NHTSA Complaint #10853968 — 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS

THIS CAR CUTS OFF POWER TO SAVE THE POWERTRAIN FROM DAMAGE, THAT IS WHAT TOYOTA TOLD ME. YOU MUST BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC BECAUSE YOU CAN LOSE POWER FOR 2-3 SECONDS IF THE CARS COMPUTER SENSES ANY WHEEL SPIN. THE WAY I SEE IT THIS IS A MACHINE THAT WAS DESIGNED BY THE ENGINEERS TO SAVE ITSELF FROM DAMAGE, THE SAFETY OF THE DRIVER IS OF NO CONCERN TO THE COMPUTER PROGRAM. YOU MUST ALWAYS!!! BE AWARE WHEN DRIVING THIS CAR THAT IT CAN AND WILL CUT ALL POWER WHEN YOU ENTER TRAFFIC. THE BEST WAY TO DRIVE THIS CAR AND STAY ALIVE IS TO MAKE SURE ANY APPROACHING VEHICLES ARE MUCH FARTHER AWAY THAN YOU WOULD CONSIDER NORMAL IF YOU WERE DRIVING ANY OTHER CAR. IMAGINE IN THE FUTURE THAT A FIREFIGHTING ROBOT RUNS INTO A BURNING BUILDING TO SAVE YOU, THE ROBOT PICKS YOU UP AND STARTS TO EXIT THE BUILDING. THE ROBOTS COMPUTER SENSES THAT IT IS GETTING TOO HOT FOR ITS DESIGN PARAMETERS SO IT DROPS YOU ON THE FLOOR AND RUNS OUT OF THE BUILDING TO SAVE ITSELF, THAT ANALOGY BASICALLY DESCRIBES THE 2009 PRIUS , ITS COMPUTER SAVES ITSELF WITHOUT THOUGHT THAT YOU ARE LEFT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT POWER. TOYOTA TOLD ME AGAIN THAT THE TRANSMISSION COULD NOT HANDLE THE POWER FROM THE MOTOR SO THEY MADE THE COMPUTER CUT POWER IF WHEEL SPIN WAS DETECTED. MY MAJOR COMPLAINT IS THE LENGTH OF TIME THE POWER IS CUT 2-3 SECONDS WHICH IS A VERY VERY LONG TIME WHEN YOU ARE ENTERING TRAFFIC.