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.
In temperatures above 95 degrees the vehicle shifts into neutral while driving, and you need to physically hold the shift lever in Drive or Reverse to keep it out of neutral. It won't go into park at all unless you restart. This could cause a fatal accident while driving, particularly on the freeway. It has not yet been confirmed since it only happens at very high temperatures, which is rare where I live (Seattle). There has been quite a lot of discussion on Reddit and other internet sites about this problem with Priuses, particularly the 2008 model. I have an appointment with my mechanic to replace the shift lever assembly, which appears to be the most commonly referenced fix. There are no warning lights, other messages, or symptoms before or while this is happening. The problem resolves when the air temperature goes back down.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, she heard a beeping sound, and the instrument cluster flashed the parking brake and a triangle symbol with an exclamation point was illuminated. The contact stated that the "Failure with Transmission - Pull Over and Shift to Park(P)-?? message was displayed. The contact stated that the shift indicator on the instrument cluster showed that the vehicle was shifted into park(P). The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound and started losing motive power. The contact stated that the engine was still running however, the vehicle lost power steering and braking functionality. The contact stated that when she depressed the accelerator pedal the vehicle failed to respond. The contact pulled off the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained normal functionality; however, after driving for ten miles, the failure recurred. The contact drove the vehicle back to the residence and turned off and restarted the vehicle several times. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Automatic transmission slips into neutral unexpectedly, and when it does, often you can't get it out of neutral without turning car off. This has an electronic shift selector. This appears to be a rampant problem with this car. Do an internet search on 2008 Prius slips into neutral and you will see many people are having this issue. Very dangerous when this happens on the highway.
On the morning of 11/14/18, vehicle (w. 112,000 miles on it) failed to start or move in our driveway. 12/5/18 advised by caseys, thetoyota dealership in.williamsbsurg va., that the cvt had failed and would need to be replaced at a cost of $6500 - happens occasionally!. subsequently sold vehicle to dealer employee for scrap. I note the NHTSA is considering a recall on the cvt's installed in the Toyota corollas. Seems overdue. Glad for my family this did not happen when the vehicle was in motion.
The car from a stop, if you step on the gas while making a right turn the car hesitates really bad and could cause an accident. I've taken it in when the car had less than 10K miles. They could not remake the problem. The car hesitates still and has not changed, it currently has 117K miles. I believe there is a software problem.
- Bradenton, FL, USA
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The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the gear shifter would not stay engaged in reverse or drive. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred periodically. In order to keep the gear shifter engaged in drive or reverse, it would have to be held in that position. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Car shift lever pops out of drive position and reverse position intermittently on startup. Seems to happen when interior of car is hot after sitting in sun for a long period.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently shifted into neutral and stopped. The vehicle made a chiming sound and unknown warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
Inverter water pump replaced at 75000 miles under recall and failure. Same pump failed again at 146600 miles. Replacement pump lasted less miles than original. Pump design or manufacture is not adequate for service. Diagnosis was pump seized during expressway driving (65 mph). Did not cause an immediate stoppage but vsc warning caused reduced controllability.
I have had my 2008 Prius since it was new and I have taken meticulous care of the vehicle with documentation to prove it. The vehicle is burning oil to the extent that I have to put a quart of oil in every 700 miles. My local dealership confirmed it is an issue with the vehicle but Toyota usa said they won't do anything about it because there "has not been enough complaints". however, the Toyota Prius chat website has numerous complaints about oil consumption. Toyota did an extended warranty for the corolla and Camry but refuses to do anything for the Prius. Numerous attempts have been made with Toyota usa to correct this issue but they refuse to do so. They did say they corrected the issue in the newer models...but yet don't want to acknowledge that is it an issue! so, they corrected an issue that they currently don't acknowledge is an issue!! second to this issue is that the back window can only be closed by the driver's window button and will not close for the person sitting at that window in the back.
What's wrong with Toyota and NHTSA? today in hot weather with the air conditioner on my 2008 Prius once again suddenly dropped itself out of drive into neutral without warning and in the middle of the highway. One has to hold the shifter in drive to get out ofeveryone's way. If this isn't a life-threatening safety hazard then I don't know what is. Unless you want a few folks to die before anything gets done about this. The internet and Prius forums document this is not an isolated defect. The dealer throws up its hands' not our problem!!
On a warm/hot day the vehicle drops suddenly itself out of drive or reverse. This can happen from being parked or crucially while one is driving. Usually the air conditioner is on. You can be driving down a city street or highway when the car drops itself out of gear, ' very dangerous and scary. One has to hold the shift mechanism in drive continuously to avoid an accident. The internet documents this exact defect in other 2008 Prius'. visits to the dealer are met with shrugged shoulders.
Vehicle was off and in park. Vehicle was started and shifted into drive. In less then 1 second, vehicle slipped out of drive and into neutral as described in the technical service bulletin issued by Toyota (T-sb-0142-11). Problem as reoccurred multiple times since, including while driving at speeds above 45 mph.
When I tried to shift my car into gear, it automatically went to neutral. This has happened several times in warm weather. I have had to drive holding the lever in the appropriate position. This is both cumbersome as well as extremely dangerous. I did call my local Toyota dealer to report the problem, but was never called back. Since this occurs sporadically, I just let it go. It happened again yesterday, May 6, 2015, when I tried to put it in reverse. It jumped to neutral & got close to rolling off a drop off in a parking lot. I held the lever in reverse, & luckily prevented my car from going off a cliff. Frightening!
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving 5 mph, the vehicle shifted gears into neutral. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 148,000. Updated 04/07/15 the consumer was unable to shift into gear and popped into neutral. The next day, everything worked normally. Updated 06/30/15
The car moves from drive to neutral mode. I put the car in "D" and it suddenly moved back to "N". keep the lever held on "D" and you can drive, otherwise it switches back to "N". happened 3 to 4 times today. Very scared if this happens when driving on the freeway or getting started at a traffic light as the car behind may not have enough space or indication of the vehicle slowing down because of loss of accelerator.
When making a turn from a stop and trying to accelerate quickly the car jerks and hesitate as the anti slip system light flashes and engages. You cannot accelerate quickly into traffic from a dead stop making a turn as the car refuses, jerks and acts like it will stall. Pavement is dry and no gravel. Happens each and every time since I purchased the car. Easy to replicate. Come to a complete stop, then turn right while pressing the accelerator down quickly and the slip system kicks, car jerks, hesitates and then very slowly starts to eventually accelerate.
Gear shifted into neutral without use of gear shift control. Happened several times and wasn't able to shift into reverse or drive. Kept going back to neutral. Park also wasn't working. Powered car off which did put in park. Restarted and drove home without issue. Tried to recreate at home and same problem occurred. Was able to manually hold gear shift in drive or reverse to move car into driveway. Have left car at Toyota service center today for inspection. Did not occur when tech tried it day after incident at 7am. Initial incident occurred on hot afternoon at 5pm with 100 degree temperatures. Have read online of similar problems related to hot temp. Have had car for 5 years with no problems like this. Just crossed 50000 miles and am covered under warranty until Oct. I hope it can be repaired. And hope it does not happen while I am driving at faster speeds. So far only happens when parked and recently started. Starter battery was replaced around 2 years ago.
1 - after being parked the car will go into reverse or drive, but when you let off of the brake, it will go into neutral. 2 - if left running in park, the car will go out of park and go into neutral. This will allow the car to roll, if it is not on exactly flat level ground. 3 - while driving, the car will jump out of drive and go into neutral. 4 - in all of these incidents, you can hold the shifter lever in the desired mode and the car will drive fine. 5 - talked to a Toyota repair facility and I was told that they have never heard of this. Did some research on the net and found many of these same incidents. 6 - this is definitely a safety issue, that apparently Toyota don't want to admit.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Seattle, WA, USA