The whole point of a parking brake is to keep your car from rolling away. That’s why Toyota is recalling 340,000 Toyota Prius vehicles with parking brakes that might not work properly. [More]
prius
Best Buy’s Geek Squad Ditches Retro-Chic Beetles For Environmentally-Friendly Priuses
By 4.11.16
Volkswagen Beetles? That’s so last decade, at least where Best Buy’s Geek Squad is concerned: the tech support service is trading in the retro, kitschy appeal of the VW Beetle for the environmentally-friendly Toyota Prius. [More]
Toyota’s New Plug-In Prius Has Twice The Battery Range Of Previous Model
By 3.23.16
Toyota is doubling the battery range on its newest plug-in hybrid: the Prius Prime will be able to go 22 miles just on its battery, the company announced today, which is twice as far as the most recent model. [More]
Toyota Recalls 57,000 Avalon, Prius Vehicles For Fire Risk, Airbag Deployment Issues
By 1.29.15
For the third time this week an automaker has recalled tens of thousands of vehicles because of a potential fire risk. In addition to recalling 52,000 sedans for wiring issues that could lead to a vehicle fire, Toyota is recalling 5,000 cars whose airbags may not deploy properly. [More]
Toyota Recalling 1.9 Million Priuses To Fix Software Glitch That Could Slow Or Stop Cars
By 2.12.14
The computers have won. At least the computers in about 1.9 million Toyota Prius vehicles have won, as the company says it’s recalling that number of vehicles to fix a software glitch that could cause the cars to slow down or completely stop. [More]
eBay’s VIN System Error Costs Me $1,000, They Don’t Particularly Care
By 3.14.13 — Updated: 3.15.13
It seems like a good idea on the surface: when an eBay Motors seller types in a car’s Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, the site automatically determines the make and model from that number and populates the auction with that information. It’s only a problem if that information is bad…which it was, and just that sort of bad info in a listing led reader S. to spend $1,000 more than he would have for the particular model of used Prius that he bought. [More]
NHTSA Investigating 1.3 Million Fords, Toyotas & Hondas For Safety-Related Issues
By 2.25.13
There’s a whole lot of investigating going on right now at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and it includes almost 1.3 million vehicles from Toyota, Ford and Honda. All three are in potentially hot water for safety-related issues, from steering problems to brake issues. From the sound of it, the Prius is bearing the brunt of the scrutiny. [More]
Toyota Recalling 2.77 Million Vehicles Worldwide For Steering Snafu, Water Pumps
By 11.14.12
Toyota announced it’s voluntary recalling a total of almost 3 million vehicles worldwide for steering and water pump issues that have popped up recently, which will make this the second multi-million vehicle recall for the company in just over a month. There haven’t been any accidents or injuries reported thus far from the problems, which can be fixed relatively quickly but will likely cost Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars to repair. [More]
Why Is Dealership Checking My Credit When I'm Paying In Full?
By 8.14.12
Brad and his wife drove a few hours to a car dealership, planning to pay cash for a new vehicle. Well, not cash exactly: they were putting part of the balance on a credit card (for airline miles or other rewards, we’re guessing) and had a cashier’s check for the rest. The dealer agreed to this deal over e-mail and over the phone. Then, when they reached the dealership, they were handed a credit application to fill out. Wait, why did they need their credit checked when payment in full was sitting right there in their hands? [More]
Toyota Recalls 106,000 Prius Vehicles Over Steering Concerns
By 6.1.11
Toyota has issued a recall on some early model (2001-2003) Prius vehicles over concerns that a problem in the steering system could could lead to drivers having difficulty controlling the car. [More]
California To End Carpool Lane Benefit For Hybrid Owners
By 5.17.11
From 2005 through 2007, the state of California made a pretty tempting offer to get drivers behind the wheels of hybrid cars: Buy one and you’ll get a sticker that allows you to cruise in the carpool lane without having to have that annoying other passenger (or mannequin) next to you. It was like a VIP pass on the highway. But those halcyon days are about to end. [More]
650,000 Prius Hybrids Need Water Pumps Fixed
By 11.30.10
Toyota is going to pay to fix the water pumps on 2004-2007 Prius hybrids starting in December. The pumps can glitch, causing the car to overheat and lose power. [More]
How To Give An Electric An MPG When They Don't Run On Gas?
By 10.15.10
Cruising the electric cars on the showroom floor, consumers could soon be faced with an array of new numbers and stats on the piece of paper in the car window. Until now we’ve just had the traditional city vs highway MPG, but how do you give a rating that makes sense to car that doesn’t run on gas? [More]
Want To Rent A Hybrid? Be Prepared To Pay A Lot More Green
By 6.28.10
When it comes to car rentals, I’ve rarely cared about the make and model of what I’m driving, so long as it’s in my (low) price range, it has a working radio and the driver’s side door operates properly. So it’s a good thing I’ve never tried to rent a hybrid, because the New York Times says I’d be paying anywhere from 30-70% more for the thrill of it all. [More]
Police Report Supports Runaway Prius Driver's Story
By 3.17.10
The Associated Press is reporting that a newly released police report confirms details given by the driver of the runaway Prius, but does not address inconsistencies between the driver’s story and information provided by Toyota. [More]
Video: How To Stop A Speeding Prius If You're F****** Stupid
By 3.16.10
This masked video troll is the zeitgeist. His 40-odd f-bomb-fueled demonstration of how to stop a Prius captures the mood among a swath of consumers that runaway Toyotas are just the fault of “stupid” drivers. Nevermind that the driver of an out-of-control Lexus did both the “power off” and “put it in neutral” tricks he shows, potentially pointing to an electronics system issue, and it didn’t help. “Get your head out of your ass, stop thinking about saving the planet, and figure out how to drive your car,” he admonishes. Very NSFW, cursing. [More]
Toyota Still At Loss For How To FIx Problem WIth Prius
By 3.9.10
A day after a 2008 Toyota Prius went rogue at speeds over 90mph on a California interstate, Toyota has admitted that, even though the Prius is on the current recall list, they don’t quite know how to fix the problem. [More]
Toyota Recalls More Than 400,000 Cars For Faulty Brakes
By 2.9.10
Hey! The rumors were true! Toyota is recalling more cars! This time they are hauling you back to the dealer for a braking problem that is affecting several of their hybrid models — including the 2010 Prius, the Sai, which is not sold in the U.S., the plug-in version of the Prius, and the Lexus HS250h. They are also recalling 7,300 Camrys for a completely different problem. [More]
