NHTSA Complaint #10379328 — 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS

LOW-SPEED BRAKE FAILURE: ACCELERATED LIGHTLY AWAY FROM TRAFFIC SIGNAL TO APPROXIMATELY 5-7 MPH, TRAFFIC THEN SLOWED, APPLIED BRAKES NORMALLY WITH NO NOTICEABLE DECELERATION OR PEDAL RESISTANCE. REMOVED FOOT FROM BRAKE AND THEN REAPPLIED BRAKES VERY HARD, PEDAL AGAIN OFFERED LITTLE RESISTANCE, NO NOTICEABLE DECELERATION. ROADWAY SURFACE DRY, FREE FROM DIRT/GRAVEL, SMOOTH WITH SLIGHT DOWNGRADE, TEMPERATURE BELIEVED TO BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE FREEZING. IMPACTED CAR AHEAD AT LOW SPEED ' NO AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT, MINIMAL DAMAGE TO THIS CAR (EST. $750), ADDITIONAL MINOR DAMAGE TO TWO CARS AHEAD. AFTER CRASH, SHUT CAR OFF. AFTER RESTARTING CAR, BRAKES APPEARED TO WORK NORMALLY. UPON INSPECTION FOUND NO FAULT CODES PRESENT, NO WARNING LIGHTS, BRAKE PADS HAD SUBSTANTIAL MATERIAL REMAINING, BRAKE FLUID LEVEL NORMAL, TIRES WITH SUBSTANTIAL TREAD DEPTH. CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED IN ACCORDANCE WITH MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATIONS SINCE NEW, ALL RECALLS HAVE BEEN COMPLIED WITH. . CAR WAS FULLY WARM, HAD BEEN DRIVEN 14 MILES SINCE START. CAR HAD BEEN OPERATED AT FREEWAY SPEEDS FOR LAST 5-6 MILES BEFORE TRAFFIC SIGNAL. BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE ALONG THIS FREQUENTLY TRAVELED ROUTE, HYBRID STORAGE BATTERY WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY FULL FROM ENERGY STORED DURING DECELERATION FROM FREEWAY SPEED ON EXIT RAMP, THUS HYBRID SYSTEM WOULD BE UNABLE TO DELIVER REGENERATIVE BRAKING AT TIME OF BAKE FAILURE/CRASH. *TR