# 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS — POWER TRAIN
> NHTSA complaint `840302` · 2011-02-03 · Toyota Motor Corporation
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** Yes
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** TOYOTA
- **Model:** PRIUS
- **Year:** 2005
- **Manufacturer:** Toyota Motor Corporation
- **Component:** POWER TRAIN
- **Miles at failure:** 116,002
## Narrative
WE WERE TRAVELING ALONG A FAMILIAR COUNTRY ROAD ON A WARM SUNNY DAY.  WHEN WE ARRIVED AT A RURAL STORE THERE WAS ONLY ONE OTHER CUSTOMER  THERE.  I SLOWLY EASED INTO THE DESIGNATED PARKING AREA WHICH WAS SITUATED ABOUT 17 INCHES ABOVE THE LAWN BELOW.  I WAS PROBABLY TRAVELING LESS THAN ONE MILE AN HOUR.  WHEN I BRAKED, THE CAR ACCELERATED AND PROPELLED ITSELF OVER THE BLOCKS AND RAILROAD TIES THAT ARE FOUND IN FRONT OF PARKING SPACES, AND WE LITERALLY FLEW ABOUT 7 FEET OUT AND DOWN ONTO THE GRASS STOPPING JUST A FEW FEET FROM A TREE AND A FENCE.  WHILE IN THE AIR, ALL I HAD TIME TO DO WAS PUT MY FOOT DOWN HARD ON THE BRAKE BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE DURING THE 5 SECONDS THIS WAS HAPPENING.  OUR FIRST REACTION WAS THAT I MIGHT HAVE HIT THE ACCELERATOR INSTEAD OF THE BRAKE, AND THOUGH I FOUND THIS INCONCEIVABLE BECAUSE I HAD NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE AND BECAUSE THE TWO PEDALS ARE SO DIFFERENT,  I COULD NOT CONSIDER ANOTHER EXPLANATION. HOWEVER, AS TIME PASSED, WE CAME TO THE REALIZATION THAT THIS COULD NOT BEEN THE CASE BECAUSE EVEN IF I HAD PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR BY MISTAKE I WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE "FLOORED" IT TO GET THAT KIND OF ACCELERATION IN SUCH A SHORT DISTANCE, AND EVEN MISTAKING IT FOR THE BRAKE I WOULDN'T HAVE "FLOORED" THE BRAKE BECAUSE I WAS ONLY ABOUT 18 INCHES FROM WHERE I WAS TO STOP.  EVEN UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THE PRIUS JUST DOES NOT HAVE THIS IMMEDIATE KIND OF ACCELERATION WE EXPERIENCED.  I CANNOT HELP BUT THI
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*