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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,397 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Toyota Prius electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Toyota Prius Owner Comments (Page 6 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #52

Mar 182005

Prius

  • Automatic transmission
  • 6,941 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- River Forest, IL, USA

problem #51

Jun 122005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles
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

- Nevada City, CA, USA

problem #50

Apr 092005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 8,300 miles
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.

- Medford, MA, USA

problem #49

Jun 132004

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving at a steady pace, the vehicle stalled.

- Bradstone, OR, USA

problem #48

Jun 082005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
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.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #47

May 232005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 46,506 miles
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.

- Ozawkie, KS, USA

problem #46

Sep 152004

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Lyme, CT, USA

problem #45

Mar 262005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,375 miles
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.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #44

Feb 212005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15,000 miles
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.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #43

Dec 292004

Prius

  • 4,500 miles
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.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #42

May 132005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #41

Jun 062004

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,750 miles
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.

- Kohler, WI, USA

problem #40

Dec 152004

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,000 miles
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"

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #39

May 252005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20,393 miles
Car was driving normal at 45 mph....engine quit. Would not restart. Car was towed to Toyota dealer.

- Shingle Springs, CA, USA

problem #38

Nov 232003

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
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.

- Sunnyville, CA, USA

problem #37

May 082005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 6,400 miles
Consumer owns two 2004 Toyota Prius and both have shut down while driving. Consumer has taken both vehicles to dealer and had them reprogrammed. Northbrook Toyota reprogrammed cars computer, car is ok for now.

- Norhtbrook, IL, USA

problem #36

May 042005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 9,000 miles
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. Northbrook Toyota reprogrammed vehicle's computer. Consumer states vehicle now performs ok.

- Northbrook, IL, USA

problem #35

Jun 022005

Prius

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles
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.

- Gettysburg, PA, USA

problem #34

Feb 242005

Prius

  • Automatic transmission
  • 9,719 miles
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.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA

problem #33

Apr 042005

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 14,101 miles
All of the lights come on and the car stalls in mid-travel.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

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