NHTSA Complaint #10469781 — 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS

CAR BECOMES IMMOBILE - WILL NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE OR DRIVE. COMPUTER KEEPS SENDING THE MESSAGE TO PUT IT IN PARK AND DEPRESS BRAKE, BUT ONCE THAT IS DONE, ANY ATTEMPT TO SHIFT INTO REVERSE OR DRIVE TRIGGERS THE MESSAGE, ENDLESSLY. THE PROBLEM IS APPARENTLY INTERMITTENT. OCCURRED FOR TWO HOURS YESTERDAY, AFTER OCCURRING TO A LESSER EXTENT IN PRECEDING DAYS (IN THE DAYS PRECEDING THE TOTAL BREAKDOWN, I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT AFTER A SLIGHT DELAY AND A FEW ATTEMPTS). THE DEALERSHIP TO WHICH I HAD IT TOWED SAID IT WAS FINE TODAY. EVERYTHING CHECKS OUT. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE THE CAR CAN BE IN AN UNSAFE POSITION WHEN IT BECOMES IMMOBILE. I WAS PARTLY OUT OF A PARKING SPACE, SOMEWHAT BLOCKING TRAFFIC. THE PROBLEM INVOLVES THE COMPUTER AND THE TRANSMISSION - AT LEAST