Problems with 2005 Toyota Prius ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. while driving at approximately 25 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated on and off. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. the technician diagnosed that the main wiring harness needed to be replaced and not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

In 2007, we purchased a certified used toyota prius 2005 with 13,298 miles. we have owned this car ever since. we currently have about 81,000 miles on this vehicle. brake failure incident on june 30, 2014, i was driving the 2005 prius slowly (10-15 mph) along a roadway located in a tecumseh, mi city park: as the car approached a local street, i braked for a stop before making a right-hand turn. as i engaged the brake, the abs system red light appeared, the red brake light was lit and the related buzzer was activated as well. as i braked, my right foot went all the way to the floor. i experienced complete and total brake failure. i finally stopped the car with the emergency brake. i drove the prius very slowly over the two miles home, using the emergency brake to stop as needed. my wife and daughter were riding with me in the car and witnessed the incident. on july 1, 2014, i contacted aaa and arranged to have the car towed to a repair shop in ann arbor, mi ' 30 miles away. after a week, at the repair shop i arranged to have the vehicle towed to the local toyota service facility. over the previous five months, i experienced another curious problem that may be brake related. when braking on bumpy roads (we have horrible pot holes on many major streets and roads) or curb cuts, the car accelerates ever so briefly. the feeling of loss of control is very disturbing. it remains to be seen if this problem is related to the brake failure noted above. there were no injuries as a result of this brake failure. however, i had just returned home from business in a neighboring community 35 miles away. i often drive backcountry county roads with posted speeds of 55 mph. if i had experienced the brake failure then, i might well have been killed along with others. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. the contact stated that the brakes were depressed and failed to respond. the contact crashed into the rear end of another vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy. the contact sustained injuries to the chest, a leg gash and a pulled muscle in the back. the front passenger sustained whiplash. both the contact and the front passenger required medical attention. a police report was filed. additionally, the contact stated that the flat surface warning indicator illuminated intermittently as a result the contact had to restart the vehicle on multiple occasions. the key failed to exit the ignition switch on multiple occasions. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

Both of my prius headlights went off, for no apparent reason, while driving down a busy highway. flicking them off and then back on brought them on again, but this is a dangerous situation. this has happened one more time since then. this could cause a serious accident. toyota is unable to isolate the problem. the company wants to replace the bulbs, but this doesn't fix the problem, according to many other people who have had this problem. replacing the bulbs or adjacent parts can cost hundreds of dollars, which is not sustainable. it seems that a recall is in order. *tr

On 2/27/14 the srs indicator light in our vehicle lit up causing us to review the owner's manual, which recommended immediate service. per technical service bulletin t-sb-0042-11, this issue was caused by failure of the wiring harness, which was diagnosed with scanner code b1826. according to the tsb, the design/material fault can occur in 2004-2009 priuses. the fault, according to a toyota service advisor, results in a failure of the air bag system. to address the condition, "an updated wire harness must be installed." the cost to repair this design fault is $2,500. and up depending on if one or both sides of the wiring harness has to be replaced. because this safety related defect needed to be addressed at once we paid to have the vehicle repaired but expressed our view to the toyota personnel that the defect should have been covered by toyota. we feel that this defect should have been the subject of a recall. calls to the gm of the dealership have not been returned. *tr

After a short period of time headlight flickers then goes out. have to turn off then on, only to last a short time. brand new bulbs. *tr

The dashboard screen goes blank. this has happened twice in the last couple of days. i can't tell how fast i'm going, how much gas is left, what gear i'm in, how much mileage is on the vehicle, whether or not the lights are on, etc. toyota has a service notice about it, but my vehicle is just 2 months out of warranty. i didn't have this problem before while it was in warranty. it is extremely unsafe. *tr

Intermittent failure of headlight (left and right, though not simultaneously). problem can be temporarily corrected by turning headlights off, then on. this issue occurs while driving (twice within a one hour drive) and when the car has just been started. fuses have been checked and headlight bulbs have been replaced with no resolution. *tr

I had just had my oil changed and when i was leaving i started the car but the dashboard lights didn't come on. i drove on and still nothing. when i was at a stop light, the lights came on with the error message that my brakes were engaged. i tried multiple times to depress and release the emergency brake, but the same message. i couldn't move the vehicle because the front brakes were locked. i had it towed to the dealership and they said they had to get toyota involved but it sounds like three computers are fried. this is very frustrating since i got the vehicle because it had such wonderful reviews (yes this was some years ago) how do computers just "up and fry" without any warning. i am hopeful that toyota will do the right thing and step up and take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. also, whatever they could do for me would be greatly appreciated since i was a die hard prius fan.....until now??? *jb

The headlights would shut off and not come back on during various speeds. it was extremely dangerous. while driving at night at 65mph a headlight ( randomly left or right) would shut off at night). i would have to pull over and turn the light switch off to reactivate the headlight!!! the headlight would come back on once the switch was turned off and on again, but several miles down the road, a headlight would go off again!!! this is extremely dangerous!! we brought it to a toyota garage, and were told there was a recall on these headlights but not for our 2005 vehicle. we paid $476.00 to replace both headlights!! how can headlights be recalled for this problem and be covered for certain years only??? with the research i have done it appears this is a dangerous problem for 2005 models too!!! why wait for accidents or deaths??? thus occurred at all speeds!! *tr

Both hid headlights went out at the same time. i can toggle the light switch off and on and one or both lights came back on. then went out again within a few seconds to a minute, over and over. makes no difference if car is not moving at all or going 70 mph. i was able to drive the 15 miles home at night without incident. went to dealer next day and they say all that is wrong is that the headlights are burned out. estimate to replace both is $474.31. i do not believe that they would burn out at exactly the same time. and if they are burned out then why do they come back on and off. i have done research and found the class action settlement for 2006-2009 models. i also found that you have had hundreds of complaints about the 2005 model yet you have not considered this a safety matter. i disagree. even if you don't help me, i want my complaint included in your database. *tr

On my 2005 toyota prius the hid lights were replaced with toyota parts. within a couple of weeks they started to go off and on at random. the dealer replaced them with aftermarket hid bulbs. after about 18 months one of the lights would go off and on at random. the dealer no longer carries aftermarket hid bulbs. they told me they could install the toyota bulbs which have issues or i could get aftermarket bulbs and they would install them. well the new d2r hid sylvania bulbs were installed by the dealer. within 2 weeks one of the new bulbs went off and on at random. now a week later the other new hid bulb is doing the same thing. i have read that this issue has been going on for years. this is a safety issue and also an expensive repair. when will this safety problem be addressed????? *tr

Dashboard information suddenly turns blank -- no fuel level, speed, etc. , but headlights work (although no indicator on instrument panel) as well as turn signals, air-conditioning, and radio. i drove straight to the dealer thinking that it was probably a fuse. the service department reports that although they have rarely seen this, it's a problem with a component behind the power switch. the part is in short supply and may take as long as four weeks to arrive. they said it would be covered under warranty and the dealer will be paying for the cost of a rental car in the interim. the service from the dealer is superior and...i love my prius.. *tr

I started up the car this morning, put it into reverse, and a second or two later, it shifted itself into neutral. the shift lever felt like there was more resistance to it than usual. this happened several times and also happened when i tried to put the car into drive. after about 15 minutes of turning the car on and off and trying to shift several times, the car finally stayed in gear. the problem is the same as described in this thread: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/62-prius-forum/343977-08-prius-wont-stay-gear.html, with the only difference being that it was a rather cold day (0 degrees f) while most of the posts in the thread mention the problem occurring on a hot day. while the malfunction on my car was problematic but not life-threatening, i am concerned that the car could shift itself into neutral while i am driving (as described by several posters in the above thread), which would be a dangerous situation. *tr

Front right headlight is intermittently going out. i can get it to go back on if i turn switch off and back on but it may fail again within 10 or 80 minutes. replaced bulb, but still have problem. dealer said it was the bulb but replacing it has not fixed the issue. *tr

Digital dashboard display is, from time to time, so dim as to be almost invisible. sometimes it appears to be about 90% of brightness, other times at about 5% or less. this makes it almost impossible to read such information as speed, warning lights, etc. when it is visible, it is a major distraction, taking considerable time and effort. toyota has extended the warranty for this problem, but my toyota dealer refuses to perform the repair, claiming that as long as they can see the display at any level, regardless of how dim, there is not a correctable problem.since the problem is intermittent, they may not see it at its worst. *tr

The multi information display no longer shows the vehicle speed and other specs such as fuel gauge, warning lights, and such. the vehicle sometimes couldn't turn off, and it would require me to press and hold the power button for more than 5 seconds in order to turn off the vehicle. driving is quite dangerous as i not even sure if the car is even "ready" or not, and what gear (d, n, r) it is in. toyota is charging me 400 for the repair even though the service bulletin stated that this is cause the manufacturer defect on the circuit board. my sister who owns a 2006 toyota prius (16x,xxx) did receive the notice of recall for the multi information display, but i didn't any notice at all. this repair should be covered by toyota. this is outrageous! *tr

Outside temperature approx 32 degrees f. gear shifter on dashboard would not electrically seal-in or stay in position after going into reverse, the first time. backed car out of driveway and shifted into drive, it immediately went back into neutral position and would not stay in drive - electrically. the only way to keep the car in gear was to physically hold the gear shifter into desired position. physically held shifter in drive position and pulled back into driveway. once in driveway, tested shifter and found it would not go into any gear and "stay". after work, temperature was 60 degrees f and shifter then functioned properly. drove to toyota dealer and left car. they stated a technical bulletin was issued by toyota on this item as described. ticket # 490621; part number 33560-47023 "lever assy. shift, was replaced. part cost 164.93 and labor was 416.14 for a subtotal of 581.07 plus tax of 34.33 for grand total of 615.40 usd. this is obviously a cold weather and age related issue. plus, this is not the first toyota electrical system design flaw issue i've encountered, but the first related to drivability and possible safety issue. *tr

My 22-year-old son had a scary incident in which our 2005 prius stalled spontaneously on the bronx river parkway (valhalla, ny) with several dashboard warnings lighting up. the hybrid shifted to battery mode in traffic. luckily he was able to get off highway. car was towed to dealer. we're very concerned because the car never had problems and because, on an internet search, we see the failure was precisely like the one described in nhtsa report that resulted in a toyota action to service many cars in 2005: http://j.mp/nhtsaprius05problem. *tr

Headlights (one or both) will randomly turn off while driving. turning the switch off and back on will turn them back on. *tr

I am sure that you won't believe this is true. on oct 25th 2012, i got home and turned off the car after work. i took the bag contained the key and left in the family room which is about 40 feet away from garage. after the dinner, i went to garage to throw trash. i smelled gas and heard music and car engine was on. suddenly, it reminds me, in the morning when i turn off the car and left, the car started by itself and all electronic system was re-set. i specifically paid attention to turning off the car and locking the door in the evening because of what happened in the morning. the car was turned on by itself again and had been running in the garage for more than 2.5 hrs based on the clock re-set information. i could not turn it off and the car showed error message that the key was not in the car. of course, since the key was in the family room at that time. i brought the key in the car and still could not turn it off. i tried to insert the key and still no luck. i called aaa and they sent a technician and a toll truck to my house. he could not turn off either initially and eventually turned it off after move the wheel, step on breaks really hard and shook the car. i sent the car to toyota dealer right away. the service center could not identify any issue and toyota refuse to acknowledge there is anything wrong with the car. i was scared and also glad that i went garage to throw garbage today. otherwise, i don't know what is going to happen! we have furnace with igniter light on in the garage. the house can be on fire with a reason no one will expect and believe! the carbon monoxide could filled the garage and emerge in the house! i called in the customer care center (case # [xxx]) and they told me there is anything they can do about it. what is really upset me is that toyota does not even acknowledge there is anything wrong with the car! information redacted pursuant to ...

My prius dash keeps going black, the car won't shut off . also had it in park engine revved and started to drive away. i jumped in and it wouldn't shut off i had to rip the key out. the rear taillights go out all the time. the doors and hatch locks won't unlock half the time. i had a new battery put in but it still happens. *tr

The left headlight unexpectedly goes out. if i turn the lights off and on again, the headlight comes back on, but soon repeats going out. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. in order to start the vehicle, the emergency brake had to be engaged. the contact also stated that the headlights failed intermittently but would function normally after attempting to activated them several times. in addition while driving at various speeds, the transmission would erroneously shift into neutral and all of the contact's attempts to shift back into drive failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure could not be diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted about the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 56,000. the current mileage was approximately 57,000.

The hid headlights fail and turn-off without warning. this leads to dangerous driving conditions especially at night. this is related to a hid headlight leveling sensor failure. toyota reports this issue in their "technical service bulletin" number el004-06, dated 28th april 2006. toyota recognizes the problem in the oem part and is providing replacement only on failed parts under 36months, 36,000 miles warranty. however, my vehicle experienced this "safety issue" past the warranty period and hence is not replaced by toyota. nevertheless, toyota has generated a customer program to replace this defective module in 2006-2009 models even if not under the warranty. my 2005 model experiences the exact same problem but toyota will not cover this safety issue. furthermore, the 2006-2009 models are covered under the "class action lawsuit" for the exact same problem as my 2005; however my 2005 model is not covered. please do the needful to include 2005 model prius (with hid headlights) in the safety issues addressed in 2006-2009 models. thank you. *tr

While driving on the highway at 70 mph, the following symptoms occurred on my 2005 toyota prius: (1) car would not accelerate, (2) engine light came on, (3) problem light came on, (4) battery went red, (5) car stalled and would not accelerate/drive any further. after turning off the car and restarting it, i was able to drive it back and the battery recharged itself to green. after taking it to the dealership and having this problem "fixed", the exact same situation happened two more times, again 6 months later and then 2 weeks after that. the second time i was driving again on the highway at 70 mph, the third time i was driving at night at 40 mph. *tr

The driver side headlight intermittently goes on and off without warning. this began over a year ago, but we cannot name the specific time. we initially thought it was just a light bulb, however, we learned that it can be reactivated by briefly turning the headlight switch off and on. this is a safety hazard if driving at night. it can happen several times during one trip or not at all. we have taken it to a few toyota dealers and they have indicated that it could cost 400-800+ to repair the problem, which we believe to be excessive so for now we are tolerating the problem. *tr

We were driving on the highway at night and suddenly, without warning, the engine stalled completely, the car died, and all of the warning lights came on, including a red triangle, check engine, brake, and some others. the prius lost power and i had to turn on the hazard lights and coast to the shoulder. we called the aaa towing service and 911 (as the shoulder was very narrow and we could not get out of the car). the officer and the tow truck driver checked for all possible driver errors, including gas, but did not find anything out of the ordinary (the gas gauge showed 5/8 full). the car was towed to the toyota dealership in sunnyvale who are working to determine the cause. this was a very dangerous situation as we were driving on a highway, with a child in the car, at highway speeds at night and the car suddenly died. it has left us shaken and we will be contacting toyota to see if they have a fix for this. *tr

The headlamps repeatedly burn out, which repair people have said indicates an underlying electrical problem. i now have to replace one of the headlamps for the fourth time in just over a year. *tr

I was driving on the highway when my vehicle's check engine light came on. shortly after i saw a large amount of smoke coming from the engine. i pulled over and shut off the car. car smelled like burned plastic and smoke. i was worried that the car could catch on fire or blow up! i had the car towed to my nearest toyota dealership.toyota claimed that the three way coolant control valve had failed and the steam came from a ruptured line in the coolant system. the job cost me $422.32. i didn't mind paying the service but after careful research into the problem with the 3-way control valve on the prius i had learned that this is a wide spread problem.apparently the valve tends to stick causing no flow of the coolant fluid. i feel toyota should fix this problem before someone gets hurt either by getting burned from a ruptured line or the car catches on fire. *tr

Headlamp would go out at random intervals. always came on when first switched on but would go off while driving. would reproducibly come back on when the switched was flipped to off and back on again. would then go off again at later time. no way to tell whether operational while driving. *tr

Since about the fall of last year or so, we've been noticing that the headlights have been going off intermittently. the right went out and then came back on. then another time the left went out and came back on. i've read about this occurring on many other prius' and that there was a class action suit? anyway, i need to figure out how to get this fixed as it is a serious safety issue. *tr

I was driving with my two children on the 405 north freeway just south of the 10 freeway at 9pm in my toyota prius 2005. i had issues with one of the headlights already. it would flicker and then turn off without warning. last sunday, however, both headlights failed, including all interior lights, as i was speeding down on of the busiest freeways in the country at nighttime. it was pretty terrifying. *tr

When starting the vehicle up, no speedometer display is illuminated. the display for the vehicle environmental controls (miles per gallon/energy use) still works. along with the speedometer display, the rear hatchback door does not work. i tried to adjust the inside light display to see if the light level was turned off. this was not problem. i turned the light adjustment knob in both directions, and still no speedometer display. upon trying to turn off the engine, it will not turn off. i was able to shut the vehicle off by disconnecting the car battery in the passenger side rear hatch back area. note that because the rear hatch back door does not work, all the vehicle parts which leads to the rear battery has to be taken out from the rear seat of the vehicle. one particular time i disconnected the car battery on the black portion of the battery,and the vehicle did not shut off. i brought the vehicle to the toyota dealership several times, and because this problem happens intermittently. toyota was unable to duplicate it. however, one day when it was not working, i brought it in to them. they later claimed that it was a "cold start" problem to the computer that is responsible for the speedometer display (besides other things, rear hatch back door, cruise control, etc.). toyota claimed they found the problem on the internet, and it was not a recalled part. this particular part (computer) normally happens only in the states that are very cold. *tr

Gauge cluster on my 2005 toyota prius is completely dead. i cannot see any information such as speed, temp, fuel, etc. also, the car does not turn off when i push the on/off button. dealer says that it will cost $1000 to diagnose and fix. i am very concerned, as this is a safety issue! *tr

Driving north on i75 at approximately 65 mph. the gas gauge had 3 bars illuminated. the vsc warning light and the red triangle with the exclamation point came on. i lost the ability to accelerate and the car suddenly went dead. luckily i was able to make to relative safety on the side to interstate. the car was towed to a dealer who said the car ran out gas! they also said that the "fuel register unit was operating as designed." how was that possible? the charge? over $1200! according to toyota corporate and the dealership, repeated unsuccessful attempts to start the car will, by design, cause irreparable damage to the ecu code id box which can cost $1200 - $1800 to replace. this "design" is apparently in the name of anti-theft protection. (why not just immobilize the car instead of partial self-destruction?) even given the high extent and documented history of gas gauge display malfunctions and many other related electrical problems, toyota corporate would offer no financial assistance, no reimbursement of any portion of the repair. this is the second time the car has lost all power in the middle of heavy traffic. that time, 08/09/10, the water pump failed. subsequent to that, i received a recall notice to replace the water pump.

I rolled slowly (<1 mph) uphill to the parking slot (l.a. code, 2%grade down away from buildings) up to the parking cement stop, and was ready to shut it down. the engine started to race, about to go over the cement stop when i put my foot on the brake. the car continued over the cement stop. i pushed harder on the brake and the car started to drive over the sidewalk. then the car drove through the plate glass of the studio and then came to a stop inside. i put the car into neutral and tried to turn the car 'off'. the car's engine was still on after several tries to turn it off and i had my foot off the brake and on the floor. then the car took a turn to the left and drove through the wall (my foot was still on the floor). i got out of the car without taking it out of neutral and it was still "on". i took the key with me to the middle of the room (i used the keyless ignition) so the car should have "chimed" because; the passenger side door was open, i was out of the car, and the car was still left "on". however, the car did not chime (indicating it did not detect i was 12 feet away). my teacher came up to the shattered glass window of the studio at the same time the security officer for the mini mall a few minutes after i got out of the car. i was looking for my insurance card in my purse when the three of us witnessed the car "rev" again and the wall began to shatter with plaster and wooden studs falling around the car with no one driving (the car was in neutral). because of the movement of the car, without a driver and in the wall, the security guard tried to get people out of the building. the towing company could not 'pull' the vehicle out of the wall with their tow truck for more then 20 minutes so, i gave my car key to the police officer and he gave it to the towing company. the man from the towing company drove the car out of the wall and out of the studio.

The right, passenger headlight goes out and by turning the headlight switch off and back on, the headlight comes back on. it will go off again and i will have to perform the same procedure to get it to come on again. *kb this happens repeatedly during any given trip.

Note: the date above does not reflect first date of occurance. this is the event date that led to toyota admitting something is wrong with the car. please read narrative: on three occasions the car has died while being parked at work and at home. on one occasion the car died in my garage. after the vehicle was jumped it seemed fine. no lights were left on nor were any electrical devices plugged into the accessories. when it started up the car stated that the parking brake was not properly engaged and the vehicle needed to be moved to a level surface. it was in my driveway. another time the car did the same thing, dying at work in the airport employee parking lot. the car required being jump started and again it gave the same message. a co-worker stated that they had heard the car alarm go off at one point about an hour prior to shift change. both times the vehicle was checked and the report was nothing was wrong with the car. most recently on 3/27/2011 the same thing occurred. this time when jump starting the battery the cars engine started and the car lunged forward at me with lights and alarm sounding. i was unable to shut down the alarm and went into the car and pressed the power button to shut the engine down. when i powered the engine back up the car alarm was again sounding and all the lights on the dash were illuminated. powered it down and up again and this time no audible alarm but the exclamation mark in the triangle was illuminated as well as the message about the parking brake. i powered it down and up one last time and, with the message still illuminated, drove off. the message shut down when i got to the security gate. toyota tested the vehicle on 4/1/2011 and reported that c1300 and c2300 faults were found (ecu and abs actuator). as the car is out of warranty, cost will be about $3,000.00. (more info exists but no room here)

At random, the car does not start. there is nothing different about events leading up to the failure from one day to the next. my neighbor has the same problem, and so did a friend of mine. aaa told me that in the winter the car is particularly prone to having trouble starting. *tr

My toyota prius 2005 model had repeated and total failures when the 12 volt sli battery was low, or in cold weather. the designing logic is very bad: when the sli battery fails, the back doors and trunk could not be unlocked, so i could not get my jumper cables out since all electrical controls failed. the car could not be towed from behind when parked, not to damage the synergy drive (apparently). i was told to buy a trickle charger since the sli battery died a few times while the prius was garaged for more than a week. the toyota sli battery is specialized, small and the contacts are too small to grab with normal jumper cables. there are too many single point failures initiated by a discharged battery. when my remote key battery died, i was totally locked out of the car. mechanical backup options are needed for all these electrical and electronic controls. *tr

we were traveling along a familiar country road on a warm sunny day. when we arrived at a rural store there was only one other customer there. i slowly eased into the designated parking area which was situated about 17 inches above the lawn below. i was probably traveling less than one mile an hour. when i braked, the car accelerated and propelled itself over the blocks and railroad ties that are found in front of parking spaces, and we literally flew about 7 feet out and down onto the grass stopping just a few feet from a tree and a fence. while in the air, all i had time to do was put my foot down hard on the brake because there was not enough time to turn off the engine during the 5 seconds this was happening. our first reaction was that i might have hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and though i found this inconceivable because i had never done anything like that before and because the two pedals are so different, i could not consider another explanation. however, as time passed, we came to the realization that this could not been the case because even if i had pressed the accelerator by mistake i would have had to have "floored" it to get that kind of acceleration in such a short distance, and even mistaking it for the brake i wouldn't have "floored" the brake because i was only about 18 inches from where i was to stop. even under normal circumstances, the prius just does not have this immediate kind of acceleration we experienced. i cannot help but think about this event occurring as i stopped at a crosswalk. this is a dangerous automobile that i loved driving for 5 years, and now i will not drive again.

The passenger side headlight would sometimes go out and then come back on after turning the car off/on. eventually both of the headlights had this problem along with them turning pink in color and back to white while driving. i took the prius into the dealership and since i purchased the extended warranty of 100,000 miles the hid electronic control units (ecus) will be replaced free of charge but the hid light bulbs are costing $350 to replace. i see that toyota has extended the warranty of the light bulbs to a five year/50,000 for the 2006-2009 prius starting feb 9th 2011, tomorrow. the mechanics say these bulbs should last over a 100,000 miles but the ecus are making them go bad early. i had a "wonderful" conversation with toyota extra care representative about this problem. he basically told me anything that anything that breaks that is not covered by warranty (headlights) because an item that is under extended warranty(ecu), is not covered. and then he went on to explain this by talking about what came first, chicken or the egg. i was hoping to get into more in-depth evolution discussion with him, but i ran out of time and patience. i still love our prius, 78000 miles. *tr

We are have a problem with our 2005 toyota prius. the headlights (one or both) goes out without warning. the is a known safety problem with headlights on the prius. toyota will not issue a recall because they have not been directed to by the government. *tr

2005 toyota prius, repeated headlight failure. i have been issued three police summonses for headlight failure and have only owned this vehicle for two years. i replaced both headlights three weeks ago and the passenger headlight is out again. *tr

My 2005 prius' right headlight (hid) turns off. after turning the lights off and back on, it lights up again. it's very strange because if the bulb was dead, it wouldn't come back on. just recently, someone made me aware of the issue. but, who knows how long it has been going on. there is no pattern or unique incident that causes the bulb to turn off and on. it happens multiple times on trip between 2-4 miles (sometimes more than 2 or 3 times on a short trip). since i became aware of the issue, i don't take the car on long trips. my local mechanic said "dead bulbs don't turn on and off, they just stay off." sometimes my bulb will stay on for 10-20 minutes, then go out. doesn't sound broken to me. the mechanic told me the ballast could have a problem, but that costs several thousand dollars to fix (not to mention replacing one bulb is like 200 dollars).. *tr

We purchased a toyota 2005 prius in august of this year. it had 92,000 miles on it but was in exceptional condition. just this week october 15 the passenger side headlight started blinking and one day later went out. *tr

2005 toyota prius driving display went out when driving.*tr

2005 toyota prius stalled on an overpass with no shoulders. the transmission became stuck in park, and the vehicle could not be pushed since the front wheels were locked up. the car was eventually towed, and it had to be dragged onto the flatbed wrecker since the front wheels would not roll. the problem was determined to be a failed pump for cooling the inverter. the pump failed such that it blew a fuse that also controlled the transmission shifter, preventing the car from being put into neutral so that it could be pushed out of traffic lanes. this is a very unsafe failure mode. *tr

2005 toyota prius with hid headlights which has self leveling feature. have noticed for a while the headlights are shining low, can't see sufficiently ahead of car. headlights can not be manually adjusted. found online several reports indicating the control module that sends the leveling message to control the headlights which is mounted on the driver side rear axle fails when water enters the device and corrodes the unit. poor contruction of this unit lead to water infiltration and has resulted in a dangerous situation due to the poor headlight performance. toyota has been contacted and they have not answered if a recall is warrented even though apparently the malfuncioning unit has been redesigned to stop water infiltration nor will they provide the necessary repair without charging for it. *tt