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.
4 or 5 times since I had the recent hybrid software update, I've had trouble starting the car, especially when the lights are set to auto or on, when first starting in the morning. Sometimes turning the lights off enables starting, but not always. My Toyota dealer checked the battery and electrical and said all is normal - but it's clearly not.
The car burns oil for not reason. Between oil changes I will go through 2 quarts of oil that I have to add. Other Prius owners have the same issues. I only have 120,000 miles on it.
Toyota has issued a recall with no remedy. They say there is a possibility the car could stall at high speeds and increase the likelihood of a crash. I have small children and plan to travel over the holidays. I am afraid to drive this car. We have followed the previous recall notices.
I was driving down a city road at 25-30 mph at dusk (5:15pm), and with my headlights on. The first indication of a problem was the smell of burning rubber when I turned on the heater. Assuming the problem was with another vehicle ahead of me, I turned off the heater and kept driving. A mile later, as I was nearing my destination, I noticed several warning lights turn on (skid light and exclamation mark light) and the steering became less responsive. I then saw smoke emitting from under my hood. A few seconds later, the front passenger-side corner of the car burst into flames. I managed to pull over, woke up my two young children from their car seats, and got everyone out. Within a minute, the entire hood was ablaze. Given where the fire started, I suspect the headlight. I replaced it the day before. The light seemed to work fine for 1 day, but it is suspicious that is also the area where the fire started.
My vehicle may not enter a failsafe driving mode as intended. Vehicle could lose power and stall on a freeway where higher speed will take place. This is dangerous and may cause a fatality. I am concern about there not being a remedy as of October of this year.
- Newbury Park, CA, USA
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While driving on a side road on 9/26/2018 I received an alert message that said "check hybrid system. Stop the vehicle in a safe place." I pulled the vehicle over and shut it down. The vehicle would not start for a minute but then started again. I called the Toyota dealership where I get my car serviced and I asked them if it is okay for me to drive it home since I was 110 miles away. They told me it was okay to drive and I took the car to them to get it checked out upon getting back in town. They confirmed that the warning had come on, however could not find anything to fix it. So they reset the error message and returned the car to me. I am afraid to drive the car on the road without a fix since it could stop at a high speed and cause me to be in a crash. I am surprised how does Toyota have a protocol to let users drive a faulty car on the road?
I bought a used 2013 Toyota certified Prius in 2016, after using for a few months the car stalled at the middle of the road.I have it towed at bob smith Toyota for repairs.the repair indicated a replacement of inverter.the cost of repair is around $2,000.the car is ok now and running, but it's no guarantee the the same problem will happen again.I don't feel safe driving the car, at present I brought my car at the dealership again for another issue, the radio, navigation backup camera doesn't work,
Car literally stopped on the road. It was towed to Toyota of riverside, ca. Saw there had been a recall that the problem was exactly what happened to me. Asked the dealer to check the software as described in the recall. I was told that applied only to 2010-2012 vehicles, mine is a 2013. Asked repeatedly, regardless of year to please check this. I have huge concerns driving this car as it left me completely stopped and stranded, had I been on the freeway, could have been fatal. First I was told it was the hybrid batteries had gone bad. Then they said it wasn't the batteries, it was a fuse for the hybrid battery. Explained my concerns that this could happen again if it truly was the fuse"? they said it became disconnected due to vibration. How do you drive and not have some vibration" asked if it could happen again, they didn't know. Asked repeatedly to check the software as described in the recall. They said they had Toyota safety involved and they did everything they requested of them. This did not include checking the software as I requested, so they would not do it. I ended up dealing with the manager, danny briggs, and requested a copy of all the items that had been checked and done to my car. He said he would have this for me. When we picked up the car, this was not given to me. Met with him, he said that was all he could do. I told him I was very upset, I feel like I'm involved in a total "cover up" so they wouldn't have to recall the 2013 Prius' also. I was told I could trade my car in there if I didn't feel it was safe to drive. I had asked them to change the oil and check my brakes, they didn't do it. It was like they just wanted to get me out of there and not deal with it. I have never contacted your Agency before, but feel that this could end up killing someone if not checked into. Thank you.
I was driving home from work. The car was working just fine. All of a sudden I noticed smoke. I put my emergency lights on and started looking for any sign of trouble. No warning lights when off on the dash board. All of a sudden a car pulled up next to me and told me get out your car is on fire! at that point I stopped on the freeway in the second lane and ran to the center divider. The car burned out.
Rodents are entering the cabin of my Prius via the engine compartment and chewing through the foam flapper vent just above the cabin filter and entering the main cabin area to raise havoc. I discovered on more than one occasion rodent droppings in my glove box and floor board. This is occurring while the vehicle is parked in my driveway for short periods of time since I drive the vehicle daily. I don't leave food in the vehicle, so the rodents are attracted to the vehicle itself. The local Toyota dealership claims to be unaware of this problem although I can search on the internet and find multiple instances of similar rodent activity in Toyota vehicles.
My sunroof spontaneously exploded outwards when driving on the freeway. I did not hit anything. No objects hit me or the sunroof. There were no other cars near me. I was not around any overpasses. The sunroof just exploded and the glass shards are pointing outwards towards the sky.
In heavy rains breaking does not work well. Even at 10 mph if you hit a puddle of water. Can cause a crash. It has happened on a dirt road going at low speed. Back road where water rises and in some heavy rain on the highway
I rear-ended another vehicle which casued the airbags to deploy and serious front end damage. My concern is that we were not able to open the back doors or hatch back whcih were not damaged. Understandably the power was liklely cut so the automatic unlock via the key didnt work, but we could not even open the back doors from within the vehicle. I was alone but had my children been with me and injured it would have been very difficult to get a back seat passenger out through the front. The front doors were damaged but bent and not fully engaged so maybe that is why I was able to puch them open.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- York, PA, USA