prius Cruise Control Problems

While backing up slowly in a parking lot, your car suddenly accelerated on its own in reverse and hit a wall, deploying the airbags. The car then shifted itself into drive and accelerated again into another wall, deploying airbags a second time and injuring the driver. This unintended acceleration issue appears to be a recurring problem with this model.

Your car suddenly accelerated on its own without you pressing the gas pedal and wouldn't slow down until you hit the brakes. A Toyota dealer replaced the gas pedal for over $600, but the same problem happened again within a year. You believe this was a defect, but Toyota claimed it was caused by floor mats and denied your claim. The fix involved replacing the gas pedal assembly, though the root cause of the recurring acceleration issue may need further diagnosis.

ON TWO OCCASIONS, I EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN MY 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, IT HAPPENED I THOUGHT I MIGHT HAVE PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR BY MISTAKE. I HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES TO STOP THE CAR. I DIDN'T BELIEVE ANYONE WOULD BELIEVE MY STORY BECAUSE OF THE AUDI 5000 INCIDENTS. THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THEN TOYOTA BEGAN ITS RECALLS. *TR

DRIVING MY 2001 PRIUS DOWN RT 95 IN CT. SUDDENLY LOST POWER. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE - ELECTRIC DRIVE ONLY, NO GAS POWER. I MADE TO THE EXIT IN WESPORT AND FOUND A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP OPEN. THE DIAGNOSIS, VIA CODES, WAS FAILED ACCELERATOR PEDAL. RESETTING THE COMPUTER AND RESTARTING THE CAR A FEW TIMES ALLOWED IT TO WORK ENOUGH FOR ME TO GET HOME. I HAVE STILL NOT REPAIRED THE ACCELERATOR. LATELY THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS NEARLY EVERY TIME I START THE CAR...THE ENGINE STALLS IMMEDIATELY OR LOSES POWER DOWN THE ROAD. RESTARTING 2 OR 3 TIMES "FIXES" THE PROBLEM MOST OF THE TIME. MY RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON, AND CALLED "BIG HAND SYNDROME" AMONG 1ST GENERATION PRIUS OWNERS, AND ACCELERATOR PEDAL REPAIR IS THE COMMON FIX. I BELIEVE THE 2001-2003 PRIUS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE TOYOTA ACCELERATOR PEDAL RECALL. *TR

EXPERIENCE: DRIVING A 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS BETWEEN 60 AND 65 MPH ON I-494 IN EAGAN MINNESOTA. THE SENSOR ON THE VEHICLE'S ACCELERATOR PEDAL ASSEMBLY FAILED I.E. THE ABILITY TO GET GAS TO THE ENGINE STOPPED. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED REPAIR DEALER AND THE PART, WHICH FAILED, WAS REPLACED. MY COMPLAINT HAS TWO PARTS: (1) TOYOTA DOES NOT RECOGNIZE A CRITICAL PART LIKE THE SENSOR ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ASSEMBLY AS A PART OF MAJOR SIGNIFICANCE. I BELIEVE IT IS MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND MUST BE CORRECTED BY TOYOTA. I WAS TOLD BY TOYOTA'S CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER THE PART WAS NOT DEFECTIVE AND IT FAILED BECAUSE NORMAL USE. I AM APPALLED TO LEARN THAT A 6 YEAR OLD CAR WITH 50,226 MILES IS EQUIPPED WITH ACCELERATOR UNIT WHICH CAN FAIL WHEN THE AVERAGE USE IS 8,371 MILES PER YEAR. I AM ALSO AMAZED THE CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER IS NOT INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT THIS PERFORMANCE AS A MAJOR DEFECT. THEY TOLD ME THEY HAD NO RECORD OF OTHER INCIDENTS WITH THIS PART. YET WHEN I TALKED TO THE PRIUS SERVICE TEAM SUPERVISOR AT TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS, I WAS INFORMED BY EACH ONE THEY HAD REPLACED 4 TO 5 OF THEM. IF MY SMALL SURVEY REVEALED THAT NUMBER I CAN ONLY GUESS WHAT A NATIONWIDE SURVEY WOULD REVEAL. 2) IN RESPONSE TO MY ASKING TOYOTA TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THE $810.41 BILL THEIR RESPONSE WAS I SHOULD SUBMIT MY REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT TO MY INSURANCE COMPANY OR TO THE FIRM WHICH OWNS THE CAR. CLEARLY, A SITUATION OF SHIFTING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MAKING QUALITY OEM PARTS TO A THIRD PARTY TO ABSORB THE COST AND IGNORING THE MAJOR SAFETY IMPLICATIONS CREATED WHEN THE ACCELERATOR STOPS FUNCTIONING IN A VEHICLE DRIVEN LESS THAN THE AVERAGE CAR. *JB

(1) NORMAL DRIVING, NO ABNORMALITIES WHATSOEVER (2) AT FREEWAY SPEED, IN BUSY TRAFFIC, WITHOUT WARNING: THE CAR LOST ALL MOTIVE POWER (NEITHER GAS NOR ELECTRIC WORKING); THE HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING ICON DISPLAYED ON THE MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY. LUCKILY, IN BOTH INSTANCES, WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE TO THE SHOULDER WHILE DECELERATING. AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, WE REFERRED TO THE OWNER'S MANUAL WHICH SUGGESTED TURNING THE IGNITION KEY COMPLETELY OFF AND THEN ATTEMPTING A RESTART. IN BOTH CASES THE CAR STARTED UP AGAIN AND WAS DRIVABLE (ALTHOUGH IN THE FIRST CASE THE WARNING ICON REMAINED DISPLAYED FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES). (3) TOOK CAR TO TOYOTA DEALER WHO VERIFIED FAILURE CODE(S) STORED IN ONBOARD MEMORY; DEALER REPLACED ACCELERATOR PEDAL/POSITION SENSOR ASSEMBLY. *JB

2001 TOYOTA PRIUS: ACCELERATOR SENSOR FAILURE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE, THERE WAS A SLIGHT (BUT DEFINITE) SENSATION OF DECELERATION WHEN TRYING TO MAINTAIN STEADY SPEED. AT THE TIME OF FAILURE, THE VEHICLE HESITATED/STALLED AND THE "MASTER WARNING LIGHT" CAME ON. LOCAL DEALER (355 TOYOTA, ROCKVILLE, MD) REPLACED THE PART AT A COST OF $700.00. SHOULD A PART THIS EXPENSIVE (AND SO CRITICAL TO VEHICLE FUNCTION) BE FAILING AT 4 YEARS? *NM

DT: CONTACT STATES WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE STOPPED. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS REPLACED. *AK *JB

I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER COMBINED WITH MY DASH WARNING LIGHTS. I HAD ONE SIMILAR INCIDENT LAST YEAR. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEIR DIAGNOSTICS FIND NO PROBLEM (NO CODES = NO PROBLEM). THEREFORE NOTHING IS RESOLVED AND THE CAR REMAINS PRONE TO LOSS OF POWER, A DANGEROUS CONDITION WHEN TRAVELING ON ANY FREEWAY.

GOING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER, SLOWED DOWN TO A MAX. SPEED OF 37 MPH, RUNNING MOSTLY ON ELECTRICAL POWER. MASTER WARNING LIGHT (TRIANGLE WITH EXCALMATION POINT) LIT UP. GAS ENGINE WOULD PERIODICALLY START UP, BUT WAS NOT RESPONDING TO ACCELLERATOR PEDAL. AFTER PULLING OVER AND SHUTTING DOWN VEHICLE, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND CONTINUE NORMALLY.

2001 TOYOTA PRIUS-SUDDEN DROP IN SPEED-COULD NOT EXCEED 17 MPH. DANGEROUS IN TRAFFIC TOYOTA REPLACED COMPUTER-OLD PARTS NOT AVAILABLE INCIDENT DATE IS APPROXIMATE-TOOK 2 1/2 MONTHS TO REPAIR

A READER OF THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIB WHEELS SECTION RESPONDED TO AN ARTICLE REGARDING UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION FROM ELECTRONIC THROTTLES AND THE EDITOR FORWARDED THE LETTER TO NHTSA.***NO ANSWER REQUIRED***. *MR WHILE PARKING IN A DIAGONAL PARKING SPACE THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE ACCELERATED SUDDENLY ACROSS A SIDEWALK AND HIT AN ELECTRIC BOX. THIS SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEM HAPPENED AGAIN WHILE THE CONSUMER WAS PARKING. THAT TIME NOT ACCIDENT OCCURRED. *BF *NM

THE 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS A FAULTY ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE 8-YEAR HYBRID SYSTEM WARRANTY. NOT ONLY ARE THERE SAFETY ISSUES WITH THIS PROBLEM (E.G. SUDDEN LOSS OF ACCELERATION THAT COULD CAUSE ACCIDENTS, INCORRECT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ACCELERATOR AND THE HYBRID SYSTEM, ETC.) BUT THERE IS A LACK ON TOYOTA'S PART TO ADMIT THAT THE ACCELERATOR IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR FAILS, IT CAUSES THE "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" LIGHT TO APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD AND CAN MAKE THE CAR DANGEROUSLY UNRESPONSIVE (ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAY). THE HYBRID SYSTEM IS EXPECTING INFORMATION FROM THE ACCELERATOR, AND WHEN IT DOESN'T RECEIVE IT, EITHER THE GAS ENGINE, OR THE ELECTRIC ENGINE, OR BOTH ENGINES FAIL TO OPERATE. EVEN THOUGH TWO TOYOTA DEALERS (STEVENS CREEK TOYOTA AND CAPITOL TOYOTA) AGREE THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, BOTH CLAIM THAT THIS REPAIR IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE 8-YEAR HYBRID SYSTEM WARRANTY. HOWEVER, IF THIS ACCELERATOR PROBLEM IS NOT DIRECTLY RELATED, THEN WHY DOES THE WARNING LIGHT COME ON WHEN THE ACCELERATOR SENSOR FAILS? ALSO, WHY DID THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED THE $654.52 REPAIR TELL ME THAT THE COMPLETE ACCELERATOR ASSEMBLY PART HAD JUST BEEN RECENTLY REVISED BY TOYOTA? (I MIGHT ADD THAT AN INDEPENDENT ELECTRICAL ENGINEER ANALYZED THE PART AND CONCLUDED THAT THE ACCELERATOR HAS AN MTBF OF 1500 HOURS. HE CONCLUDED THAT EVERY PRIUS OWNER WOULD BE SUBJECT TO THIS SAME HAZARDOUS PROBLEM SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE LIFETIME OF THE CAR!!) I HAVE SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE FROM OTHER PRIUS OWNERS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR INVESTIGATION TEAM. IN MY OPINION, THESE PROBLEMS ARE SERIOUS ENOUGH TO MERIT CONSIDERATION FOR EITHER A RECALL OR A REVISION OF TOYOTA'S "HYBRID SYSTEM" WARRANTY POLICIES. I APPRECIATE ANY ASSISTANCE YOU CAN PROVIDE ME IN THIS MATTER AND I HOPE THAT TOGETHER WE CAN PREVENT NEEDLESS DEATHS FROM THIS UNSAFE ACCELERATOR. *AK

I OWN A 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER COMBINED WITH MY DASH WARNING LIGHTS. I HAD ONE SIMILAR INCIDENT LAST YEAR. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEIR DIAGNOSTICS FIND NO PROBLEM (NO CODES = NO PROBLEM). THEREFORE NOTHING IS RESOLVED AND THE CAR REMAINS PRONE TO LOSS OF POWER, A DANGEROUS CONDITION WHEN TRAVELING ON ANY FREEWAY. BY LOOKING AT THE CHAT BOARDS (YAHOO IN PARTICULAR) IT'S EVEDINT AI AM NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. I BELIEVE TOYOTA HAS AN OBLIGATION TO ADDRESS AND CORRECT THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. RICHARD TOROK

THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE HAD GONE OUT OF CONTROL. THE CONSUMER WAS COASTING INTO THE DRIVEWAY, WHEN SHE PLACED HER FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE SURGED INTO THE GARAGE AND DAMAGED ITEMS. THE CONSUMER NO LONGER WANTS THE VEHICLE BECAUSE SHE FEELS UNSAFE. THE CONSUMER SAID THAT TOYOTA DIDN'T WANT TO EXCEPT RESPONSIBILTY, EVEN THOUGH THE SERVICE MANAGER DID REPORT THAT THE GAS ENGINE SURGE COULD OCCUR IN ORDER TO CHARGE THE BATTERY. *SCC *DT