Interior instrument failure. Temperature app. 23 deg. F. car started normally mfd came up fine. Main dash instruments failed to come on. No speedometer, gearshift indicator, fuel gauge, or odometer. All exterior lighting worked fine. Vehicle shifted into reverse and drove normally for about 15-20 min. When I parked and tried to turn off the car by pressing the power button the vehicle failed to shut down. Contacted Toyota usa and was informed that they rely on their dealerships for tech support. Went through manual drivetrain shutdown by pressing and holding the power button. Shutting down all accessories to limit accessory battery. Could not lock vehicle. Approximately 30 minutes later went out to the car and vehicle powered up as though nothing had happened. I believe that the temperature was the issue and there is some software issue that is not in the owners manual. Anytime you cannot turn off a vehicle there is a risk for an accident and or injury from an unoccupied vehicle. The dealership service dept. Theorized that the accessory battery may be low. But this would result in the car not bringing the main battery online. Toyota should address this issue.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

Today, I went to work driving my Prius (2008 with 11000 miles) without any dash board lights. The dashboard under the windshield is a reflective type with a whole array of operating indicating lights across to the passengers side. Only the airbag indicator light worked for the passenger side. The cruise control did not work. I tried various power on/off brake on/off combinations to get the dashboard lights working. I pressed the power button with or without the brakes engaged during startup. The engine still ran and the headlights, turn indicators, brake lights, radio and fuel consumption gauge worked. I had no idea of my driving speed other than what other car speed around me were doing. I had to drive under the risk of braking the law as well as the distracting no lighting. Then a worse problem developed. I could not turn the shut car off and I could not lock it after I got out. It gave me the usual beep that it was still running. I tried pressing the power button numerous times. I tried locking the car with the mechanical key and it electronically kept opening. I tried various combinations of braking while sitting, walking a greater distance from the car, using the emergency brake and slamming on the dashboard hoping it was a loose wire. Nothing worked. The car is sitting in the parking lot right now still running without a key. I could not lock it. As I walked away, I pressed the electronic key numerous times. The little red light indicated it was working. What else can I do. L was late for work and I start at 6 am. The dealer, (Toyota heartland of bremerton), doesn't open until 7:00 am and its 6:25 am. I manually turned off the display and radio so the minimum amount of lighting was showing. As far as I know, the car is still in the parking lot running and easy to steal. The engine would not power down nor would the car lock. The dashboard (below the windshield) not lighting was same problem I had a couple of months ago.

- Gig Harbor, Wa, WA, USA

Dear NHTSA, I bought my car July, 2008 and I noticed right a way at night my car have this very bright light front of my windshield. I found out where it was coming from and it was coming from reflection from the odometer. This light is very dangerous because I can't see a '!@#$% thing nothing but bright green line light. This light is design flaw & need to be corrected a.S.a.P. Toyota is doing nothing but telling me to resell my car back to them for cheap. I like my car but this issue. I like my car to be fixed. Please help me...

- Daly City, CA, USA

Dear NHTSA, I own a 2008 Toyota Prius that I purchased from capistrano Toyota dealership in orange county, California. The design flaw with the vehicle that I am about to report could potentially cause death or bodily injury if it's not corrected right the way. The issue is that if you drive the car at night and the interior dimmer is turned way up, you could see a line of blue light about 6 inches long right in the middle of the windshield, on the driver side. I believe that the light that you see on the windshield is the result of the light reflection from the odometer. The light on the windshield is a distraction for drivers. I got distracted by looking at this light while driving, and almost got into an accident on 03/15/08. It took me a while to find out that the light reflection on the windshield goes away if the dimmer is turned way down. However, the gps screen turns dark and all interior lights go dim if the dimmer is turned way down. I think this is a major designflaw with the vehicle because I like my gps screen and all interior lights to be bright while driving at night. I've reported the problem to Toyota, but they told me that there's nothing that they could do at this point because that's how it is designed. I hope that NHTSA could persuade Toyota to recall all priuses and correct the problem before someone gets killed or hurt. Your help with this issue is greatly appreciated.

- San Marcos, CA, USA