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.
Hello. My 2008 Toyota Prius had a malfunction with the "combination meter" which caused the vehicle dashboard to turn off completely, and we could not turn off the engine at times when stopped and parked. The dealer fixed the problem at a cost of $1580, and both the dealer and Toyota corporate through their brand engagement advocate acknowledged a long term problem with the combination meter. They had extended the warranty coverage for owners for this specific problem for about 10 years but not for owners like me with a vehicle 15 years old. I believe Toyota should cover and reimburse owners for this problem, which is potentially dangerous, no matter the age of the vehicle, especially for long term, loyal owners. There are many of these vehicles still on the road. Thank you. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While driving the 2008 Prius with approximately 107,219 miles for approximately 15 miles, all the RED LIGHTS appeared on the dashboard. The air condition stopped working with only hot air blowing. I immediately took the 2008 Prius to the Toyota dealer. This is the following repairs as follows: "A CEL ON, MULTIPLE WARNINGS: CS20 INVERTOR WATER PUMP - 7521 CT $300.98 Labor 1 04000 - 32528 HV ELECTRIC WATER PU $169.35 Part 1 00272 - SLLC2 SUPER LONG LIFE COOL $ $23.43 MISC. CHARGES $ $53.32 TOTAL CHARGES $547.08
The cooling pump for the electrical system had cracked and fluid leaked out no heat in car and red triangle of death display on dash local repair shop installed new pump it has been replaced 2 times. Still leaks from housing
The dash lights on my car went completely blank and the car is unable to shut off. Toyota has a safety campaign that addresses this issue but it is only good for first 9 years of the car. My car is a 2008 model and I understand this problem affects all 2004-2009 models. As this is a safety concern with not being able to turn off the car properly, it is causing lots of anxiety not knowing if my car is actually turned off in my garage. My mom drives the car and she's 78 years old, she cannot tell if the car is off when she exits the car. There are occasions where the hybrid car turns on while it's in the garage because my mom was not able to turn the car off. This should be an issue where Toyota issues a recall for the safety of everyone that owns these cars and parks in a garage.
My coolant inverter pump has been recalled, and repaired before I bought the car, and the same issue is happening again after I bought the car less than a year ago. Today, the same check engine light came on, went to advanced auto parts and got the code P0A93 - coolant inverter pump failing.
- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA
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My 2008 Toyota Prius shut off while I was driving on the road I could've involved in big accident if I was on a highway the way it shutdown without any warning sign. It just suddenly stopped
Son was driving car on city street going around 35 mph, then 20 brakes went out completely until parked. Started with a loud beep noise, lights on dash then brakes no longer worked. He had to push as hard as he could to try and at least slow car down not to hit car in front of him, pulled into bike lane to avoid crash as car would not stop. Turned car off and left in parking lot. I went to get car to drive home and then brakes were working. However scared to let him drive it in case issues happen S again. Have not taken to dealership yet. The other issue is since we purchase the car burns oil, car has around 130K miles and before 3000 miles up have less then quart of oil and no.lwaks in drive way therefore feel it must be buring oil. Add ouk at each gass fill up to avoid no oil.
While driving down the road the instrument panel went black. I could not see driving speed or remaining fuel. I drove to Toyota dealer and could not shut down the engine upon arrival nor remove my key from the key slot. There are numerous online complaints about "Prius instrument cluster not working". Toyota quietly agreed to extend warranty coverage for 9 years from date of first use or until 2013. Https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/2004-2009-Toyota-Prius-combination-meter-warranty-extension-ztv.174/ I believe this should have been a safety recall as it is unsafe to operate a motor vehicle under these conditions and the operator might not be able to shut off their vehicle or remove the ignition key. There are almost 700,000 affected vehicles in the class. Repair costs $925 or more for affected owners. Several have posted videos of home remedies involving disconnecting the battery terminals to cause a "reset", which may encourage other owners to continue to operate the vehicle in an unsafe condition where failure is imminent.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. When the vehicle was started, the instrument panel gauges did not display. On several occasions, after turning off the vehicle, the engine continued to operate. The failures were not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and an unknown dealer were notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 30,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving at low speeds, the vehicle stalled and completely turned off. The vehicle would then restart without warning. The vehicle was towed to right Toyota (7701 E frank lloyd wright blvd, scottsdale, AZ 85260, (480) 771-6449), but the cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Defective engine required replacement prior to 139K miles (due to cylinder malfunction and excessive oil consumption), at a cost of $3700 for a used one. This has also damaged the catalytic converter, quoted at $900. At 149K miles, the hybrid battery has failed as well, which has a quoted replacement cost of $2400. While slightly outside of warranty, the engine and hybrid battery are both core components that are expected to last significantly longer. In carb states, Toyota even warrants the hybrid battery for 150K miles. The cost of replacing them exceeds the kbb value of the car, which is unacceptable for a 10 year old vehicle with average mileage that was properly maintained. I contacted both the dealership and manufacturer, and neither will accept any ownership in the matter, or provide assistance on repair costs.
The car has an 11.9 gallon gas tank and I cant put in more then 7 gallons of gas at a time. When pumping...if the pumps rushes the gas into the tank too quickly...I cant get any gas because the pump will turn off as if the tank is completely full when its empty. I have had sensors checked and its the bladder of the gas tank.
Our 2008 Prius experienced engine failure while driving ca. 70 mph on a day when the temperature was between 90 and 95 degrees. This appears to be the same problem with the inverter that has happened on later models, especially as 'high thermal stress' featured in reports of those. Two mechanics were unable to pull a computer code on it and said they couldn't offer an opinion unless it was replicated. Each mentioned the inverter problem, but claimed that it could only have happened on model years more recent than ours. A Toyota company rep claimed never to have heard of it happening on any car before 2010. I asked if there were a database of such issues she could check to see if other owners had anything similar happen before 2010, but she declined to do so. I believe she claimed that the company maintained no such database. All I remember for sure is that she projected no inclination to follow up, appearing to treat it as a one-off problem that didn't merit further attention. This happened while I was passing a truck, with a car close behind clearly intending to pass me after I had gotten around the truck. I suddenly realized that I had no acceleration and that the dash lights had come on. I was luckily able to steer across the driving lane to the right shoulder without being hit as my speed dropped. I tried starting the car again; it started up as if nothing had happened so we continued, carefully, on our way. That specific problem has not reoccurred, although there were two incidents (one earlier that day and one the day before) when pushing 'start' failed to start the engine. Dash lights and air conditioner fan came on, but engine did not start until the 'start' button had been pushed twice more. In both of these cases the temperature was also in the 90S.
Running on a city street at 20 miles, gas pedal would not work, could not decrease or increase mileage. Brake pedal worked but went all the way down and finally stopped with a jerk. A constant noise and and has a Toyota confirmed brake acctuator problem that Toyota refuses to help since extra warrant expired in 12/2017
I have three major problems with my 2008 Prius. #1 the engine intermittently, will not turn off when parking the car. #2 the dash lights also intermittently will not come on, affecting my ability to see how fast I am going on the highway or streets, it also prevents me from seeing how much gas is left in the tank. #3 the outside air and air conditioner, also will not work, intermittently.
My car had performed perfectly for the first 100K miles. By 112K miles the oil was very low, no oil on the dip stick when I went in to have the oil change. Yet there was no low oil light or engine light to warn me. This was a complete surprise to me since that had never happened before and the usage had been at a normal rate up until then. I began looking for leaks, etc with no evidence of that. The next service it was again extremely low. I now know that I must add about a quart every 1000 miles to keep up with its demand. The dealer and other mechanics all tell me the only solution is a new engine. Some suggest a used or rebuilt one though they are still many thousands of dollars. This problem, they say, will only get worse, clogging the spark plugs and potentially having an incident of engine stalling or shutting totally down while driving. This is a safety issue that Toyota should be fixing. I paid $1500 for an extended warranty for the first 100K miles with no problems, and now, it seems, I am stuck with a true lemon! this car should be listed with the others that Toyota has acknowledged have engine defects because it has the same problem. I will never by another Toyota unless they warranty this issue. The word is getting out. They do not take care of their defect problems. So much for the very undeserved reputation of many Toyota models!
Toyota Prius (2008) - fire after minor accident (battery fire) after a fairly standard rear end collision (25-30 mph), my Toyota Prius caught fire and burst into flames. I was stopped at a red light on a city street in Chicago, il when the accident occurred, my vehicle was not in motion. Within minutes of impact (to right rear of car), the responding police officer saw fire under the car (began in rear) and the fire dept was called. The fire travelled to the front of the car and the car has been deemed a total loss. The police and tow company believe this was caused by the Prius battery and these cars are very unsafe to be on the road with this condition. There has been no related recall on this vehicle, but it's incredibly unsafe and I'm very happy I was not traveling with my children at time of accident. I appreciate you taking time to review this case and taking steps to ensure Toyota addresses the issues with the Prius vehicles. I've attached the police report and photos of the car fire (I also have video of the fire, but the file is too large to attach on this submission - available upon request). No major injuries - I experienced soreness / headaches from impact/whiplash and saw my doctor following accident (no major injury). Please review and let me know if I can provide anything else / answer any questions. Thank you in advance! [xxx] ('parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).')
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- Olney, MD, USA