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.
When driving the vehicle multiple lights came on (ABS, VSC, & brake)! Brakes became hard to push at times and didn-€™t feel normal. Took it to shop and had both ABS speed sensors replaced. Warning lights went away and brakes were normal again. After a day, the lights came back on and a constant alarm started sounding! The brake system failed and the vehicle was super hard to stop! Came very close to having a major accident on the interstate when this happened!!! It took pumping of the brakes and full force on the pedal to bring it to a stop!! Went back to the shop and was told that the ABS control module/actuator went bad and needs to be replaced. Was also told that this system is a known problem in Toyota Prius-€™s for a long time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated when the vehicle was started, the instrument panel was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or informed of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.
My vehicle will not go but about 30 or 40 maybe 50 on highway after very slow exelaration I'm almost killed every time I get on the highway highway and reg streets to excearate it very very slow to start then I have to pull over and kill it start over not using het or air now it just won't start have not had it checked can't afford
The dashboard lighting system quit turning on in July 2019. I could not tell how fast or how slow I was driving. The anti lock brake system light turned on while the car was running on Sep 23 2019 and the brakes failed to operate while on the road outside my house
The instrument panel display stopped working in my 2005 Prius. You press the button to start the car and the car starts but nothing displays. You cannot see your fuel gauge, so I ran out of gas and almost was hit by a vehicle while walking down the side of the highway. You cannot see your speedometer so you don't know how fast you are going which makes it impossible to follow speed limits. It is a serious safety issue and Toyota knew about the problem and even issued a warranty extension ztv to cover it, but they did not inform me about the extension in 2013/14. Now that extension has expired and they will not repair my car. My technician at automotive perfection diagnosed the problem, but Toyota would not accept his diagnosis and spartan Toyota charged me $132.45 to make the same diagnosis. They then told me a new meter would cost me $696.06 installed and refused to fix the vehicle even though Toyota has known about this problem since at least 2012.
- Jackson, MI, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. Every time the vehicle was started, all the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. Also, the brake pedal was more difficult to depress than usual and took longer to stop the vehicle. Toyota of vero beach (1075 us-1, vero beach, fl 32962) diagnosed that a new brake actuator needed to be installed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 76,000.
The combination meter which contains the speedometer and gas gauge, among other things, has been going dead frequently (does not light up when the car is started) for the past few years. It used to be 1-2 times a month, but recently it occurs a few times a week. The car drives normally, but it is very dangerous to not know the speed or to know how much gas remains in the tank. Even when the meter starts to work again, the gas reading is not accurate. It is not even possible to tell if the car is running or not, because the screen is black. This is a known problem by Toyota but they no longer offer replacement. This is a serious safety concern that the manufacturer should address on all affected vehicles. Even the separate touch screen which contains diagnostics tests for the electrical system is black, so there is no way to correct the issue.
Combination meter intermittently not functioning. When turning the car on, sometimes the dash meter works, sometimes it's just black and continues the entire time the car is running. Then when trying to turn the car off, it will not turn off, which is a major safety concern. When this occurs, there are no dash lights at all to indicate fuel amount, odometer reading, door open signal, check engine, maintenance required and so on. The speed being driven is not showing either which is another major safety issue. Cruise control also does not function, the center touchscreen does not display hybrid motor information or mpg. The beeping when backing up does not function. Also the rear hatch will not open while car is running which is also a major safety issue in addition to all of the other functions not available. The odometer is not recording mileage during these times which makes it difficult to do proper maintenance that goes by mileage, such as oil changes.
The headlights will intermittently go out. I will turn the lights off and on, it will come back on. Then shuts off again after a few minutes. You have to continue switching it off and on, off and on. Taken it to Toyota several times for this problem. The last time I took it was in August 2018 and was told that the only remedy was to replace both headlights. The estimate total was $318.62 for one headlight. Toyota is aware of the problem but wants no liability or recall for this model year. It is very dangerous for night driving as the headlight will just suddenly shut off.
I started the car and the speed indicator didn't illuminate. I thought it was a lightbulb or something that that had gone out since the car drove like normal. When I got to my destination I tried to turn off the car but it didn't turn off. I called the campus car service, by the time they got to me (about 30 minutes) the car had turned off by itself. This has happened about 8 times since. There was a recall on this very issue where Toyota admitted that high milage Prius' were experiencing this problem. The recall ended in 2013. I just don't understand how a know issue is no longer being fixed when they clearly stated that it affects high mileage cars. So people like me who's cars haven't reached a 'high mileage" during their recall period are basically told to guess how fast the car is traveling?
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the odometer was not going over 300,000 miles and was stuck at 299,999. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the vehicle needed an odometer cluster. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was not due to the vehicle needing maintenance. The dealer (ira Toyota of danvers, 99 andover St, danvers, MA 01923) diagnosed that the odometer needed to be replaced, but was not due to a defect. The failure mileage was 299,999.
Headlight goes out repeatedly. Headlight works again after headlights are turned off then on again. Started with the same one headlight going out. Now the other. Sometimes both go out, including at night. Each time the headlights must be turned off then on again and they work for a while longer. Lights go out when stationary and when driving.
The headlights are prone to turning to off randomly, sometimes one side, other times both sides. After turning them on/off at the steering column they will come back on for a while then the issue starts over. This problem occurs with the vehicle either moving or in the stationary mode. No headlights when driving at night is a definite safety hazard. So far, Toyota refuses to honor a fix!
Toyota Prius combination meter not working for 2 days when I repeatly turn it on and turn it off....then works one day then is not working now---I can't see the instrument panel and how fast I am driving and then I can not shut the car off for several minutes....very unsafe. And I just had the car serviced for a messed up battery. This is a used car that I bought to replace the 2001 Toyota Prius that was rearended in Dec 2016 then the dealer sold me a junk car in April 2017 now having to fix all these problems. I will sell this car as a piece of junk to the junk yard as strap metal because that what it is. Very unsafe and the NHTSA is allowing this to happen. Started on 08/22/2017 & 08/23/2017 & 08/25/2017 I can't see the panel.
Passenger headlight goes off intermittently. Turn switch off and on and comes on again. Have had bulb replaced X2 and now Toyota dealer says that Toyota has a bulletin about it. Note to the tune of $500 to fix. In researching this seems to be a common problem. It's a hazard at night or in rain or inclement weather and evidently something Toyota has had complaints about enough to put out a bulletin. Vehicle in motion, highway miles. I believe some sort of short but certainly not mechanic. This has been happening since January 2017. Two new bulbs plus labor and now told wiring mechanism. Help. If Toyota knows a problem, address it in a recall.
The Prius odometer stopped at 299999 and won't record more mileage. However, the trip odometer continues to register miles, so it seems clear the mechanisms are working to collect miles. The problem this causes is that some states view this failure to move on or reset at 000000 as an inspection failure. Should not be a designed failure, as previous comlaint indicated since this is a digital readout.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Charlotte, NC, USA