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.
I'm the original owner and do my own regular oil changes at the manufacture specified intervals of 5000 miles. This last time I noticed not much oil coming out of the drain pan, poured it back into an empty oil jug to measure and yes only 1.5 quarts drained out. I haven't seen any smoke or smelled any oil burning and no obvious leaks. I don't run the engine hard or at high speeds (less than half my driving is interstate) but can't figure out why it's all of a sudden started using oil. When I searched online it seems to be a common failure with Prius over 100K miles. I want to add my other Toyota and Honda vehicles have lasted well over 200K and 180K miles with no engine troubles at all (I also do the maintenance on them)
On May 16, 2015, while driving my second-generation 2007 Toyota Prius on the freeway, I experienced a sudden loss of power, along with the illumination on the instrument panel of the malfunction indicator light, master warning light and hybrid warning light. I was able to maneuver the car to the side of the road and summon emergency help. A nearby Toyota dealership replaced the hybrid inverter water pump, which fixed the problem. However, the dealership did not advise me of a safety recall. Toyota customer experience center today stated that the original hybrid inverter water pump was replaced on April 7, 2011, under Toyota limited service notice A0N; hence, Toyota refused my phone request for reimbursement of my may, 2015, repair expense. The 2011 "A0N" replacement pump appears to have failed by the same failure mechanism leading to recall campaign "C0U", which is different from the A0N failure mechanism.
At approximately 65mph a red triangle warning light appeared on the dash panel accompanied by a yellow circle. The parking button was flashing and a pink cartoon car appeared on the display. The car was running fine so I continued till I reached my freeway exit. At the bottom of the exit I had to stop for a red light. The exit is dark and has a sharp curve. Upon stopping the car the transmission locked and the engine shut down. I was unable to start the engine and the car could not be pushed out of the way due to the transmission lock. Frantically I had to get a flashlight and wave off oncoming traffic. It was very dangerous. After a few minutes I retried the engine and it started allowing me to get off the ramp and get home. The warning lights stayed on. I took the car to the dealer the next day and after they tested everything they said that there was nothing wrong. Next time I might not be so lucky.
- Oxnard, CA, USA
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While driving on the freeway, suddenly noticed slight jolt and illumination of various warning lights in the instrument panel (check engine, large warning sign, emergency car danger sign, vsc sign). Hybrid system ceased functioning, leading the car to drive using gasoline engine only. Dealership determined hybrid electric water pump was no longer functioning, needed replacement at cost of $570.
I had my car in for 110,000 mile service on April 25. They changed the oil, rotated the tires, installed a new air filter and said that I needed new front brakes and they cleaned and adjusted the back brakes. Yesterday after backing out of the garage the brake light warning light along with the ABS and vsc light came on briefly. On interstate 90 nearing downtown cleveland all of these lights came on again along with a noise. I called the Toyota dealer and talked to the service advisor and asked if it was safe to go to cleveland and back and he said if the brakes work, it probably just a switch and it would be ok to bring it in tomorrow. While I still had him on the phone, we lost all power to the vehicle and it decelerated down to 30 before we were able to reach an exit ramp and stop the car in the grass. I was informed today that the problem is a low volt battery that needs to be replaced for $299. At no time did a low battery light come on and I have not had trouble starting the car nor do I have dim lights. We were fortunate that we were not killed on interstate 90 without power, steering or brakes. I think this is definitely a safety issue that needs to be addressed.
Hybrid battery failed. The battery is hyped as lasting the lifetime of your car. 7 years and 131K is not a lifetime in my opinion. If I lived or bought my car in ca, it would be covered under warranty. Because I live in Alabama, it is not. Warranty should be standardized.
For a long time my Prius has had pauses in acceleration occasionally when leaving a stopped position. You press on the gas and there is a couple of second pause before it accelerates. You have to be careful when pulling out into traffic because when it looks like you have time to go, with the pause it is no longer safe to pull out. I call it stalling out. There is a recall for Prius that began on January 17,2013. It states: The corroded wire may break and the water pump could stop. It could cause a short circuit between coil wires and a possible open fuse, creating a stall like condition. The remedy is that Toyota will replace the electric water pump at no charge. I have the stall like condition and during my last service at a Toyota dealership he told me I needed a new water pump. I contacted Toyota about my problem and the recall. They responded that my vehicle was not involved in the recall and they would offer me no assistance in the $500 payment for the water pump. I believe my vehicle has the problems listed in the recall and should be included.
While traveling on the highway at 55 mph, the power was lost and the accelerator did not respond to being depressed. The car was steered from the middle lane on a three lane highway to gradually coast into the safety lane off the highway where the brake was used to stop the vehicle. The power button was then depressed and the engine restarted and we reentered the highway. This was the only such incident in seven years of ownership of this vehicle. This incident has not recurred.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 72 mph, a bright red exclamation point icon illuminated on the instrument panel as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnosis but the cause of the failure was undetermined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 56,000.
I experienced a scary situation with my 2007 Prius today. While I was driving all of a sudden the ABS brake light and dsc light and (!) light and brake light came on and stayed on. The car also made a loud buzzing noise in the cabin. I pumped the brakes and it was not very responsive. Luckily nobody was around because I felt had I needed to stop on a dime, I probably wouldn't be able to. I looked around online to find if others have had this problem and it appears there are plenty of cases where this type of sudden failure has occurred under 2007 ABS Toyota Prius brake module complaints. I believe that there is a recall for this issue from the manufacturer. Please contact me - I need help!
I have been having problems for about a year now with my Prius 2007 when I apply the brakes. The car stutters when it changes from hybrid to gas. Serviced only by Toyota. When I brought the car in for a recall I asked them to fix the problem. They could not identify the problem and called in a specialist and subsequently was told that this is typical wear on a car this old (5 years, 59,000 miles). This was from a repair specialist sent from Toyota when the regular service department could not identify the problem. I drive on highway S everyday to work and home and I am a nervous wreck, worrying that the car will just come to a stop in the middle of traffic. Over the past 2 years when I go thru a car wash the front driver side headlight gets moisture inside. When I brought this to the attention of the service dept at Toyota I was told it would cost approximately $600 to replace the headlight. This was way before it had fallen out of warranty (36,000) but of course they did not tell me that it was covered, in fact they told me what it would cost to replace! now the bulb is also flickering on and off in this same headlight. Definitely a safety issue. Toyota quoted me $270 to change the light bulb. The reason I was given was that they have to take off the entire front bumper to change an $11 bulb at autozone. We were told that if my hand was small enough I could try to do it myself. I called Toyota corporate, and was told that Toyota was discounting the bulb, it normally should cost $420. They were aware of the problem and extended the warranty to 50,000 miles but did not issue a recall for this issue either. I only found out because the service department was dragging its feet in diagnosing the problem with the braking system so I called corporate and mentioned the moisture problem and that was how I found out that it was not only my car.
Master warning light came on along with vehicle stability control, brake & check engine lights. Took it to my Toyota dealer (rice Toyota, greensboro, nc). I work 79 miles from home. I called my Toyota dealer, a service rep said it was ok to drive as long as the warning lights weren't flashing.diagnostic codes indicated the hybrid converter/inverter was bad, they cleared warning lights, which stayed off. They said it may have been a "glitch", if warning lights returned, bring it back. They returned on 3/1/13 while driving to work. I lost power while on I-540, pulled over onto shoulder, turned off engine, restarted it, got back onto I-540 & exited at nearest exit. Lost power again. Pulled over, went thru stop/start process, drove 3 miles to work. Drove home with warning lights but no power losses. Took it to rice Toyota next morning. This occurred barely 2 weeks after the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty expired, galling to say the least, as this part "is" the hybrid system per the service rep. Have you received other complaints about this component?
The following described incidents have taken place at least three times with no warning. Upon starting the vehicle there is no instrument panel display which is digital. The vehicle could still be driven. The vehicle's engine would not turn off without making numerous attempts.this has sometimes taken up to 10 min.. then for whatever reasons after several hours the mentioned malfunctions stop and everything works correctly.I am very concerned the dash display showing speed and other necessary information will malfunction while the vehicle is being driven.especially at night.being able to turn the vehicle off immediately is also important.this vehicle is regularly serviced by Toyota who have been unable to locate or correct the problem. I have researched this issue online and have found that there is a large number of Toyota Prius owners having the same type of safety issues with their vehicles. I have read but not confirmed that Toyota is aware of the mentioned problems with the Prius. There are some serious safety issues with this make and model of vehicle that need to be addressed as soon as possible. I hope NHTSA will be able to assist in this matter. Thank you.
The 2007 Prius engine and safety warning lights came on while driving and the car stalled on the highway. This has occurred 4 to 5 times in the last 4 months. We have taken it to the Toyota dealership, where they have driven it, kept it overnight, and could not determine the problem. The third time, the dealer said it was the 12 volt battery, which we replaced for $348.85. The car stalled again - same safety concerns - stalled while driving on the highway. Luckily the car behind me did not hit me and I was able to coast to a side street. There was not any power. The windows and air conditioning were not working as well. I sat in the Arizona heat for several minutes and than got it to start by putting the car in park over and over. All safety warning lights were on, as I drove it to the dealership. I was shaking and in tears, fearful for my life and the life of others as I drove it to the dealership less than two months since the 12 volt battery had been replaced. I have gotten the car serviced at the dealership as stated in the manual - everytime. The stalling of the engine while driving and the lack of the dealer to fix the problem is of grave concern. I am very lucky that I have not been rear-ended or killed when the car has stalled. This is a huge safety concern and it appears that this has happened in many Prius vehicles. The dealership keeps saying that they do not know what is the problem. Something needs to happen to protect americans that drive these cars for environmental reasons.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Opelika, AL, USA