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.
2004 Toyota Prius. Consumer writes in regards to the combined speedometer/odometer display. The consumer stated when the instrument panel intermittently failed the driver was unaware of the speed and gas mileage. The consumer requested a full recall with no time limit. Updated 08/11/2017
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the multi-display module for the heater and defroster units failed, causing the windshield defogger to fail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the multi-display module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 28,000. Updated 1/30/13 the dealer diagnosed the problem as a module malfunction which was an internal short circuit and gave the consumer an estimate of $700 to replace the module with a reconditioned one. Updated 01/31/13 updated 2/13/13 updated 02/14/13
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Prius. On approximately 10 to 12 occasions, the vehicle would drive roughly and the instrument panel lights would illuminate while driving at various speeds. The vehicle had to be pulled over to the side of the road and turned off. After approximately five minutes, the contact would restart the vehicle, but the instrument panel lights would still be illuminated. The vehicle has been taken to two Toyota dealers and the location where the vehicle was purchased, but no one could determine the cause of the failures. The current mileage was 40,000 and failure mileage was 25,000.
Control screen started to work on and off. Driver could drive to 5 minutes and the screen would begin to work. After several days of this, the screen stopped working altogether. We can therefore no longer use our heating cooling controls, or our navigation system. We have not repaired this defect yet.
The multi-function display (mfd) failed. (cross reference nhsta complaint #10173892). This is a known design defect (cross reference analysis on web: techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/compare.html and techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/). Toyota issued a technical service bulletin (either el-002-04 or el-002-05 - conflicting info on this) on Jan 10, 2005. When the mfd fails, one cannot control the amount of airflow to the windshield (defroster). This presented me with visibility problems during the morning commute. As such, I consider it a safety issue. Toyota has been aware of this for 3 years, given the date of their tsb. The root cause appears to be an undersized solder pad on one of the electronic cards of the mfd. This results in a cracking of the solder joint. Because my problem was intermittent, coming and going on a frequent basis, I presume it was a micro crack. This does not help when the windshield is fogging over. All of the various error messages that were displayed on the mfd were consistent with the information on the above referenced web url's. the problem is with the release F of the electronic card assembly and was corrected with release G. there are pictorial comparisons between the two releases on one of the web url's. given that this has an impact on visibility during the winter months, I am shocked that Toyota chose to sit on this problem. The supplier of this part to Toyota is fujitsu.
- Vienna, VA, USA
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2004 Toyota Prius - dashboard design defect. I've been troubled by the extent to which the speedometer display in my 2004 Prius dims when I used sun glasses. Today I took a moment and rotated the sun glasses in front of the display. My experience taught me that the display emits light. Polarized lenses are engineered to minimize transmission of this light. Toyota should cease using displays with these misoriented display elements as soon as possible. I have informed Toyota. They responded: Your email has been documented at our national headquarters under file #200705150093. This seemed 'inadequate' so I'm submitting this to you. It would be pretty expensive to replace all of the poorly designed elements now in service.
While driving Prius on major highway in dfw metroplex during evening rush hour the warning light came on, then a couple seconds later, entire dash board information screen and all warning lights flashed. Car engine continued to run, and would not turn off, but no power was available to steering or brakes. This problem occurred at the apex of a bridge. However, was able to coast the car into the median between the merge ramp of the major highway and the interstate. Very dangerous situation if it had occurred before apex of the bridge. )called the dealership, who in turn, called a tow truck. Had to basically play with power button, brake, and gear shift to get it into neutral so the car could be loaded onto the tow truck. Took dealer three days to diagnose the problem. It was blamed on a short in auxiliary battery. However, it seemed to be working okay. This was the third time occurrence such as this happened to this car, as well as a non-functioning driver information screen, that if the car was hot inside then information screen worked, if no, then the screen stated no connection to air conditioning, which occurred since first time the shut down happened. Thought this problem was supposed to be fixed with the software upgrade that they installed after the last occurrence. It appeared that this defect happened every 18,000 miles. Now there is 79,000 miles on the car.
2004 Toyota Prius: Display screen has stopped working. No screen capability or accessory buttons operate. Dealer has ordered a 'crossover' unit, but it has not arrived to date (almost three weeks). New unit costs over $2000. Vehicle was not involved in any incident. Dealer believes it is a software problem.
Touch screen on 2004 Toyota Prius is defective and fails to work which leaves me with no heat at times and inability to see if my battery is operating properly, this is an ongoing Toyota problem with complaints all over the web by Prius owners.
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- Encinitas, CA, USA