We were driving on the highway at night and suddenly, without warning, the engine stalled completely, the car died, and all of the warning lights came on, including a red triangle, check engine, brake, and some others. The Prius lost power and I had to turn on the hazard lights and coast to the shoulder. We called the aaa towing service and 911 (as the shoulder was very narrow and we could not get out of the car). The officer and the tow truck driver checked for all possible driver errors, including gas, but did not find anything out of the ordinary (the gas gauge showed 5/8 full). The car was towed to the Toyota dealership in sunnyvale who are working to determine the cause. This was a very dangerous situation as we were driving on a highway, with a child in the car, at highway speeds at night and the car suddenly died. It has left us shaken and we will be contacting Toyota to see if they have a fix for this.

- Los Altos, CA, USA

I was driving on the highway when my vehicle's check engine light came on. Shortly after I saw a large amount of smoke coming from the engine. I pulled over and shut off the car. Car smelled like burned plastic and smoke. I was worried that the car could catch on fire or blow up! I had the car towed to my nearest Toyota dealership.Toyota claimed that the three way coolant control valve had failed and the steam came from a ruptured line in the coolant system. The job cost me $422.32. I didn't mind paying the service but after careful research into the problem with the 3-way control valve on the Prius I had learned that this is a wide spread problem.apparently the valve tends to stick causing no flow of the coolant fluid. I feel Toyota should fix this problem before someone gets hurt either by getting burned from a ruptured line or the car catches on fire.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

Headlamp would go out at random intervals. Always came on when first switched on but would go off while driving. Would reproducibly come back on when the switched was flipped to off and back on again. Would then go off again at later time. No way to tell whether operational while driving.

- Potomac, MD, USA

2005 Toyota Prius with hid headlights which has self leveling feature. Have noticed for a while the headlights are shining low, can't see sufficiently ahead of car. Headlights can not be manually adjusted. Found online several reports indicating the control module that sends the leveling message to control the headlights which is mounted on the driver side rear axle fails when water enters the device and corrodes the unit. Poor contruction of this unit lead to water infiltration and has resulted in a dangerous situation due to the poor headlight performance. Toyota has been contacted and they have not answered if a recall is warrented even though apparently the malfuncioning unit has been redesigned to stop water infiltration nor will they provide the necessary repair without charging for it.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

I was driving with my two children on the 405 North freeway just South of the 10 freeway at 9pm in my Toyota Prius 2005. I had issues with one of the headlights already. It would flicker and then turn off without warning. Last Sunday, however, both headlights failed, including all interior lights, as I was speeding down on of the busiest freeways in the country at nighttime. It was pretty terrifying.

- Beverly Hills, CA, USA

When starting the vehicle up, no speedometer display is illuminated. The display for the vehicle environmental controls (miles per gallon/energy use) still works. Along with the speedometer display, the rear hatchback door does not work. I tried to adjust the inside light display to see if the light level was turned off. This was not problem. I turned the light adjustment knob in both directions, and still no speedometer display. Upon trying to turn off the engine, it will not turn off. I was able to shut the vehicle off by disconnecting the car battery in the passenger side rear hatch back area. Note that because the rear hatch back door does not work, all the vehicle parts which leads to the rear battery has to be taken out from the rear seat of the vehicle. One particular time I disconnected the car battery on the black portion of the battery, and the vehicle did not shut off. I brought the vehicle to the Toyota dealership several times, and because this problem happens intermittently. Toyota was unable to duplicate it. However, one day when it was not working, I brought it in to them. They later claimed that it was a "cold start" problem to the computer that is responsible for the speedometer display (besides other things, rear hatch back door, cruise control, etc.). Toyota claimed they found the problem on the internet, and it was not a recalled part. This particular part (computer) normally happens only in the states that are very cold.

- Waikoloa, HI, USA

Gauge cluster on my 2005 Toyota Prius is completely dead. I cannot see any information such as speed, temp, fuel, etc. Also, the car does not turn off when I push the on/off button. Dealer says that it will cost $1000 to diagnose and fix. I am very concerned, as this is a safety issue!

- Cypress, CA, USA

Passenger front hid headlight was intermediately operational for a short period of time. Eventually it would not come back on. Toyota dealer quoted $350+ for part and $150+ for labor, per headlight. According to other Prius owners and internet articles, this issue is apparent to be a manufacturer defect; but Toyota refuses to admit in order to prevent a recall. Unwilling to paid for Toyota's mistakes, the vehicle was driven with only one headlight for some time. Until recently stopped by police and issued a traffic violation warning. For safety reasons and to prevent future violations, replaced the burnt hid bulb ($50+ from amazon.com) personally (followed proper procedures). A week later, that same bulb went out. More evident indicating the issue is not with the bulb; but with the electrical system and Toyota is not willing to paid for their own mistakes. Shame on Toyota!!!

- Alton, IL, USA

Driving North on I75 at approximately 65 mph. The gas gauge had 3 bars illuminated. The vsc warning light and the red triangle with the exclamation point came on. I lost the ability to accelerate and the car suddenly went dead. Luckily I was able to make to relative safety on the side to interstate. The car was towed to a dealer who said the car ran out gas! they also said that the "fuel register unit was operating as designed." How was that possible" the charge? over $1200! according to Toyota corporate and the dealership, repeated unsuccessful attempts to start the car will, by design, cause irreparable damage to the ECU code id box which can cost $1200 - $1800 to replace. This "design" is apparently in the name of anti-theft protection. (why not just immobilize the car instead of partial self-destruction") even given the high extent and documented history of gas gauge display malfunctions and many other related electrical problems, Toyota corporate would offer no financial assistance, no reimbursement of any portion of the repair. This is the second time the car has lost all power in the middle of heavy traffic. That time, 08/09/10, the water pump failed. Subsequent to that, I received a recall notice to replace the water pump.

- Tucker, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that whenever the radio was in use, it would not transmit a clear reception. The radio defect occurred on the purchase date of the vehicle and continued over the years. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they were unable to provide a remedy for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14. Updated 05/26/11

- Port Angeles, WA, USA

Note: The date above does not reflect first date of occurance. This is the event date that led to Toyota admitting something is wrong with the car. Please read narrative: On three occasions the car has died while being parked at work and at home. On one occasion the car died in my garage. After the vehicle was jumped it seemed fine. No lights were left on nor were any electrical devices plugged into the accessories. When it started up the car stated that the parking brake was not properly engaged and the vehicle needed to be moved to a level surface. It was in my driveway. Another time the car did the same thing, dying at work in the airport employee parking lot. The car required being jump started and again it gave the same message. A co-worker stated that they had heard the car alarm go off at one point about an hour prior to shift change. Both times the vehicle was checked and the report was nothing was wrong with the car. Most recently on 3/27/2011 the same thing occurred. This time when jump starting the battery the cars engine started and the car lunged forward at me with lights and alarm sounding. I was unable to shut down the alarm and went into the car and pressed the power button to shut the engine down. When I powered the engine back up the car alarm was again sounding and all the lights on the dash were illuminated. Powered it down and up again and this time no audible alarm but the exclamation mark in the triangle was illuminated as well as the message about the parking brake. I powered it down and up one last time and, with the message still illuminated, drove off. The message shut down when I got to the security gate. Toyota tested the vehicle on 4/1/2011 and reported that C1300 and C2300 faults were found (ECU and ABS actuator). As the car is out of warranty, cost will be about $3,000. (more info exists but no room here)

- Alpha, IL, USA

At random, the car does not start. There is nothing different about events leading up to the failure from one day to the next. My neighbor has the same problem, and so did a friend of mine. Aaa told me that in the winter the car is particularly prone to having trouble starting.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

My Toyota Prius 2005 model had repeated and total failures when the 12 volt sli battery was low, or in cold weather. The designing logic is very bad: When the sli battery fails, the back doors and trunk could not be unlocked, so I could not get my jumper cables out since all electrical controls failed. The car could not be towed from behind when parked, not to damage the synergy drive (apparently). I was told to buy a trickle charger since the sli battery died a few times while the Prius was garaged for more than a week. The Toyota sli battery is specialized, small and the contacts are too small to grab with normal jumper cables. There are too many single point failures initiated by a discharged battery. When my remote key battery died, I was totally locked out of the car. Mechanical backup options are needed for all these electrical and electronic controls.

- Belmont, MA, USA

The passenger side headlight would sometimes go out and then come back on after turning the car off/on. Eventually both of the headlights had this problem along with them turning pink in color and back to white while driving. I took the Prius into the dealership and since I purchased the extended warranty of 100,000 miles the hid electronic control units (ecus) will be replaced free of charge but the hid light bulbs are costing $350 to replace. I see that Toyota has extended the warranty of the light bulbs to a five year/50,000 for the 2006-2009 Prius starting Feb 9th 2011, tomorrow. The mechanics say these bulbs should last over a 100,000 miles but the ecus are making them go bad early. I had a "wonderful" conversation with Toyota extra care representative about this problem. He basically told me anything that anything that breaks that is not covered by warranty (headlights) because an item that is under extended warranty(ECU), is not covered. And then he went on to explain this by talking about what came first, chicken or the egg. I was hoping to get into more in-depth evolution discussion with him, but I ran out of time and patience. I still love our Prius, 78000 miles.

- St Louis, MO, USA

We were traveling along a familiar country road on a warm sunny day. When we arrived at a rural store there was only one other customer there. I slowly eased into the designated parking area which was situated about 17 inches above the lawn below. I was probably traveling less than one mile an hour. When I braked, the car accelerated and propelled itself over the blocks and railroad ties that are found in front of parking spaces, and we literally flew about 7 feet out and down onto the grass stopping just a few feet from a tree and a fence. While in the air, all I had time to do was put my foot down hard on the brake because there was not enough time to turn off the engine during the 5 seconds this was happening. Our first reaction was that I might have hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and though I found this inconceivable because I had never done anything like that before and because the two pedals are so different, I could not consider another explanation. However, as time passed, we came to the realization that this could not been the case because even if I had pressed the accelerator by mistake I would have had to have "floored" it to get that kind of acceleration in such a short distance, and even mistaking it for the brake I wouldn't have "floored" the brake because I was only about 18 inches from where I was to stop. Even under normal circumstances, the Prius just does not have this immediate kind of acceleration we experienced. I cannot help but think about this event occurring as I stopped at a crosswalk. This is a dangerous automobile that I loved driving for 5 years, and now I will not drive again.

- Mendon, UT, USA

We are have a problem with our 2005 Toyota Prius. The headlights (one or both) goes out without warning. The is a known safety problem with headlights on the Prius. Toyota will not issue a recall because they have not been directed to by the government.

- Germantown Road, MD, USA

2005 Toyota Prius stalled on an overpass with no shoulders. The transmission became stuck in park, and the vehicle could not be pushed since the front wheels were locked up. The car was eventually towed, and it had to be dragged onto the flatbed wrecker since the front wheels would not roll. The problem was determined to be a failed pump for cooling the inverter. The pump failed such that it blew a fuse that also controlled the transmission shifter, preventing the car from being put into neutral so that it could be pushed out of traffic lanes. This is a very unsafe failure mode.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

2005 Toyota Prius, repeated headlight failure. I have been issued three police summonses for headlight failure and have only owned this vehicle for two years. I replaced both headlights three weeks ago and the passenger headlight is out again.

- Newfane, NY, USA

My 2005 Prius' right headlight (hid) turns off. After turning the lights off and back on, it lights up again. It's very strange because if the bulb was dead, it wouldn't come back on. Just recently, someone made me aware of the issue. But, who knows how long it has been going on. There is no pattern or unique incident that causes the bulb to turn off and on. It happens multiple times on trip between 2-4 miles (sometimes more than 2 or 3 times on a short trip). Since I became aware of the issue, I don't take the car on long trips. My local mechanic said "dead bulbs don't turn on and off, they just stay off." Sometimes my bulb will stay on for 10-20 minutes, then go out. Doesn't sound broken to me. The mechanic told me the ballast could have a problem, but that costs several thousand dollars to fix (not to mention replacing one bulb is like 200 dollars)..

- Hemet, CA, USA

We purchased a Toyota 2005 Prius in August of this year. It had 92,000 miles on it but was in exceptional condition. Just this week October 15 the passenger side headlight started blinking and one day later went out.

- Lohrville, IA, USA