2003 Toyota Prius Brakes Problems

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

ABS BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON AND BEEPS, AND BRAKES BECOME SQUISHY ON MY 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS. TOYOTA DEALER DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I HAVE SPENT HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON DIAGNOSTICS, BUT THE PROBLEM KEEPS HAPPENING. I HAVE NOTICED SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET REGARDING THIS ABS LIGHT PROBLEM, AND SQUISHY BRAKE PROBLEM. TOYOTA DEALER INFORMS ME THAT THEY HAVE HEARD NOTHING OF THIS PROBLEM FROM THE TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION. *TR

ABS BRAKE FAILS FOR A SHORT TIME WHEN SLOWING AND HITTING A BUMP. THIS HAS OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY SINCE PURCHASE (NEW) IN 2003. *TR

A NUMBER OF TIMES WHEN I BRAKE ON UNEVEN ROADS, THE BRAKES ON MY 2003 PRIUS FEEL AS IF THEY AREN'T WORKING. THEY HAVE ALWAYS CAUGHT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, SO THAT I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF REPORTING THE PROBLEM UNTIL THE RECENT REPORTS ON THE NEWEST PRIUS MODEL. INCIDENT DATE IS THE MOST RECENT, EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN THERE SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHENEVER THE CONTACT WOULD ATTEMPT TO APPLY THE BRAKES WHILE TRAVELING OVER A BUMPY OR SLIPPERY SURFACE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE BRAKES WOULD NOT FULLY ENGAGE INCREASING STOPPING DISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE REPRODUCED. THE CONTACT HAS NOTICED THE FAILURE SINCE THE DAY THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 109,000.

2203 TOYOTA PRIUS CST BRAKE LIGHT GOES ON INTERMITTENTLY HAD BRAKES REPLACED BY DEALER. BRAKES DID NOT FEEL OK BUT TOLD THIS WAS NORMAL. BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR INTERMITTENTLY BUT NO BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. AFTER CAR SLID THRU RED LIGHT AT INTERSECTION, CAR WAS BROUGHT BACK TO DEALER. REPLACED MASTER CYLINDER. BRAKES STILL DID NOT WORK. DEALER SAID BRAKE HOSES WERE SOFT & SWOLLEN AND BRAKE CONTROLLER STICKING. REPLACED BRAKE HOSES, FLUSHED LINES CAP. BLEEDER PLUG ACTUATOR ASSY. CAR HAS 67,000 MILES. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS AND ALSO EXPERIENCED THE EXACT SAME BRAKING PROBLEMS AS HAS BEEN REPORTED ABOUT THE 2010 PRIUS. IF I GO OVER A DIP IN THE ROAD WHILE BRAKING, OCCASIONALLY THE BRAKE WILL NOT HOLD (EVEN IF IT IS FULLY DEPRESSED) AND I NEED TO RELEASE AND DEPRESS AGAIN. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THIS WAS THE ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM AND NOT A REAL PROBLEM WITH THE CAR. I NOW SUSPECT THAT IT IS THE SAME SOFTWARE GLITCH AS THE LATER PRIUS. *TR

THE BRAKE SYSTEM IN MY CAR FAILED. IT WAS FOUND LATER THAT BOTH THE COMPUTER AND PUM/ENGINE SYSTEM FOR THE BRAKES FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY. I WAS CHARGED $2000 FOR REPAIRS. *TR

I OWN A 2003 PRIUS. WHEN I BOUGHT IT, BEFORE I EVER DROVE IT (WAS SNOW AND ICE) DEALER TOLD ME TO BE CAREFUL OF THE BRAKES. HE SAID, WHEN APPLIED, IT MAY FEEL FOR A SPLIT SECOND THAT I WAS SPEEDING UP OR NOT STOPPING. THE CAR DOES THIS ON SLIPPERY AND ROUGH RD AND ALWAYS HAS. I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE HYBRID AND HAVE LEARNED TO DRIVE ACCORDINGLY BUT IT IS DEFINITELY A TRYING SITUATION. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY BETWEEN 25-35 MPH OVER UNEVEN PAVEMENT WHEN PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP UNTIL EXCESSIVE FORCE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100.

IN READING RECENT MEDIA REPORTS REGARDING BRAKING FAILURES OF THE 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS, I REALIZED THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR LAPSES IN MY 2003 PRIUS' BRAKING SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT THE CAR. I WANTED TO GET THIS ON RECORD AS IT SEEMS THE MEDIA REPORTS BELIEVE THIS TO ONLY BE A PROBLEM IN THE 2010 MODEL WHEN THIS MAY BE AN ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME. BASICALLY, WHETHER OR NOT THE PHENOMENON OCCURS DURING BRAKING DEPENDS ON SEVERAL FACTORS AND SEEMS TO OCCUR MORE OFTEN IF THE ROAD IS WET. IF ONE HAPPENS TO BE ROLLING OVER A MANHOLE COVER, OR HITTING A POTHOLE OR BUMP AT THE MOMENT THE BRAKES ARE DEPRESSED IT FEELS AS THOUGH, FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, THAT THE CAR IS SKIDDING FORWARD ACROSS THE CHANGE IN ROADWAY SURFACE. THIS ALSO HAPPENS WHEN BRAKING OVER A THICKLY PAINTED CROSSWALK LINE OR THE WORD STOP PAINTED ON THE ROAD. THE COMMON FACTOR SEEMS TO BE BRAKING AS THE CAR'S TIRE TRANSITIONS FROM A HIGH FRICTION TO REDUCED FRICTION SURFACE. I BELIEVE I COULD REPRODUCE THIS ON DEMAND GIVEN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS. EARLY ON I BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF MY DEALERSHIP BUT THEIR WAS NO FOLLOWUP. FORTUNATELY IT HAS NEVER CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, BUT UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES IT COULD. I'VE DEALT WITH THE PROBLEM BY EITHER BRAKING BEFORE OR AFTER THE ROAD SURFACES I KNOW TO CAUSE THE BRAKE SLIPPING EFFECT. *TR

I HOPE YOU ARE NOT LIMITING YOUR INVESTIGATION OF PRIUS BRAKES TO THE 2010 MODEL. I HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON MY 2003 PRIUS SINCE THE DAY I DROVE IT HOME. WHEN GOING OVER UNEVEN SURFACES, PARTICULARLY METAL PLATES OR MANHOLE COVERS, BRAKING MOMENTARILY STOPS AND DOES NOT RESUME UNTIL THE WHEELS HIT THE REGULAR ROAD SURFACE. ALTHOUGH I HAVE HAD NO ACCIDENTS, THE SENSATION OF SKIDDING IS FRIGHTENING. *TR