2006 Toyota Prius Traction Control Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  941%
• 25k–50k
  836%
• 50k–75k
  15%
• 75k–100k
  15%
• 100k–150k
  15%
• 150k+
  29%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. I have had 3 accident claims since I bought it. ( and not one claim in the 12 years I've been with state farm prior to this). One of the accidents the traction control slipped and I put it in a ditch. I've contacted Toyota multiple times regarding the headlights just going out while driving. You have to stop the car and turn it off and on again to get the headlights to work. Now, at 85,000 miles I had new brakes placed. The ABS light came on the mechanic hooked it to the computer and nothing kicked out. He reset it and warned me about it. I called the Toyota dealership and was told that they have the override to turn the ABS back on due a "safety" mechanism installed on the vehicle that only allows a dealership to fix the problem, but it was "completely safe to drive". So, I drove it the next day. …

I have two cars Toyota Prius. The first year of 2006. The second car of 2010. The second complaint is no. But with the first car Toyota Prius 2006. Many claims. In the first control. When turning the car at speed. The car is set aside. I remind the rest of the cars that I driving the car. Such cases were not observed. They are perfectly controlled in the corners of the road. Secondly, in cold weather in autumn or winter. Car windows are very foggy. From 30 minutes to an hour. While the car is warm and the interior too. Unable to enter the car, can not see anything.

I currently drive a 2006 Toyota Prius and have had numerous instances of brake slippage when going over a bump/pothole during deceleration or acceleration. Upon further research at priuschat.com, an online community of Prius owners, community members advised that this was "by design" since the vehicle's computer thought that loss of traction when going over an obstacle was considered as a stability issue hence dis-engaging the brakes (ABS). I have had several fender benders without the air-bag deploying though.

Tl contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 65 MPH with the cruise control activated, the steering failed to respond while swerving left to avoid striking a deer. The contact lost control of the vehicle and it veered to the right. All four tires blew out and caused the vehicle to roll over three times. The vehicle was towed to a storage towing shop. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed and injuries were sustained. The current and failure mileages were 50,000.

Toyota Prius traction control in the model including 2006 has a potentially life threatening design flaw. It shuts down all power to the wheels when it detects slippage, especially in fresh snow. If someone were coming at you on a snow covered road, you're at risk of having absolutely no control over the car and being paralyzed in the middle of oncoming traffic. A sitting on a slippery road. Numerous complaints to the Toyota corporate proved futile. Their corporate line was that the system was operating the way it's supposed to, it became clear that they were resistant to accepting that "operating the way it was supposed to" was the problem. The Prius has apparently been redesigned on the 2010 model with a traction control override switch due to numerous complaints like mine and from mechanics who I spoke with that work at Toyota dealerships. …

When driving on roads that are curved, when changing lanes, or on streets that are wet, the car feels unbalanced, and requires a quick steering adjustment to regain normal operation. Incidents like these occur too frequently, at least three times a week, and when they occur, the vehicle's red skid light is illuminated (I suppose it is related to this model's anti-skid and/or traction control feature that was not standard equipment). Traction control was an optional feature that the dealerships offered in more expensive packages of the 2006 Prius bundled together with other items that were not related to driving safety, which made the packages unnecessarily expensive, and was a factor in my decision to not opt for this upgrade. However, given the frequency of occurrence, I felt the need to report this in case other drivers are experiencing similar issues. …

The traction control system on the Toyota Prius (2006) improperly engages when the driver attempts to quickly accelerate and there is some sand or gravel under the front tires. There is often an accumulation of sandy material at many intersections, particularly on side streets that enter a highway service road. At these intersections, it is necessary to quickly accelerate to enter the roadway at the speed of oncoming traffic. When the traction control engages due to the conditions mentioned above, the traction system attempts to stop the wheels briefly in order to break the tires from slippage. However, in a hybrid vehicle, this pulsing of the drive system only encourages further slippage and the traction system continues to intermittently engage without any way to override the system. …

2006 Toyota Prius loses all traction when encountering conditions where only one wheel loses traction. This failure occurs on roads with sand on them. Most commonly it occurs when attempting to turn right at an intersection, from the right or turn lane. When to accelerator is pressed, the car starts to move, usually a little way into the intersection, and then stalls because the right front wheel starts to slip in the sand along the curb. This is especially dangerous when executing a "right on red" turn. The car has moved part way into the intersection and is stalled by the lack of any traction. Toyota calls this "traction control". I don't think this is an accurate description. It's really computer controlled traction loss. The occurrence reported is only the latest. It has been going on for almost 4 years. …

In addition to my complaint, odi id #10400072, when I turn my headlights on, the lighting in my console loses it brightness--alot. During the daytime, it is very difficult to see the odometer/speedometer and all other information provided on my console... This includes the built-in GPS/info screen. This is definitely a design flaw that Toyota created and approved for sale here in the U.S. I cannot understand why Toyota is not held fully accountable for these very serious flaws and are required to correct these very serious flaws at no cost the the innocent consumer that are victims for purchasing these vehicles fully trusting that Toyota fully backed up their vehicles and reputation. What will it take to require Toyota to make the necessary repairs to rectify these very obvious flaws in their vehicles? …

I am an owner of a 2006 Toyota Prius. I don't have a specific date since this type of failure has occurred several times. I construed this to be a part of the Prius and did not think of lodging a complaint. But based on today's (2/3/10) report on Prius' brake issues from Japan, I feel compelled to point out that: there has been a typically recurring problem of the tires skidding as the brakes loose their grip when I have hit the brake as I am crossing a pothole or a road expansion joint or minor bump (not speed bumps) or just a wet spot. This condition has been noted regardless of the condition of the tires - meaning even on brand new tires. The vsc lights comes on when the car glides/skids over and moves past the point where I had wanted to slow down. I am not sure of the type of brake in this vehicle so I will be checking off all 3 kinds.

Traction Control complaints in other Prius years