Prius drivers complain brake woes disconcerting

Bellmore dentist Albert Bonanno likens the recurrent brake malfunctions of his 2010 Toyota Prius to being catapulted off an aircraft carrier deck.

"It's literally like you're in an F-14 and you hit the launch button," said Bonanno, 59. "It's unbelievable." And he says it has occurred at least once weekly since he got the car in August.

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Thursday, the U.S. government said it would officially begin an investigation into complaints like Bonanno's involving about 37,000 2010 Priuses in the United States. And Toyota announced that it has launched a probe into its luxury Lexus hybrid - the Lexus HS250h model, which uses the same brake system as the Prius.

Most complaints, like Bonanno's, allege that the car's brakes fail when one or more wheels hits a bump as the brakes are being applied to stop the car.

Tara Hurley, 35, of Baldwin, said she has experienced sporadic braking problems with a 2010 Prius purchased in July.

"You go to stop at the stop sign, you're almost stopped and then it kicks forward" a couple of feet before coming to a complete stop, she said. "Your foot's not on the gas, it's on the brake. You still keep your foot on the brake and then it stops."

Toyota said it has made a change on the Prius assembly line in Japan to the apparent cause of the problem, software controlling the anti-lock braking system.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it had 124 complaints from U.S. owners, including four reported crashes and two minor injuries, and that it has opened a "preliminary evaluation."

A newspaper in Japan reported Thursday that Toyota plans to recall an estimated 270,000 of its new-generation Prius hybrids in the United States and Japan, but the beleaguered automaker said it was "too soon" to decide whether to add the hybrid to the millions of cars it has recalled, according to The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will fix 17,600 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion 2010 gas-electric hybrids that could suffer braking problems.

According to wire service reports, the decision came after a test driver for Consumer Reports magazine experienced the problem as he was driving a Fusion. Ford has linked it to a software glitch and said it would upgrade the software and tell customers when the fix is available.

Primer on brake complaints

Owners say brakes seem briefly unresponsive when tires go over a pavement irregularity as the car is braking to a stop.

Toyota says pavement irregularities can cause the car's anti-lock braking system to "think" that a tire is losing traction. The system then begins functioning, rapidly "pumping" the brakes - alternately reducing and restoring pressure to the brakes to try to restore what it believes is lost traction.

The carmaker says the feeling of "inconsistent" brake response - a diminishment, followed by a rapid restoration of braking effect, is in part due also to the hybrid gasoline electric vehicle's "regenerative braking" function, in which friction of the electric motor helps to slow the vehicle.

Toyota said it has introduced a running change at the factory - and will make changes in cars already on the road - that will alter the ABS system software to make it somewhat less sensitive to bumps.

The carmaker says that the phenomenon clears itself up quickly and that owners who experience it should keep applying the brake.

ALERT: Ford to notify hybrid owners of potential brake problems
PHOTOS: See the 10 recalled Toyota models
BUY & SELL: Sell your car or search for thousands on LI
BLOG: Join Newsday's car culture discussion