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Toyota Continues to Sell Faulty Prius Hybrids

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 3, 2005

• EPA Lowers Prius Mileage Estimate • Prius Ranks #1 in Owner Satisfaction • Toyota Aims for Even Better Prius Performance • Toyota Prius Named in Patent Infringement Suit • A Wild Ride in a Prius • First Chinese Prius Ready to Go • Prius Supplies Will Remain Tight Through 2006 • Prius Runs Amok After Stalling, Hits Tow Truck • Toyota Boosts Prius Price, Cancels Fleet Sales • Toyota Continues to Sell Faulty Prius Hybrids • Greens Call Toyota a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing • Toyota Warns Prius Owners of Stalling • GM Sells Subaru Stake to Toyota, Which Increases Stake in Hybrid Battery Supplier • Prius Profiteering as Salesmen Squeeze Consumers • Prius Turns Profits in Used-Car Market • Feds Open Probe into Prius Stalling • Prius Problems Traced to Software Glitch • Toyota Probes Prius Stalling Problem

While the Toyota Motor Corp. is notifying 75,000 Prius owners of a software glitch that can cause the hybrid cars to suddenly stall or shut down, the company is apparently continuing to sell the hybrid vehicles that carry the software problem.

A ConsumerAffairs.com reader in Fredericksburg, Virginia reports to us that his Prius shut down after just three weeks on the road.

“I was driving on October 31 along the highway when the engine shut down and would not restart,” writes Gerard. “The car had been at the dealership for two days in New Jersey and they didn't know what was wrong.”

The New Jersey dealership apparently was not paying attention to its own service bulletins because Toyota began officially warning Prius owners of the stalling problem on October 13.

After his brand new Prius shut down on the highway, Gerard’s research brought him to ConsumerAffairs.com. “I found information on this Web site regarding 13 previous cases of the engine shutting down,” he told us.

The most confounding aspect of Gerard's Prius stalling is the age of the vehicle. “Being that this car was just shipped I would have assumed that the software issue referred to would have been resolved,” he wrote.

“Apparently that is not the case. I had to be towed off of the Interstate at night and this vehicle is only 3 weeks old.”

The Prius was probably in production when the automaker discovered the software glitch and began warning consumers by asking that they take the cars to a dealership for free repairs.

Gerard’s letter from the company has not arrived.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into the stalling problems. NHTSA has received a number of complaints about the hybrid stalling or stopping unexpectedly, often on the highway as was the case with Gerard.

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