NHTSA Complaint #10821739 — 2015 TOYOTA PRIUS V

PRIUS V3 LUNGING BACKWARDS 1/21/2016 ON THURSDAY 1/21/2016, I WAS PARKED IN A BIG LOT AND AFTER MY APPOINTMENT, GOT IN THE CAR AND TURNED IT ON. BUT RATHER THAN PULL BACKWARDS OUT OF THE SPOT, I DECIDED TO FIRST MAKE A CALL USING BLUETOOTH. THE CALL TOOK ABOUT 10 MINUTES. I THEN HUNG UP, RELEASED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, AND MOVED THE STICK SHIFT INTO REVERSE WITH MY FOOT, OF COURSE, ON THE REGULAR BRAKE. AS I RELEASED THAT BRAKE, THE CAR LUNGED HARD ABOUT 10 FEET BACKWARD ACROSS THE PARKING LOT "DRIVE", INTO WHERE OTHER CARS COULD HAVE BEEN PARKED BUT LUCKILY WEREN'T. I AUTOMATICALLY AND IMMEDIATELY PUT MY FOOT BACK ON THE BRAKE WHICH STOPPED THE CAR. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS BEWILDERED AND SCARED BY WHAT HAD HAPPENED, COUNTING MYSELF VERY LUCKY THERE WAS NO OTHER CAR PARKED BEHIND ME. I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE ENGINE'S LUNGE, I JUST KNOW THAT I HAVE DRIVEN TOYOTA PRIUS CARS FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, LOVE THEM, AND NEVER HAD ANY DRIVING ISSUES. IN RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM ONLINE, I SAW THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CAR'S POWER TRAIN, SINCE SIMILAR LUNGES WERE DESCRIBED IN CARS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.