Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| TSB-0172-09 | 06/11/2009 | 10050739 | Toyota: available to correct the intermittent condition of the combination meter, there is an updated ecu meter combination, to prevent the lost/failure of illumination in cold weather. rev 1 8/3/11 and rev 2 10/10/12. model 2004-2009 | 02/06/2013 | |
| 00406 | 04/28/2006 | 10019992 | Automatic headlight leveling system warning light on or flashing. *tt | 05/19/2006 | |
| 0522 | 10/01/2005 | 10017678 | Special service campaign (ssc) - 50p to reprogram the ecm system which may cause some or all of the warning lights to illuminate: master, hybrid system, engine, vehicle stability control, and brake. *tt | 11/18/2005 | |
| 4416B | 11/19/2004 | 10016059 | Combination meter repair manual correction for the 2004 toyota prius. 00400-rm107-5u2. *tt | 08/19/2005 | |
| 5108 | 06/10/2005 | 10015598 | Diagnostics for the hybrid control system. repair manual correction. 00400-rm107-5u1. *tt | 07/29/2005 | |
| 4496B | 02/08/2005 | 10015561 | Repair manual correction for the engine control system - sfi system (1nz-fxe). 00400-rm107-5u2. *tt | 07/28/2005 | |
| 4495 | 06/13/2005 | 10015479 | Repair instructions and diagnostics for the sfi system. repair manual correction. 00400-rm107-5u1. *tt | 07/25/2005 | |
| 01004 | 08/24/2004 | 01004R | 10009401 | Fuel gauge inaccuracy. *tt *tt | 09/29/2004 |
| 04009 | 05/13/2004 | 10007672 | Special service campaign 40d to reprogram the electronic control units (ecu). *tt | 07/07/2004 | |
| 04002 | 01/13/2004 | 10005805 | Special service campaign electronic control unit. *jb | 03/16/2004 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| SB-0306-08 REV 2 | 03/23/2011 | 10037588 | Ready | 05/26/2011 | |
| SB-0306-08 REV 2 | 03/23/2011 | 10037588 | Toyota: malfunction light is on with two internal trouble codes. it is a problem with the transaxle assembly. 2004-2008 prius. *rm | 05/26/2011 | |
| TSB-0166-09 | 05/28/2009 | 10030354 | Toyota: some vehicles may exhibit a m.i.l. on condition with one of more of the following diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs): p0ac0; p0a1f; p0a7f; p0afa (hybrid battery pack/system). improvements have been made to the hv ecu and battery ecu ha | 09/23/2009 | |
| 00101 | 10/09/2003 | 00900 | 10004424 | Maintenance for hv and auxiliary batteries at port and dealers. revised. *tt | 12/09/2003 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| TSB-0172-09 | 06/11/2009 | 10050739 | Toyota: available to correct the intermittent condition of the combination meter, there is an updated ecu meter combination, to prevent the lost/failure of illumination in cold weather. rev 1 8/3/11 and rev 2 10/10/12. model 2004-2009 | 02/06/2013 | |
| TSB-0042-11 | 05/23/2011 | 10039067 | Ready | 07/07/2011 | |
| TSB-0042-11 | 05/23/2011 | 10039067 | Toyota: 2004-2009 prius. the airbag light is on with two possible trouble codes stored. there is a problem with a wire harness. *rm | 07/07/2011 | |
| 3296 | 03/29/2004 | 10006508 | Electrical wiring diagram repair manual correction. *tt | 05/04/2004 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||||||
| RQ10003 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 02/16/2010 | UNINTENDED ACCELERATION | |||
| On september 26, 2007, toyota filed a defect information report and notified nhtsa that some of its model year (my) 2007 and 2008 lexus e350 and toyota camry vehicles could experience unintended and uncontrolled acceleration due to interference between the optional all weather floor mat offered on those vehicles and the vehicles' accelerator pedal.this decision was influenced by an office of defects investigation (odi) engineering analysis.this recall was designated 07e082.two years later, on october 5, 2009, toyota filed a defect information report and notified nhtsa that a number of its my 2004-2009 lexus and toyota vehicles may also experience unintended and uncontrolled acceleration due to interference between the accelerator pedal and the driver's floor mat.this recall was designated 09v388.several months later, on january 27, 2010, toyota filed an amended, or supplemental, defect information report and expanded the population of vehicles to include additional my 2008-2010 toyota and lexus vehicles.since this expansiontook place in a different calendar year, this recall was designated 10v023.separately on january 21, 2010, toyota filed a defect information report and notified nhtsa that certain toyota vehicles and certain pontiac vibe vehicles contained a safety defect in the accelerator pedal assembly that may cause the accelerator pedal to become harder to depress, slower to return, or in the worse case, mechanically stuck in a partially depressed position.nhtsa designated this recall 10v017.in total, the four recalls cover over 7.6 million toyota and lexus vehicles as well as the pontiac vibe product made by new united motor manufacturing, inc., a venture of toyota and general motors corporation.nhtsa requires additional information from toyota to more fully understand and evaluate, among other things, whether the scope of the recalls identified above (makes, models and model years) is sufficiently broad.the agency is seeking to determine whether toyota viewed the underlying defects too narrowly as interference between the accelerator pedal and the driver | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 28000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the multi-display module for the heater and defroster units failed, causing the windshield defogger to fail. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the multi-display module needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 28,000. kmj | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 28000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated the multi display module for the heater and defroster units failed. the display module was inoperable and caused the windshield defogger to fail. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated the multi display module needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified who stated there was no recall on this failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 28,000. mw | |||
| 10/15/2012 | 140422 | 1 | |
| Water intrusion caused corrosion of the main engine wiring harness which caused a fault in the auxiliary 12v battery and has made the vehicle undriveable. toyota cannot determine the source or cause of the water intrusion even though i have brought in the vehicle for routine maintenance since i purchased it and i have complained about a problem which is related to the auxiliary 12v battery several times in the past. this seems to be a flaw in the 2004 prius design. *tr | |||
| 10/15/2012 | 140422 | ||
| Water intrusion caused corrosion of the main engine wiring harness which caused a fault in the auxiliary 12v battery and has made the vehicle undriveable. toyota cannot determine the source or cause of the water intrusion even though i have brought in the vehicle for routine maintenance since i purchased it and i have complained about a problem which is related to the auxiliary 12v battery several times in the past. this seems to be a flaw in the 2004 prius design | |||
| 09/25/2012 | 249000 | 1 | |
| 2004 toyota prius with hid headlights is used as a taxi cab. on september 25th, 2012 the drivers side headlight would begin to flicker and turn off after around five minutes of operation. the hid bulb replacement did not resolve the matter. headlights must be turned off and then on again in order to resume their operation. *tr | |||
| 09/25/2012 | 249000 | ||
| 2004 toyota prius with hid headlights is used as a taxi cab. on september 25th, 2012 the drivers side headlight would begin to flicker and turn off after around five minutes of operation. the hid bulb replacement did not resolve the matter. headlights must be turned off and then on again in order to resume their operation. | |||
| 07/16/2012 | 59600 | 1 | |
| Upon starting the car one morning i noticed the speedometer, fuel and gear indicator digital readouts were not working. i researched the problem on the internet and narrowed the problem to a faulty combination meter (bad solder). this problem has been occurring with numerous other prius owners according to forums and such. i purchased the car at a ford dealership and also purchased their ford esp base care plan. clearly the plan stated the speedometer/odometer, electrical or mechanical problems were covered. however the agent at the extended warranty office denied the claim. so my car sits at a toyota dealership with the dash apart and the appraised value of the car less $2000.00 according to the sales dept. because the mileage is unknown. toyota has yet to declare a recall for the problem which could result in death in some cases if not properly addressed. i have two children and value their lives. i hope and pray that toyota comes around. *tr | |||
| 07/16/2012 | 59600 | ||
| Upon starting the car one morning i noticed the speedometer, fuel and gear indicator digital readouts were not working. i researched the problem on the internet and narrowed the problem to a faulty combination meter (bad solder). this problem has been occurring with numerous other prius owners according to forums and such. i purchased the car at a ford dealership and also purchased their ford esp base care plan. clearly the plan stated the speedometer/odometer, electrical or mechanical problems were covered. however the agent at the extended warranty office denied the claim. so my car sits at a toyota dealership with the dash apart and the appraised value of the car less $2000.00 according to the sales dept. because the mileage is unknown. toyota has yet to declare a recall for the problem which could result in death in some cases if not properly addressed. i have two children and value their lives. i hope and pray that toyota comes around. | |||
| 07/16/2012 | 160000 | 1 | |
| The headlights go out randomly while driving at night. you have to turn them off and then turn them back on for them to work and they only last a minute after that. huge safety issue!! *tr | |||
| 07/16/2012 | 160000 | ||
| The headlights go out randomly while driving at night. you have to turn them off and then turn them back on for them to work and they only last a minute after that. huge safety issue!! | |||
| 06/08/2012 | 171740 | ||
| Random failure of lights, began with driver | |||
| 11/25/2009 | |||
| Left and right headlights failed in november and december of 2009. headlights were replaced. left headlight has failed in 2011. i drive 10,000 per year. i do not do much driving with my headlights on. | |||
| 03/01/2011 | 160000 | ||
| When ambient temperature is cold, sometimes dashboard lights and speedometer do not come on when the car is started. car runs but with no instrument panel. sometimes when the car is in this state the car cannot be turned off by pressing the start button. car can only be turned off by pressing and holding the start button down for several seconds, and even this does not always work. this problem has been getting worse over time. toyota dealership refuses to investigate the problem, but it is documented in their warranty repair t-sb-0172-09 combination meter intermittent display bulletin. instead, the dealership tries to sell us a new car! | |||
| 09/01/2008 | 170000 | ||
| Hid headlights go off intermittently while driving. headlights can be reset by turning healight switch to off and back on again. a search of the nhtsa and other websites demonstrate that this same problem is widespread for several year models of prius autos. the dealer estimates to replace the headlight bulbs is about $1000 per headlight, making this a serious problem because people will seek lower cost remedies which are not safe. toyota thus far has not officially recognized or attempted to address this issue. since a total loss of lighting can occur at anytime with serious consequences, a recall should be performed to correct this issue before fatalities occur. | |||
| 01/20/2011 | |||
| The driver's side hid headlight, intermittently, unpredictably and inexplicably shuts off. it will occasionally return to service on its own, but usually requires a cycling of the light's power switch before full function is restored. after which, the length of time before the light shuts off again varies from a few seconds to not at all. after researching this issue, it seems to be a rather systemic problem with the 2004-2009 prius. obviously, the situation this condition creates is unsafe at best, can place me personally in an unexpected illegal position - and (should both lights go out together, as some have reported) could quite possibly be life threatening. for the safety of the driving public, i would strongly urge nhtsa to investigate this issue. toyota must take responsibility for their design flaw, and engineer a resolution to this problem. | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 246000 | ||
| The multifunctional display (mfd) failed following dealer replacement of the 12v battery. the dealer is now recommended $5,000 replacement of the mfd. mfd failure in the prius seems to be an increasing event based on on-line chatter on blogs. this appears to be a basic design flaw in the prius mfd system that causes loss of communication between the radio and climate control systems. it also causes the display to be totally ineffective for display of key hybrid engine performance | |||
| 12/16/2009 | 120000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the touch screen module which indicates is temperature, the gas gauge, the odometer, etc has failed. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer who informed him that the display screen is defective and that it needed to be replaced. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure was approximately 120,000. tb | |||
| 04/30/2010 | 95000 | ||
| Multi function display (mfd) failure in 2004 prius. this failure it intermittent and causes the radio to turn off, prevents the use of climate/radio controls located in/on the mfd unit, prevents one from knowing whether the battery is charging. the steering wheel controls seem to work for the climate control (though one cannot see the temperature setting) but the audio system is useless without the mfd unit working properly. this is a $3000 (not including labor) repair ... and that is for a used refurbished part! totally unacceptable if you ask me. because this is a known problem impacting thousands of prius owners, toyota should be forced to replace these defective units with new units at no cost to the owner. | |||
| 05/16/2010 | 108000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights turned off by themselves. when the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership, the dealer stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. the contact believed the failure to be within the control system. the contact also stated that the center console on the dashboard stopped functioning. the contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 113,000. the failure mileage was approximately 108,000-bk | |||
| 04/30/2010 | 95000 | ||
| Multi function display (mfd) failure in 2004 prius. this failure it intermittent and causes the radio to turn off, prevents the use of climate/radio controls located in/on the mfd unit, prevents one from knowing whether the battery is charging. the steering wheel controls seem to work for the climate control (though one cannot see the temperature setting) but the audio system is useless without the mfd unit working properly. this is a $3000 (not including labor) repair ... and that is for a used refurbished part! totally unacceptable if you ask me. because this is a known problem impacting thousands of prius owners, toyota should be forced to replace these defective units with new units at no cost to the owner. | |||
| 05/16/2010 | 108000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights turned off by themselves. when the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership, the dealer stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. the contact believed the failure to be within the control system. the contact also stated that the center console on the dashboard stopped functioning. the contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 113,000. the failure mileage was approximately 108,000-bk | |||
| 04/30/2010 | 95000 | ||
| Multi function display (mfd) failure in 2004 prius. this failure it intermittent and causes the radio to turn off, prevents the use of climate/radio controls located in/on the mfd unit, prevents one from knowing whether the battery is charging. the steering wheel controls seem to work for the climate control (though one cannot see the temperature setting) but the audio system is useless without the mfd unit working properly. this is a $3000 (not including labor) repair ... and that is for a used refurbished part! totally unacceptable if you ask me. because this is a known problem impacting thousands of prius owners, toyota should be forced to replace these defective units with new units at no cost to the owner. | |||
| 05/16/2010 | 108000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights turned off by themselves. when the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership, the dealer stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. the contact believed the failure to be within the control system. the contact also stated that the center console on the dashboard stopped functioning. the contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 113,000. the failure mileage was approximately 108,000-bk | |||
| 04/30/2010 | 95000 | ||
| Multi function display (mfd) failure in 2004 prius. this failure it intermittent and causes the radio to turn off, prevents the use of climate/radio controls located in/on the mfd unit, prevents one from knowing whether the battery is charging. the steering wheel controls seem to work for the climate control (though one cannot see the temperature setting) but the audio system is useless without the mfd unit working properly. this is a $3000 (not including labor) repair ... and that is for a used refurbished part! totally unacceptable if you ask me. because this is a known problem impacting thousands of prius owners, toyota should be forced to replace these defective units with new units at no cost to the owner. | |||
| 05/16/2010 | 108000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights turned off by themselves. when the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership, the dealer stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. the contact believed the failure to be within the control system. the contact also stated that the center console on the dashboard stopped functioning. the contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 113,000. the failure mileage was approximately 108,000-bk | |||
| 04/19/2010 | 2 | 11/01/2003 | |
| 2004 toyota prius. consumer asserts that vehicle accident was caused by a computer malfunction *tgw the consumer stated prior to the accident, on one occasion, the vehicle bolted and jerked slightly as she stopped the vehicle. when she attempted to take off, the vehicle responded sluggishly and then accelerated quickly. the day of the accident, as the consumer approached the stop sign, the vehicle started bucking and jerking violently. after she pulled off from the stop sign, she crashed into a large suv. the consumer stated she saw the suv pass, so she purposely waited so she could make a left turn, but ended causing severe damage to her vehicle. *jb | |||
| 01/24/2010 | 1 | ||
| S10 appropriate handling re toyota vehicles recall, owner of a 2004 toyota prius experienced sudden unintended acceleration. *tgw the consumer stated as he was driving, he approached a slower moving vehicle, but when he attempted to apply the brake, the vehicle instead accelerated. as he hit the brake harder, the vehicle accelerated even more. the consumer had to avoid an accident by crossing over the double yellow line into oncoming traffic. the consumer managed to avoid an accident and quickly moved back over to the correct side of the road. the consumer stated the gas pedal was not stuck as toyota is claiming there is a quick fix and placing the blame on the accelerator pedal. prior to the incident, the consumer stated as he was waiting in a line, with his foot firmly on the brake, the engine seemed to suddenly rev up and the vehicle lurched forward but did not move due to his foot being firmly on the brake. the consumer also stated on several occasions when he hit the brake the radio and air condition would come on. the dealer claimed there was nothing wrong and that the consumer must have hit the radio and climate control buttons on the steering wheel. the consumer believed that the braking system influences the electronics or computer and causes the acceleration of the vehicle. *jb | |||
| 01/15/2008 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Multifunction touch screen display (mfd) malfunction disables the windshield defogger. one must wipe the windshield by hand. if the windshield fogs while driving on a narrow and winding road or busy highway, the driver and passengers are at high risk. there is a website that shows what the problem is and how to fix it (http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/). a multi-pin connector has a faulty pin. the soldering cracks over time resulting in a loose connection. toyota does not provide an affordable solution. they offer to remove the two computer units from behind the mfd and replace them for approximately $3,000, rather than simply re-soldering the connector pin. i cannot afford to repair this, and toyota has not offered any viable solutions. this affects all early type 2 priuses. *tr | |||
| 03/01/2006 | 25000 | 1 | |
| Regarding my 2004 toyota prius: the 'multi-information display, i.e., computer display, does not function frequently, at which time a message saying the air conditioner is disconnected. simultaneously, when this message appears, the radio instantly turns off. when this occurs access to the computer is impossible, controls of the air conditioner system are unavailable except through those on the steering wheel which continue to function. the computer function later randomly is restored for brief to long periods but remains subject to random failure again. this failure has existed for years. dealerships refused to take responsibility for repair or replacement of the equipment. this defect is a major distraction to safe operation of the vehicle. for example, during computer shutdown periods, it is impossible to alter air conditioner fan speed during freezing ambient weather. *tr | |||
| 03/06/2008 | 1 | ||
| 2004 toyota prius with computer problem. started getting an error message that air conditioner wasn't working. then the computer would not give the gas mileage. then the temp wouldn't show. then couldn't use the radio (it would come one but you couldn't see what the station was), now it is all blank. it does not work at all. then it works for 5 minutes about once a quarter. can't control air/heat, radio, can't see mileage, can't see the temp. took it to dealer and they said that it would cost hundreds of dollars to diagnose it. read on toyota board online that this is common problem that toyota does not stand behind. i have owned toyotas since 1980s and have 5 now (kids, work, adults). i am satisfied with all but the 2004. i have a 2005 prius also but no problems (so far). *tr | |||
| 01/11/2010 | 144679 | 1 | |
| I own a 2004 toyota prius. just last week the touch screen that controls the heating / air conditioning, the radio, the current mpg information and condition of the ni-metal hydride battery and the gas engine interconnections, began to fail. sometimes it works for a while, then it stops for some time then it might or might start working again before i get where i am going. it is extremely intermittent in its correct operation. i have read on the internet that many other 2004 and early 2005 prius owners have encountered this problem, but that toyota is refusing to issue a recall. the new part is very expensive (~$4,000). refurbished parts are not readily available for the prius, i suppose because it is a relative new model to toyota. i wanted to report this to you, in the hopes that you might have some way of letting toyotal know that one more owner is having this problem. i did not know if you can force a manufacturer to issue a recall when a certain number of owners complain, or if this is only the case where safety is involved. *tr regards, dale w. howard | |||
| 11/19/2009 | 31999 | 1 | 07/22/2004 |
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. while driving between 40-45 mph the gasoline motor would fail, and then cause the vehicle to stall without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer twice. the battery was replaced first, and then the fuel system was flushed. the second repair corrected the problem, but the problem of the vehicle locking in park was not addressed. the current mileage was 32,100. the failure mileage was 31,999. updated 01/12/10 *bf all of the alarm lights on the dashboard had illuminated when accelerating. when the consumer stopped the vehicle and switched to park, he was unable to shift the vehicle into neutral. after about 15 minutes, the consumer was able to shift to neutral. the instrumental panel did not display a clear explanation that the internal combustion engine was not starting and that the vehicle was running on the battery only. updated 01/15/10.*jb | |||
| 09/01/2009 | 60000 | 1 | |
| Failure of dashboard multi-display, along with all its functions, including nav, climate, radio, fault notifications. and bluetooth phone operation. on the latter, the phone will connect, but not operate, making this a safety issue. there is a tsb on this issue. display was replaced by dealer under extended warranty. replacement took about 4 weeks to arrive. dealer said toyota was switching to a out-of-warranty exchange policy for this repair, meaning that the owner would have to put up with a big hole in the dashboard with loose connectors while the unit was being repaired. *tr | |||
| 10/16/2009 | 64000 | 1 | |
| The information screen on '04 and '05 toyota priuses fails. toyota has known about this for some time (their technical service bulletin el 005-02). not only is it no longer possible to fully control the sound system and the heating/cooling controls, but the nav system no longer operates. and most important from a safety point of view, the warning that sounds and shows when a door is opened and the transmission is still engaged (something easy to do in a prius) no longer operates. nor does a message show when the system detects something wrong with the engine management system. nor does the low fuel message show. i have two friends with early 2004 priuses and both of them have had the same problem. the cost of a fix for this defective part is over $800! *tr | |||
| 07/10/2009 | 127000 | 1 | |
| I am having the same problem described here: the multi-function display (mfd) failed. (cross reference nhtsa complaint #10173892). this is a known design defect (cross reference analysis on web: http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/compare.html and http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/). toyota issued a technical service bulletin (either el-002-04 or el-002-05 - conflicting info on this) on jan 10, 2005. when the mfd fails, one cannot control the amount of airflow to the windshield (defroster). this presented me with visibility problems during the morning commute. as such, i consider it a safety issue. toyota has been aware of this for 3 years, given the date of their tsb. the root cause appears to be an undersized solder pad on one of the electronic cards of the mfd. this results in a cracking of the solder joint. because my problem was intermittent, coming and going on a frequent basis, i presume it was a micro crack. this does not help when the windshield is fogging over. all of the various error messages that were displayed on the mfd were consistent with the information on the above referenced web url's. the problem is with the release f of the electronic card assembly and was corrected with release g. there are pictorial comparisons between the two releases on one of the web url's. given that this has an impact on visibility during the winter months, i am shocked that toyota chose to sit on this problem. the supplier of this part to toyota is fujitsu. *tr | |||
| 05/16/2009 | 124000 | 1 | |
| On my 2004 toyota prius, the lights go out randomly. of course, at night. i took it to two toyota dealerships, and the first couldn't replicate the problem. the second dealership said the fix for one light would be an astonishing $850 because it's a defective electronic controller. since my lights worked intermittently or after being turned on and off...and after searching the internet and discovering this defect is common. i'm thinking lights cutting out while driving, is quite dangerous, and it's a potential hazard for both drivers and pedestrians. many prius owners believe this is a product defect in need of a recall from toyota before someone gets hurt. *tr | |||
| 02/11/2008 | 75000 | 1 | |
| I own a toyota prius 2004 and the headlights go on/off whenever they feel like it. when they go off if you turn the switch they go back on. are there any other complaints on this issue? *tr | |||
| 02/03/2009 | 46000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. while driving between 65-70 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled and shut off completely. the electronics of the vehicle were still operating, but the vehicle itself could not be restarted. the vehicle then shifted itself into park. the hazard lights in the vehicle began running off the auxiliary battery, which is a low power battery. in addition, the hazard lights turned off. the contact called toyota, but they were unable to assist. the vehicle was towed to a dealer. the battery was jumped and the vehicle was restarted. a diagnostic was performed and the vehicle ran normally for six weeks before the failure recurred. the vehicle was towed to a local dealer again and they stated that there was smoke coming from the fuse box, which meant a fuse was blown. after replacing the fuse box, the vehicle performed normally. the technicians were unable to find any other failures with the vehicle; however, the contact does not want to drive it due to fear of the failure recurring. the vehicle has been repaired, but is still at the dealer. the failure mileage was 46,000 and current mileage was 47,500. | |||
| 01/07/2009 | 34000 | 1 | |
| Multi-function monitor display intermittent blank out. no display for multi-function display unit. it occurs very often since january 2008. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2009 | 63300 | 1 | |
| The digital dashboard which includes the speedometer, odometer/tripmeter, shift indicator and fuel gauge goes blank. this creates a safety hazard especially during night or poor weather driving, and when shifting. my local toyota service department manager acknowledged that toyota knows this is a common problem, but refused to fix it at no cost. the service manager also told me that he must impound my car until the new part is installed. he said that federal law required this as the new odometer must be set at the distributor before being shipped to the service department. this would cost approximately $800.00. luckily for me the display came on during troubleshooting and i refused further service at that time. now, a month or so later, the display shut off again and i am only driving the car during daylight hours. *tr | |||
| 08/01/2008 | 135000 | 1 | |
| High intensity discharge headlights intermittently going out. no rhyme or reason as to when the outage occurs but turning the circuit off and back on again will re-illuminate the hid headlight...but for how long?? *tr | |||
| 05/10/2008 | 20000 | 1 | |
| The multi-function display (mfd) failed. (cross reference nhtsa complaint #10173892). this is a known design defect (cross reference analysis on web: http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/compare.html and http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/). toyota issued a technical service bulletin (either el-002-04 or el-002-05 - conflicting info on this) on jan 10, 2005. when the mfd fails, one cannot control the amount of airflow to the windshield (defroster). this presented me with visibility problems during the morning commute. as such, i consider it a safety issue. toyota has been aware of this for 3 years, given the date of their tsb. the root cause appears to be an undersized solder pad on one of the electronic cards of the mfd. this results in a cracking of the solder joint. because my problem was intermittent, coming and going on a frequent basis, i presume it was a micro crack. this does not help when the windshield is fogging over. all of the various error messages that were displayed on the mfd were consistent with the information on the above referenced web url's. the problem is with the release f of the electronic card assembly and was corrected with release g. there are pictorial comparisons between the two releases on one of the web url's. given that this has an impact on visibility during the winter months, i am shocked that toyota chose to sit on this problem. the supplier of this part to toyota is fujitsu. *tr | |||
| 09/27/2008 | 77000 | 1 | |
| I was quoted $466 just for the price of my bulb for the headlight of my toyota prius. for a non luxury car it so expensive that a lot of people will choose to make due with their flickering one. it is outrageous that toyota did not give a more affordable choice. it is going to be more dangerous out there. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2008 | 45000 | 1 | |
| Erratic loss of pc use, touch screen, audio deactivated, no picture at all dealer wants $980 to replace with refurbished and $4000 for new. worried about all the other dot troubled listings of total electrical power loss. *tr | |||
| 12/25/2007 | 45000 | 1 | 05/27/2004 |
| On december 25, 2007 when i started my car it locked up with a christmas tree like effect all of the lights came on and i could not shut the car off. all of the gears were engaged according to the display and the car was in slooooow motion forwards. not even a crawling speed. imperceptibly slow forwards. it would not shut off nor would it do anything that would allow me to control the motion of the car except use the brake to hold it in place. i had a scan gauge connected to the obd port and was able to pull the following codes from it: u0293 and p0a1d. i have been told that the first code means lost communication with hv ecu and the second code means hv ecu malfunction. the outdoor air temperature was about 20 degrees fahrenheit. only the use of the scan tool code reset allowed me to power the vehicle off. otherwise i would have had to place the vehicle up against an immovable object to keep it under control. *tr | |||
| 04/20/2007 | 78800 | 3 | 03/20/2005 |
| While driving prius on major highway in dfw metroplex during evening rush hour the warning light came on, then a couple seconds later, entire dash board information screen and all warning lights flashed. car engine continued to run, and would not turn off, but no power was available to steering or brakes. this problem occurred at the apex of a bridge. however, was able to coast the car into the median between the merge ramp of the major highway and the interstate. very dangerous situation if it had occurred before apex of the bridge. )called the dealership, who in turn, called a tow truck. had to basically play with power button, brake, and gear shift to get it into neutral so the car could be loaded onto the tow truck. took dealer three days to diagnose the problem. it was blamed on a short in auxiliary battery. however, it seemed to be working okay. this was the third time occurrence such as this happened to this car, as well as a non-functioning driver information screen, that if the car was hot inside then information screen worked, if no, then the screen stated no connection to air conditioning , which occurred since first time the shut down happened. thought this problem was supposed to be fixed with the software upgrade that they installed after the last occurrence. it appeared that this defect happened every 18,000 miles . now there is 79,000 miles on the car.*ak | |||
| 01/01/2007 | 1 | ||
| 2004 toyota prius having problems starting.**cc the consumer stated after several tries, the vehicle started, however when he shifted into the drive, the engine raced and the vehicle lurched forward rapidly, even though the accelerator had not been applied. the consumer was unable to stop the vehicle by using the brakes. the vehicle continued forward about 25 feet and crashed into a garage. the consumer received minor scratches to his knee. the consumer also noted that the air bags did not deploy. *jb | |||
| 11/24/2006 | 1 | ||
| Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle did not start after being parked overnight. there was no response from either the engine or electrical system. the vehicle was jump-started and taken to a service dealer, where the vehicle failed again. the dealer was unable to determine the problem. the manufacturer was notified, who stated that the failure was due to driver error. | |||
| 11/07/2006 | 1 | 01/10/2004 | |
| Touch screen on 2004 toyota prius is defective and fails to work which leaves me with no heat at times and inability to see if my battery is operating properly, this is an ongoing toyota problem with complaints all over the web by prius owners. *jb | |||
| 09/07/2006 | 41820 | 3 | 03/30/2004 |
| My 2004 toyota prius electrical display (touch screen) has 'shorted out' with a loud ticking noise through the speakers. it has been in the springfield, va toyota shop twice, and it is continuing to happen. the screen goes dark, and then there is no access to the defroster, gps, etc. they all become non-functional. *jb | |||
| 09/07/2006 | 44000 | 20 | 12/22/2003 |
| 2004 toyota prius electrical problems. i have been experiencing severe electrical problems with my 2004 toyota prius and they have gotten more severe after the toyota dealer uploaded new code that was supposed to fix a recall. problems include loss of display, loss of control of climate system, radio turns itself off, and occasionally there is loss of power at low speeds which is sometimes fixed by a reboot of the car. after the last loss of power, the car then responded by the gas engine revving very high and not responding to the gas pedal - yet the car was not traveling any faster. *nm | |||
| 09/02/2006 | 16997 | 1 | |
| I turned left into driveway of a home- driveway has an incline. i turned off power and two children exited car. one passenger returned within five min and sat in front. i placed foot on brake. brake felt locked with no give. i pressed power button with foot on brake, and placed gear in reverse. i let foot off brake to roll slowly out of driveway. when i attempted to brake to slow exit, my foot went all the way to floor--no power. i notice gear was neutral. power would not turn off. car was rolling closer toward a busy four lane street. i noticed the power button light color was red, and the following yellow warning indicators were lit: brake system warning light, malfunction indicator lamp, anti-lock brake system warning light, slip indicator light. i depressed the emergency brake to stop. i told my 14 y/o passenger to exit the car and when she did the master warning light came on while the above lights remained lit. the brake continued to depress to the floor. i again attempted to turn off the power without success. i exited the vehicle with my smart entry key in hand and as expected loud buzzing noise came on. i then contacted toyota roadside assistance. the reference number is 269-568-6678. i called back later to change the reference number to 269-492-2066. i had asked for police assistance for traffic control, but the police did not show. on 9/6 a.m., jim at metro toyota service, kalamazoo, mi called & i described the above to him. at 1530 on 9/6/06, i described my experience to marvin at toyota customer relation. the case number he provided was 200609051137. this is the second like incident with this vehicle. i did not report the first incident to the nhtsa which occurred a few months after i took possession of the then new 2004 toyota prius. no reason was found for the first incident, by the same dealership service. *nm the consumer stated the vehicle accelerated on its own. also, when the consumer applied the brakes, the pedal became soft and went down to the floor. updated | |||
| 08/25/2006 | 1 | 02/01/2006 | |
| I have a 2004 toyota prius i purchased used last feb (06). starting the car does not immediately bring up the dash display. it remains blank, however i can shift into gear. the power steering is off as well. i restart and restart and eventually the dash will pop on. the car is drivable but all the warning lights are not. not at once though. the red triangle with the ! in between is always present but sometimes it is joined by the check engine light or the abs failure light. the toyota dealership is still trying to figure out what's going on. *jb | |||
| 04/03/2006 | 15000 | 1 | 09/01/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 35mph, the master warning and check engine light illuminated followed by the vehicle operating at a reduced speed. the vehicle continued operation for about a mile before eventually stalling. the vehicle would not restart, but remained in electric mode. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it is currently awaiting inspection. *ak contact requested to delete the complaint from the system because it was a mistake. *ak | |||
| 02/22/2006 | 36872 | 1 | 05/08/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated on december 6 2005, a recall remedy was performed for the engine. in january, all the warning lights in the vehicle illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer and the problem with the warning lights was fixed. however, the warning lights defect recurred in both february and march. the dealer was consulted after the second recurrence and was unable to determine the cause of the problem. updated 3/29/2006 - the abs light illuminated in the vehicle . the vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for them to fix the problem. each time the vehicle was returned to the consumer the problem recurred. *nm | |||
| 02/27/2006 | 31000 | 1 | 09/01/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated when the weather is 10 degrees and below, the instrument panel did not illuminate or provide readings. this is especially difficult in driving conditions because the speed of the vehicle can not be read. the vehicle displayed the same problem several months ago, again in frigid weather of 10 and below. the dealer was notified and replaced the navigation system. after repairs were made, the weather was warmer and the contact was not able to confirm that the problem still existed. the manufacturer was contacted and replied this was a normal characteristic of the vehicle. | |||
| 11/19/2005 | 1 | ||
| On three occasions my 2004 prius has started without pushing the start button. on 11/19/05 two people had gotten into the back seat and closed the doors. i was standing behind the car. it was at night. as i slammed the hatch back door shut i could see the display panel light up in the dark and hear the car start. when i got in the car i only had to put the car in reverse to pull out. the dealer said this wasn't possible. *nm | |||
| 10/21/2005 | 57524 | 1 | 04/02/2005 |
| I have a 2004 toyota prius i was driving on the highway and my gas engine shutdown and all the warning lights on the dash turned on. i had to have my car towed to the nearest dealer for repair. i had asked the manufacture to see if my vehicle had any recall or tsb and they said no. then if that's the case why am i having the same issue that everyone seems to have with this car? i think toyota does not know what the problem is and does not know hot to fix it. this is a very serious problem lucky i was able to get t the should safely.*jb | |||
| 05/05/2005 | 1 | ||
| Toyota prius owned by our agency has had the engine stall problem 3 separate times. *nm | |||
| 06/05/2005 | 3 | 03/28/2004 | |
| 2004 toyota prius developed problems with stalling.***no answer required***. *mr the first time the consumer experienced a problem with the vehicle, the dealer determined the battery was not holding a charge. the consumer experienced 2 other incidents with the vehicle. *jb | |||
| 09/02/2005 | 13965 | 1 | 04/01/2004 |
| Dt: total breakdown of consumer's wife 2004 prius on september 2, 2005 in san jose, california. the vehicle suddenly lost power while merging into the interstate. a loss of gas engine power with failure of the internal combustion/engine to start, resulted in only electric motor propulsion and breakdown on the highway as the battery quickly went to single pink bar level within a 1/2 mile. multiple mil lamps lit up. began to merge onto the highway from a stop speed of 30 or 40 mph and slowly accelerated into heavy traffic. had to pull off to the breakdown lane of the highway with all of its debris , etc. the dealer completed the repairs at san jose's capitol toyota on 9/2/05. the dealer fixed the car. but the consumer contacted a toyota pries advisor who stated if there was a service bulletin for this characteristic that would prevent the roadway failure then why was it not executed during prior services on 3/9/05, 5/26/05 and 6/09/05. this indicated that the car was reliable after the repairs. the consumer, an accomplished engineer, said toyota knew about software bugs. a software bug did not impair operation until the right combination of environmental factors was reached. all pries had this potential bug that contaminated the electronic control module (echo). *ak *jb | |||
| 01/20/2005 | 19063 | 1 | 12/29/2004 |
| The car stalled while coming to a stop at a traffic lite. warnings lights on included: vsc,engine warning lite. car restarted and went about 500 ft. going about 35 mph and stalled again. coasted to berm, called dealer, who said it was driveable to dealership. started out on i295, went up to 48 mph and engine stopped. coasted to side of road and was towed to dealer. dealer kept car over a wk, said since battery was dead, chip had no info. they found nothing wrong with the car and returned it to me. | |||
| 08/14/2005 | 28130 | 1 | 02/26/2004 |
| I own a toyota prius purchased in feb. 2004. on three occasions, the warnings lights have come on while driving and the car rapidly looses all power and cannot be moved. the most recent incident occurred today, 8/14/05. i have not been satisfied that whatever has caused this problem has been corrected, as apparent with today's incident. i have reported these incidents to toyota and will send their subsequent correspondence. i have owned toyota vehicles since 1980 and this is unacceptable. with this third incident, i intend to pursue all avenues available to rectify this situation. *nm | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 1 | 10/13/2004 | |
| Starting around may,2005, when vehicle was started with the battery indicator not quite at full capacity, lets say seven 'bars', just putting the car in reverse would begin the gradual decline of charge. if driving up a frwy ramp, the indicator would show the charge had dropped into the 'red' zone. at this time the engine would sound like the rpms were about 4,000, a real revving sound. slowly ,with a steady level drive the battery would recharge and look as if it were normal. there was no stalling of engine but i rarely drive as slow as 65 mph! the whole process, happening at least once a day was very nerve wracking...especially in the mohave desert with many 18-wheelers surrounding the car. the first time it happened i immediately called toyota of temecula valley. i was told that this was not good and to bring the car in for diagnosis. when i brought it in, a 'technician' looked at the indicator and said it was ok and not worry about it. i had a difficult time believing that and made an appt. with toyota of el cajon. when their technician used a diagnostic scantool he also said he could not find a problem. i did not believe him or the service $80/hr. guy and said there was either something wrong with their diagnostic tools and/or something wrong with them to think i would go along with their story. i had no idea how right i was until i read about the defect investigation on your website. my prius has not stalled (yet) but it has all the problems leading up to it. the dealership claims, on the work receipt they gave me, to have recalculated the hv ecu with the 40d code and the problem seems to be worse. i will have to go back again to the dealership and fight for my right to a speedy repair. *jb | |||
| 07/23/2005 | 16600 | 1 | 02/14/2004 |
| Dt: toyota 2004 prius. while driving 20-45 mph vehicle stalled and lost power. *ak the stalling was due to a inverter/converter failure. *jb | |||
| 07/19/2005 | 1 | 05/15/2005 | |
| I was accelerating into a yield situation where i had room to merge from an offramp and the gas motor didn't kick in. the check-engine light flashed, the car vibrated, and it moved only as if the electric motor was going for a few seconds and then, as i was flooring it, the car jarted out into the intersection where now there wasn't room and i became involved in an accident | |||
| 07/18/2005 | 13615 | 1 | 07/22/2004 |
| I was driving my 2004 toyota prius approximately 35-40 miles per hour on a local street when the check engine light and the safety triangle light both illuminated. i noticed that the gas engine stopped running at the time of the failure although the electric motor got me to the dealership where the car is serviced. the delership called me in a couple of hours to tell me that the car is ready. i was told that they just had to reset the computer software to fix the car. i know that you are researching this problem and wanted to make you aware of my sitiuation. thank you. | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| Fax ltr investigation of the toyota prius hybrid electric vehicle model years 2004 & 2005 reports of vehicle stalling at high speeds.*mr *nm | |||
| 10/12/2004 | 1 | 08/01/2004 | |
| 2004 toyota prius cut off while consumer was driving at highway speeds.*mr when the consumers vehicle stalled on the highway, another motorist rear ended the consumers vehicle. *jb | |||
| 06/16/2005 | 18750 | 2 | 04/10/2004 |
| Dt: a. how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? 4 minutes, 50 mph. b. has the consumer accelerated, decelerated or drove at a steady pace when the vehicle lost power? steady pace. c. after the vehicle lost power was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed. it stalled out. d. did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? if so, describe the lights that were lit. as it happened a hazard icon and an engine check light came on. e. did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? yes, 30 seconds. f. was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled? if so, how long did it took, 3-4 times or 2-3 minutes)? took a couple of times, but it started within a minutes. g. was driver able to restart the vehicle after letting it sit awhile? yes. h. was the vehicle towed? no. i. what was wrong with the vehicle? it required an update of a computer program. j did the dealer reprogram the electronic control unit (ecu) or any software? yes. k. vehicle had special service campaigns 40a or 40d performed prior to the incident? when consumer called toyota she was told vehicle was up to date on all services . l. had vehicle any problems since the repair? no. consumer had a problem six months ago where it stalled. . *ak | |||
| 06/28/2005 | 10500 | 1 | 04/09/2004 |
| My 2004 prius died with little warning while i was driving about 40 mph on a busy street. i coasted to a stop with cars flying by me. very dangerous. car was towed to the dealer, who explained there was a software problem and they reprogrammed the car's computer. this is an extremely dangerous problem! i'm afraid to drive this car. | |||
| 04/05/2005 | 33000 | 1 | 06/27/2004 |
| Dt: the check engine light illuminated on the dash and remained on for about a day. other light illuminated as well but the consumer can't remember which ones. the consumer made it to his destination where he stayed 2 hours, and upon leaving the engine started immediately. the consumer called the dealer but they offered no diagnosis. the dealer did not reprogram the electronic control unit. *ak *nm | |||
| 03/22/2005 | 9000 | 1 | 06/26/2004 |
| Dt:.how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? had driven about 10 minutes on commuting home was driving at least 50-60 mph. b.was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power?driving at a steady state. c. vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed?not able to continue driving, could not restart vehicle. did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? an odd beep and then some symbols illuminated on control panel but can't remember what symbol, thinks it make have been a car with an x through it. referred to owners manual. called for help. . came to a complete stop just seconds after the beep and warning lights. f was unable to restart vehicle. g. no restart whatsoever. h. was the vehicle towed? yes to a dealer. i.what did the dealer say was wrong with the vehicle? diagnosis code did not have available, but was aware of service bulletin pertaining to this issue. questioned why there had not been a recall. j. did the dealer reprogram the ecu (electronic control unit) or any software? yes-the ecu. k.did have recall on navigation software update prior to this episode. l. has the vehicle had any problems since the repair? no but fearful it may happen again. *ak | |||
| 06/09/2005 | 48710 | 3 | 12/04/2003 |
| When i started my vehicle, all the dash lights came on and remained on. i was able to put my vehicle in park and neutral only. i was unable to turn the power off on the vehicle. it was using electricity only. the gas engine would not kick in when stepping on the gas pedal. i let the car sit for about 5 minutes then was able to turn the power off. i was then able to start the car again and drive it. i traveled approximately 35 miles without incident. i then shut the car off. i then turned the car back on and the same incident occured for the second time that day. i called the dealership the following day to report the incident. i was told they were unable to do anything with the vehicle since it was running ok now. they did fax me a copy showing that i reported this incident. this vehicle has now stalled on me a total of 3 times within a 3 week period. the first incident was on 5/23/2005 and i had to have my car towed to the dealership. | |||
| 04/01/2005 | 6000 | 3 | 08/01/2004 |
| Dt: how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? he was driving for about 25 minutes and 35 mph and the warning lights illuminated. b. consumer's vehicle lost power?/decelerated and was going to make a left turn off a highway again the lights signaled warning ,but car was still running. called toyota to see what to do about this because there was no answer as to what those signals were. toyota told to continue driving and vehicle lost power. after driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed? was unable to continue driving, had to be towed. called toyota about the lights not appearing. was told by toyota to continue driving, and vehicle lost power. *ak | |||
| 03/18/2005 | 6941 | 1 | 07/01/2004 |
| Dt: while driving on dry pavement at 35 mph the vehicle stalled. the consumer pulled off to the median. there were lights flashing in dashboard, the driver noticed that the warning codes included do not drive, and no brakes, etc. just before stalling, the warning codes came on, including no brakes, do not drive, all hazards, the explanation pointed to a triangle and all precautionary safety warning lights appeared. once the vehicle was stopped at a median there was no response from the car, it was totally dead. after the lights came on, no acceleration, there was no engine sound to the owner's knowledge. there was no obvious loss of power steering as far as the owner knew, it was not extremely difficult to get to the median. the vehicle was not able to be restarted. the owner tried to start the vehicle twice. at this point, the owner didn't know if the lights stayed on, but the hazards lights were working as she left to go call for help. at the dealership, the vehicle was jumped to get it off the tow truck. this occurred about 45 minutes. the dealer stated they had no idea what could be wrong with the vehicle, and this seemed to be a new occurrence to the dealership. *ak *sc *jb | |||
| 06/12/2005 | 29000 | 04/16/2004 | |
| 2004 prius had warning lights come on and stalled in april 2005. software upgrade was performed by dealer. warning lights have come on again yesterday, june 12 | |||
| 04/09/2005 | 8300 | 2 | 01/19/2004 |
| 2004 toyota prius sedan. stalls out while driving about 35 miles hour and the electric recharable battery drains. this has happened two times to me and i have taken it back to toyota deal for this. the 1st approximately jan -feb time frame. dealer could find nothing wrong. 2nd time approximately early april. dealer said had trouble code in computer and have corrected problem but let them know if happens again or any other problem. engine load, automatic gear shifts hard and car rolls slightly when put into park. | |||
| 06/13/2004 | 5000 | 3 | 02/14/2004 |
| Dt: while driving at a steady pace, the vehicle stalled. *ak *jb | |||
| 06/08/2005 | 2 | 09/01/2004 | |
| Dt: contact has a 2004 toyota prius, and while driving the vehicle it has failed on two separate occasions. a. how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? approximately 15 -20 minutes, going about 45 mph. b. was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power? driving at a steady rate. c. after the vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed? the vehicle was stopped and pulled off the road. d. did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? yes , if so, describe the lights that were lit. check engine light. e. did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? one part of the vehicle was operating but the driver could not accelerate. f. was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled? if so, how long did it take (# of attempts and/ or time ? ex: 3-4 times or 2-3 minutes)? yes, the engine light kept coming back on. 1 time, right after the vehicle stalled. *ak | |||
| 05/23/2005 | 46506 | 3 | 12/04/2003 |
| Dt: consumer was approaching an intersection while driving in a 2004 toyota prius at 45 mph and when all of the das light illuminated. as it turned out the vehicle was not receiving any power from the gas engine and the vehicle was running on electricity only. while entering the intersection the vehicle stalled. the consumer was able to put the vehicle in reverse to back the vehicle to the curb. then , put vehicle in park or neutral only, but was unable to shut the power off. consumer was unable to move the vehicle. after letting the vehicle sit 35-40 minutes was able to drive the vehicle onto the tow truck. vehicle was towed to toyota dealership where they reset the computer the following day. dealership told consumer they were seeing this happen frequently with the 2004 toyota prius hybrids. also, missed 1 hour of work the following day in order to get a rental car. *ak *tt *nm | |||
| 09/15/2004 | 2000 | 1 | 07/31/2004 |
| Dt: a. how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? had been driving for about 15 minutes going about 65 mph. b. was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power? owner believes she was slowing down at the time of stall. c. after the vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed? owner was afraid to drive it, and called dealership and had it towed. d. did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred. if so, describe the lights that were lit. all warning lights were on as it stalled. e.did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? the vehicle did stall and come to a stop. vehicle stalled, then lit up seconds after stalling. yes. f.was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled? g. wass the driver able to restart the vehicle after letting it sit awhile? if so, how long was this after the vehicle stalled? no no attempt was made to restart because it was towed. h.was the vehicle towed? yes. i.what did the dealer say was wrong with the vehicle? dealer said there was a software glitch. dealer reprogrammed the ecu (electronic control unit) or any software? yes. *ak *tt *nm | |||
| 03/26/2005 | 7375 | 2 | |
| Dt: while driving about 40 mph suddenly car died. no power whatsoever. had to be towed to dealership. was told computer needed updating. this was performed on the vehicle. did call toyota, and confirmed that the repair had been done. no problems since computer was updated. *ak | |||
| 02/21/2005 | 15000 | 1 | 08/07/2004 |
| My 2004 prius lost power when i was traveling at about 65-70 miles per hour on 2/21/05. i had electric power for a few minutes so that i could pull off at an exit. all the warning/caution lights came on. the kern toyota dealership in winchester va had my car towed in. they kept the car overnight. they said that they reprogrammed my computer and the car was fine. they offered no other explanation or possible future concerns. i reported this to toyota management this morning and have a confirmation # if needed. i just saw the articles where they noted 33 other incidents like mine. | |||
| 12/29/2004 | 4500 | 1 | 08/17/2004 |
| I own a 2004 prius. while driving approx. 60 mph on hwy 110 in los angeles, the warning light came on. less than 5 seconds later, the car lost all power. it even ceased to coast despite the fact that i was on a significant down hill grade. in an attempt to exit the freeway, i navigated the vehicle to the right, where it stalled completely in the right lane, blocking moving traffic. the california highway patrol (chp) quickly came (they were in the area and arrived without being called) and pushed the vehicle off the freeway. after waiting about 20 minutes, the car restarted and i drove for about 10 miles on surface streets. the next morning, i was able to drive one mile to the dealer. the service department of toyota of hollywood, where i purchased the vehicle, said it was due to a software glitch and that it needed to be reprogrammed. they completed this work in less than 24 hours. they also replaced the bumper which had been damaged by chp in the process of pushing the vehicle off the freeway. their service was excellent and i have not had subsequent failures. nevertheless, it was a serious malfunction and should be thoroughly investigated. | |||
| 05/13/2005 | 45000 | 1 | 03/13/2004 |
| Dt: while driving and without warning car stalled at 40 mph and had to be towed. caller could not turn power off from power switch. only thing that was working was the panel lights. dealer said it was a car computer problem. manufacturer has not been contacted yet. caller saw several articles that an investigation was on this car.*ak | |||
| 06/06/2004 | 1750 | 2 | 04/29/2004 |
| Dt: consumer had 2 episodes of engine stalling. the 1st time consumer's vehicle was passing another vehicle when another vehicle appeared in the lane and consumer accelerated quickly and changed lane. the warning light came on along with a beeping noise, and suddenly lost power. was running only on electric power until was able to make it to the side of the road. the engine did not restart until turned off the whole system and then it restarted it. continued to have warning lights for several hours. called toyota hot line, and was informed it was safe to drive. the following monday took vehicle to dealer, who placed it on a computer and noted it was normal. they thought it might have been the vehicle stability control because that light was illuminated, and earlier when that happened driver swerved into a lane. the 2nd episode occurred as accelerating to get on a freeway ramp and had slowed to enter traffic, another driver allowed consumer's vehicle to enter and driver accelerated gain and the engine cut off. was able to drive on battery power about a mile going 40 mph to the next exit. pulled off, and again turned system off, and again the engine restarted. this time the vehicle,s stability light did not illuminate. the display screen had a bar that said, problem. when car was taken to dealer no lights illuminated. *ak | |||
| 12/15/2004 | 5000 | 1 | 08/09/2004 |
| 2004 prius driving at approximately 35-45 mph when warning lights on dashboard went on. car died within seconds in middle of busy street and would not restart, had to tow to dealer. dealer claimed they did not know what the problem was but said it will not happen again | |||
| 05/25/2005 | 20393 | 1 | 11/08/2003 |
| Car was driving normal at 45 mph....engine quit. would not restart. car was towed to toyota dealer. | |||
| 11/23/2003 | 1 | 11/20/2003 | |
| Dt: consumer states while going southbound, he accidentally bump the vehicle out of gear from drive to neutral at about 70 mph. afterwards consumer put vehicle back in drive. it seemed as though vehicle was dead. consumer had to stop the vehicle then put back in drive and then merge back onto the highway. *tt | |||
| 05/08/2005 | 6400 | 1 | 09/30/2004 |
| Dt: consumer owns two 2004 toyota prius and both have shut down while driving. consumer has taken both vehicles to dealer and had them reprogrammed. *tt northbrook toyota reprogrammed cars computer, car is ok for now. *sb *nm | |||
| 05/04/2005 | 9000 | 2 | 09/28/2004 |
| Dt: consumer has two 2004 toyota prius and both had engine failures while going between 30 and 40 mph. incident on may 28, 2005 and may 4, 2005 approximately.*ak northbrook toyota reprogrammed vehicle's computer. consumer states vehicle now performs ok. *tt *nm | |||
| 06/02/2005 | 29000 | 1 | 04/09/2004 |
| Dt: the warning lights came on consumer turned car around to take it to the dealer, and the car just shut off. dealer did clear everything (the lights), and the car started back up.*ak | |||
| 02/24/2005 | 9719 | 1 | 02/26/2004 |
| My1994 toyota prius suddenly stalled as i was driving. i had to be towed to a dealership. i was told that there was a programming error in one of the computer chips. | |||
| 04/04/2005 | 14101 | 1 | 10/07/2003 |
| Dt: all of the lights come on and the car stalls in mid-travel. *tt | |||
| 11/23/2004 | 2000 | 1 | 09/15/2004 |
| Dt: consumer states: when the vehicle was under 3000 miles all the warning lights came on, and while driving down the road the vehicle slowly lost power and was going about 25 mph. after about 20 min vehicle started back, the dealer did diagnostic and reset the system. *ak | |||
| 09/26/2004 | 5000 | 2 | 06/16/2004 |
| Was driving my 3 month old '04 prius on a 2 lane hwy, late night, 50mph. prius engines suddenly stopped and many warning lights came on. i pulled over, though there was no safe place to do so, set my flashers and began calling for help. spent the next hour calling police and tow trucks, too busy in a dangerous place to troubleshoot. did not feel safe in the car due to high speed traffic. finally towed to dealership and car was admitted in the morning. dealer kept for 5 days, asking me to take it home, nothing wrong. i insisted that i was not comfortable taking the car home until something was done to fix it. called toyota usa hq and reported the problem. they worked with the dealer and eventually got my car back. 1 week later, same thing happened, daytime, with my family aboard. this time, was able to restart and drive to dealership. reported incident to toyota usa hq. while car was in shop, toyota sent me a letter offering to buy the car back from me, due to my lack of confidence in the car. i regretfully accepted. i am very much enthsed by the prius potential, but these glitches are scary. toyota buying the car back from me almost felt like a coverup attempt. | |||
| 12/01/2004 | 2000 | 6 | 07/01/2004 |
| Dt: own 2004 toyota prius and on 6 different occasions while driving in the city, the engine has stalled out. the consumer had to stop and wait about 10 minutes and restart the engine and everything would be fine. took to dealer and they could not diagnose this unless they encountered this as it happened. this is the only problem with the vehicle. *tt *sc *jb | |||
| 05/16/2005 | 12300 | 1 | 07/12/2004 |
| Dt: consumer stated: vehicle quit while driving, the warning lights did come on before it died. while going 30-35 mph and it just died and couldn't restart. the electrical system stayed on. called tow truck by the time they got there it started. still had to take it to dealer, and warning lights went out. dealership reprogrammed the computer.*ak *sb | |||
| 04/22/2005 | 7000 | 1 | 10/10/2004 |
| I was on the 101 freeway heading south when my 2004 toyota prius lost power, all warning lights came on; i coasted to the shoulder. it took several tries over a period of about 15 minutes to get the car shut off. i called toyota and they told me to bring it in if i could get it started, which i finally did. | |||
| 02/27/2005 | 8295 | 1 | 06/15/2004 |
| Engine warning light came on while driving approximately 55-60 mph. gas power quit and consumed all electric power and car stopped. coasted to the side of the road. could not get the car to go into any gear -- stuck in park. had to have it towed to dealer. | |||
| 05/27/2005 | 21014 | 11/21/2003 | |
| Driving my 2004 prius about 25mph on my way home, all of a sudden warning lights on the dashboard lit up. the yellow brake system warning, the malfunction indicator, the master warning and the vsc warning lights were all on. the display had a message that indicated a hybrid system warning. the next day, upon stating the car, the brake system and the vsc warning lights had gone off. all other lights were still on. did not drive the car until i could contact dealer (it was a holiday weekend). after contacting service dept, they said to drive it into the dealer. while driving, the battery level was in the magenta range , about three bars, much lower than normal. it rose to the normal range prior to arriving at the dealer. the repair order states found ecu calibration off and reprogarm ecu to new calibrationid 34705100. the lights are now off and the car seems back to normal. the service person was unable to reassure me that this problem would not happen again, only that it was easily fixed and toyota would cover it. my car had already had the ecu reprogrammed in 08/04, as per recall 40d. | |||
| 02/15/2005 | 40000 | 3 | 12/10/2004 |
| I have had 3 'stalls' of my 2004 prius which i drive 150 miles a day and it has 48k miles on it. all of the engine stalls have been at low speed (under 20 mph) and have been preceeded by a red warning triangle light and the screen displaying something like 'critical problem'. on one incident i was in heavy traffic and managed to use the electric motor to get me to the side of the highway before the engine/motor stopped with no power. when i turned the power on/off several times the engine would start but there was no power. i did notice that on all three stalls my gas gauge was low (one or two bars) but i have run the car for thirty miles after the last bar started to flash so it's hard to tell if there is a connection. i did report this to the dealer but they had no information on it and the car reset each time after a period of time. | |||
| 04/15/2004 | 6589 | 1 | 11/01/2003 |
| Sudden shutdown of 2004 prius. i was crusing at about 40 mph when the engine unexpectedly shut down and all dashboard warning lights became illuminated. i was able to safely pull to the side of the road. after cycling power button, car started again, but check engine light was illuminated. dealership found code p3191 in diagnostic system, but could not come up with an explanation. i am reporting this now because of recent publicity regarding similar prius incidents. | |||
| 05/27/2005 | 1 | 08/01/2004 | |
| My 2004 toyota prius stalled when i was going approximately 40 mph. i was able to coast to the shoulder, but then the car had to be towed to a dealership for a programming fix before i could drive it again. | |||
| 05/10/2005 | 3 | 08/01/2004 | |
| While driving myh toyota prius has stalled for no reason 3 times. i've brought it in once after the 2nd time and they said that nothing was wrong. | |||
| 08/10/2004 | 6000 | 2 | 01/05/2004 |
| Vehicle stalled twice without warning. had to be towed to dealer. | |||
| 02/11/2004 | 2500 | 1 | |
| I drove my toyota prius from florida to colorado. after about 2100 miles the car stalled. i was stuck on the highway for about 2 hours at a temperature of 15 degrees until i got towed to a toyota dealer. the dealer recharged the battery, which completely discharged while i sat in the stalled car with the heater on, and the problem was gone. | |||
| 09/15/2004 | 14000 | 1 | 12/15/2003 |
| Dt: while driving about 55-60 mph the car stalled and came to a complete stop. it was towed into a dealership, they looked at the computer and corrected the problem. the vehicle has not stalled since.*ak *nm | |||
| 04/05/2005 | 17 | 4 | 05/13/2004 |
| Omg, omg its so fresh in my mind!. i was terrified. my daughter(oldest) was in a terrible car accident and was taken to the hospital(mary washington in va.) i was at work and got the horrific call about 1745hrs (rush hour). i jumped in my car(2004-prius) i i can't tell you how i felt. as i entered the hov lanes from dc to va, my car started pausing..i've felt this before, so i hit the info button and see my battery took over and is on 4 lines! i then see the alert lights illuminate on my dash! this can't be happening?, not now!..i immediately hit my horn and avoid getting slammed into by vehicles behind me. i slowly creep on my last battery line onto the righthand shoulder. my prius died. i called toyotas' (rap>roadside assistance program) and a tow truck was sent. i broke down in dc and (toyotas' rap) only takes me 50miles from the breakdown. i live 62 miles away! this is not acceptable! i was towed to springfield toyotan and it was closed! (it is now 2130hrs! and i'm still not at the hospital and i'm in tears!) the tow truck driver was nice enough to tell me to call my insurance co. i did and they sent another tow truck to pick me up. it is now 2230hrs! i still don't know the status of my daughter! the tow truck brings me to fredericksburg but to a nissan dealership, it seems the address was wrong. we figured out that toyota pohanka was down the street and the tow truck driver was considerate enough to bring me there. i had to drop off the vehicle and lucky i had someone pick me up to bring me home. toyota pohanka of fredericksburg called me the next day and said they found error code p3191 referred to the tsb and reprogrammed the engine ecm per instructions. | |||
| 05/21/2004 | 9137 | 20 | 03/02/2004 |
| Purchased a 2004 toyota prius on march 2, 2004. on may 24, 2004 the car stopped while i was driving it. i could not restart it for approximately 15 minutes. i sat in the middle of the street during that time. the dealer said they had never heard of this happening. om june 16, 2004 the car stopped running while i was at an intersection. i had to wait approximately 15 minutes before it would start. the dealer said they didn't know anything about this. on june 21, 2004 the car computers were tested on a recall and found to be out of sync. they were adjusted and i was told that would take care of my problem. in continued to have problems with the car not starting. on oct. 6, 2004 i was given a new car remote control to fix the problem. i continued to have problems. on december 6, 2004 the car completely failed. i was unable to start or turn off the car. after 20 minutes it started and i was able to leave it with the dealer. the multi display unit was replaced. the car continued to stop intermittently;. on january 19, 2005 the car failed to start. a new small battery was installed. on march 29, 2005 the brakes locked up. the abs actuator was replaced. on may 21, 2005 the car failed to start. it is presently at the dealer. | |||
| 05/08/2005 | 20000 | 2 | 07/31/2004 |
| A couple of months ago while driving my 2004 toyota prius it lost power and all sorts of warning lights came on. i took it straight to the dealer. at that time they told me it loss it's computer program and went into the limp home mode. they reprogamed it and it ran fine. on 5/8/05 after a short drive i stoped and when i tried to restart it, it would not start. all i could get was a lot of warning lights and a wirling sound. i called aaa to have it towed to the dealer. just as the tow truch arrived i tried to start it again and it started like normal. i drove it to the deal and explained the problem to them. they could not find any trouble codes or problem with the car. it has ran fine sence then. but i now worry when it will act up again. | |||
| 05/07/2005 | 11300 | 1 | |
| My wife's 2004 toyota prius lost power 100 miles away from home. she was with our 3 month old baby and fortunately was not rear ended or involoved in an accident. | |||
| 05/18/2005 | 6400 | 1 | 08/12/2004 |
| Dt: 2004 toyota prius . the warning lights came on and the vehicle lost power. the vehicle came to stop on the freeway. the consumer was able to get to the shoulder and waited about 10 minutes. after the ten min the vehicle was restarted but had very little power. the consumer drove the vehicle to the dealer. the dealer reprogrammed the ecu as per tsb. no other problems as of yet. this failure was the only incident. *jb *nm | |||
| 04/26/2005 | 6800 | 1 | 02/21/2004 |
| Consumer stated while traveling 40 mph all of a sudden , the lights illuminated on the dashboard and then everything shut off. the consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer and they said it was a computer glitch regarding the release of gas to the engine. just before a loss of power the dvd navigation system went completely out about 2 miles before everything else. *jb the dvd navigation system failed as well. *sc | |||
| 04/08/2005 | 6800 | 1 | 08/12/2004 |
| Driving my 2004 toyota prius home from work, the car suddenly lost power a few miles from my home on a busy thoroughfare. i drifted to the side of the road. all warning lights on the dash were on. i turned off the car and restarted it. it went a few seconds before dying again. this continued several times until i made it home. the incident caused other cars to have to slow down, honk and move around me. i was very scared. it was late at night. i called my husband to come help me but he was not home. the next day the car started and i took it to the dealership. they could find nothing wrong, and said they reset the engine/battery ratio so the car would rely more on gas than electricity , and that i would experience a slight decrease in my engine efficiency. i later complained to the service manager, that my prius has had numerous electrical problems since i purchased it in august of2005. twice it would not start in the morning and i had to have it towed. he also told me that what the service person told me was incorrect, that there was no way they can adjust the engine/battery ratio. he gave no explanation for my problems and said no one else has had any problems with their cars. i want to return the car for a new one, but he says he feels confident toyota will correct any problems i am having. i am afraid to drive the car in case this happens again. toyota has done nothing since i have complained. i feel they owe me a new car while they figure this out. | |||
| 04/12/2005 | 8700 | 1 | 08/16/2004 |
| An article in yesterday's l.a. times (5/17) detailed a problem with the 2004/05 toyota prius, where it mentioned that 13 prius owners reported that their vehicles stalled suddenly, often at high speeds. on april 12, 2005, the exact same thing happened to me. while slowing from 65 m.p.h. on i-10 in west l.a. onto the i-405 interchange, easily one of the most congested highway interchanges in the country, my prius stalled and i was extremely fortunate to make it to the end of the interchange where the shoulder began. had it occured a mere two minutes later, i would have been in the fast lane of the 405, triggering a potential disaster and certain sigalert, as it occured at 8:15 a.m.--rush hour. my car had approximately 8,700 miles and was purchased new in august, 2004. i had it towed to toyota of santa monica where i purchased the car, and was dismayed at their nonchalance. a brand new car should not break down for no reason, and it could've resulted in a serious accident. more tro ubling, the toyota service department's technical assessment of the problem was that it was a computer glitch, and that their repair service was to reprogram the computer. i have been a loyal and vocal supporter of this hybrid vehicle, pleased in every way with the performance of the car. now when people ask, i give them much the same answer, but verbally insert an asterisk and tell them about the time it broke down without warning, and how i have no guarantee it won't happen again. you can count me as the 14th owner to report this identical problem. and you can be sure that we are only a percentage of the ever-growing prius owners who have experienced this. i hope your findings and the article will make their way to toyota's receptive and responsive ears. thanks. | |||
| 04/09/2005 | 27000 | 04/17/2004 | |
| The car stopped in the middle of the road just after all the warning lights came on | |||
| 05/05/2005 | 20400 | 1 | 06/05/2004 |
| 5/6/05 my 2004 prius with 20,400 miles without warning loss all power and shut down while driving hazard light came on warning to take to toyota dealer. the vehicle would not start. the battery meter level was completely dead. the vehicle had to be towed to maita toyota 2500 auburn blvd, sacramento, ca 95821, 916 481-5353 for repair. the work order stated the cause was the ecu which was reprogramed which cleared stored codes. code pulled p3191. is this a new finding in the prius? | |||
| 09/30/2004 | 20 | 09/27/2004 | |
| Dt: the consumer owns a 2004 toyota prius. he says that he is having problems with the vehicle because it will shut off while in traffic. also the park mechanism will disengaged and the lock button does not unlock the doors as specified in the owners manual. also the start button does not consistently start the vehicle properly. *jb the vehicle experienced: inoperative brake light, the fuel door spring was replaced, dome light remained on, engine would disengage, lights would remain lit after the vehicle was started, vehicle would not move until the vehicle was shut off and restarted to get the brake light to go out, rattling as if it were going to stall, the alarm sounded on one occasion when the door was opened, fuel door spring malfunctioned and fuel door would not open. the technicians were unable to verify the door lock malfunction. the consumer would like the vehicle replaced with a 2005 model equipped as detailed on the original invoice including aftermarket items paid for. *sc | |||
| 02/04/2005 | 2000 | 1 | 05/12/2004 |
| Have a 2004 toyota prius. less than 40,000 miles on the car. was driving on the freeway and it suddenly died for no reason. toyota dealer said it was a computer malfunction and could not guarentee it would not happen again. very upset about this as it is a new car i paid a lot of money for | |||
| 05/11/2005 | 1 | ||
| 2004 prius slowed, then stopped on a highway due to a software problem. towed to dealer. dealer corrected the next day. | |||
| 02/22/2004 | 12500 | 6 | 01/06/2004 |
| While driving at approximately 35 mph the vehicle completely shut down. the vehicle was hybrid. the owner had the vehicle towed to the dealer, and was informed that the battery was charged, and there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. *ak there were a series of these events. the vehicle also stalled while in motion. the consumer was informed that the charging system was tested and nothing was wrong with the vehicle. *sc *jb | |||
| 04/17/2005 | 18500 | 1 | 02/15/2004 |
| My daughter was driving our 2004 toyota prius in fast traffic when there was a complete failure of the computer system and the car shut down. her life was in danger - but a policeman happened to be passing by and diverted traffic and called a tow truck. the car was taken to morristown toyota in morristown new jersey where it was determined that there was a computer failure. the computer stayed overnight at the dealer and they said the refreshed the computer and that this should solve the problem. i am reporting this incident because of the dangereous situation that developed due to a computer failure - ad may fit in with other reports you are receiving.*ak | |||
| 11/01/2004 | 16900 | 5 | 02/26/2004 |
| While driving vehicle will just stop. consumer states there is a software problem with engine being faulty from the computer. consumer receives a dozen warning lights. vehicle was towed to a dealership so that the vehicle could be diagnosed. consumer is aware of other similar complaints. *ak *nm | |||
| 10/29/2004 | 4008 | 3 | 08/30/2004 |
| While driving the vehicle at 60 mph. the vehicle completely shut down. the consumer pressed on the accelerator pedal for speed, however the vehicle continued to lose power. the consumer had the vehicle towed. the vehicle is still at the dealership. *jb the problem was due to a computer glitch per tsb. the battery had gone dead. *sc | |||
| 07/18/2004 | 4653 | 1 | 03/31/2004 |
| 2004 prius- warning lights--including master warning-- appeared on dash and computer. vehicle lost power and could not be shut down or restarted. towed to dealership which informed me that no fault could be found and car appeared to be operating normally. car now runs normally except for ready light that appears on dash. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 04/05/2005 | 17 | 4 | 05/13/2004 |
| Omg, omg its so fresh in my mind!. i was terrified. my daughter(oldest) was in a terrible car accident and was taken to the hospital(mary washington in va.) i was at work and got the horrific call about 1745hrs (rush hour). i jumped in my car(2004-prius) i i can't tell you how i felt. as i entered the hov lanes from dc to va, my car started pausing..i've felt this before, so i hit the info button and see my battery took over and is on 4 lines! i then see the alert lights illuminate on my dash! this can't be happening?, not now!..i immediately hit my horn and avoid getting slammed into by vehicles behind me. i slowly creep on my last battery line onto the righthand shoulder. my prius died. i called toyotas' (rap>roadside assistance program) and a tow truck was sent. i broke down in dc and (toyotas' rap) only takes me 50miles from the breakdown. i live 62 miles away! this is not acceptable! i was towed to springfield toyotan and it was closed! (it is now 2130hrs! and i'm still not at the hospital and i'm in tears!) the tow truck driver was nice enough to tell me to call my insurance co. i did and they sent another tow truck to pick me up. it is now 2230hrs! i still don't know the status of my daughter! the tow truck brings me to fredericksburg but to a nissan dealership, it seems the address was wrong. we figured out that toyota pohanka was down the street and the tow truck driver was considerate enough to bring me there. i had to drop off the vehicle and lucky i had someone pick me up to bring me home. toyota pohanka of fredericksburg called me the next day and said they found error code p3191 referred to the tsb and reprogrammed the engine ecm per instructions. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 06/04/2007 | 0 | 2 | 06/14/2004 |
| Auxiliary battery on toyota prius 2001 and toyota prius 2004 fail if the car is not driven at least every 7-10 days. this prevents the car from starting. we purchased a 2001 prius used in march 2004, and a new 2004 prius in june 2004. the auxiliary battery failed on the 2001 prius twice, and we replaced it once. recently the dealer service representative told me the battery held a charge unless driven every 7-10 days, and should be disconnectedif parked for prolonged time. this was potential safety problem for car not starting, such as if returning on plane after 2-3 week vacation and not being able to start the car, risk for vulnerability awaiting jump start. toyota's only response was well, it was a hybrid. they claimed the hundreds of computers in the car drained the battery when parked. they could have designed in some automatic or simple switch to address this. also, they could notify the potential customer of this design flaw. they did not inform us, or any of the other prius owners. we have recently discussed the issue with. the owner's manual for 2001 model made no mention of it. in the 2004 manual there was a brief mention of need to disconnect the battery if parked forprolonged time, but did not define that. although we have been happy with other features of the prius and other toyotas we owned in the past we considered this to be a serious and risky design flaw. furthermore, we considered toyota's sales people and sales brochures failure to notify us of this problem to be a significant breach of goodwill and respect for customer safety and satisfaction. *ak | |||
| 08/29/2005 | 4765 | 2 | |
| Consumers 2004 toyota prius had two battery failures. *ts the first battery failure occurred when the vehicle was started for 5 weeks. the second failure occurred after the vehicle was not started for 14 days. the dealer suggested that the consumer disconnect the battery if the vehicle was not going to be started for 10 days or more. the consumer stated a technical service bulletin had been issued, however the information was never relayed to the consumer. *jb | |||
| 07/21/2005 | 15299 | 1 | 11/30/2003 |
| Car suddenly lost power when being driven 30 mph on city road. computer said battery power lost; seems like gas engine was not recharging battery, but there was no warning until power loss. i was stuck in the middle of a city street with 2 small children, as the car would not make it to side of road. another motorist helped push me to side of road and no one was hurt. the gas tank was full at the time of this incident. although vehicle could not move, the dashboard and computer still had power; it would not allow me to shut it down, or remove the key fob. the car was towed to a dealership, and now must be towed to another dealiership that services this model. no repair has yet been attempted but i wanted to report incident because my internet research indicated you were investigating this model for a number of similar problems. the car was purchased in november 2003 and has 15,299 miles on it. i had one incident 12 months ago when i could not start the vehicle, but i was able to finally after 10 minutes or so. i have had no previous break downs however. | |||
| 04/09/2005 | 8300 | 2 | 01/19/2004 |
| 2004 toyota prius sedan. stalls out while driving about 35 miles hour and the electric recharable battery drains. this has happened two times to me and i have taken it back to toyota deal for this. the 1st approximately jan -feb time frame. dealer could find nothing wrong. 2nd time approximately early april. dealer said had trouble code in computer and have corrected problem but let them know if happens again or any other problem. engine load, automatic gear shifts hard and car rolls slightly when put into park. | |||
| 04/28/2005 | 14000 | 1 | 09/15/2004 |
| Dt: toyota prius, vehicle stalled at 35 mph warning light came on. pulled over to side of road because caller was losing power from battery, and could not drive it. car was towed to dealer, and they could not find anything wrong with it. problem did not come up on car computer when diagnostic was done. manufacturer has not been contacted yet. caller read article in newspaper about prius. *ak *nm | |||
| 06/22/2004 | 5000 | 5 | 02/24/2004 |
| Since purchasing a 2004 prius in feb. 2004, it has stalled five times. four were within a two week period in june 2004 and were related to a loose wire to the battery. one was in june 2005. | |||
| 01/05/2005 | 7000 | 4 | 11/12/2004 |
| Dt: engine shuts down and will not start, also battery dies. check engine light comes on, and then the engine dies. caller had to push car off the road. dealer said they could not find anything wrong the first time, and the other times they replaced a floor harness that went to battery, an amplifier, the original battery. caller read article on his vehicle about same problem. manufacturer said the amplifier fixed the problem. | |||
| 05/26/2005 | 3 | 5 | |
| This is not the first time that i have had this problem, but i just learned this is the venue to state my complaints(i have another complaint on this board. i bought this car to save gas,money and the environment,but now this car is doing none of these for me in stop and go traffic. while i'm stuck in traffic in dc(i395n), the battery takes over. the problem is the gas doesn't kick in when the battery is low. i find the battery doesn't stay charged for over 28minutes while moving in traffic about 3 feet every 5 or 10 minutes. i have figured out in order to not get stalled (which has happened to me, 2 times already,besides today.) i have to hold the brake pedal down with one foot and rev the gas pedal with the right foot in order to charge the battery and not get slammed into from a vehicle behind me! my wife refuses to drive the car now for fear that she'll stall. i'm filling my tank more often now than when i first got this vehicle. due to the reving of the vehicle which wastes my gas(sorta defeats the purpose of buying a hybrid for the most part!), also this can't be good for the environment either! oh and lets not forget the safety factor. i have people yelling at me and saying they want to bust my a**! and even an elderly woman with handicap plates gave me the finger right after she almost slammed into my stalled car. i'm embarrassed and scared to drive over 65 because the way the car died on me 2 times before. | |||
| 03/30/2005 | 9025 | 2 | 07/05/2004 |
| 2004 toyota prius died at 65 mph on i-395 carpool lanes. multiple warning lights flashed on. was able to coast it over and restart for a mile or two when it completely died again. was towed to springfield va toyota dealership were it was serviced. error codes c2318 (low voltage error - power supply malfunction), battery code 8442 were reported. also, check engine light on, found code p3791/engine won't start. reprogrammed ecu dp0199. cars shutting down in high speed traffic is a crash waiting to happen. we're not convinced that re-setting the engine code is enough to fix the problem. has the original software problem been located and fixed? dealership couldn't give us that answer.*ak | |||
| 10/29/2004 | 4008 | 3 | 08/30/2004 |
| While driving the vehicle at 60 mph. the vehicle completely shut down. the consumer pressed on the accelerator pedal for speed, however the vehicle continued to lose power. the consumer had the vehicle towed. the vehicle is still at the dealership. *jb the problem was due to a computer glitch per tsb. the battery had gone dead. *sc | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 03/05/2005 | 7000 | 2 | 11/22/2003 |
| Prius stalled while driving, all lights came on dealer restarted computer i have read about many people with this complaint | |||
| 01/22/2005 | 8600 | 2 | 05/01/2004 |
| The consumer started the vehicle and noticed that the steering was very difficult. after driving for two blocks, the dash light had come on and the steering had become easier. the general warning symbol had come on, which meant the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer. the brake light had been continuously on. when the emergency brakes were applied, the vehicle did not behave as if it were activated. the ignition relay was replaced per warning light. *ak *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE | |||
| 10/29/2007 | 85000 | 1 | 01/03/2004 |
| 2004 prius, 84,00 miles. intermittent headlight failure, both right and left. headlight(s) would go out while driving at night. dealer said it was hid computer and the repair bill is $1140!!!! researching on internet reveals this is a common problem. it is definitely safety relayed and i feel toyota should make the repair at no charge. i'm not excited about replacing the computer not only because of the cost, but can i expect the problem to repeat in a few years? *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 09/01/2004 | 5000 | 2 | 11/28/2003 |
| Dt; last summer was driving down highway at about 45-50 mph and one of the engines went out, and the car decelerated and finally stalled out. parked by roadside ,and had to be towed to dealership. serviceman did a computer correction, but did not record this because it happened at night. again about 2 months ago the engine went out, car slowed, and would not restart. had to be towed to dealership. the car was returned without explanation. afraid this may happen again. *ak *sb | |||
| 02/04/2005 | 2000 | 1 | 05/12/2004 |
| Have a 2004 toyota prius. less than 40,000 miles on the car. was driving on the freeway and it suddenly died for no reason. toyota dealer said it was a computer malfunction and could not guarentee it would not happen again. very upset about this as it is a new car i paid a lot of money for | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 04/27/2005 | 5396 | 1 | 09/01/2004 |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. he states that vehicle lost power while traveling at high speeds.the incident just happened one time. the dealer reprogrammed the vehicle, not sure if it fixed it or not.*ak car lost power and would not re-start. it was towed to toyota service department. engine control unit was reprogrammed and car has since ran properly for 600 miles.*sb *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 02/24/2005 | 3300 | 1 | 07/20/2004 |
| While driving 35 mph the dashboard lights flashed and the vehicle shut off. dealer stated the vehicle's software needed to be updated. *ak the problem has not recurred. *bf *nm | |||