2017 Toyota Prius Brakes Problems

On 9/14/22 I was almost a hundred miles from my home in Sherrill, NY on Rte 81 south, approaching the bridge in Binghamton, NY when I heard a loud ringing noise. At first I thought it was my phone; then I thought it was a police vehicle; then a construction noise. I finally faced the fact if was coming from my 2017 Prius which had just reached 20,000 miles. I was in heavy traffic but managed to pull over and walk around the car as the noise seemed to be coming from the rear. I saw nothing amiss. I managed to drive another twenty minutes to Great Bend, PA and just before I pulled into the parking lot at McDonalds the noise stopped. I called Nye Automotive in Oneida, NY which had sold me the car and talked to a mechanic who said he had no experience with a ringing noise. Proceeding cautiously I drove 135 miles to Quakertown, Pa where my son diagnosed the problem as the brake pad on the drivers side rear wheel that had tilted and was banging against the rotor. My son replaced the brake pad and next day we drove to Long Beach Island, NJ, stopping to check for heat coming from that wheel. It was fine. When I got back home to Sherrill I could found the email of Mark Templin, CEO of Toyota who gave me the number of [XXX], a Toyota executive. I have been driving for sixty years and had never encountered a tilted brake pad. I am so easy on brakes that mechanics marvel that I can get to over 50,000 miles before work needs to be done. I am concerned that the ringing-clanging noise alone could cause an accident. Having had a bee and a mouse in the car previously I remained in control but could have reacted badly. I told [XXX] that I thought perhaps Toyota would like to see who had made the brake pads. I had heard of airbags and other components purchased by many car makers having caused problems in the past. Mr. Wilson didn't seem interested. Also, since my car was beyond the 3-year warranty he felt Nye wanting to charge me to look at the car was appropriate. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

MY 2 YEAR CHECK UP W/14,932 MILES I WAS ADVISED MY FRONT ROTORS NEED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO POOR PAD CONTACT AND REAR ROTORS ARE GROOVED HEAVILY AND NEED TO BE REPLACED AS WELL. I WAS SHOCKED. I DID NOT HAVE REPLACED . MECHANIC SAID WILL NOT PASS INSPECTION. IS THERE A RECALL? WHAT IS GOING ON W/TOYOTA PRIUS BRAKES. AM AFRAID TO DRIVE CAR AND CAN'T AFFORD TO REPLACE ROTORS EVERY 15,000 MILES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HIS DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 19 MPH AND APPROACHING A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE TRACTION CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP AND THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE MILLENIUM TOYOTA, 257 N FRANKLIN ST, HEMPSTEAD, NY 11550, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE AND AN INSPECTOR WAS SENT OUT TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION FROM THE VEHICLE DATA RECORDER. THE CONCLUSION WAS DRIVER ERROR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,000.

SINCE PURCHASING THE VEHICLE IN OCTOBER, 2017, I HAVE HAD INTERMITTENT OCCURRENCES WHERE THE BRAKES FEEL LIKE THEY SLIP WHEN COMING TO A STOP. IT HAS HAPPENED IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS, (BUT MOSTLY WHEN WET), AND AT ALL SPEEDS. I CAN GO WEEKS WITHOUT AN OCCURRENCE, AND THEN IT CAN HAPPEN SEVERAL TIMES IN A WEEK. IT SEEMS TO BE COMPLETELY RANDOM. I HAVE BEEN TO TWO DEALERSHIPS, AND FINALLY WAS ABLE TO DRIVE WITH A TECH WHO FELT THE "SLIPPAGE". THEY KEPT THE CAR FOR A FEW DAYS AND TOLD ME THEY TALKED TO CORPORATE AND THAT A BUMP IN THE ROAD TRIGGERS AN ABS SENSOR TO FIRE, CAUSING THE ABS TO KICK IN. THEY ALSO TOLD ME TIRE PRESSURE MIGHT AFFECT IT. NONE OF THIS SITS RIGHT WITH ME BECAUSE IT CONTINUES TO HAPPEN. I HAVE EXPERIENCED DRIVING A CAR WHEN ABS KICKS IN, AND THIS IS NOT THE SENSATION I AM GETTING IN THE PRIUS. "SLIPPING" IS THE BEST ADJECTIVE I HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, AND WHEN IT HAPPENS IT IS TERRIFYING. THE LAST TIME I TOOK THE CAR IN TO HAVE THEM LOOK AT THE BRAKES AGAIN, I WAS TOLD THAT SINCE CORPORATE HAD BEEN CONTACTED PREVIOUSLY, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK TO THEM. THEY DIDN'T KEEP THE CAR, AND TOLD ME THEY WOULD CALL ME BACK WHEN THE CORPORATE REP WOULD BE THERE SO HE COULD DRIVE WITH ME. THAT WAS A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND THEY HAVEN'T CALLED BACK, OR RETURNED MY CALL. AT THIS POINT, I FEEL LIKE TOYOTA IS HIDING SOMETHING FROM ME AND I HAVE LOST ALL TRUST IN THE BRAND. I FEEL LIKE I AM DRIVING AN UNSAFE CAR AND TOYOTA IS IGNORING EVERYTHING I AM SAYING TO THEM.

WHILE I AM SLOWING TO A STOP, A WARNING LIGHT COMES ON INDICATING THAT I AM PRESSING THE BRAKE AND THE ACCELERATOR AT THE SAME TIME. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE. THE CAR DOES TRY TO MOVE FORWARD BUT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE OVERCOMES THAT ISSUE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES (NOT EVERY TIME) BUT FORTUNATELY NO ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED. THIS HAS ALSO NEVER HAPPENED WHEN I AM DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND NEED TO BRAKE.

WHIRLING SOUND EMANATING FROM FRONT AREA... GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. FINALLY TOOK TO DEALERSHIP, EVEN THOUGH NO WARNING LIGHTS, AND THEY INDICATED BRAKE ACTUATOR BAD, TO THE TUNE OF $3400. SO I GAVE MY OTHER PRIUS (06) TO MY DAUGHTER TO DRIVE AND SAME NOISE, SO NOW HAVE TWO FAIRLY YOUNG (FOR A TOYOTA) PAPERWEIGHTS, SINCE SERVICE MANAGER SAID UNSAFE TO DRIVE. COMPLAINED TO CORPORATE AND THEY SAID EXTENDED WARRANTY OUT OF TIME. THIS IN UNACCEPTABLE FOR THIS AGE OF CAR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE VEHICLE SPUN OUT OF CONTROL. THE BRAKE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TOYOTA OF POWAY (13631 POWAY RD, POWAY, CA 92064), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000.

I HAVE RECENTLY INSTALLED HAND CONTROLS ON MY CAR AND UNDERWENT PROPER TRAINING.FSINCE THE HAND CONTROLS WORK THE OPPOSITE OF A ZERO TURN LAWNMOWER I HAVE TO FIGHT THE FACT THAT THEY WORK IN REVERSE. I HAVE TRIED TO FIND AN APP FOR MY COMPUTER WITH A JOYSTICK THAT WOULD SIMULATE DRIVING AND HOW TO RESPOND TO A CHILD RUNNING IN FRONT OF MY CAR. THIS IS SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY I CAN'T PRACTICE ON THE ROAD AND MY INSTINCT MIGHT BE THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT IT SHOULD BE. I WOULD LIKE SUCH A GAME TO ENSURE THAT MY RESPONSE ALWAYS IS IMMEDIATE DO YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS?

PLEASE NOTE: THAT I HAVE OWNED A PREVIOUS GENERATION PRIUS - A 2011 - AND I AM MORE THAN AWARE THAT REGENERATIVE BRAKING WORKS ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY THAN A CONVENTIONAL BRAKING SYSTEM. SO IN NO WAY AM I REFERRING TO THE "USUAL NOISES" THAT COME FROM REGENERATIVE BRAKING. PLEASE SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR EXPLANATION OF LIFE AND SAFETY ISSUE.