NHTSA Complaint #10227397 — 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS

ON MAY 4TH, 2008, AT OR AROUND 12:30 PM, I WAS DRIVING MY 2002 TOYOTA PRIUS NORMALLY. THE HYBRID SYSTEM GAVE ME A TROUBLE LIGHT PRIOR TO LEAVING AN AUTO PARTS STORE PARKING LOT; HOWEVER, I ATTRIBUTED THE WARNING LIGHT TO A RECENTLY REPLACED CHARCOAL CANISTER AND DISMISSED THE WARNING LIGHT, BELIEVING IT TO BE RELATED TO THE RECENTLY REPLACED PART. I LEFT THE PARKING LOT AND PROCEEDED ON TO MY DESTINATION, WHICH WAS MY HOUSE, ABOUT 2 MILES AWAY FROM THE STORE. WITHOUT WARNING, AND SAFELY ON A STREET WITH LITTLE TRAFFIC, AS I WAS DRIVING UP A SLIGHT INCLINE, THE ENGINE FAILED TO START. THE HYBRID SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO RUN PRIMARILY ON THE ELECTRIC MOTOR DRIVING THE WHEELS AND USE THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE (ICE) FOR ADDED POWER WHEN THE ELECTRIC MOTORS DO NOT PROVIDE ENOUGH POWER. HOWEVER, IN MY SITUATION, THE CAR NEEDED MORE POWER, AND THE ENGINE FAILED TO START. I TRIED MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET THE ENGINE TO START BY CYCLING THE GAS PEDAL, BUT TO NO AVAIL - THE ICE STILL WOULD NOT START. I HAD TO PULL THE CAR OVER, SHUT IT OFF, AND RESTART THE CAR TO GET THE ICE RUNNING AGAIN. NORMALLY I WOULD NOT BE THIS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, BUT HAD THIS ISSUE OCCURRED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, THE CAR WOULD HAVE BEEN A HAZARD TO THE OCCUPANTS AS WELL AS OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD - THE LOSS OF THE ICE IN A CRITICAL SITUATION COULD LEAD TO AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT, ESPECIALLY IF ICE POWER IS LOST AT A CRITICAL TIME, SUCH AS ACCELERATING ONTO A BUSY FREEWAY. BECAUSE OF THIS POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE IT IS MY BELIEF THAT ANY YEAR OR MODEL OF THE TOYOTA PRIUS IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE ON THE ROAD AS THE ICE CAN BE UNRELIABLE, WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS. I DID NOT TAKE THE CAR TO BE REPAIRED NOR DID I ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE; ON MAY 5TH, I TRADED THE PRIUS IN FOR A DIFFERENT VEHICLE. *TR