NHTSA Complaint #10146927 — 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS

THE CRITICAL SAFETY CONCERN IS NOTED AS FOLLOWS: ON OCTOBER 21, 2005, I WAS TRAVELING WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ACTIVE AT 55 MILES PER HOUR. UPON APPROACHING A SLOWER VEHICLE AND CHECKING TRAFFIC, I PROCEEDED TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO QUICKLY PASS THE VEHICLE DRIVING BEFORE ME. UPON SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE OF THE VEHICLE, I LET OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND PRESSED THE BRAKES SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE UNDER FULL POWER. UNDER THE CONDITIONS, I TRIED TO QUICKLY DISRUPT THIS SAFETY CRITICAL ISSUE. TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION I TRIED TO SLOW THE VEHICLE BY PUSHING THE POWER BUTTON, MANIPULATING THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVER, AND PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL. ALL ATTEMPTS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. UNDER CONSIDERABLE DISTRESS, TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES OVER THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT AT THIS POINT, AND CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE, I ELECTED TO APPLY FULL BRAKING FORCE TO THE PRIUS WHILE "LABORING" THE VEHICLE TO A STANDSTILL ON THE GRAVEL SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. REGAINING MY COMPOSURE, I PUSHED THE POWER BUTTON, AND THE VEHICLE SHUTDOWN. THE CABIN OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE EXHIBITED A STRONG ODOR REMINISCENT OF ELECTRICAL MOTOR SMELL. NO ROOT CAUSE HAS BEEN FOUND TO DATE. VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN BY DEALER AND ISSUE WAS RE-CREATED DURING INITIAL TEST-DRIVE FROM PORTER. *JB