Problems with 2004 Toyota Prius ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

5/6/05 my 2004 prius with 20,400 miles without warning loss all power and shut down while driving hazard light came on warning to take to toyota dealer. the vehicle would not start. the battery meter level was completely dead. the vehicle had to be towed to maita toyota 2500 auburn blvd, sacramento, ca 95821, 916 481-5353 for repair. the work order stated the cause was the ecu which was reprogramed which cleared stored codes. code pulled p3191. is this a new finding in the prius?

While driving at 30 - 35 mph, the engine of my 2004 toyota prius cut off without warning. the "warning lamp" turned on at the time the engine quit, not before. i coasted to a stop in a nearby parking lot. when i could not restart the car, i called aaa for towing. after waiting 30 minutes, i tried to start the engine again, and it started with no problem. no warning lights were on, and i had no further problem. i had a second incident identical to the first, except this tmie i tried to restart the motor after waiting only 4 -5 minutes.

Consumer stated while traveling 40 mph all of a sudden , the lights illuminated on the dashboard and then everything shut off. the consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer and they said it was a computer glitch regarding the release of gas to the engine. just before a loss of power the dvd navigation system went completely out about 2 miles before everything else. *jb the dvd navigation system failed as well. *sc

Without warning, the warning light and alarm come on. the gas engine dies and does not engage at all. the electric motor is the only thing that keeps the car mobile. once the power is turned off then back on, both the gas and electric motors move the car as normal, but the warning persists. this has happened twice. i've been told that two different computer were the cause. the first incident happened at about 5,000 miles, and this latest happened just over 10,000.

1. i was driving on the long island expressway. traffic became congested so the pace was stop and go. i started to accelerate (was going about ~35 mph) when my 2004 prius lost power. i was able to pull over. all these lights came on indicating there was a problem. i was able to pull over and get off the road., i called the 800 no. for roadside assist. but the wait was over an hour. after ~20 minutes i started the car to try to boost the power the electric battery. i drove it in a parking lot and kept braking. the car seemed fine so i cancelled roadside assist. i then drove it another 250 miles home without a problem. after hearing the news i thought the problem i had was the same. i wasn't sure what further steps to take. i did have my toyota dealer check it out but someone else dropped the car off for me so i'm not sure they totally understood the actual problem. they did a computer adjustment. no problems since this one and only incident.

Yaps (yet another prius stall). i was not going fast - probably about 10-15 mph. just like the other reports, it lost power, all the warning lights came on, and it coasted to a halt. i was able to restart it but the ice would not kick in so it ran in electric mode only. after less than a mile the battery was almost drained so i had to pull over and park it. had it towed in to the nearest dealer - toyota of seattle - where they said it was a software issue and they'd seen it before. they performed an upgrade and returned it to me.

2004 prius, gas engine stalled while excellerating to merge onto freeway during rush hour, was forced to exit on electric engine in heavy traffic driving at 30mph. after exiting freeway and turning car off it would not restart. vehicle finally restarted and i was able to drive with master check engine light on. dealer said the car needed to have software reset, but never gave explaination of what caused original problem. i am guessing at the incident date it was month or so back.

On four separate occasions the prius has had a complete loss of power to the gasoline engine, all the warning indicator lights have been illuminated and the car was able to travel only on battery power for a very short distance before draining the battery. twice this has occurred after stopping at a stop sign and attempting to proceed forward. twice it has happened while driving on the highway at 60-70 mph. when it occurred on the highway the car lost power except from the battery that allowed only 40-42 mph maximum speed. twice the car was towed to the dealer. the first time they performed a software update the second time they reset the computer. the last two times it has happened i have been able to stop the car, disconnect the 12 volt battery which has reset the system and the car performs as expected. this would appear to be software bug that requires further investigation by toyota. in any case, this type of occurrence causes an unsafe condition to occur.

On 4/7/05 i was traveling on the nj parkway and all of a sudden for no reason my 2004 prius engine stalled no gas to engine only electric power then the electric power slowly in about lest than 2 minutes went to zero and then i had to coast to a safe spot to pull over on the shoulder. luckily i was already traveling in the slow right lane, although at 5 pm rush hour its still going 65+ mph, i coasted down to 40 mph until i finally came to a shoulder in the right lane. i checked for anything leaking nothing, and about 10 minutes later it started up. now all warning lights went on the engine warning failure light which said to bring to dealer right away was on. i brought to dealer the next day a was still able to drive it. they eventually fixed the problem they said it was a computer software problem. they had it from 4/8 to 4/13. it was a very scary situation luckly i was not in the fast lane were i would have been stuck in the middle of fast driving traffic. i just wanted to submit this to put on record just incase there is a bigger problem with other vehicles. the car has run fine since and no problems so far. i read the story from verizon online.

Master indicator light illuninated, internal combustion engine failed to restart.

2004 toyota prius died at 65 mph on i-395 carpool lanes. multiple warning lights flashed on. was able to coast it over and restart for a mile or two when it completely died again. was towed to springfield va toyota dealership were it was serviced. error codes c2318 (low voltage error - power supply malfunction), battery code 8442 were reported. also, check engine light on, found code p3791/engine won't start. reprogrammed ecu dp0199. cars shutting down in high speed traffic is a crash waiting to happen. we're not convinced that re-setting the engine code is enough to fix the problem. has the original software problem been located and fixed? dealership couldn't give us that answer.*ak

2004 toyota prius engine stalled while driving. ***no answer required*** *ts the consumer requested reimbursement for the towing expense. *sc

I own a 2004 prius and also experienced a complete system shutdown while driving on the highway about 3 months ago. the entire gas engine shut down and all warning lights came on. the electric motor remained operational and allowed me to get off the road and into a parking lot safely. the dealer (cabe toyota - long beach, ca) gave me a brief and unsatisfactory explaination..brushing this off as a minor problem similar to a computer needing to be restarted. i assume they upgraded my system but still fear a recurrence in a less convenient location. please let me know if you would like any additional information on this. vehicle vin = [xxx]

I have a 2004 toyota prius (purchased dec. 2003). approximately 10 march 2005 i was driving at city speeds (<40 mph) when the gasoline engine shut down. i was able to proceed about a mile on the electric engine until the battery became drained. i called for a tow under warranty service. while waiting, i was able to restart the gasoline engine after about an hour, but had the car towed into the dealership for investigation of the failure and repair. after a couple of days of investigation, they claimed that they could find no problem and toyota had not issued any service bulletins dealing with such a problem. as recently as last week, when i had the car serviced, the dealership said that they were unaware of any similar reports and toyota had not issued any service bulletins. i gave them a copy of an article from a recent wall street journal details reports of these problems around the country. i have no further problems of a similar nature, but i am somewhat apprehensive of recurrence. otherwise the car is wonderful. i get ~50mpg in the summer and it handles well.

Engine warning light came on while driving approximately 55-60 mph. gas power quit and consumed all electric power and car stopped. coasted to the side of the road. could not get the car to go into any gear -- stuck in park. had to have it towed to dealer.

My 2004 prius lost power when i was traveling at about 65-70 miles per hour on 2/21/05. i had electric power for a few minutes so that i could pull off at an exit. all the warning/caution lights came on. the kern toyota dealership in winchester va had my car towed in. they kept the car overnight. they said that they reprogrammed my computer and the car was fine. they offered no other explanation or possible future concerns. i reported this to toyota management this morning and have a confirmation # if needed. i just saw the articles where they noted 33 other incidents like mine.

1) my wife was driving our 2004 toyota prius and the car had a warning light turn on on display, went to "limp" mode (slow) and suddenly stopped after 1/2 mile. 2) car could not be controlled, no power. 3) toyota towed car to shop and replaced ecu controller in area of fuel tank, ecu relay and entire fuel tank assembly. problem has not happened again.

I have a 2004 prius that stalled on the freeway this february for no reason. when we took it to the dealer, the mechanics said they had no idea why it happened, but that they "reset the computer" and it wouldn't happen again.

I was driving my 2004 toyota prius at approximately 35 mph when it suddenly stalled and the electric engine power dropped to zero. i could not get the vehicle to move and needed to have it towed to the dealer for service.

Dt: the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the vehicle is a hybrid. she states that while driving down the freeway at about 60 mph vehicle stalled, making it difficult for her to brake or accelerate. the dealer told her that it was a software glitch, and they knew that they had other problems with this. toyota stated that they contacted everyone. however they did not notify everyone because she was not notified. also, they did not notify some of her friends, and they disregarded her telephone calls.*ak

Pe05029 2 times the car engine stopped for no reason at all. dashboard lit up entirely. both times the car restarted. each time, fewer lights came on. brought car in 2x- 1st time, did nothing. 2nd time, supposedly upgraded program. when 1st heard about your investigation, contacted toyota to see if we were part of the 33-- we believe it is being under-reported. contact name: diane romanchick and paul embree.

Our 2004 prius stalled repeatedly on a drive from holland, mich., to st. louis, mo, on dec. 26/27, 2004. the first time it happened, it was after about an hour of highway driving, when all the dashboard lights went on and the engine died. we were able to coast off the highway. after about 30 minutes on the side of the road (it was he day after christmas and a sunday, so help was not readily available), we were able to restart the engine and return to holland. the next day, we took it to the dealer, who could not find anything wrong. we resumed driving and after about an hour, the same thing happened. we pulled to the side of the road, waited a bit, and restarted the engine. we repeated this several times, drive, stall, restart, drive, until we got to a dealer in chicago, who declared that our transmission was shot but we might as well drive back to st. louis since it would take them a week to get a new one anyway. so we drove, stalled, restarted, again and again until we got just south of springfield, ill., where the car stalled for good. after an uncomfortable hour spent on the side of interstate 55 waiting for a tow truck on a freezing cold night, we finally were taken back to st. louis, where the dealer put in a new transmission.

I have a 2004 toyota prius. i have had it stall at low speed (approx 35mph) march 2004 i had it lose power at highway speed on nov 7, 2004.

While driving the vehicle at 60 mph. the vehicle completely shut down. the consumer pressed on the accelerator pedal for speed, however the vehicle continued to lose power. the consumer had the vehicle towed. the vehicle is still at the dealership. *jb the problem was due to a computer glitch per tsb. the battery had gone dead. *sc

I am estimating the dates - i took my 2004 prius to the dealer on october 12, as it was not driving right since i had done a "hard brake" the week before. the service dept was unable to find anything amiss. then, while driving to work that friday, my car indicated that i needed to stop the car immediately (via the red triangle etc. lights on dashboard). i was travelling at about 45 miles per hour at the time. i coasted into a left turn lane, but was unable to complete the turn into the parking lot as the car had shut down. i was pushed into the parking lot. i contacted the dealer and the car was towed to the nearest dealer (larry miller toyota on w. bell road). i was told the ecu was reprogrammed and that there was a service bulletin that was not sent to owners, but directed dealers to do the fix only when there was a car with the failure. my car has exhibited the red triangle one other time, 4/15/05 i believe, it was towed again, to bell road toyota. the answer seems to be "if there is no code on the computer that something is wrong, we cannot fix it, since we don't know where the problem is."

Dad: vehicle runs and suddenly stalls and stops working. owner attempts to start car again, and it does not start. car was taken to the dealer three times, and dealer fixed it. but, after some time the car did not work again. owner stated that car was serviced on regular basis.*ak

2004 toyota prius cut off while consumer was driving at highway speeds.*mr when the consumers vehicle stalled on the highway, another motorist rear ended the consumers vehicle. *jb

Dt: the consumer owns a 2004 toyota prius. he says that he is having problems with the vehicle because it will shut off while in traffic. also the park mechanism will disengaged and the lock button does not unlock the doors as specified in the owners manual. also the start button does not consistently start the vehicle properly. *jb the vehicle experienced: inoperative brake light, the fuel door spring was replaced, dome light remained on, engine would disengage, lights would remain lit after the vehicle was started, vehicle would not move until the vehicle was shut off and restarted to get the brake light to go out, rattling as if it were going to stall, the alarm sounded on one occasion when the door was opened, fuel door spring malfunctioned and fuel door would not open. the technicians were unable to verify the door lock malfunction. the consumer would like the vehicle replaced with a 2005 model equipped as detailed on the original invoice including aftermarket items paid for. *sc

My 2004 prius' combustion engine shut down on the freeway in sep'04. the car switched to battery mode only and rolled on until the battery was completely drained and then completely stalled. i got stuck in lanes, created a rush-hour traffic jam, and had to be pushed to a shoulder by a police car. the car was towed to a dealer who said it was a software glitch which they proceeded to fix and the car has been working well since then.

1. i was driving around 30 to 40 mph and the gas engine failed suddenly during the course of normal driving, leaving only the electrical engine running. at the same time the engine failed, many lights turned on on the dashboard. 2. i was on a canyon road in the los angeles mountains when it failed, which was a single lane road each way with nowhere to pull off. luckily, i had just reached on of the crests in the canyon when the engine failed, so with the electrical engine i was able to coast to a side street. once on the side street, the electrical engine died quickly, probably because of the steep slope upwards of the street. 3. i tried to turn off the car and it wouldn't turn off, so i popped the hood and got out to see if there was an obvious problem. finding no problem i could see i went back inside the car and held down the power button until the vehicle turned off finally. when the vehicle turned back on, the engine sempt to work normally, and i immediately went to the nearest toyota dealer. they said they had heard of the problem once or twice before and it requires a software update to the car. i was weary of their proposed solution since it is such a dangerous problem, but that's all they said they could do, so i told them to go ahead.

Dt: 2004 toyota prius, consumer was driving on highway 24 and the vehicle stopped. it had to be towed. vehicle lost power while going 60-65 mph. *ak. the vehicle stall again on august 29th, 2005 while being driven driving 40 mph. the mileage was 24480. the consumer contact gm and demanded a new vehicle. the manufacturer bought the consumer's vehicle back. *nm

Dt: the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. this vehicle would stall at high speeds. he was going 65-70 mph at time of incident. this happened without warning. it exactly what the reports said happened to him. he can be contacted by odi for this if needed. also, had premature wear on tires. had the front and rear ends aligned three times since he purchased the vehicle.*ak

Vehicle stalled while driving approximately 25-30mph on surface street with 1/4 tank of gas remaining.

Approaching entrance ramp to i495 n exit 32 westford ma at modest side street speed 25-40 approximately. car rapidly lost acceleration. continued for about one minute onto the interstate and stalled on the shoulder. battery indicated showed only one bar. gas at least 1/3 full. electric windows and displays and lights worked. certain warning indicators were lit including red danger triangle. could not turn off the power or remove the key. after 20-25 minutes, while waiting for the tow trunk, i was able to power off and on and then the car started and i drove home (30 miles). performance appeared normal but the red triangle and a few other indicators remained lit.

While driving vehicle stalled. consumer restarted the vehicle, and pulled over. consumer noticed all warning light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic could not duplicate the problem, but insisted that warning light should be turned off. *ak

Dt: while driving at a steady pace, the vehicle stalled. *ak *jb

In june 2004, the 2004 toyata prius we had purchased in mid-may malfunctioned as i was accelerating onto a freeway on-ramp in daly city, california. a loud beep sounded, and all the dashboard lights lit up at once, including the exclamation point. the gas engine did not engage as it usually did at higher speeds, leading to a rapid depletion of the battery, which forced me to pull over to the side of the freeway. i turned off the car, waited 5 minutes, and then pressed the power button. the lights on the dash lit up again but the car did not start. i called for a tow, which took about 70 minutes. in the meantime, i tried the power button at 15 minute intervals. at 45 minutes, the car started normally. however, by then the towing company was on its way and the car was towed to the service center of the city toyota dealership in daly city, which happened to be where we purchased the car. the car was left for a few days. when i retrieved it, they were unable to explain why the problem occurred. we have been driving the car since without incident.

Dt: toyota prius gas engine stalled 3 times, twice while driving on highway and on ramp. 1) may 13 2004 stalled in busy intersection going about 40 mph, electrical engine still worked, so speed dropped to 20 mph, and consumer stopped on the side. all warning lights were on. vehicle was towed to toyota, and they said nothing was wrong except dirty gas. they reset warning lights, and told it was safe. 2) june 1, 2004, while merging onto a highway going up the ramp at about 50 mph car jerked and slowed to about 25 mph without warning. car behind m had to go onto shoulder to avoid rear ending consumer's vehicle. all warning lights were on again . when checking engine display only electrical power was working again. gas engine had stalled, causing the immediate decrease in speed, without brake lights so car behind didn't know what was happening. towed to toyota. they said nothing was wrong again except dirty gas. consumer changed gas stations and used their recommended ones since the last incident. consumer refused to take the car back . had two toddlers who were in the car at the time of the incidents. gmc dealer sent a patch which wa ssuppose to fix the problem, but patch did,t work. problem recurred.*ak

Our 2004 prius on four separate occasions had a complete engine shutdown with lots of indicator lights lit on the dashboard. this happened twice while we were traveling on interstate highways in traffic at highway speeds, once in a toyota dealership while the vehicle was being serviced, and once as we pulled into a toyoto dealership for service. we were not aware we could send a complaint to nhtsa until we say today's msnbc article. the first engine shutdown occurred in the hyannis toyota dealership in massachusetts. they took quite a while to fix the vehicle and made several phone calls to toyota engineers for help. they wrote on our receipt: "needs trans replacement for permanent repair." after we left massachusetts we drove across country toward our home in california. the other three engine shutdowns happened during this trip. we had to be towed (at toyota's expense) twice as a result of the interstate engine shutdowns and ended up at a toyota dealership in jackson, mississippi. we had to stay several days at our own expense while they repaired the vehicle, again consulting several times with toyota engineers during the repair. after we reached california we took the vehicle to south bay toyota and requested the "permanent" repair described on the hyannis toyota receipt. we were told they would do nothing because there was no indicator showing any problems at that time. we made several phone calls to toyota but were unable to get them to do anything further to our car.