NHTSA Complaint #10305372 — 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS

2008 TOYOTA PRIUS. HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE BRAKING FAILURE CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED IN THE 2010 PRIUS, BUT I HAVE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE SIMILAR FAILURES WITH THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ON BOTH SLIPPERY AND BUMPY ROADS WHERE THE CAR WILL COMPLETELY DISENGAGE FROM THE DRIVE TRAIN FOR AN UNREASONABLY LONG PERIOD OF TIME, AND THEN PULSE WILDLY BETWEEN HAVING THE DRIVE SYSTEM ENGAGE AND DISENGAGE. IN MINNESOTA WITH SLIPPERY ROADS FOR MANY MONTHS IN THE YEAR, IT CAN BE VERY TRICKY MAKING A LEFT HAD TURN EVEN WHEN ONCOMING TRAFFIC IS A VERY SAFE DISTANCE AWAY. YOU CAN "STALL" MID TURN IN A VERY VULNERABLE BROADSIDE POSITION. SAME ISSUE HAS HAPPENED, TO A LESSER DEGREE ON BUMPY ROADS, NOT JUST ICY ROADS. I HAVE NOT PRESSED TOYOTA ON THE ISSUE. I RAISED IT ONCE IN CONVERSATION AND THEY SIMPLY SAID THAT IT WAS JUST HOW THE TRACTION CONTROL OPERATED. I AM TELLING YOU AS YOU OPEN THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE 2010 PRIUS BRAKING SYSTEM. I THINK THE SCOPE IS WIDER THAN BRAKES, IT IS ACCELERATION AS WELL, AND I DON'T THINK IT IS LIMITED TO THE MOST RECENT MODEL OF THE PRIUS. I DRIVE A LATE MODEL PREVIOUS GENERATION PRIUS. *TR