NHTSA complaint: 2003 HONDA CIVIC — TIRES
I WISH TO MAKE NOTICE TO NHTSA THAT THE ISSUE IN BRAKING FOR PRIUS VEHICLES WOULD SEEM TO ME TO BE RELATED, IN GENERAL, TO HYBRIDS, BUILT IN JAPAN, AND NOT JUST TOYOTA. I HAVE AN '03 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID, AND IT HAS ISSUES. IT HAS BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT BACK IN '05 AND WHAT WAS THE ISSUE? BRAKING! THE CAR WENT OUT OF CONTROL UNDER HEAVY BRAKING (THOUGH ALL THESE VEHICLES HAVE 4 WHL ABS) IN AN "ANIMAL-AVOIDANCE" ATTEMPT. I ENDED UP CAREENING SIDE-WISE SLIDING UNTIL COLLIDING WITH A UTILITY POLE, AT THE PASSGR SIDE "A" PILLAR. RACCOON DIDN'T SURVIVE. I HAD NOTICED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT THE ABS, UPON ENCOUNTERING BUMPS OR JOLTS OF ANY SIGNIFICANT DEGREE, WILL "CUT-OUT" MOMENTARILY, AND FURTHER, THE "ENGINE-BRAKING' ASSOCIATED WITH THE HYBRID MOTOR-GENERATOR ALSO CUTS OUT AND DOES NOT RETURN (UNTIL AFTER THE STOP HAS BEEN CONCLUDED USING ONLY THE AVAILABLE BRAKING METHODS LEFT)(NO ABS "CHATTER" IS TO BE OBSERVED IN THESE SCENARIOS). THE PHENOMENON IS DEFINITELY REPRODUCIBLE; I HAVE OFTEN FOUND THAT SUCH BUMPS ARE VIRTUALLY UNAVOIDABLE ON CERTAIN PLACES I COMMONLY DRIVE NEAR MY HOME. IT IS SUCH AN ISSUE THAT I HAVE LEARNED TO TRY TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT WHEN DRIVING OVER THESE BUMPY PLACES, BUT ONE CAN'T COMPENSATE WHEN ENCOUNTERING SAME IN A NEW, UNFAMILIAR AREA/SITUATION. PLEASE DO LOOK INTO THE CONCEPT THAT IT COULD BE MORE OF A JAPANESE MADE ABS SYSTEM-FAULT , (POSSIBLY INCLUDING ENGINE-REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM) RATHER THAN A TOYOTA-ONLY THING. I WOULD REQUEST THAT MY NOTE B
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation