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.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving the speed was unknown due to the instrument cluster being inoperable. On another occasion while driving approximately 45 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to operate properly; however, on that occasion the instrument cluster was operating as designed. The vehicle stability control, ABS, and brake light warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with an actuator and brake booster failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 203,202.
While driving around a corner on city streets, braking suddenly became very difficult, and caused the vehicle to skid when brakes were applied. A high-pitched electronic squeal came from the dashboard, and the brake system light, ABS light, vsc light, and master warning light all turned on. These are all listed as symptoms of a failed brake actuator. After contacting a licensed Toyota dealership, I was directed to the Toyota customer care department. After being escalated to a supervisor, I was informed that Toyota is aware of this problem, but that the warranty extension they used to cover it expired in 2017, and they refused to cover the cost of replacement (~$3000). I believe this issue should be cause for a safety recall, as it happened suddenly and without warning while the vehicle was in motion. It was pure luck that this didn't result in a crash.
Well known ABS accumulator failure, loud beeping noise, can't drive car safely, high mileage car and will be repairing it, my complaint is that the part is seventeen hundred dollars $1700 which is a lot for something as important as brakes and with such a high failure rate on all of Toyota's hybrids. This part needs to be available from 3rd parties so I am not forced to deal with junk yard ABS that is just as likely to fail because of a flawed design.
If I drive on the expressway or around town and I'm driving a half hour sometimes less my car makes a loud buzzing noise and my instrument panel the hazard lights go on and I lose my brakes. This was very scary. Thank goodness I wasn't going to fast toward the light and didn't hit anyone. I'm scared to drive the car because it does this all the time if I'm driving for a period of time 1/2 hour or more. My vehicle was on city street and on highway. I was in motion. On the highway 70mph and on city streets 35/40 mph.
In Feb 2018 I noticed that several lights came on in my car the vsc, ABS, and pressure sensor light lit up. Also the brake indicator light. I had recently went for and inspection on my car in Jan and had brakes replaced at my local monroe prior to this happening so I questioned them on what all the lights meant and they looked on line and saw that there was a recall on the brake actuator for my car. They advised me to go to the Toyota dealer. I went to the dealer in a few weeks later in Mar and they explained that there was a letter sent to Prius owners stating they extended the warranty on brake actuators until end of 2017. They have it in two phases, and it's unlimited miles until Dec 2017 for the first phase, then after that it's 150K miles/10 years. It also says the red triangle light must be on for it to be covered (in other words, it's only covered if it fails.) I never received this letter and the exceed the 150K miles by 5K and years. The csr rep said he would she if they could honor it being that it was so early in the 2018 year only a few months pass the deadline but the manager on site declined and told me to contact Toyota customer care. The dealer quoted me $3,500 to get this replaced. I contacted Toyota and of course they said there is nothing they could do because the letter stipulated a specific time frame of service. My issue is that I #1 never received a letter about this recall/extended warranty #2 I brought this car at a dealer certified pre-owned Toyota dealer so they should of updated my info in the system (address, ex.) #3 my car is a electrical car and needed this fix to operate properly... I feel like I'm being punished about a defect undisclosed to me which now is a hefty cost. #4 my issue happen 2-3 months after still not far off. I'm filing a complaint in hopes of finding help to resolve this issue..
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Toyota sent the extended warranty notice on the combination meter to the wrong address; therefore, I could not "connect the dots" regarding my dashboard blackout--meaning I thought it was quirky, not a documented problem with the combination meter. My 2007 Prius with only 35,000 miles on it needs a replacement combination meter but Toyota will not pay for it--claiming it provided an extended warranty. My response is: So what" I am driving a dangerous vehicle which does not indicate the speed I'm driving, the gas supply, the warning lights, and backup camera. I have had the requisite services over the years and the problem is clearly a defect in Toyota's manufacturing and supply chain. If Toyota really cares about the customer, why won't Toyota take responsibility for the failing part and repair my perilous vehicle" the situation is dangerous! I can't lock the car, know for sure when it is turned off, see the warning lights, know if the airbag alert is legit--non-functional all. To replace the failed part will cost near $1000, my monthly social security. Think about this pricetag, Toyota headquarters and local dealerships. My safety is severely jeopardized. Please work to recall these impacted vehicles. That my Prius has been serviced every single year according to schedule, that this mysterious dark screen has been popping up for years, and that Toyota sent the notice of extended warranty to the wrong address should demonstrate where the culpability lies. Toyota should take ownership of this dangerous situation and fix all the defective vehicles--behavior which demonstrates the company truly cares about its customers!
Starting May 2015 whole dashboard in my car sporadically goes black, I can't see how fast I was going or how much gas I have left or use my backup camera in my car. For about an hour I couldn't even get my car to turn off. This has been happening ever so often since may of 2015 and is very dangerous driving my car in that condition. The other day my car ran out of gas on the bridge from the 5 freeway to the 91 freeway and I was stranded on the side of the bridge with cars passing at high velocity because I wasnt able O see my gas meter. Toyota has known about this defect as shown below and issued a warranty extension for all models 2004-2009 and my car falls 2 months outside of the warranty program and they refuse to take responsibility. Https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/2004-2009-Toyota-Prius-combination-meter-warranty-extension-ztv.174/
As I was coming back from livermore to san jose down the sunol grande last weekend, my dash lights suddenly went out meaning I had no speedometer or wait to tell how much gas I had and the ABS and stability control went out while going 65 miles an hour down a steep hill.luckily I was able to get home and don't ask me how I figured out to get the car to turn off. I called the one 800 Toyota number and it turns out there was a problem with something called the combo meter on these cars and it had an extended warranty for a total of nine years. My warranty expired they said April 2016. This seems like a serious safety issue that Toyota should cover if they are concerned about their customers safety.
Driving on a rainy day, ABS and vsc lights on dash came on. My car violently fishtailed almost 180 degrees, back and forth 6 times on a curve getting off a freeway (about 45 mph) nearly crashed. I proceeded very slowly to side street. Car shimmied to right making a left turn. Felt like I was driving on ice. Called a tow truck. Dealership found rodent damage to wires to wheel speed sensor. I discovered manufacturers using soy oil on wiring. $1300 repair.
The headlights go at without warning. Sometimes one goes out sometimes both while we are driving. Bulb replacement does not fix the issues. This has continued to be a problem for years. Toyota service has not offered a fix that works! I have been driving on the highway or local roads when, all of a sudden, all the lighting goes dark. I have had success in relighting the headlights by turning off the headlights at the main switch and then turning them back on. Extremely dangerous. Breaks are also a menace: On wet roads it is especially noticeable when using the breaks. If you are breaking and a tire goes over a more slippery surface than the pavement, such as a manhole cover, the ABS system cuts breaking to all the wheels such that the car continues on as if the breaks are not being applied - the car effectively releases the breaks and you loose control of the car until its systems decide to return controls to the driver. This happens over and over and over. Try it on a road with a bit of loose gravel on it or the leftover coarse sand from winter road maintenance or going through a milde pothole where gravel has spilled onto the road....breaking in these conditions will consistently cause the car to diminish breaking power to such an extent that the car is no longer lowing down. We own 6 cars of varying makes and this is the only car that has this issue. The other side of this same issue is that if you are pulling out into traffic and a drive wheel hits a slightly slippery patch, the engine power is cut for so long and so severely that we are at risk of being hit. This happens every single time. Toyota service has not offered a fix. Though we have told them abou this issue repeatedly, they typically do not write it down and tell us it is normal. It is not normal or safe.
While traveling 65 mph on freeway warning light comes on and tells you to park the vehicle, etc. Problem is that when you stop exiting the freeway the car shuts down as soon as you come to a stop and leaves you stranded in the lane. The transmission has an automatic locking system and you can't roll it out of the lane which leaves you vulnerable to being hit. This has happened 4 times since I have owned this car. Very troubling. I have taken it in 3 times to dealer and they have no clue. Dangerous!
I was traveling at 50mph when an alarm sounded in the car and 4 lights lit up on the dashboard ? the brake system warning light, master warning light, vsc and malfunction indicator lamp. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealership where they advised the hybrid water pump needed replacing. I then discovered there is a recall on the hybrid water pumps but was advised my vehicle was not on the list for the recall. The details of my mishap correlate to the Toyota recall notice that Toyota put out regarding the hybrid water pumps. I believe my vehicle should have been on the recall list to have this safety issue addressed and that the recall notice does not adequately cover all Toyota vehicles with this possible issue.
While driving on highway about 60mph, vehicle suddenly lost brakes. Brake, ABS and vsc idiot light went on. Inside vehicle buzzer sounded. Very little hydraulic braking. Was only able to stop vehicle because I was going up hill.
Stop and go traffic on the freeway, accelerating when the traffic started picking up but vehicles in front suddenly stop and as I hit the brakes on the bumping freeway the vehicle does a brief lurch forward as esp light blinks. Vehicle does not stop under this braking condition and feels momentarily like there is no brake pressure. As a result, vehicle doesn't stop in time and hits the vehicle in front even though it could've been avoided had the brakes worked as they should've.
Brake (red color) warning lights appear while driving at 55 mph; yellow color indicator on ABS, vsc. Once these warning lights appear, I somehow lose 25-50% of my braking power. Not sure what is wrong despite getting brand new wheels, replaced all-new rotors, brake pads, oil and filter change. This is the 5th time it has happened in the last few weeks. Toyota should be held liable and to replace the full cost of any necessary fixes to the hydraulic brakes or run a diagnostic of the entire vehicle's electrical or brakes system or anything that leads to the dashboard warning lights at 100%. this will be a serious issue because it can lead to serious accidents if owners of this vehicle experience the same issues.
Toyota Prius dashboard failed in idle and while driving posing a death risk due to mileage per hour not displaying and the inability to shut off your car when stopped this is a serious matter and Toyota needs to recall the whole Toyota Prius and give everyone there money back for over paying for this car in 2007.
The problem has occurred whenever the donut tire is being used on the vehicle as a temporary replacement for a flat tire - this has occurred on both the two occasions that in which I have had to used them both times on the front tires, once on the left tire and the second occasion, most recent on the left. Apparently, the donut tire because of its smaller diameter causes the car's slip differential system to activate (surmised by the icon I see on the dash when this occurs), often for periods of half the driving time - what then happens is that there is a total loss of engine power to the drive chain, the car cannot accelerate or even maintain speed - it essentially coasts or slows. This occurs even when/if the accelerator pedal is depressed to try to feed power to the wheels - the engine is unresponsive. Intermittently, the power is restored, and then the cycle begins again. Although I have not had an accident due to this loss of vehicle control, I consider myself lucky not to have. Use of a donut tire is the only option open to temporarily replacing a flat tire. I think that this system's response to use of the donut tire (which is manufacturer's supplied) is a defect that is dangerous. A driver must be able to maintain and control vehicle speed to prevent and/or remedy a dangerous situation. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph over a bump in the road and the brake pedal engaged; the vehicle failed to accelerate. After the failure occurred, the ABS warning indicator illuminated....updated 04/25/13 the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The technician stated the vehicle operated as designed. In addition, when the anti skid was activated it would not respond during inclement weather. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000. The consumer stated at foward speed of 0 mph the stability control activated, on a slippery surface that had 1 inch of snow and an incline of approximately 15 degrees. The anti skid light blinked and the vehicle would not move foward up the incline. The same failure occured in the dealer's parking lot. The dealerstated the vehicle was operating as designed.the dealer suggested the consumer switch to snow tires. Updated 06/04/2013
My car will not turn off. After my dash went black my key will not release and my car will not turn off. This is a big safety issue and needs to be resolved asap!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Goldsboro, NC, USA