Toyota Prius

On May 4th, I was driving from Las Vegas to San Diego when all of my interior electrical components began to flicker. This was then followed by my car losing all ability to accelerate! I pulled over to the shoulder, let the car sit for several moments and then turned it back to try to make it to a safe location. A black Prius with no lights on a small shoulder in 100% darkness doesn't leave you feeling too comfortable. Toyota roadside assistance towed my car to Findlay Toyota in Henderson, Nevada. The next morning, I was told that they could mimic the problem, yet all their diagnostics were saying the car was fine (Please note that I don't live in Vegas, so I had to pay for a hotel while they tried to figure anything out).

After a few more hours, the dealership offered me a five-day rental car, while they waited for a Toyota Corporate tech. to try and analyze the data. With this being said, the dealership did not think this could happen until at least the 8th. All of this was a mess considering they wanted to charge me for the rental car because they were unsure if whatever was wrong was warranty related. I have three separate full coverage warranties on this car. Great! I have a car that doesn't work and no one knows what is wrong with it. With all of this being said, I had taken my car to Toyota of Poway several weeks earlier telling them that the car was almost stalling every time it went from gas power to hybrid power. They ran their $178 test and told me nothing was wrong. Maybe a slightly worn belt was causing this to happen. Funny, considering I was stuck in a desert with a broken car two weeks later. Thank you, Toyota, for not knowing how to diagnose your cars' problems.

The end result is that I am in San Diego with a rental car that needs to be driven back to Vegas to be returned, with no solution to my Prius problems in the foreseeable future. Please note that I just bought this car as a used Toyota certified vehicle three months ago! I hope Toyota reads this and decides that they'll ship my car back to San Diego free of charge until they can figure out what's wrong with their certified used car that they sold me! (Or perhaps they can get real mechanics that look at cars instead of just plugging it into a computer that's supposed to diagnose everything). I'm very, very disappointed with my lemon and Toyota!

I just returned from 4 days at our cabin to find my wife's Prius battery dead (this is second time). It has about 15,000 miles. I contacted the service dept at Rudy Luther Toyota and was told to expect this and in the future, to disconnect negative cable to battery. Initially, they thought I had some switch "near my knees", but they decided I did not have that feature. You have to be kidding!

I own a 2008 Toyota Prius Touring car and I have had 2 auxiliary batteries die on me in 4 months time. The first battery lasted about 4 years and the 2nd battery died 4 months after the first battery was replaced. Maita Toyota has replaced the 2nd battery at their cost but neither battery should have died in the time frame they did and that battery is not covered under the warranty or the extended warranty that I paid extra for. I paid cash for my car and I feel like it was a waste of money buying that car.

Nav system gets lost: We call her Gypsy. She gets lost. While driving the interstate straight from point A to B, she tried several times to get us to exit the highway. Twice I followed her direction, make the turn, and was told to make a u-turn. The arrival time display is sometimes hours off. It is very hard to read compared to my Garmin. I wish I hadn't sprung the extra money for it, but my wife wanted the back-up camera. To do it over again, I wouldn't buy the Nav System.

The MFD on my 2004 Prius has failed and I am extremely unhappy about it. The local dealership told me they are powerless to do anything about replacing it free of charge, so I am appealing to Toyota as a corporation to make this right. Given what we've been through with recalls on this car, albeit unnecessary in my view, I don't think I should have to pay $3,000 to replace a part that hasn't been abused and over which, I have no control. Please advise as to how you plan to proceed and thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

I have a 2006 Prius with hybrid battery, water pump and catalytic converter failure. The car initially was taken to the dealership in December of 2011 with under 100,000 miles due to check engine light. The car returned to shop on February 27th. Toyota agreed after a heck of an argument (goodwill, they say) to pay all but $400 of battery replacement. The car was in the shop for three weeks for battery replacement. I drove two miles up the road and warning light came on again! The car still needs $2100+ catalytic converter replacement. This is a $6500 worth of work on 2006 car. Buyer beware. You should really seriously consider maintenance costs before purchasing a Prius!

I recently bought a Toyota Prius from a South Coast dealership in California and besides the fact that the navigator just locks on me all the time, the performance of the car is horrible. I drive 20 miles per day and due to rush hour, not more than 45-50 mph. A full tank of gas only lasts me for six days. This is worse than my six years old car.

I am so disappointed with the way Toyota has changed on the 2011 Prius. We bought a new 2011 in January 2012. We were totally unaware that you had dumbed down 2011 models. We traded our 2008 Prius that we loved for a car that is tolerable.

Only 1 door can be opened using the keyless entry, not so on our 2008. We bought the Navigation System because the back up camera was not available on the 2011 Prius without, our 2008 Prius came with a back up camera standard. We were not advised about the door locks at the time of sale, and about the back up camera only after we bought the Nav System. No pamphlet, no car on the lot. I do not trust Toyota to be honest anymore.

The display on my 2004 Prius 2nd Generation works sporadically. When I start the car, the computer control in the middle will not work. If I press the climate button, nothing happens and the display states "Check the connection of your air conditioning". If I hit the audio button, it will display "Audio Off" yet the radio will work. I can control the audio and climate from the steering wheel. After driving a while the climate and audio control on the computer will eventually turn on and start working. Has this happened to anyone? Is there a solution? I'm thinking the computer will have to be replaced and probably cost a fortune.

I bought a used 2004 Prius from a private party. After a week or so, I started having problems with the braking system. The following indicators on the dash came on: brake, ABS, VSC. Although the car would stop, the anti-lock brakes would not work and when I am in stop & go traffic, the brakes grab very abruptly when the brake is depressed. If I barely release pressure on the brake pedal, the car tends to move forward abruptly and causes me to hit the brakes hard so as not to hit the car in front of me. It is not only very nerve-racking for me, it must also be very annoying to the person behind me.

I first took the car to a local mechanic and he connected his diagnostic reader to my car and said that the problem was some type of stroke sensor. He cleared the code and the indicator lights turned off and the car behaved normally. This only lasted a few days and the lights came back on with the same braking conditions.

One day while driving to work early in the morning on wet pavement, I had to brake hard due to a sudden freeway closure up ahead. The wheels locked up violently and I almost lost control of the car and came within inches of rear ending a car in front of me. A few days later, I received a recall notice on my Prius due to some kind of pump problem. I decided to take it to the Toyota dealer to have the recall issue taken care of and to have them look at my braking issue. The dealer said they would charge me $105 to diagnose the problem and if I decided to get the problem fixed, they would discount the diagnostic service fee. The next day, they told me that the problem was the brake stroke sensor and that I also needed new brakes (badly worn). I agreed to get the brake stroke sensor and brake pads replaced (over $500).

The next day, the dealer called me to tell me that they had replaced the stroke sensor, but that it had not remedied the problem and that further diagnostics would be needed to find out what the problem was. I went to the dealer to argue about (and bring evidence) to show that this was a common problem with the Prius (found several instances on the Internet) and that Toyota should be stepping up to the problem by recalling the affected cars. They finally agreed that they would not charge me for the stroke sensor and they would keep the car for a few days to do further testing without charging me more for the service. A few days later, they told me that the problem was definitely the Skid Control ECU, which would cost me over $2300. I told them that I did not have that kind of money and that I needed my car back. They ended up charging me around $400 for all of the service and claimed that they had not charged me for the stroke sensor, but would have to charge me for the labor of replacing the stroke sensor. Basically they made me pay for the labor, but not the part because it had not taken care of the issue with my brakes.

I decided to purchase a used Skid Control ECU from eBay and install it myself. I went through three different ECU modules and none of them remedied my problem. I then took a known good ECU module off my brother's 2005 Prius and installed my ECU module into his Prius and the problem cleared for a few miles and then the lights and braking condition came back again. On the other hand, my brother's Prius with my bad ECU module is working perfect without any problems.

The problem I have is that I have no way of knowing if the dealer ever really changed the stroke sensor since they did not give me my old one back (and I did not ask for it). I also feel that Toyota should have a recall on this because it is well documented (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/53252-brake-problems-stroke-sensor-dealer-service.html) that this is a known problem and not just a random failure. The service manager at the dealer even told me that every time he has seen this problem, they have changed out the stroke sensor and the problem was repaired.

Six times in the past six weeks my 2010 Prius 50000 miles has lost power overnight requiring a call to AAA to start it. I have had it to Toyota service each time. I have been given guesses, but no reason for this. It happened the morning after the battery had been charged. The current solution is installation of a (trickler) which must be plugged in each night and unplugged each morning. This is not a satisfactory solution. Everyone I have seen at Toyota has a guess as to the cause, but only this makeshift solution. This is my 6th Toyota and the first to cause trouble. It is also my second Prius. I want the car fixed quickly.

I purchased a new 2012 (and expensive) Prius V (generation 3) Wagon, equipped with an HD radio system. Problems with the quality of the radio include static, echoing sounds, bursts of loud volume, and sudden loss of signal. I took the car in to the dealership for service. The dealership, Toyota of Marin, said that Toyota Corporate said that the radio is operating, as it is designed to function and there is nothing they can or will do about it. The dealership did not tell me about the poor quality of the radio and that this would be the norm. It does not matter which station I am listening to, whether the HD function is on or off, or where I am. The quality sound problems happen anywhere and everywhere. The dealership said it was the strength of the signal, but I have never had any reception problems with my previous cars and I have been traveling the same routes for years.

I have been driving my '04 since new and put 172K on it. The car has been trouble free except brake leds failed at 110K and now the digital display ( Speedo, fuel etc.) has gone out. Overall, a very low expense car. I forgot the inverter cooling pump did go out and I was reimbursed in full. Living in Hawaii has no doubt been good for the lack of issues. I do not baby the car. I am typically the first one out from the light and love passing a big SUV with the engine off.

In November, we purchased a 2011 Prius with GPS. We have used a hand held Garmin for 5 years and expected the built in to be much better. The voice control on the Prius is useless and when the car is in motion it is the only way to use it. When trying to find "dining", you must choose "nearby" or "on the route". For nearby we only get restaurants within a block or two. Anytime we are on a freeway, we get there are none on our route. Even when we have programmed a route, we have been given wrong directions. The Garmin is far superior. Of course, we can't do anything about it. I am just surprised that none of the reviews have mentioned the poor GPS system. We would not have bought a Prius with it and spent a large amount of money on it.

Hi. I have a 2000 Toyota Prius and I can not remove the key from contact unless I unplug the battery. I can't drive the car.

The car itself has been good up until recently. We have a 2004 Prius that was purchased new. We also purchased the extended 100,000 mile warranty. The air conditioner stopped working this summer. It was working, then I parked the car, and it no longer worked. We took it to the Lithia Toyota in Abilene, TX. After paying $136, they told us the compressor was out, they thought, and it would cost us a minimum of $2,500. They wouldn't know for sure until they started working on it.

While picking up the car, we overheard the assistant manager tell another person the same thing, just on a different model of car. My problem is two different issues. We were charged for diagnostics to only be told they thought it was the compressor, which was obviously their standard answer. Then we took it to another automotive A/C place. They were told by Toyota that Toyota will not release the wiring diagrams to anyone. Thus, you are held hostage by Toyota who does not know how to diagnose or work on the air system.

This car did not come at cheap price. We currently own a Tundra, Corolla and the Prius. We have also owned a 4Runner and were proud to be owners of Toyota vehicles. Now, however, it does seem that Toyota has joined the other big auto industry companies in putting the almighty dollar before the very people that keep them in business. Oh, and they told us the extended warranty that would have covered the air conditioning system had literally just expired. I believe that Toyota should be able to diagnose the problem, give a set price and not say, "This is for starters." I also believe that they should be able to diagnose without charging high fees. I do feel that the mechanics and the managers are not properly trained. I would like to have the A/C system repaired at a reasonable price, or they should release their wiring schematics to outside sources.

My 2008 Prius has been having issues with wiring. Since I first got the new car, my stereo has been working on-and-off. Sometimes, the dials will work, other times (like during long road trips), they won't. My solution (since I've taken it into the Mossy Toyota Dealership in Pacific Beach before and it hasn't worked) is to just smack the thing. Otherwise, the dealers say they can't fix it.

The most recent wiring issue has been with my headlights. When I turn the lights on when I start my car, they won't click on, or flicker on & off as I drive. Sometimes, as I start driving, the lights will turn on, but anytime I use my turn signal, it switches off again. I took my car in to an independent body shop at first, who told me that the problem with my headlights was too complex for them. The dealer at Mossy Toyota Dealership in Pacific Beach called me a few hours later, after charging me $100, that it would be another $300 to simply look into the wiring issue because it was too unique. When I told him that I would be taking my vehicle elsewhere, he said that only 3 of his 30 guys on staff could even begin to try to fix the problem, and that I would be regretting my decision.

My 2008 Prius JTDKB20U983381035 had a total electrical failure (all lights and dashboard) at night driving 65mph on a 2-lane rural highway. It was off for 30 seconds and came back on when high beam flasher was used. Again, total darkness. No reflected light available. I didn't know where the road really was so I slowed down. The lights came back on. Mark ** of Toyota said it was due to old headlamps?

We own a 2005 Toyota Prius. Recently, the steering made a grinding sound and then broke completely, leaving the car utterly uncontrollable. Luckily, no one was hurt in the failure, this time. We checked and found that Toyota had issued a recall for this exact failure, but they claim they had already repaired this car in 2006, obviously not.

The repair bill is now topping $2,300, as the air bag sensors were damaged when the steering sheared off in my wife's hands. This car has been plagued with other issues including a door lock system that randomly locks us out of the car while it's parked in the garage and headlights that cost $150 each and require the removal of the entire front bumper to replace them.

The car has less than 100k miles on it. IT has not been wrecked and is only driven around downtown Denver. I have owned 14 Toyotas in my life time, so I was a big fan, but the Prius has been the worst car I have ever owned.

I bought a 2008 Prius and after three months, it blew up. The fire marshal said that the wire in the airbag was screwed up.

I purchased a 2005 Prius. My Prius my only car and I drive it about 1000 miles a day. It currently has approximately 220k miles. The problem I'm having is that the dashboard lights do not come on and the car is difficult to turn off. I took the car to Toyota today and they witnessed the problem. I paid $120 for them to diagnose the problem but after putting the car on the computer, they told me that the problem was in the wiring. Please help me. I need to know where I can make a complaint.

I had a 2002 Toyota Prius. The day we were to start out on a road trip, I received a recall letter from Toyota. I went to my nearby dealership, Mark Jacobson Toyota, in Durham, NC. They told me that in around 10% of the cars they had serviced for this recall, they had uncovered a more serious concern that had made the cars inoperable. I decided to instead get the recall taken care of in New Jersey where I would be spending a week with my parents. On August 3,2011, I took the car to Prestige Toyota in Mahwah, NJ. I told them about the recall and that on the way to the dealership my check oil light had come on. The next day I got my car back, they said they had reset the light and that the car seemed to be in good shape. I then proceeded on our road trip through NY, up to Maine. A few times, the oil light would come on as I was making sharp turns.

On August 13,2011 as we were driving on Hwy 86 W in NY, we heard a loud noise and the car started rocking. I was able to pull over to the side of the road safely and called AAA. As it was Saturday afternoon, we were towed to a nearby garage, but could not talk to anyone until Monday morning. On Monday, we were told that the garage does not work on hybrids. We decided to have the car towed to the nearest dealership in Elmira, NY.

Toyota Key Instability Problem

Here is another problem that the Toyota company has ignored. A rather strange one.

The Corolla Verso and the Prius models both use the same kind of electronic key which has two separate functions : to start the engine and to open and close the door locks.

My Verso is four years old and almost from the beginning the keys malfunctioned in a strange and undesirable way. I reported this every time I took the car for service but although the dealer's service was impeccable in every other respect no notice was taken of the anomalous behaviour. They tell me no one else reports the same problem and, smiling, politely imply I am mistaken in my observations. (Or that they don't care).

I have exchanged lengthy correspondence with Toyota at local, national (Spain), European and headquarters' levels - up to and including the president's office. They are all unfailingly polite but finally unwilling to recognise the problem.

Which is that every so often the key spontaneously sends a signal to either unlock or lock the doors.. i.e. without the buttons having been pushed or even touched. In many cases it was certain that there could not have been any accidental button pushing while the key was in my pocket. Touching or stroking the plastic body of the key (away from the buttons) may sometimes have been associated with this effect which makes me suspect possibly an electrostatic influence on the internal circuit.

It is not possible to deliberately provoke the anomalous behaviour nor to predict when it will occur and it is very irregular : sometimes happening several times in a day, sometimes with a long interval between events. No apparent correlation with ambient temperature or other conditions.

The key I am currently using shows the effect very strongly and it is obviously very unstable. The most recent instances of unprovoked signalling have occurred when walking or standing a few metres from the vehicle which had been parked unused for several hours ; the key being loose and unencumbered in my pocket. In one case in fact, having just been removed from my pocket and being held loosely in my open hand, my fingers nowhere near the buttons, the key sent a signal all by itself to open the doors. On this occasion the event was witnessed by my wife (who had previously been a bit sceptical).

The first key that showed this problem many times eventually gave up the ghost and the door control stopped working altogether. (Engine start is not affected). It was examined at the dealer's who offered no explanation, merely confirming the key was kaput.

Another possible cause is a loose internal contact.

Hopefully a bit of public attention may lead to some light being shone on this matter.

2005 Toyota Prius. 63,000 miles. My car stopped dead while my husband was driving it; it had to be towed to Toyota Dealer, Stockton, CA. Rick **, service dept., advised that drive train and transmission must be replaced. He said this was very uncommon occurrence. Cost is $5500.00. Two recalls thus far. I phoned Toyota Experience and spoke to "someone" relating the problem. She said they would be in touch but did not give me a case number or confirmation number.

I have/had a 2001 Prius. I used it for commuting to work. Ten years, and it's less than 120k miles. One fine day, the warning lights came on, the brake light was on, and also the check engine light. I tried to make the car go forward, but the acceleration was poor, and then there was a bad shuddering. I had the car towed to the local dealer. After resetting the codes and trying to drive it, several codes would not go away. I was told it will be more than $4000 to determine the problem (inverter or transmission), and between $12,000 and $14,000 to fix it. Hokey smoke, bullwinkle. I don't know what I'm going to do next, but I think I just lost my car.

My 2008 Prius engine light came on and when I took to the first time it was HV Electric Water Pump costing a whopping $403. Dealership does not shuttle to work over 5 miles and I work about 10 miles.

Left the dealership drove for about 20 minutes and my engine light came on again and so I had to take back. Now find out that I need coolant temperature sensor and water valve assembly for another $476.38. I am out of warranty and the 2004 - 07 have a recall on this and they used the same part for the 08. When I called the Toyota hotline for assistance, I was turned down because it is out of warranty and that since I had purchased0 the car on 9/10. I have not had it serviced at Toyota.

So nearly $1,000. later, I am rethinking Toyota! They have been no help nor sympathetic to a continual problem they have with inferior parts. Not to mention I was laid off the same day.

My 2006 Prius was working fine. The next morning, the hybrid drive started, but the car would not move. I tried it several times to go forward or to go backward with the same result. The wheels would not turn. I called the dealer who told me to have the car towed on a dolly to the dealer. The diagnosis was that the auxiliary battery was dead so the car would not move. It cost $3.50 per mile to tow the car.

There was no way to release the wheels so they would turn. We were lucky we didn't need the car for an emergency. It was useless. There was no remedy except for the dealer to put in an expensive new battery, using an expensive installation process. Toyota should have an easy power override for such times.

There was cold weather that time. The car was not used for a few days. I attempted to start it. All lights light and some blink. I cannot shut the car down. I checked the battery voltage (12 volt battery) and found it quite low, 5 volts dc. The consequence was that because the system did not accept attempts to shut down to prevent further damage to the battery, it runs it all the way down, the worst thing for a lead acid battery in cold weather. The Prius may have a part that requires more battery in cold weather as this has happened a number of times. The dealer said it needed a new battery. I design battery chargers. I knew it was not bad and continued to use it for several more years.

My first experience driving my Prius in the snow here in CT has been very disappointing. Tires would just stop spinning entirely, leaving the car totally disabled. Not only is this a problem for the driver, but is potentially very dangerous depending upon where you get stuck. Fortunately, some people pushed me until the car was on firm ground again and I could continue. This is a design flaw as I see it. A control switch to disable this feature when wanted would solve this problem. I grew up in snow country and being able to spin the tires is necessary to get out of most "stuck" situations.

My 2002 Toyota Prius with 39,000 miles, developed power steering problems . The power steering would suddenly just go out. This is a critical safety issue. It cost $3200 to repair a part that Toyota said was not worn - it just failed. They refused to replace the defective part because the car was out of warranty, even though they admitted it was a defective part. Potential Prius buyers should be aware of the extremely high costs of repairing this car as well as the safety issues. Losing power steering at 65 miles per hour could have been fatal and Toyota will not be at all sympathetic or helpful.