Toyota Prius Reviews

My hopes for car that substantially exceeded my previous car's mileage-- a 2003 Kia Rio Cinco which got 30 mpg in town and approached 39 to 40 mpg on the highway. The Kia figures are based on the tankful to tankful gallons into mile driven method. I feel cheated-- maybe defrauded.

My car averages 40-45 mpg and has never gotten 55-60 mpg. I feel this is false and misleading advertising and should be stopped. I know of no Prius owners who get the promised gas mileage and believe a class action lawsuit against Toyota for false and misleading advertising is in order.

Toyota may have reasons for not including this - as there seems to be some risk to their system some people pointed out if traction control were to be disconnected by owners. But my deeper concern is that Toyota seems not to want to admit that there is a potentially life threatening problem in their present design.

To see how far I can get directly with the company, I've decided to pursue Toyota directly to see if they will decide to respond by doing what is right not just for me, but for others as well. I am hoping not to even have to consider legal action and instead hope that reaching high enough into the company will convince them to take this problem up in a serious fashion.

Car manufacturers know:

Tom:...there are a few rare circumstances in which you might want the wheels to spin. One is if you're stuck in the snow. If you're stuck in the snow with the traction control on, here's what happens: The wheels will try to turn, they'll get no traction and

they'll stop. So, in a situation like that, the traction control can prevent the wheels from turning at all. No traction, no power to the wheels!

RAY: So by turning off the traction control, you can allow the wheels to spin, and you can try to get out of the snow...

This On/Off switch is all I and others need to fix this problem, unless there's some reason it won't work on a hybrid which I doubt. But Toyota said they did not plan on having such a system avaiable, which was an idea I'd come to myself.

So, my question is whether you can offer any advice on how to proceed, now that I know that the problem is understood and has been for years, and a solution has existed which Toyota has chosen for some unknown reason not to include on the Prius.

I live in the mountains of Vermont - up steep hills and dirt roads. I consider the slippage problem - with the shutting down of power to the wheels just when you need more (not less) traction - to be a very serious problem and a potentially life threatening design flaw.

After a lengthy call, the line I was given by Toyota Corporate when I called them yesterday was that the system was operating the way it's supposed to, which is what I learned later others have been told. However, it became clear that they were resistant to accepting that operating the way it was supposed to was the problem.

That this system is fundamentally flawed in a way that could put people's lives at risk and poses dangers in environments like mine - where navigating fresh slippery snow and steep inclines are a necessity. Despite my insistence that there must be many other people like me who are experiencing this same problem, Toyota Corporate did not acknowledge this as a widespread problem.

Common sense told me something wasn't right and I needed to press this as far as necessary, including some form of lawsuit, which is not my tendency at all, but I consider this problem to be serious enough to warrant a recall by the company. So after my unpleasant encounter with the corporation, who had lost my initial complaint about this problem filed several months ago to which I never received a follow up - I decided to do some searching on the Internet which is how I came upon your website.

Then I found a number of similar complaints elsewhere and learned that what I thought was the problem - which was the vehicle stabilization control system - was probably not the cause, but rather it was traction control which I hadn't heard about before. It was clear after a short while that enough people are experiencing what I have been that Toyota should have easily been in a position to inform me of this and acknowledged this as an issue, which they didn't. I questioned them regarding whether an override switch was available and learned it wasn't and later saw that this is the solution that others had suggested.

This really leaves me with no option but to get rid of this car somehow unless the traction problem can be disengaged. However, I want to drive a Prius or something like it because of my great concern for the environment and I want to know if the problem exists on all Prius's or just some models. Finally, in one posting I read last night someone suggested that a Prius had to be driven differently. This made some sense to me given a recent experience I had but it was ultimately not convincing.

I did find in a recent snowstorm, as this writer suggested, that I was able to make it up a friends very steep road (just barely) crawling at about 3 or 4 miles per hour at best. (My friend I was visiting has an 05 Prius with the same problem and warned me not to drive my Prius on that day.

He's wanting to take action with me.) At any moment I thought the car would come to a complete stop but to my surprise it actually made it up - although I smelled strange odors and the battery was down to 1 bar, the lowest I've seen it. So I do see that it's possible to drive this car differently, flooring the gas peddle to barely crawl and have it work - but it was so touch and go and had another car been coming (up or down) I wouldn't have been able to move out of the way and probably couldn't have restarted with no momentum from a standstill.

It is completely clear that I am unable to trust my Prius in serious snow conditions and I now choose not to drive it whenever possible in fresh snow, when the traction is most slippery. Yesterday, I was not even able to get the car to move more than a few inches in reverse on my almost entirely flat driveway over just a few inches of fresh, wet snow, even when there was no snow under the car itself.

As a result, the car, which I happen to love in many other respects, is rendered useless in fresh, unplowed snow. My greatest concern is that I would be unable to respond in slippery conditions if someone were sliding out of control and my safety (and those with me) depended upon my being able to get traction DESPITE the slippery conditions in order to move quickly out of the way to avoid a collision. The bottom line is that this design flaw does not allow me as the driver to control my car. It decides for me when my wheels should stop spinning, which is completely inappropriate and ineffective given the driving conditions I face on a daily basis in Vermont for almost half the year.

So far I've managed to avoid serious mishaps, but I consider this such a serious design flaw that it seems it may be worthy of a class action suit and massive recall. I'm writing to find out what my recourse might be as I am not willing to own and drive a vehicle that I feel is unsafe at least in slippery conditions. As I begin going down the path of learning what my rights are and seeing how Toyota will respond to this when pressed, I was hoping you could give me some advice. I called wanting to know who I needed to talk with at the corporation to get this problem resolved and declared my readiness to go as far as I needed to in order to have this problem resolved.

I wanted a number or address for someone with decision making power. I was told I was talking to the right department but felt I wasn't talking with someone with authority to resolve a consumer complaint. It was requested that I bring my Prius to a local dealer to get it checked out as a first step, which I'm doing on Tuesday. However, it's clear to me that this is just going through the motions and that I need to learn what my recourse is and how far I may need to go toward lemon laws, lawsuit, class action, exchanging vehicles, etc. If you can be of help I'd appreciate it very much. Thank you.

the first time the lights for brake, ps, caution,car sign with light through it, came on the brakes locked up on me and i left it where we were and got a ride home. my husband went the morning to check it out and the lights didn't come for him so he drove it home with someone following him. the next time it happened was right when i drove in the drive way. we called toyota and they didn't know what was wrong and suggested checking the gas cap. we made an appointment but when we took it in the lights and whistling had stopped and they said they could not do anything if the lights were not on.

The next time it happened i was taking my grandchildren to a dentist appointment. we were going down the 60 and all the lights came om along with the whistling. when i applied the brakes to slow down and get to the right lane the brakes grabbed and made the car pull to the right. we felt frightened and unsafe. we called superstition springs toyota and they gave us the run around as to what to do. finally they made arrangements for the car to be towed to camelback toyota where they gave us a rental. they kept the car for a week and supposably fixed it. approximately three weeks ago as i was turning into a walgreens drive thru the lights came back on and the brakes grabbed again.

i was afraid that the car might not stop in tjme for the car in front of me. it did stop but the brakes were very tight and didn't seem to hold well. i got home and parked the car. we had planned to take the car to Flagstaff with my uncle and brother that afternoon. we had to take my brother's truck. luckly this happened before getting on our way and being standed somewhere or worse yet having a cerious accident. we no requested for the car to be taken to Big Two Toyota in Gilbert and they had it towed there.

They have fixed what they think is the problem. they say the mobile gaurdian (like lo-jack) base unit had slid and was rubbing against the foot peddle. they have relocated the mobile gardian unit and hopfully everything will be okay. i got the car back yesterday.

i am afraid that the problem is not corrected. i feel unsafe. only time will tell. if it happens again, we'll go for the lemon law.

When my gas mileage dropped drastically with the same routes and driving habits, I checked the tires, because I had this problem once before in Florida. Sure enough, the car had come equipped with M+S tires. According to the owner's manual, these are tires especially designed for greater traction on ice and snow, and have a much higher rolling resistance than the tires on my 2002 and my 2004 models had. I complained twice to Toyota at 800-331-4331. They basically just don't care.

I also complained to the dealer that they were misleading consumers by advertising mileage impossible to obtain with the M+S tires that come on the car now. They talked to a regional Toyota rep about this. The Toyota rep told them that Toyota had begun replacing the LRR tires mid-year 2006 with the mud and snow tires, no matter where anyone lived. I might not be bothered by this if I lived in Canada or the northern states, but I don't, and no one told me about this. The dealer claims they didn't know what kind of tires the cars came with, and didn't realize they had been changed.

When I went through the Free tires for life program at Lighthouse Toyota in St. Augustine, FL in 2006, they also put on the newer M+S tires without realizing it. My mileage abrubtly dropped about 12 mpg. I took the car back to them three times to try to figure out what the problem was before we all realized that the old LRR tires had been replaced with the much higher rolling resistance M+S version.

They replaced the M+S tires with the old LRR version, and my mileage instantly jumped back to where it was, at around 60 mpg by the car's computer. Not many buyers have gone through the free tires for life program offered by most Toyota dealers for the Prius, and most of those who have probably had the same model tire for their replacement, so this particular experience during their changeover from the LRR to the M+S tires is likely unusual.

I doubt many people understand yet that Toyota has replaced the old LRR tires, which were used in the EPA tests, with mud and snow tires that make it impossible to achieve decent gas mileage.

They are misleading the public by advertising 51/55/60 mpg on their stickers, and equipping the car very differently than those used to obtain those mileage figures. It's not the air pressure. I check it every time I fill up.

The car is designed to run with a 2 psi bias between the front and rear tires. I use 44 psi in the front, 42 psi in the rear. The issue is the type of tires, and false advertising by Toyota and their dealerships, in my opinion.

Those problems include: 1) Car has gone through 12 tires in under 90,000 miles. No matter what is adjusted on the car, it eats the tires. this has included one blow out. 2) Grounding bracket broke lose and had to have it serviced. Was covered by warranty. The following repairs were all made between 60,000 and 90,000 miles. 3) In less than 500 miles after my $300 60,000 mile service my fuel pump went out. It took a week to get it back and I had to rent a car since we did not have another. Within 2 days of getting the car back it went out again and had to be replaced. Another long wait and car rental. 4)Between 60,000 and 70,000 miles, there were multiple problems with the fuel pump, various related parts and the fuel injectors. I was told the injectors could not be cleaned on a Prius, only replaced. It cost over $600. Corporate Toyota later informed me that the injectors could be cleaned. 5) Steering failed while driving down the interstate.

Without warning, it became nearly impossible to steer. I have been tracking the steering problems with the Prius. My Prius has had the exact same problem as the others yet Toyota says they corrected the problem before mine was manufactured. I even reported the problem to severla dealerships before it went out because it would shake and vibrate, lock up and jerk to the right.

This was mainly happening when you first started the car. Toyota could never find the problem. I had to pay $2,200 to fix the problem.

The vehicle was bought to be reliable. Between 60,000 and 90,000 miles alone, the car has required nearly $5,000 in repairs, maintenance and tires. It has financially strained our family. One of the representatives from Toyota, Haven, agreed that our car did not represent what they consider Toyota quality, yet they will do nothing about it.

Investment loss..... could have bought a lower priced vehicle and came out much better...

Subsequent internet research disclosed numerous complaints for various years of Prii - years before & after mine have been recalled - but not my VIN. Dealer wants $1400 to 'fix'. #3 - auxiliary battery was acting up this winter, and finally failed. Numerous discussions with dealer, and internet research disclose that Toyota no longer supplies OEM battery, nor does anyone else in US. Dealer will be replacing with newer larger version, which requires newer larger bracket. Again, dealer is charging me for bracket, necessitated by Toyota design problem/change.

#1 Almost killed in 2 separate tire blow-outs. Shaken up & stiff/sore from wrenching. Thankfully was able to pull over. Had to change tires myself, because call to Toyota roadside service never worked. Submitted bills for 2 sets of tires (4 total), but never got response from Toyota. Rims also scratched. #2 - Haven't had repaired yet - waiting for recall, or for problem to get worse. #3 - Lost time dealing with dealer, and having to wait for bracket parts to become available. Down time of vehicle. Paying dealer bill to install.

However, I encountered the same situation in mud! I had to call AAA to get towed out twice due to the 2006 Toyota Prius TRAC system (traction control). https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/prius_snowbound.html Toyota tells me there is no way to disable the 'feature'.

This is unsatisfactory, since I will have the car for many years and I live in a hostile weather environment (New England). They claim that they want to err on the side of safety. But I recommend that they allow the driver to manually disable the feature when parked, and have it re-enabled automatically after reaching a certain speed. That way, both problems are solved.

Can you help???

Cost of a tow for each and every instance. So far, $80. I don't know if damage has resulted to the internal system by me trying to repeatedly 'rock' the car back and forth while in these situations. If that were the case, due to the TRAC system, I may be out even more money in future repairs.

This has caused a very dangerous situation for me on several occassions when I am trying to pull out into traffic on wet roads. If the wheels slip, the car just stops right in the way of oncoming traffic and takes several seconds before it will go again. I have also had problems in snow where the car just will not go at more than 2-5 miles per hour on a road where other cars are speeding along at 30 miles per hour with ease.

This is very dangerous. Having the wheels slip when braking is bad, but when accelerating, it is often necessary. The traction control system should not be making this decision or there should be a way to override the system.

Can cause the car to stall in front of on-coming traffic with no way to move the car out of harm's way.

Other people with leg complaints blame the seats, etc. but I have spoken to some who claim there is a measureable emmission from the gas pedal.

I have been unable to reach customer relations at Prius. Have you had similar feelings or complaints about this electric car.

Lose $1500 tax credit

In the summer, I average in the lower 40s. In the winter, I average in the mid to low 30s. Plus, when I divide the gallons into the miles driven, I usually am even lower than what the computer tells me. I also do better on the highway than in the city, which is the opposite of what Toyota advertises. When I accelerate from a dead stop with any gas at all, the gasoline engine supplies all of the power.

When I watch the monitor, it seems like the electrical motor is in the generator mode most of the time, recharging the battery, even though the batter is pretty full. It flickers to propel mode breifly, but never for more than just a few seconds. I am a moderate driver, so I know that it's not my driving that is causing the problem. Furthermore, I have complained to my Toyota Dealership (Team Toyota in Highland, IN), but the service manager refuses to look at it. He says you would have a check engine light on if anything was wrong.

He also said that it was due to the cold weather, but I have co-workers who own Prius and they do 10 mph better than I do. I was told I could pay for a more advanced check-up of the hybrid system ($90.00). I was willing to pay this for peace of mind, but when I brought the car in for this, he still wouldn't do it. I like the car otherwise, but I am very disappointed by the difference in the actual mileage versus the EPA figures. I can't even get close. I'm also very disappointed by the sales manager who just accepts the poor gas mileage as normal.

I am filling up a lot more than I expected to which is costing me money. I read the reports that the extra costs associated with the hybrid aren't made up for by the better mileage, but mine aren't being made up at all.

I told them that the tires they were providing were extremely dangerous, and asked if there was another tire I could use. They told me there is no other tire I can use for my car, since the wheel base is only 15 and requires an extra-load sidewall.

Since then, I've been using Goodyear weatherwise tires, but they have to be overinflated by 10 psi. Now one of my Goodyears has a bump on it, which means it's about to pop. I can't find any tires that would be safe to use on my Toyota. I know that Toyota is aware of this problem, but they just don't care.

Unable to drive the car up my driveway, when it is snow covered.

A day and a half of my time. My safety on HWY 5 in the mountains. $418 No assurance that this won't happen to me again.

I have a Prius and I consider the car dangerous in all conditions because of this power stoppage when the wheel senses any slippage. For instance, it will do the same thing while driving up a graveled driveway or attempting to gain highway speed while in an acceleration lane and driving across a sand or gravel patch. The pedal goes dead and you could get severely hurt by losing acceleration.

Another dangerous possibility is turning off a rural road, where the speed limit is 55mph, onto another road that is dirt or gravel and has an incline. Slowing to make the turn from a clean road to the aforementioned road and accelerating to get out of the way of the car coming along behind me often causes my car to stop dead with it's rear end partially on the main road.

Toyota's statement is ridiculous and I think it is only a matter of time until they are sued and forced to do something about this serious problem.

Several optional answers they threw out were design flaw, bladder expansion, etc. Even had the service manager at our local dealership refer me to the owners manual under fuel tank capacity and try to convince me that the notation 9.9 Imp gallons referred to implement gallons, and those were all the gallons my vehicle would take.

Apparently he believes the 11.9 gallons is only there to let us know that we have a 2 gallon reserve that we can never access and the best we'll ever do is be able to fill our tank with those 9.9 implement gallons.(Tried to suggest they were maybe talking about Imperial gallons, but he flat out told me I was wrong.) Anyone familiar with this problem or any possible options?

I am familiar with the fact that the fuel tank capacity is reduced in cold weather, but when I bought this car, it was in the 40's Fahrenheit and I was having the problem even then. Plus I never had the problem with the 2006 Prius and I was driving that in the same cold weather last year. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Lee Behrens

Paid $28,000 for a vehicle that is inferior to an earlier model of the same product. Would just like product to operate as presented.

I'm in total agreement with Mr. Christopher of Reston, Va. comments to be found at https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/prius_snowbound.html The Prius is totally unsafe in any situation in which the front wheels loose traction which then causes the engine to completely shut down.

This shutdown occurs on any loosely packed (gravel or loose dirt at an intersection) or slippery (ice or packed snow)surface. Toyota attempts to spin this into a safety feature, which is total hype.

This is a most serious flaw in the design of the car and needs to be corrected, sooner rather than later. I'm positive you will find that this concern is shared by many Prius owners who have encountered the identical situation. I hope you will see fit to look into this matter and get a read on how many Prius owners have encountered this problem and agree that it is of serious concern.

Specifically, with thousands upon thousands of hybrids being sold and automakers adding more hybrids to their model line, where will all the spent batteries go, after 4 or 5 years, when they no longer hold a charge?

Also, who will absorb the cost of battery replacement which is projected to be quite expensive - from several hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars? Will the auto manufacturers offer any financial support when it is time to replace the hybrid's batteries?

How long can a hybrid owner expect the batteries to last? And more importantly, is the industry geared up to handle this tremendous increase in spent batteries so there is no negative impact to our environment? Finally, it will take resources and energy to produce and recycle these additional batteries and how do we know if the additional energy demand will not be more than the gas being saved by hybrid technology?

Thank you.

I first experienced this on a sloped gravel driveway in July but discounted it as a temporary thing. This past weekend, I was on a snow covered road with about an 8-10 degree grade. Driving at 20mph, one tire began to slip on the snow and the car came to a stop.

The wheels then refused to engage (because one would slip a little) regardless of throttle position. I had cable style tire chains with me and installed them properly on the front wheels and tried again. Still, a tire would slip on the 4 or 5 inches between the cables and the car would refuse to move.

Ultimately, the only way to get the car up the remainder of the hill was for me to get out and push while my son put his foot gently on the throttle. I could describe any number of scenarios where this kind of performance could cause a rear ended accident, since when the wheels slip and the power is removed, no brake lights come on.

On my service ticket, it mentions that the O-Toy service manager was able to duplicate the symptoms on a level snow covered surface and also got the same results with two other Prius cars that are in their fleet.

O-Toy reported the problem as case #TA070230006 to Toyota US and was told that VSC system (is) operating as designed. Bottom line- either Toyota has engineered the system improperly for ALL of these vehicles or O-Toy just wasted my time and some other facility will be able to find that although there is a designed reduction in power to keep wheels from spinning the system should not be totally eliminating all power to the wheels.

Lost time. Frustration of being stuck on a remote snowy road being unable to go forward. Discomfort at having to listen to someone tell me that a problem this serious is a feature of the product instead of a bug.

Ultimately, I will consider this vehicle unsafe for road use under any snow or ice conditions and frankly feel that if all Pruis vehicles are designed to do this that the Virginia DOT should be notified to look into the situation to try to force Toyota to modify the design. I actually think that it is a software error, since the power distribution and control decisions are primarily computer controlled on this vehicle.

Question to contemplate: If I were rear ended on an icy hill because of this flaw, would Toyota be responsible for their failure to address the problem, or would I be responsible since I have been exposed to the problem previously?

In all cases the ride became bumpy as if one of the tires was out of round. At 70,700 miles two more tires failed; At 78,000 miles the other two tires failed. In all cases, the tires failed in a manner that metal cord was visible on the side wall. Fortunately, in all cases but one, these failures were identified and dealt with before the tire failed catastrophically.

The most recent failure did occur at interstate hightway speeds, resulting in major damage to the tire. In summary 75 percent of the tires that have been placed on my 2002 Prius have failed structurally well before the tread life has been expended.

These failures are serious enough to cause injury or death. The only authorized tire for the Prius is a very expensive Bridgestone 175/65/14. A mounted set of four of these tires cost $383.00. One can get a good set of traditional 80,000 mile tires for less; and they don't fail.

To date consequences have been economic. I am paying $383.00 for a set of four tires and they only last from 25,000 to 32,000 miles. You can get a traditioal 80,000 tire for less than that. The other concern is safety. The failure mode of the tire can result in a true blowout and subsequent loss of control of the car.

I do have a concern that this may impact the large main battery that I understand is extremely expensive to replace.

This is obviously the inverse of Toyota/EPA claims for the Prius; city driving should yield better mileage than hwy driving, and BOTH should be significantly better than they are. I just read on your site that EPA has recalculated the government-endorsed (if you will) mileage claim for the Prius. That's just fine -- for the people who have NOT yet bought their cars, but are comparing Prius claims to claims of other manufacturers. That, however, does NOT help me. Just to test out the impact of hill driving on my mileage, I have mapped out 2 routes that take me to my daily destinations -- one hilly, and one relatively flat. There is a SMALL difference in the mpg I record. That is to say, if you want to blame my mpg results on San Francisco's hilly topography, you can use the excuse, but FACTUALLY speaking, the terrain does NOT excuse the Prius performance.

This is my question: is there a class action lawsuit now being considered/planned against Toyota??? If there is, I WANT TO JOIN. If not, I will sell the Prius and buy something from a manufacturer that is more honest -- if such a car maker exists. Suggestions and inquries welcome. Thanks, Maia Krache

Obvious: I have spent money on a car -- a significant sum, to my way of thinking -- based on false mpg assumptions promulgated by Toyota Motor Corp and the EPA. I'm not a lawyer, but if the Prius mpg representations are not FRAUD, what is?

This truck has had a new crank shaft kit , oil pump, new fan, harmonized balancer, mass air flow sensor, crank sensor, cam sensors, resetting of the computer and of course all of the labor. The check engine light will come on and the truck will shut down in which it did this while I was traveling on I-40 at a rate of 65 mph and I lost my power steering which made the truck hard to control. The truck is leaving stranded and I can not continue to put this kind of money into a truck that Toyota will not stand behind when I contacted them. I have all of my service records for this truck and can produce them and provide them to anyone. In the crankshaft, there was no key there when it sheared off which allowed it to move forward and ground into the metal.

The truck is sitting still at a garage where the roll back picked it up and has not been touched for the third time. As of today, 12.29.06 I am contacting my state attorney general for help as well as the Federal Highway Safety Commission as this truck is unsafe to drive and is putting my life and my family in danger as well as contacting me local senators and local TV broadcast.

Toyota tried to make me the problem when it is not me, the truck is falling apart and all I want is for Toyota to admit they have a problem with this engine and repair it for me at their cost. Toyota of Lake Norman checked the truck the last time I got it back and said the truck was fine and two days later, it left me stranded again and I had to have a roll back pick it up at 7:00 pm on a Sunday night. I am having to rent a car for transportation issues so that my job does not become in jeapordy due to this issue.

I am contacting Toyota in California again today for relief and help if possible in which if they can not cooperate with me I have no choice but to contact my attorney for help in resolving this issue. What can I do besides the route that I am taking at this point? I will never purchase another Toyota product as my husband has had several and I thought at the time that this was the best product on the road but I was wrong.

We have payed double for gas and we would not have paid the $26K for this new car if we new that the mileage claims were false. We would have simply bought a $10-12K used small car instead.

I spend too much time informing editors of slanted and misleading articles in their papers or online articles. This is starting to affect my work and personal life.

Any Prius or other Toyota hybrid owners who take the word of uninformed sources will be led to believe that theirs is the only vehicle where the EPA standards deviate drastically from the real world. This is quite untrue. If this concerted effort at misinformation continues it will negate any and all of the benefits we have gained by utilizing hybrid technology in the US by creating an unrealistic fear among potential buyers that in buying a hybrid they will somehow not get the EPA mileage, but will get the EPA mileage if they buy a non-hybrid vehicle. If a GMC Yukon's real world mileage deviates by 20% from EPA, noone will notice the difference between 8mpg and 10mpg. If a Prius deviates 20% from EPA, it is very noticeable.

They said this is a very common problem with the Toyota Prius, that all of them need this special larger battery. They said that the new battery, being larger, would require a special kit to install it in the car, and that this kit had to come from Japan. They said that I would have to drive the car around for three weeks with the problems continuing, waiting for the battery to be sent from Japan.

I had to buy a portable battery recharger to carry around in my trunk, so that I could continue to do my job. Toyota has refused to pay for this charger, which cost over $50.

If I were AAA, I would take this up with them, because not everyone would think of buying a portable recharger, and would just misuse AAA over and over. Anyway, I have to drive frail people to their appointments as part of my job, and the recharger makes it hard to fit their wheelchairs,etc into the trunk. I am also afraid of the car getting hit while on the highway during one of its slow-downs.

I do not understand why, if this is such a common problem, why doesn't Toyota corporation doesn't have a lot more of these new spare part batteries and kits here in the USA where they are needed. Batteries do wear out; that is normal; it is not some exotic part of the hybrid engine we are talking about, it is just the regular car battery that runs the lights, etc. It is not normal that a car corporation doesn't provide an ample and timely supply of a part that everyone knows isn't supposed to last the entire life of the car.

However, if you drive the car at or below speed limits, slow down gradually when you are coming toward a stop rather than speeding up and slamming on the brakes at the last second, and group your short trips to take advantage of a warm engine, you will get close to or even significantly more than the EPA estimates. With my driving style, I get 60mpg in mixed highway/city driving in summer and 55mpg in winter (it takes longer for the car to warm up). By the way, do you have any comments for how every other car in the world will have its mileage go significantly downward using the new EPA standards?

Let's see some balance in your reporting.

This nonsense has been disposed of for some time now. The perfect-world shortcomings of the EPA estimates is known, as well as the effect of the most important part of mileage: the driver. The point of his article is clearly to stigmatize the Prius. The facts are these: the EPA is lowering estimates on all vehicles, not just the Prius; Prius owners regularly achieve, and even beat, EPA estimates. Real consumer organizations have surveyed car owners and found that Prius owners have the highest owner satisfaction rate of any vehicle ever recorded.

While it is true that this minor site and minor author will not have any real impact on Prius owners or Prius sales, some people will believe this nonsense and it is those people that will be hurt the most. They will go on thinking that there is no vehicle with superb mileage, there is no vehicle better for the environment, there is no vehicle that can make a difference. --A lead-footed Prius owner that gets, misses, and beats EPA estimates.

Asked Toyota to diagnose car problem. Nothing found. Tried to return car, exchange for other, did not accept terms. Husband will not allow wife and daugther to drive car and has switched cars with wife.

Getting standed on the Frwy. at 11:00 at night when the car dies and can't be moved is quite scary especially when there is no place to pull off out of traffic. I only use this car to drive short trips around town because I just can't trust it on the Frwy.

So I called AAA for roadside assistance. Then, while I sat waiting for AAA, I remembered how the car is essentially silent when first started because it's only drawing power from the electric motor and decided to do a little experiment: I turned the ignition switch and, as usual, the READY light came on. I put the car in drive and touched the accelerator gently. Without a sound or even a shudder, my Prius pulled back out on the road and I was able to drive (albeit slowly) the 1/2 mile to the closest gas station. I LOVE MY PRIUS! And even though I don't get the 60/51 mpg the EPA says the car is capable of getting, I've consistently gotten 45-54 mpg since purchasing the vehicle.

1) Brought car in - ballast was bad - dealership replaced at no cost as it was covered under warranty. Great Service! 2) Brought car in and was told tires needed replacing. When my husband picked up the car he noticed the paperwork said nothing about the headlight problem. When he questioned service representative he said he was not aware of any kind of adjustment that could be done to headlights and that the car was not equipped with headlight leveling system. My husband contacted another Dearlership in MA and was told the problem could be the headlight leveling sensor. My husband called the service manager and told him what he was told and the manager admitted that he wasn't even aware of a sensor - what is with this? I had to purchase a new set of tires. At this point he was not trusting the dealership but with being more than 60 miles away from the next available Toyota Dealership he decided to give it another shot. 3) Dealer said car needs front end alignment. They looked at headlight leveling and said it was working fine. Charged for FE Alignment - not happy as it did not solve the problem. 4) Brought in for Engine Stall Problem and Brake light Sensor Problem. Replaced both at different times. Now mind you we were still having the headlight problem and left front wheel problem. 5)I contacted the dealer and was told that since I had now gone beyond warranty that I would have to pay to have it replaced. 6) Brought the car in and had to pay to have them check the alignment (over warranty now but still having same problem from the start) Was told it was my new tires - they were not good enough. I also brought in a copy of the TSB on the leveling sensor and was told they would contact Toyota. After an 1 1/2 hour wait was told Toyota would cover the cost of the part but I would have to pay to have the part installed (estimated at 2 hours labor) I think the dealership or Toyota should also cover the installment charge since this problem is not unique to my car and has been found to be a defect. I am also contacting Toyota to file a complaint.

Before I purchased the Toyota Prius I compared the gas mileage saving with another car and figured with the price difference of the cars it would take me 4-5 years to make up the difference in gas savings. Now that the car actually gets 22 miles per gallon less then it is advertised I feel I should of bought the lower cost car because it would have saved me alot of money.

Verbally we were told one thing, and the fine print in the contract said another. The Service Dept. admitted that the front desk often does things like that. Obviously, neither of these two things are taped and are just a matter of hearsay or our misunderstanding, unless it can be determined that this is regularly done.

However, we told them not to inspect and/or install the AC filter, for which they wanted $89. I checked online, found directions and testimonies that it was a ten minute process. We ordered two filters for $10 plus $8 shipping, downloaded installation instructions, and my wife and I installed the filter in about 5 minutes through the glovebox.

Since we have had in the past a pretty good relationship with Toyota 101 in Redwood City, and since we still have a service maintenance agreement with them, we do not want to jeopardize our relationship with them, but this verbal misrepresentation (if it's common with other customers) and the overcharging ought to be reported. You may bring it to their attention keeping us anonymous, or investigate the matter yourselves.

The car front fender and the door was dented. The dealership said that it couldn't be the car's fault. The insurance company said that since another driver was not invlved in the accident they would probasbly have to put a sur-charge on our insurance.

This all could have been avoided if the Prius had a simple screen over the place where fresh air is gathered just below the forward windshield inside the plastic cover.

There was a very foul odor in the cabin of the car until the mouse dried up sufficiently not to smell. This is a design defect and the dealer should fix it for free.

I added up all my mpg's which totaled 1494.4 and divided that by the 36 times I have put gas in my car (it has around 13,000 miles right now) and this averages aobut 41.51 mpg. That is way below the promised 60.

I asked the dealership here in Oregon about the 60 mpg and I was told it never happens.

I asked how Toyota could advertise this low amount of fuel usage and she said they just can. Well, I love my car, but I also want to know why I paid so much extra, waited so long, and I am not getting much better than your regular small vehicle that isn't a hybred?

I await your answer, because I know I am not alone in this. Also, like many , I don't get the topsy turvy gas milage. Toyota says the Prius should do better with city driving over highway driving. So, not true - the milage is better on the highway.

Thankfully there was not a blow out at a high rate of speed.

The oil tank was overfilled due to the technician "topping off" the tank. The technician claims this is a common practice (on a hybrid engine system, this is extremely detrimental, calling into question his true experience with this type of car). Oil then flowed into the car's intake manifold and contaminated the air flow sensor.

The station owner, despite his technician admitting to "topping off" the tank, refuses to cover the damages to my car. The dealer has put into writing the cause of the damage (this and all other related paperwork was provided to the Gulf station owner) and has offered to speak with the Gulf station to inform them of their error.

I offered to defer further action, legal or otherwise, if the Gulf station covered the charges, but they have insisted that the overfilling of the tank was done by someone else after I left.

I wrote this letter to request resolution of problems I encountered with my Prius Hybrid, Model year 2005/1224E. I have tried to resolve this problem with the dealer from Toyota without success.

The problem is as follows: On October 21, 2005. I was traveling in cruise control active at 55 miles per hour. Upon approaching a slower vehicle and checking traffic, I proceeded to accelerate the vehicle in an attempt to quickly pass the vehicle driving before me. Upon successful passage of the vehicle, I let off the accelerator and pressed the brakes several times, but the vehicle continued to accelerate under full power.

Under the conditions, I tried to quickly disrupt this safety critical issue. To the best of my recollection I tried to slow the vehicle by pushing the power button, manipulating the cruise control lever, and putting the vehicle in neutral. All attempts were unsuccessful.

Under considerable distress, traveling approximately 20 miles over the posted speed limit at this point, and continuing to accelerate, I elected to apply full braking force to the Prius while laboring the vehicle to a standstill on the gravel shoulder of the road. Regaining my composure, I pushed the power button, and the vehicle shutdown. The cabin of the motor vehicle exhibited a strong odor reminiscent of electrical motor smell.

Per my request,Toyota towed the vehicle to the dealer the following day to begin root cause analysis. On October 25, the dealer informed me that they were able to recreate the safety issue, but they were not able to identify the cause. On October 27 the Toyota technician called to inform me that he drove the vehicle 80 miles, but could not recreate the issue, but he was aware of the comments on the 25th.

On October 28, the Service Manager informed me that they were unable to detect the cause and stated that they would like to ship the vehicle to Cincinnati for further testing. On October 29, I picked up my personal belongings from the vehicle. On November 1, the dealer stated that they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle after driving it 300 miles, and that I must return the loaner vehicle.

To my knowledge the Prius was not sent to Cincinnati for testing. Upon asking the dealership about the comments on October 25, the manager indicated that the person who experienced the
issue is a porter and was not authorized to make any technical assessments. At that point I asked to speak to the initial contact. He acknowledged making the statement on the 25th, but did not want to comment further. During this process I requested arbitration from Toyota and was assigned arbitration number 2005-1028-0355.

I was so concerned about this safety issue that I initially refused to drive this vehicle any longer and under good conscious did not feel that I could sell it. The issue remains not solved.

After six months of tracking, the best mileage I ever got was 43 miles per gallon. Most often my mileage is between 30-36 miles per gallon which is no better than cars I have had in the past. I am very disappointed in your fraudulent advertising and the money I have shelled out only to be disappointed.

Also, my car makes a clanking noise infrequently, as a piece of the front side passenger panel was obviously put in wrong and is not secure. Two "Master" mechanics did not see this problem, which is pretty obvious to anyone's naked eye. I have been waiting for two weeks to hear about the possibility of an investigation, once Toyota figures out that I've already been through my local dealer (they didn't catch on to this fact despite numerous messages I left to this effect). In the meantime, I am told to simply drive the car and count to three when shifting gears: their solution to my problem!

This is obviously a potentially very dangerous problem -- given that I cannot trust that the gear I put my car into is the gear it will stay in. I would think Toyota would want to address it immediately for liability reasons. A recall may be in order. But -- as of now -- they don't seem concerned.

Leave it to ALLSTATE INSURANCE to take away an economic gain by charging us $1,500 per year to insure this car! (We have had absolutely NO insurance claims auto or otherwise for more than 10 years). This is more than we pay to insure our gas-guzzling, expensive Toyota Sienna Van. How can a little Prius cost more to insure than a large van?

Allstate says the parts can be costly to repair/install. Now, it costs Toyota less than $25K to build the whole car; why does ALLSTATE consider it so costly to repair? Personally, I think they use whatever excuse they can think of to raise an insurance rate. I give a big THWFFFTTT! to ALLSTATE and plan to shop all of my insurance policies (they are all with ALLSTATE) next year.

Susan is missing something: insurers base their rates partly on the cost to repair the vehicle being insured. As a limited-production, newly designed vehicle, the Prius is expensive to work on and therefore expensive to insure. There's also been limited experience with whether the large battery causes problems in a crash. Insurance companies don't like uncertainty -- ergo, higher rates.

Second, the gentleman who is advising people not to buy because the battery may run down in two weeks is doing the car a huge disservice and misrepresenting the facts. ONE model, Package #9, has a remote sensing system that automatically unlocks the car as you approach it. This is what can deplete the battery after about 21 days. Toyota provides a button the dash to defeat this function for exactly that reason, which is clearly pointed out in the Quick Guide, the owner's manual and by any salesman with any knowledge of the vehicle.

1. Front end alignment -- cause unknown. Several alignments, still doesn't track well.

2. Gas gauge/tank problems -- went from 45.0mg to 29.5 mpg - took several trips to get the problem "solved" -- not sure that it is totally solved. Consumption screen is screwy and so is the gas gauge. Also told car loses gas mileage as they get older -- car was only a year or so old and a Prius doesn't use gas when stopped.

3. Rack and pinion steering -- several trips to service before they agreed there's a problem and fixed it.

4. 3rd set of tires -- 18,000, 36,000 and about 45,000 miles

Most problems "fixed" but I don't trust this car nor do I trust Toyota of Richardson Tex to fix my car. The second trip for the accelerator I was told there was nothing wrong with the car, but the "sticky" place disappeared after second trip. They didn't want to admit they were wrong.

The latest outrage: I can not determine how much fuel the car has. The fuel gauge gets stuck somewhere in the middle. I can drive for hours with no apparent change in the fuel level. Then, within 15 to 30 minutes the level drops sharply, to "Needs immediate fill-up" level. The Toyota states that this is a normal behavior of this car. They claim that in order for the fuel gauge to operate correctly, the car needs to be completely filled-up all time. What kind of ridiculous car have they produced?

Toyota perfectly knows that there is a problem with the fuel tank. As a matter of fact, when I first brought the car for repair they instantly stated that the fuel tank is bad and needs to be replaced. Once they realized that it is costly, the story has changed.

I have to conclude that Toyota has a death wish. I now understand at least one of the sources of the horrible state of Japanese economy.