NHTSA Complaint #11421482 — 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS

For the second time (first in 2019) I was seconds and maybe two feet from stopping the car to park when, with my foot on the brake, the car suddenly and without warning lunged forward at what seemed like full throttle. The first "crash" was in my driveway. The force was shocking and took off the front of the car. I insisted Toyota investigate and they ultimately denied any liability. After the car was allegedly repaired, I started noticing another phenomenon: every time I would slow down to brake--approaching an intersection or stop sign, etc.--the car would briefly lunge forward before the brakes engaged to stop the car. I reported this to the dealer 2-3 times and each time I was assured that this was "normal" for a hybrid transitioning from gas to electric at a lower speed. Two weeks ago, with a friend in the car, I was pulling into a parking space, foot on the brake and about to stop, when the same thing occurred: without warning, the car lunged forward, at what seemed like full throttle, and crashed into a low concrete wall. Had it been seconds later, we would have had our seatbelts off and gone into the windshield. There were injuries. FYI, I have a pretty much perfect driving record and log thousands of miles each year. I had ZERO problems with the Prius I owned prior to this one. I will never drive this car again.