NHTSA Complaint #10305084 — 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS

I READ LOTS OF NEWS REPORTS YESTERDAY THAT THE 2010 PRIUS HAS A BRAKING ISSUE WHEN RUN OVER SPEED BUMPS. MY 2005 PRIUS HAS A SIMILAR BEHAVIOR WHICH SEMI-KNOWN CAUSE WHICH MIGHT EXPLAIN THIS, WHILE BEING SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS IN ANOTHER WAY. WHEN ONE DRIVES A 2005 PRIUS TOO FAST OVER A SPEED BUMP, OR THROUGH ANOTHER SITUATION WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO THINK ONE OF ITS WHEELS IS SLIPPING OR SPINNING AT A DIFFERENT RATE THAN THE OTHERS, THE CAR TEMPORARILY (AS I BELIEVE IS IN THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL) FLASHES A BRIEFLY APPEARING INDICATOR LIGHT ON THE FRONT PANEL INDICATING IT IS SLIPPING, AND TEMPORARILY CUTS BACK ON ENGINE POWER. AVOIDING THIS REQUIRES KNOWING THE DRIVING BEHAVIOR OF THE PRIUS, AND I WONDER IF THIS IS THE BEHAVIOR CERTAIN 2010 PRIUS OWNERS MAY BE NOTING. {IF ONE IS LOOKING AT THE ROAD AND SCARED BY THE SUDDEN DROP IN ENGINE POWER, ONE MAY NEVER LOOK DOWN AT THE DASH TO SEE THE INDICATOR FLASH FOR 1-2 SECONDS EITHER.} NORMALLY THIS IS MIGHT SEEM LIKE REASONABLE, BUT THIS BECOMES POTENTIALLY EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS SHOULD ONE TRY TO MAKE A SHARP RIGHT TURN ONTO A HIGHER-SPEED MAIN ROAD (40 MPH+) FROM A DEAD STOP ON A SIDE ROAD WITH A HIGH RATE OF ACCELERATION TO ATTEMPT MERGE INTO HIGH-VOLUME, FAST-MOVING TRAFFIC. IN SUCH CASES (ESPECIALLY IF WATER IS PRESENT, BUT EVEN IF THE ROAD IS DRY), I HAVE HAD THE ANTI-SKID FEATURE KICK IN AND CUT BACK ON ENGINE POWER FOR A HALF-SECOND OR SO, WHICH RISKS STALLING THE CAR TEMPORARILY IN FRONT OF AN ONCOMING VEHICLE. AS A RESULT, I TRY NOT TO DO ANY MANEUVERS LIKE THIS, EVEN THOUGH OTHER CARS OFTEN CAN "BURN RUBBER" A BIT AND DO THIS. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE ISSUE, AS IT IS PRESUMED TO BE NORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR THE CAR, AND I NEVER HAD A CAR WITH ANTI-SKID ABILITIES BEFORE. SEEING THIS WAS COMMON FOR ME AT FIRST, BUT IS NOW SOMEWHAT RARE (LESS THAN ONCE/MONTH) DUE TO CHANGING MY DRIVING HABITS. (MY2005 PRIUS LACKS VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL; BUT HAS THE STANDARD ANTI-SKID SAFETY FEATURE.) *TR