Problems with 2004 Toyota Prius ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Combination meter is black 90% of the time. restarting engine or disconnecting battery only works on occasion. have safety concerns.

I am the owner of a 2004 prius. after buying my car used 2 years ago i noticed that once in awhile the display, including fuel consumption, speedometer, odometer, and more, would not light up and that the car would not turn off easily several times i have been in situations where i have little gas an am unable to see my gas gauge or know how fat iam going on the highway. i understand that this was once covered by toyota under the warranty extension but is not considered a safety concern. the warranty extension is expired. in what universe are a functioning fuel gauge and speedometer not considered a safety concern? i am also concerned that this will deteriorate further and cause an accident.

Takata recall vehicle needs to have brake actuator. bg brake fluid service.

(combination meter problem) while driving at night on the freeway the entire instrument panel (dash board) started blinking on and off. for our safety, we decided to slow down and exit the freeway and stop in a safe area. we turned the ignition off, then started the car, with nothing appearing on the instrument panel beside the check engine light. we lost the speedometer, all gauges and all the electrical and electronics which normally helps to guide our driving.we had to take the car to the toyota dealer the following morning which took seven days to replace the combo meter. i later found out that this issue is not knew and there was a letter issued by toyota titled (2004 to certain 2009 model year prius vehicles combination meter warranty enhancement notice). the letter stated that they had problems with some of these prius year models and that if the owner did not experience this condition to file the letter in their vehicle's owner's warranty information booklet. here is my request: this should not be a warranty issue but should have been a safety recall as depending of the number of miles the vehicle is driven, this issue seems to sooner or later occur. i repaired my vehicle and paid for all the repairs, all i need now is for the nhtsa to look into this problem, investigate it and have toyota send a recall letter rather than an extended warranty. this way i can receive a reimbursement for the repairs. here is a link to the letter and all consumers complaints: https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/2004-2009-toyota-prius-combination-meter-warranty-extension-ztv.174/ i believe for the safety of all prius drivers in the usa, this should be changed to a recall since many of these model and year prius vehicles are still on the road and will reach a certain mileage to make to combination meter fail.

My car head lights are turning off, at first it was one not turning on and then it was the other one, now they take turns. it is a safety issue which almost had make me crash more than 2 times. to the point that i am unable to use the car during the night. this happens if the car is parked or running.

Contacts stated water pump and alternator stopped working twice on i'-5 towed to toyota tacoma where they flushed fuel billed $500 car broke down on way home towed back to toyota told charge would be 2500 to fix .. flatbed dedicated car to bron's auto hoses and coolant system was melted payed $1500 to replace in tire coolant system and still owe 600 to synchrony car care card now returning home last week turning around to back up there was a loud crunch steering broke steering wheel crunches when turned wheels do not turn at all moving down the road called toyota they said they fixed both on recall to fix it myself it wasn't there problem parts wore out kick rocks the parts didn't wear out they broke 5 minutes sooner id have been head on in traffic on hwy 405 instead of backing up on the city street. unable to steer into our driveway i'm already stuck making payments on coolant system repairs that were recall*dt *tp

Car was in motion, 55 mph on highway going straight, had been driving one hour. smoke started filling the rear hatchback area, coming from the driver's side of the cargo-area floor. pulled over and flames came up. doused it with water. upon inspection the sks sensor (remote control door lock sensor) had burst into flames, burning the plastic and other components around it.

My 2004 prius's check engine light turns on randomly wnd often and i lose full power of the car. the battery is fully charged. the car stopped 4 times today - lost all power and the brake would not stop the car.

Digital dash fails to illuminate dealer says recall has expired a known problem by toyota.

2004 toyota prius with hid option. one or both hid headlights go out while parked or driving. turning the light control on and off will temporarily solve the issue. the issue is random in nature. for instance, i noticed one headlight went out this morning and before i could turn the switch to reset the other headlight went out, leaving me in the dark on the road. the vehicle may be park or in motion. there appears to be no direct relation to environmental factors. extremely dangerous when driving on rural roads with no street lights. it appears to me to be a ballast issue. this repair requires working with high voltage components and goes beyond the scope of a diy project. this has been an ongoing issue for me, but only recently have both headlights started to fail at the same time. thank you.

3 days after buying my 04 prius both of my low beams and one of my high beams went out. a few months after replacing them my driver side low beam went out, the high beam was fine. 2-3 months after re replacing the driver's side low beam the passenger side low beam went out. i have had to replace my headlights about 5 times each (10 times total driver+passenger side) i had my ground wires checked, i constantly check my fuses, mechanics say nothing is wrong with my lighting, but here i am with this reoccurring issue. i have been using the same kind of bulbs because i can't imagine spending more money on a bulb to have it blow out in a couple of months (xtravision 9003 12.8v,55/60w halogen). apparently my reverse lights aren't working either, and one of my license plates lights is out (i think the plate light is probably not connected to the other lights going out) zi do think the reverse lights are a related problem though. my lights go out both in motion and stationary (i couldn't tell you if it happens on turns or not, but it can happen on highways), sometimes i can get them to come back on by giving a little smack, but usually a few days after that they officially burn out. i've researched this problem on prius forums and apparently i am not the only prius owner experiencing this with the same frequency, there are no recalls for this issue, yet so many of us are experiencing this, which is quite detrimental to ours and others safety. sometimes i can't tell my lights have gone out til i get pulled over or am able to see my headlight reflection on another vehicle, even worse is when i'm wondering why i can't see anything when it's so dark out just to found out one of my headlights blew again. i still own this vehicle and still trying to figure out why this is a continuous problem.

The front right side headlight keeps going out . already replaced it twice and it seems this is very common with the toyota prius. fuse also keeps burning. this is a very dangerous situation at night . driving with one head light is becoming to common for this type of vehicle .

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the combination meter failed, which caused the instrument panel and dashboard lights to not illuminate when the vehicle was started. the contact stated that the failure was intermittent. the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 170,000. ...updated 02/19/16 *bf

Speedometer & other control information display went blank. pulled over to side of road but unable to turn off engine. contacted toyota & was told problem is known & warranty extend to 9 years & unlimited miles. however, my vehicle is older than nine years, so i must pay estimate $1400 to fix & car will be unavailable for estimate 2 weeks. the vehicle is unsafe to drive, prior to this known problem occurring car was operating perfectly ( averaging 50 mpg per tank of gas, documented). this appears to be a safety problem that was known by the manufacturer, however they seems to be trying to hide this by making the statistical estimate that by extending the warranty the majority of these cars would be off the road and their lawyers & legal insurance would cost less than the few humans kills after this arbitrary 9 year risk period. i could have been killed as a result of this failure! fortunately i was not, however i am left with a vehicle that is undriveable (with no warning!) and can only be repaired by toyota at a cost i am not able to afford!

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. when the vehicle was started, the instrument panel would not illuminate. the failure recurred on several occasions. on several occasions, the vehicle would not power off after the on/off switch was depressed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed that the multi functional display multi-meter and the power switch were faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the extended warranty no longer applied to the vehicle. the approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota pruis. the contact stated that the brake warning light on the instrument panel intermittently illuminated. this was a recurring failure. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the technician was unable to determine the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

The dashboard display failed to light up, but the car turned on. it did go into drive, so i drove my daughter to school, then stopped to call coggin toyota at the avenues to report the problem, but the car would not turn off. they said it was the instrument cluster, a known problem with the prius and for which there was a technical service bulletin and a warranty enhancement, although that "enhancement" ended 9 years after the vehicle went into service. i brought the car in right away since i couldn't turn it off. my car is 10 years old. i called toyota to complain that i had not been told about this when it was still under the enhanced warranty period (although they have records saying they mailed something) and that if i had known about this (and apparently dozens of other problems looming out there for which there are tsbs) one week earlier when i paid over $3,000 to have the hybrid battery array replaced, i might have made a different choice. my biggest complain centers on being told what i believe was a lie by the toyota customer service rep --[xxx] -- when i pressed for why, if the manufacturer knows the part has a high failure rate that it's willing to take responsibility for, does that enhanced warranty period end? she told me the government of california and other states limits that period to 9 years. she could not provide documentation of that government regulation, and it doesn't sound right that regulations in california (or other states) would limit the time it would allow a company to offer repairs to its product with an enhanced warranty. has this happened to anyone else and what can be done about it? information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. after starting the vehicle, the instrument panel failed to illuminate and the gauges were difficult to read. the failure occurred intermittently. the contact mentioned that when the failure occurred, the key failed to be removed from the ignition and the vehicle failed to turn off. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the combination meter needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 280,000.

Passenger headlamp goes out while car is being driven. driver side headlamp remains on (illuminated). turning headlamp switch off and on causes passenger and driver side headlamp to illuminate. on re-illumination, passenger side headlamp sometimes appears normal and at other times appears to be dimmer, more yellowish. dealer quoted replacement hid bulb and labor to replace will cost $225.00 total. *tr

Odometer stops working at 299,999 miles. toyota says there is no fix. *tr

Same intermittent headlight problem posted here hundreds of times. why is toyota only fixing 2006+ model years? the same problem plagues all model years. *tr

My 2004 toyota prius's hid lights are going off intermittently and coming back on when i turned them off and back on again. the driver's side is going off again and will come back on again when i turn it off and then back on. also, my headlight leveling system warning light is coming on. when i drive on the highway light goes off, i feel very unsafe. i have to turn them off and back on in seconds to avoid a possible accident. dealer can't find the issue. they recommend to change the bulbs but it doesn't solve problem. *tt

My 2004 prius has a touch screen display that controls many functions including climate controls. on a recent morning i started my vehicle and got an error message saying "no external connection to air conditioner" at the same time i could not access heater, defrost, navigation, hybrid monitor or hands free phone. fortunately, i had a rag in the car and could keep my window clean. after 20 minutes of driving, the radio cut out and then all controls came back. another 10 minutes of driving and the controls cut back off. this problem now occurs each time i drive the vehicle. when i researched this issue on the internet, i discovered this is a widespread problem with the displays on the 04 and 05 prius. toyota issued (tsb) el002-05 dealing with this issue but offered no recall. the problem lies in the circuit boards that were supplied to toyota motors. i live in maine and not having access to my window defroster is a huge safety concern. i have to keep a rag in the car to keep my window clean. toyota customer service refuses to fix this because i am beyond the 3 yr / 36000 mile warranty. this is a manufacturing defect that causes loss of visibility while driving. absolutely should be a recall campaign for vehicles manufactured with this defect. *tr

Both headlamps go off and on sporadically, as follows: approximately thirty (30) days after buying this used car, the left hid headlamp appeared burnt out. both left and right headlamps were replaced on or about january 8, 2013, as recommended for this type of light. on installation, either light would flash on but then go out again, but turning the headlamp switch off then on agan seemed to rectify the problem. both headlamps then remained on for approximately two weeks, at which point the left headlamp was sporadically out for approximately two weeks, when it would go on only if the headlamp switch were turned off them back on again. both headlamps then worked for approximately six weeks, at which point the left headlamp went out for approximately four weeks, but then came on after approximately one month when the police found the right light to be out. they said it needed to be fixed; that it is a safety hazard, at which i explained the history of toyota prius headlamp issues and that i would pursue an appropriate remedy for this manufacturing defect. the right headlamp remains out to this date, but did come on for approximately one week in the interim. turning the headlamp switch off then on again has not helped since the day of installation. *tr

I purchased this vehicle in december 2012. ever since i have had this prius, i have had issues with the front drivers side headlight turning off randomly. whenever i turn the car on, both headlights are always on, but while driving, the drivers side headlight turns off. i took it to carfix in garner, nc and they thought that it could be the headlight, so they recommended changing it. i ended up having it changed by a family friend because it was cheaper to do it that way. the headlight was still giving me problems after being changed, so i took it to the leith toyota dealership in raleigh, nc and they said that the headlight that i purchased from autozone was not the correct type of headlight, so they changed it again. even after they changed it, the headlight was still going on and off randomly. i took it back to the toyota dealership today and they said that it sounds like some kind of wiring issue. i have done some research on the issue and have seen recalls for 2005-2009 prius' for the same issues, but since mine is a 2004 it does not fall into the recall category. i believe that it should based on my issue compared to that as well as the number of other complaints on the internet and blogs that i have found. *tr

Water intrusion caused corrosion of the main engine wiring harness which caused a fault in the auxiliary 12v battery and has made the vehicle undriveable. toyota cannot determine the source or cause of the water intrusion even though i have brought in the vehicle for routine maintenance since i purchased it and i have complained about a problem which is related to the auxiliary 12v battery several times in the past. this seems to be a flaw in the 2004 prius design. *tr

. 10/09/2012 i went to start my 2004 prius i hit the power button and the dashboard lights had not work. you did not know the status of the car. actuated the power switch and the brake peddle numerous times to no avail. i tried to select the gear and the car would move. but dash board display did not light. the lights and turn signals work fine. i drove 15 miles home with on display. i selected the park button and the car parked i went to turn off the power button and the car would not turn off the was in the battery mode. i tried to shut it off by disconnecting the 12 volt battery to no avail. i found a fuse that if i pulled it out the car would shut off. i tried the power numerous times and the car turn on and with the dashboard display working. on the morning of 10/10/2012 i tried go to work and when the power and the brake are pushed the dash board lights would not light. the car would move if selected to drive now the engine was running because the car was cold. i placed the car in park and selected the power button to off now the engine will shut off. again i tried the power and the brake numerous times to no avail. i tried the fuse trick again it worked the engine stopped. replaced the fuse and tried the power button it work and the dash display were lighted with numerous lights because i shut the down in unapproved mode. turned the power switch on & off. numerous times all light were normal except the check engine was on i drove to the toyota dealer. i was told that is a normal issue the dashboard displays go bad. i understand the dashboard display can go bad. my issue is the safety problem that when the display fails the power button does not shut car off in the battery mode or the engine mode. that's a big issue . *tr

2004 toyota prius. consumer writes in regards to the combined speedometer/odometer display. *ld the consumer stated when the instrument panel intermittently failed the driver was unaware of the speed and gas mileage. the consumer requested a full recall with no time limit. updated 08/11/2017*js

2004 toyota prius with hid headlights is used as a taxi cab. on september 25th, 2012 the drivers side headlight would begin to flicker and turn off after around five minutes of operation. the hid bulb replacement did not resolve the matter. headlights must be turned off and then on again in order to resume their operation. *tr

The right headlight keeps going out and after we turn the switch back and forth it goes back on. this past weekend in a driving rain storm at night, the lights went completely out on a windy mountain road. i flicked them on and off several times and they would go on and then go out shortly afterwards. neither dim or bright would work. i ended up having to pull the bright signal on the column back manually and hold it while driving the last 45 minutes to home. it was very dangerous for about 20 miles in the rain at night the lights going in and out on curves or against on coming traffic, a head-on could have occurred easily. *tr

The headlights go out randomly while driving at night. you have to turn them off and then turn them back on for them to work and they only last a minute after that. huge safety issue!! *tr

Upon starting the car one morning i noticed the speedometer, fuel and gear indicator digital readouts were not working. i researched the problem on the internet and narrowed the problem to a faulty combination meter (bad solder). this problem has been occurring with numerous other prius owners according to forums and such. i purchased the car at a ford dealership and also purchased their ford esp base care plan. clearly the plan stated the speedometer/odometer, electrical or mechanical problems were covered. however the agent at the extended warranty office denied the claim. so my car sits at a toyota dealership with the dash apart and the appraised value of the car less $2000.00 according to the sales dept. because the mileage is unknown. toyota has yet to declare a recall for the problem which could result in death in some cases if not properly addressed. i have two children and value their lives. i hope and pray that toyota comes around. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the multi-display module for the heater and defroster units failed, causing the windshield defogger to fail. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the multi-display module needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 28,000. updated 1/30/13 *cn the dealer diagnosed the problem as a module malfunction which was an internal short circuit and gave the consumer an estimate of $700 to replace the module with a reconditioned one. updated 01/31/13 updated 2/13/13 *cn updated 02/14/13

Random failure of lights, began with driver?s side and continues to occur randomly with greater frequency. passenger side also turns off randomly, though with less frequency. many occasions, i have had both lights turn off while driving. *tt

I need your help! there is a manufacturing defect well documented as a common problem with 2004 toyota prius multi-functional display (mfd). the problem is that the 60 pin connector on the printed circuit board of the mfd sometimes develops a play in the connection and hence the sporadic display. i wrote to toyota customer service. toyota instructed me to take my car to the dealer and speak to toyota. told me that he did talk to the toyota rep and explained to him that i had been taking very good care of my car and that this mfd problem was not my doing. told me that it would cost $980.57 to install a remanufactured mfd. and that the toyota rep is only going to contribute $250. so net out of pocket for me would be a substantial amount of $730.57. it is unfair for toyota customer service to ask me to pay, since this is a common problem with 2004 toyota prius mfds that is well documented to be a common problem. i have already spent a lot of time and money on the problem. toyota customer service is taking the approach that it is out of warranty and there is no recall so we don't want to do anything. that logic is wrong. if there is a common problem that may have not escalated to a recall status, that does not mean that there is no problem. recall is if enough people have problems. meanwhile, you cannot deny for all the people who are stuck with this problem. it has been clearly demonstrated that this is a manufacturing defect that toyota is responsible. your high level intervention is needed. please write to toyota demanding that it would only be fair since the mfd problem is clearly documented to be a manufacturing defect, that toyota repair without delay at no cost to the client, since he has already suffered enough. thanks! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt

2004 toyota prius. consumer states unintended acceleration *tgw the consumer stated the sudden acceleration happened three times, over a six year span. he managed to put the vehicle in neutral, coast to the side of the road, and turned the vehicle off. once the vehicle was restarted, all worked fine. the consumer stated a few weeks ago his vehicle was about to reach 300,000 miles, as he reached for his camera, he realized the odometer never went past 299,999 miles. however, within five miles, the vehicle suddenly lost power brakes, the air condition stopped working, the hybrid drive shut off and the fan for the hybrid battery came on, as well as yellow and red lights appeared on the dash. also, two warning graphics appeared on the navigation screen, one indicating trouble. the consumer pulled over, and shut the engine off. he then restarted the vehicle and everything went back to normal. it appeared that by shutting off the engine and restarting it, caused the main computer reboot. the consumer stated it continued several more times, until he arrived home. the dealer informed the consumer the vehicle was a large computer, and when one component stops working, such as the odometer, other components cease too. the dealer explained an odometer limit was placed on the vehicle by the factory. *jb

I have been having a problem with my prius combination display (digital display that shows the speed, mileage, fuel level, current gear selection, etc.). sometimes when i turn on my car, the combination display is blank and will not turn on. the rest of the car turns on, but that display remains blank. i can drive the car, but i can't see my speed, mileage, or what gear the car is in. this usually happens when it is cold outside (below 50 degrees or so). when the problem first came up in 2012, i would turn off the car and turn it back on and the display would then work fine. it was very hard to repeat the problem and it was quite intermittent. this winter (2014-2015) the problem has come back, but now the display will often not turn back on even if i power cycle the car. there is another new related problem. whenever the car shows this display problem, i then cannot turn off the car. i press the power button and nothing happens. i even tried to hold it down for 3-10 seconds. the car will not shut off. i have to usually disconnect the battery to get it to power down. this problem has me concerned. not being able to see my speed is my biggest concern. also since the gear shift lever always returns to a reset spot (it doesn't stay in the gear position after you select your gear) it's impossible to see what gear the vehicle is in. also very concerning. i took it to the dealer and they confirmed the problem/defect. it appears that many other owners have this same problem. i believe there is a defect in the manufacturing of the display/circuit board. toyota did initially offer to fix the problem, but by the time i could actually repeat the problem to show to the dealer, the offer had expired for me to get it repaired. it's a serious issue that i wanted to report to the nhtsa. thank you. *tr

The dashboard computer in my 2004 prius malfunctions. the energy monitor does not show any of the arrows or current gas mileage. i can't access any of the menus: climate, audio, etc. this means that i can not turn on the defrost heat in the morning when the windshield is frozen. sometimes the telephone menu is inaccessible. the stereo skips and turns itself off. within a few minutes of turning on the car, the computer will right itself and start working. but sometimes the computer will spontaneously malfunction in the middle of driving the car. there is no way to tell what causes the malfunctions and there's no way to know when it will happen. *tr

Toyota prius 2004 generation 2, speedometer intermittent display problems. the dashboard lights go off and on very frequently for no reason. no display of speed and fuel gauge and also the odometer. *tr

The multifunctional display (mfd) failed following dealer replacement of the 12v battery. the dealer is now recommended $5,000 replacement of the mfd. mfd failure in the prius seems to be an increasing event based on on-line chatter on blogs. this appears to be a basic design flaw in the prius mfd system that causes loss of communication between the radio and climate control systems. it also causes the display to be totally ineffective for display of key hybrid engine performance. *tr

Dash board controls and light went off. i have informed toyota and the dealers of this issue several times that the dash board lights go off and then the car doesn't shut down for a long time. i finally diagnosed the issue myself (bad combination meter) and informed the dealer. they informed me that although toyota had an extended warranty on the meter that my car was out of warranty. eventhough i had complained about this issue before, it was not documented properly and therefore not the dealer or toyota itself would fix the issue. this is an extremely dangerous issue. as the car drives without any of the dash board lights on. you have no way to know how much gas you have or how fast you are driving. and if you find yourself outside the warranty period they are unwilling to fix the issue. help !!!! i can die driving this car !!!! i am in the process of selling it but i have to drive it to and from work. this needs to be a forced recall !!!! call me i have details of my conversations with toyota ! this should be in the news. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

When ambient temperature is cold, sometimes dashboard lights and speedometer do not come on when the car is started. car runs but with no instrument panel. sometimes when the car is in this state the car cannot be turned off by pressing the start button. car can only be turned off by pressing and holding the start button down for several seconds, and even this does not always work. this problem has been getting worse over time. toyota dealership refuses to investigate the problem, but it is documented in their warranty repair t-sb-0172-09 combination meter intermittent display bulletin. instead, the dealership tries to sell us a new car! *tt

The driver's side hid headlight, intermittently, unpredictably and inexplicably shuts off. it will occasionally return to service on its own, but usually requires a cycling of the light's power switch before full function is restored. after which, the length of time before the light shuts off again varies from a few seconds to not at all. after researching this issue, it seems to be a rather systemic problem with the 2004-2009 prius. obviously, the situation this condition creates is unsafe at best, can place me personally in an unexpected illegal position - and (should both lights go out together, as some have reported) could quite possibly be life threatening. for the safety of the driving public, i would strongly urge nhtsa to investigate this issue. toyota must take responsibility for their design flaw, and engineer a resolution to this problem. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights would shut off independently. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was advised that the headlights would need to be replaced. in addition, the contact stated that the center console on the dashboard failed. the contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint but no assistance was offered. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 108,000 and the current mileage was approximately 113,000.

Multi function display (mfd) failure in 2004 prius. this failure it intermittent and causes the radio to turn off, prevents the use of climate/radio controls located in/on the mfd unit, prevents one from knowing whether the battery is charging. the steering wheel controls seem to work for the climate control (though one cannot see the temperature setting) but the audio system is useless without the mfd unit working properly. this is a $3000 (not including labor) repair ... and that is for a used refurbished part! totally unacceptable if you ask me. because this is a known problem impacting thousands of prius owners, toyota should be forced to replace these defective units with new units at no cost to the owner. *tr

2004 toyota prius. consumer asserts that vehicle accident was caused by a computer malfunction *tgw the consumer stated prior to the accident, on one occasion, the vehicle bolted and jerked slightly as she stopped the vehicle. when she attempted to take off, the vehicle responded sluggishly and then accelerated quickly. the day of the accident, as the consumer approached the stop sign, the vehicle started bucking and jerking violently. after she pulled off from the stop sign, she crashed into a large suv. the consumer stated she saw the suv pass, so she purposely waited so she could make a left turn, but ended causing severe damage to her vehicle. *jb

S10 appropriate handling re toyota vehicles recall, owner of a 2004 toyota prius experienced sudden unintended acceleration. *tgw the consumer stated as he was driving, he approached a slower moving vehicle, but when he attempted to apply the brake, the vehicle instead accelerated. as he hit the brake harder, the vehicle accelerated even more. the consumer had to avoid an accident by crossing over the double yellow line into oncoming traffic. the consumer managed to avoid an accident and quickly moved back over to the correct side of the road. the consumer stated the gas pedal was not stuck as toyota is claiming there is a quick fix and placing the blame on the accelerator pedal. prior to the incident, the consumer stated as he was waiting in a line, with his foot firmly on the brake, the engine seemed to suddenly rev up and the vehicle lurched forward but did not move due to his foot being firmly on the brake. the consumer also stated on several occasions when he hit the brake the radio and air condition would come on. the dealer claimed there was nothing wrong and that the consumer must have hit the radio and climate control buttons on the steering wheel. the consumer believed that the braking system influences the electronics or computer and causes the acceleration of the vehicle. *jb

I own a 2004 toyota prius. just last week the touch screen that controls the heating / air conditioning, the radio, the current mpg information and condition of the ni-metal hydride battery and the gas engine interconnections, began to fail. sometimes it works for a while, then it stops for some time then it might or might start working again before i get where i am going. it is extremely intermittent in its correct operation. i have read on the internet that many other 2004 and early 2005 prius owners have encountered this problem, but that toyota is refusing to issue a recall. the new part is very expensive (~$4,000). refurbished parts are not readily available for the prius, i suppose because it is a relative new model to toyota. i wanted to report this to you, in the hopes that you might have some way of letting toyotal know that one more owner is having this problem. i did not know if you can force a manufacturer to issue a recall when a certain number of owners complain, or if this is only the case where safety is involved. *tr regards, dale w. howard

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated that the touch screen module which included the temperature gauge, the fuel gauge, the odometer, etc failed. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer who informed him that the display screen was defective and needed to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure was approximately 120,000.

Left and right headlights failed in november and december of 2009. headlights were replaced. left headlight has failed in 2011. i drive 10,000 per year. i do not do much driving with my headlights on. *tr