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1.7

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
100,959 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2005 Toyota Prius fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2005 Toyota Prius Owner Comments

problem #10

Aug 072022

Prius

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Fuel pump malfunctioned. The vehicle stalled at low speeds while driving on an incline and gave a large red exclamation error sign on the dashboard. It stopped accelerating and came to a stop. Afterwards the engine will not start anymore. The car was towed to a garage and they found the fuel pump to be faulty.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #9

Dec 042019

Prius

  • 281,614 miles
Shifter reverts to neutral. Have to drive holding in D or R.

- Audubon, NJ, USA

problem #8

Jun 012019

Prius

  • 100,000 miles
My vehicle will not go but about 30 or 40 maybe 50 on highway after very slow exelaration I'm almost killed every time I get on the highway highway and reg streets to excearate it very very slow to start then I have to pull over and kill it start over not using het or air now it just won't start have not had it checked can't afford

- Kemp, TX, USA

problem #7

Mar 142017

Prius

  • 63,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

As the hybrid battery for my 2005 Toyota Prius began to fail, I noticed a degradation in my braking ability. My brakes would slip out on me unless the gas engine was running' in driving that relied on the battery, I essentially had non working brakes. When I had the hybrid battery replaced, a multi-point inspection revealed my front brake linings at 8.9mm and my rear drum linings at 3mm (which is still in excellent range). This was clearly not a case of worn out brake pads; and replacing the hybrid battery restored my braking function when running on battery power.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #6

Apr 192015

Prius 4-cyl

  • 141,000 miles
Bought one-owner 2005 Prius 11-26-2014 after paying for a pre-purchase inspection at a Toyota dealer showing complete service record including all recall campaigns. 4-19-2015 without warning on the expressway, the entire 'combination meter display' simply turned off, leaving the car running in the blind, no gauges/meters/guidance of any kind. The car continued to operate and I drove directly home and parked it. Internet search revealed that this as a known safety issue by Toyota affecting 2004-2009 Prius models. Toyota issued a 'warranty enhancement-ztv' and warranty policy bulletin (bulletin no. Pol12-05) to effect the necessary safety repairs, but only applies if one discovers (meaning suffer the panic of having the entire panel go blank) the issue before either '9 years with no mileage limitation or before September 30, 2013', whichever is longer. In our case, it expired just before our pre-purchase inspection/purchase of the Prius and the dealer indicated/Toyota confirmed that this is not something that a Toyota dealer service department could have discovered through Toyota records. Instead, the owner has to wait for the failure to occur. In our case, Toyota corporate, with full knowledge of this safety defect, said our joint 'plan of action' was (a) if the display does not illuminate, under no circumstances drive the car, and have it towed to the Toyota dealership for necessary repairs, or (B) if the display illuminates, immediately drive it to the Toyota dealership for necessary repairs, but that (C) Toyota would 'decline to further participate or contribute' to the repair. This should be a mandated, required safety recall; by its own measure, up to 669,000 Prius models may be at risk to this known defect, yet Toyota refuses both the recall and the repair. How many out there are ticking time bombs?

- Akron, OH, USA

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problem #5

Feb 242011

Prius 4-cyl

  • 76,709 miles
I tested fuel tank capacity since driving range has substantially decreased from new car status. Fuel capacity now 9.2 gal, versus 12.4 at purchase. The fuel bladder has shrunk, substantially reducing driving range. This shrinkage occurred between 10/15/2005 and 2/24/2011 when I tested it. I am informed by Toyota that replacement fuel bladders will also gradually shrink. No metal fuel tank is available as a replacement. This is unacceptable.

- Eugene, OR, USA

problem #4

Aug 122014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 155,264 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

For the past couple of months I have smelled a fuel odor in the passenger compartment but can't identify the source.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #3

Dec 112013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
While driving in the rain on the freeway, the car de-accelerated suddenly after all the lights lit up on the dash board. I could not make the car go. I managed to maneuver it close to an offramp(Dec 2013). Towed to North hollywood Toyota, paid over $800 to fix items I was told would fix problem. It did not!!! 4 months later on the freeway again, same thing happened. I cost off ramp and had the car towed to another dealer.(March-April 1014) left it for a week, they said it runs, cant find a thing. Less than 2 months later, on the freeway again, same thing happens, I coast to the side difficultly. Called for a tow to my house 50 miles away. When I called both dealers, they refuse to acknowledge responsibility for not fixing the same problem I had in December of 2013 - this is a massive safety issue that Toyota says they couldn't fix until I paid them over $1200 for a blocked fuel line and tank.- said they might have found the problem over 5 months later. I think they should take financial responsibility for the fact that they never caught the problem originally in December of 2013 and I had feel unsafe as I was stopped on a busy so cal freeway more than one time. If you look at other Toyota blogs, people have complained about this issue.- I even went to main Toyota office in torrance, ca, they cannot find the dealerships in error, which is unbelievable. What if I was hurt seriously on those freeways? I have had to pay for rentals, tows, and fear of driving on the freeways. Feel free to call me.

- Valley Village, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 202012

Prius

  • 50,000 miles
While driving on the highway at 70 mph, the following symptoms occurred on my 2005 Toyota Prius: (1) car would not accelerate, (2) engine light came on, (3) problem light came on, (4) battery went red, (5) car stalled and would not accelerate/drive any further. After turning off the car and restarting it, I was able to drive it back and the battery recharged itself to green. After taking it to the dealership and having this problem "fixed", the exact same situation happened two more times, again 6 months later and then 2 weeks after that. The second time I was driving again on the highway at 70 mph, the third time I was driving at night at 40 mph.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #1

Aug 242012

Prius 4-cyl

  • 62,000 miles
My wife was driving our 2005 Toyota Prius today and the accelerator locked to the floor. The car continued to accelerate even though she was braking. She was eventually able to get the vehicle to stop. The accelerator was not stuck under the floor mats. She had to pry the accelerator from the floor.

- Watertown, WI, USA

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