Problems with 2004 Toyota Prius EQUIPMENT

I have a 2004 toyota prius. since 2004, my headlights have gone out 5 times. the right headlight has gone out 3 times and the left 2 times. the last time i replaced the right headlight, it did not last 12 months. *tr

Headlight on 2004 pries controller broken. may be due to oxide levels in contacts. smart key oxidation causes poor use. alarm goes off intermittently. *tr

This is an update to the complaint i filed on 2008/10/14, odi 10253642 about prius hid headlight failure. since that incident i have had the driver and passenger side bulbs replaced four times and swapped left-for-right for diagnosis twice. even with those new bulbs, which my dublin, ca, toyota dealer swears are the newer, "good" bulbs, the headlights always have failed again within one to four weeks. actually, those are the intervals at which i have *noticed* the failures, but i'm sure the bulbs failed sooner than that, because sometimes it's hard to tell while driving, and the lights always relight when switched off and on. there would have been even more replacements and failures, but i have delayed taking the car in for repair until i could drive into the dealership while the light was out, as proof that it has failed. it's obvious to me and every other prius owner that the bulbs are either not the problem or at least not the only problem--the electronic control module undoubtedly also or instead is faulty. toyota corporate continues to refuse to acknowledge the severity, persistence, and breadth of the problem. yesterday the dealer repeated the left-for-right swap because "toyota corporate demands that diagnostic procedure." but the dealer admitted that no more information will be gained than was gained the last time they swapped left for right, when the light worked there at the dealer, but failed on me subsequently (the same-side headlight with the swapped bulb). they are simply avoiding the expense and liability of replacing the control computer. *tr

Right front headlamp operating intermittently. dealer repair quote was over $500. online advice suggested that toyota should/would repair at no cost. initially dealer service manager wanted owner to pay labor, over $300, and dealer would supply part. owner stated that since this was a safety and defect matter, toyota should pay full cost. after 24 hours, dealer agreed to replace headlamp at no cost. both headlamps were replaced at no cost to owner. owner is 30 year customer of this dealership. service manager stated that toyota will probably post a recall notice on this matter. *tr

Multi-function monitor display intermittent blank out. no display for multi-function display unit. it occurs very often since january 2008. *tr

Driver-side hid headlamp in 2004 toyota prius was noticed to be very, very, dim (effectively off) around 2008/10/14. turning headlamps off and on restored brightness. but the problem recurred at unpredictable times--frequently enough to be a serious safety problem. frequently the driver can't tell while driving, whether one headlamp is off, and obviously it's unsafe to fix it by turning it off and on while driving. toyota dealer replaced driver-side headlamp on 2008/10/15, for $600! on 12/15 the driver noticed the same headlamp again was misbehaving in exactly the same way, and the problem has recurred since then at apparently random times. priuschat.com's many posters about this problem make it unlikely that just the bulb is the problem. probably the ballast. but toyota won't comment. i do still have the original bulb, and the box from the new bulb. lisa at toyota corporate customer experience center replied around 2008/10/18 that toyota would reimburse half of the $600. but as of 2009/1/3 no reimbursement has been gotten. i called toyota corporate again on 2008/12/16 and damian said he must forward my new complaint about the repeated failure to lisa, and that she was "required" to respond in one business day. she has not responded as of 2009/1/3. there are many complaints about exactly this problem on priuschat.com at http://priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem-26.html. *tr

While normal conditions i have experienced a major brake malfunction, both the abs and the brake lights come on. the vehicle barely has brakes, this has happened multiple times since i have bought the vehicle 2 years ago. i have taken my vehicle 6 times to have to it fixed, and they have never been able to fix it. brakes repeatedly fail on a regular bases. they have replaced the brake accumulator, brake computer, reset the brake piston calpaltors, and the relay that control the brakes, and the 12 volt battery. none of these repairs have worked. brakes still fail regularly. complaint lodge with toyota customer satisfaction center. *tr

Regarding my 2004 toyota prius: the 'multi-information display, i.e., computer display, does not function frequently, at which time a message saying the air conditioner is disconnected. simultaneously, when this message appears, the radio instantly turns off. when this occurs access to the computer is impossible, controls of the air conditioner system are unavailable except through those on the steering wheel which continue to function. the computer function later randomly is restored for brief to long periods but remains subject to random failure again. this failure has existed for years. dealerships refused to take responsibility for repair or replacement of the equipment. this defect is a major distraction to safe operation of the vehicle. for example, during computer shutdown periods, it is impossible to alter air conditioner fan speed during freezing ambient weather. *tr

Started my 2004 toyota prius and placed vehicle into reverse to back out of parking space at daughter's school. car died while backing, blocking traffic, and would not restart. orange light glowed on the starter button. this is 7:45pm. called original dealer in washington pa for advice. no help. looked in owner's manual for advice. no help. called local dealer in charlottesville va. no help. a male teacher opened the hood and fuse cover to ensure that all fuses were snug and secure. nothing. after about 30 minutes, the car finally reset its self, the starter button went green and when tried the car started. told the local dealer of this incident and they denied any knowledge of any trouble like this. coinsidently, my gps system had failed just a couple of days prior to this incident. it took a month to get it replaced.

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

Computer shut down in the toyota prius causing car to stop in a matter of minutes on two occations.

2004 toyota prius with navigation system problems customer states that now the ac and defroster does not work and the dealership fixed it thank you to the dealership note**nar**cc the consumer stated from time to time the radio would turn off and it would have to be turned back on manually. then the display began to act erratically . the audio off would appear on the screen and the radio was still playing . the climate control became unresponsive and the screen displayed check the connection of the air condition . when the consumer pressed any of the buttons on the display, they would not function or would take seconds to come up and usually only the performance screen or the radio screen would show up. the problem with the air condition and defroster were related to the navigation system the consumer discovered there was a faulty design with the model year. *jb

I would like to report a stalling i experienced while driving our toyota prius (2004) the car stalled a little after i merged onto highway 85 in cupertino. all the warning lights on the dashboard came on and the car would no longer accelerate as i tried to drive up to 65 mph. it appeared that the gas engine quit and it was running on electric power. i was able to coast on till the next exit. after getting off the freeway, i pulled into the nearest parking lot where i turned to car off. i was able to restart it and it drove fine but all the warning lights remained on. so i immediately drove it to the dealership in sunnyvale where we bought the car where it was fixed. i am not sure that toyota dealers are keeping accurate records of the problem. i read an article in the mercury news today's edition in which adam simms, the operating partner at toyota of sunnyvale has claimed that "none of the people who have bought a prius at his dealership have had problems with stalling". i know this is not true because i have experienced the problem and had it fixed at his dealership. i am not sure of the exact date the incident occured. i believe it was sometime during the the second week of nov.