The dashboard lights go out, meaning you can no longer see the mph, the fuel, and everything important to drive with gauges. this can happen at anytime, driving or parked, on any street in any weather. also note, you can no longer shut the car off, unless you hold the start button for 20 seconds. sometimes the car will still not shut off, it's also sometimes hard to tell if the car is off, because there is no more dash. the only well to tell is to see if the radio goes on. there are a few ways to reset this major malfunction, to try and get things working again by disconnecting batteries, but this is a dangerous problem, that could kill someone while driving and needs attention and recalled soon as possible!
The 2008 prius has a digital display. sometimes when the vehicle starts up there is no information displayed on the screen. nothing shows what gear (reverse, neutral, forward) it is in. there is no speedometer display. no odometer display. no fuel level display. at the same time that the dash does not light up, i have noticed there is no backup camera or backup lights when the vehicle is in reverse. in addition to the above, the start button will not fully shut down the car. it will cycle between accessory mode and full start when the button is pressed. i have noticed that when the problem is happening the vehicle is also not keeping track of the miles driven while the dash is not displaying - so when the dash does start working again, the odometer is not showing true mileage. after getting the vehicle to finally shut down, i have sometimes had the issue not present the next day at startup. other times it will last through several starts and stops. i have read online that this problem is consistent with a faulty combination meter. and i feel it is a safety issue.
Ventilation circuit to select inside to outside air has been cyber-terrorised several times. the system is vital to operate securely, as a disabled constituent, in a great metropolis, that has sewage and garbage vapors everywhere. they access the funtion to open the damper to let outside air in suddenly, exposing my respiratory system to inhale waste. i have respiirated. garbage air pollution, here in new york so much, it has activated my childhood asthma. please find a way to seal the ecu's.
Driving through the rocky mountains, my brake actuator failed causing the front caliper to seize. i was unable to brake safely. the vehicle swerved during braking and failed to respond in time to prevent collisions. had i been in a high-traffic area, injury or fatality would have been likely. this is a known issue and toyota extended the warranty on this part. unfortunately, though i am still within the mileage limit, the warranty period expired weeks before the problem was diagnosed. i stress that this is a known issue which presents an imminent danger to drivers, passengers, and the public at large.
The inside to outside air vent actuators are moving in different directions, venting intake manifold gases into the cabin. synthetic oil smell in the cabin, via the two front vents.
The trunk latch on this model is faulty and dangerous. the material used for the latch is too susceptible to temperature and either become rock hard in the winter cold or melty and gooey in the summer heat. it is almost impossible to get into my trunk through the back latch in the wintertime. i try and maybe if the weather is warm enough and it's just right, i can get into my trunk about 10 percent of the time, if that. recently, i tried to open my trunk unsuccessfully. it opened enough to not be securely shut, but not enough to pop open. i was then also unable to shut the trunk. what ended up transpiring was a trunk that would register as opening and shutting, without the actual ability to fully open it or shut it. so the car door light must have come on at some point and drained my battery which then left me stranded on a winter day in a cold parking lot away from home. all because toyota effed up and used a very poor choice in materials for their trunk latches. this is something that they should correct so other people don't have trunk issues that end up causing problems. if someone needs to open their trunk in the winter time to retrieve medicine, like an epi-pen, then they are screwed. if someone needs to open the latch to help remove an animal or child out of a car for whatever reason, they are screwed. if they just simply want to have trunk functionality for hauling groceries, they are screwed. and if they are like me and manage to unfortunately find that sweet spot where the trunk only partially opens, but not fully, and their battery ends up becoming drained and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere, they are also screwed. toyota made a mistake, and they should do something to fix it. i love my prius, but this one trunk latch issue is enough to make me reconsider other cars with functional door latches.
Speedometer randomly turns off so you can not see how fast you are going. dealer says it is a known warranty issue, but i am no longer covered.
Abs actuator, vcs failure. unsafe braking issues. toyota dealer is quoting $2500 to fix. found that a warrant extension was added by toyota as this is a known issue, although toyota corp is saying that the warranty extension expired january 1st, 2018. a friend with a 2006 prius has the same warranty extension expiration (letter attached) and where my car is a 2008 model, toyota corp advises that the extension expires at the same time and that there is no other options, that they will not assist with this safety problem.
Vehicle repeatedly shifted into other gears while driving at full speed (neutral occurred most often, but also experienced it shifting into park). this also occurred after car had been idling. the shifter did not appear to move on it's own, yet car would shift out of drive on it's own. this occurred on the highway, idling, and on regular surface streets. anywhere in between 5-75 mph. tsb 0142-11
Trunk/hatch release--rubber piece, has gummed up for the second tim. it was replaced once by a recall--now what?
The latch handle on the hatchback has disintegrated. it is getting harder to open hatchback.
When driving vehicle in warm weather it slips on its own from drive to neutral. this happens while driving down the road. in order to continue you have to hold the gear lever in d or else it slips back into n which of course causes you to lose speed. this happens if you stop at a stop light and then try to go. also happens while you are driving down the road. there have been complaints on a toyota forum (customers) and numerous people are having this problem. nothing shows up in diagnostic tests. we had our 12v battery replaced because a low charge message came up. still having same problem. other posts say it's the shift lever and it is a manufacturer flaw. this fix is another $500.this is clearly a safety issue and a manufacturer issue.
The rear hatch handle cover - which appears to be rubber - started deteriorating rather quickly in the summer heat about 2-3 weeks ago and has turned into a rubbery, sticky black mess. the deteriorating rubber has interfered with the use of the hatch release handle. a couple of days ago, the car would not start and was completely dead. we discovered that the rear hatch had not closed completely and resulted in an interior light remaining on which completely drained the battery. there are many complaints on internet blogs and chat forums from other prius owners having the same problem. i believe this could easily result in a safety issue due to the inability of the rear hatch to close properly and potentially opening during operation of the vehicle. my local toyota dealer charged me $208 to repair/replace the latch. in my opinion, this appears to be a vehicle defect which should require a recall or a warranty extension from toyota and a refund of any monies paid by prius owners to fix the problem.
The black rubber is disintegrating and falling off the outside trunk latch, making it difficult to open the hatchback to get to the spare tire or battery. this is also happening to my neighbor, who parks right next to me and also has a 2008 prius.
There is a glass area below the lip of the hatchback, that exploded when shutting the hatchback. the glass was not hit by any object inside or outside the car. glass just exploded.
2008 prius will not shift into gear. the shift gears pop back into 'neutral' position and will not stay in 'drive' or 'reverse' making it impossible to drive.
I called toyota about the stalling software recall and my car is not on the list and needs to be added to it. my car does the same thing as the others reported. when i hit a bump on any street or freeway the engine flutters and the slippery when wet light comes on and it hard excellorates forward even when my foot is on the brake and there's really no stopping it.
Vehicle starts, runs for limited time -2-3 mins. shuts off vehicle starts no electrical visibility on dash.. blank. vehicle starts with electrical visibility, runs for 3-5 miles, looses electrical visibility. updated 12/4/2017*cn vehicle starts with electrical visibility runs for 3-4 miles .vehicle stops, shuts off in traffic. vehicle will not start. requires jump start,,. and runs enough to take car to dealer. vehicle will not start, requires jump start and will not hold charge. requires towing to dealer. ma 10/8
The liftgate glass release switch cover has turned into a black blob and makes it impossible to get into the trunk to access the spare tire and any safety equipment on board. this problem has been reported by many 2007-2008 prius owners. *tr
The rubber rear hatch door release button on my 2008 toyota prius started to degrade and become sticky in hot summer weather. i originally thought that the latch was sticky and greasy because dealership service people had opened the car with greasy hands, but then the latch button cover became stiff and difficult to press a few months later, when the weather turned cold. this became a real safety hazard when i loaded the car completely full of my belongings on a cold night to move cross-country the next morning, and the door latch was so stiff and brittle from the cold that it cracked and broke, but the hatch wouldn't open. my chains, spare tire, tools, jumper cables, etc. were all stuffed back there, completely unreachable from the front because the car was full (one of the items was a bed frame, which probably could not be removed without opening the rear hatch). needless to say, i didn't feel very comfortable starting a 2-day cross-country drive on winter roads the next morning, without access to my emergency equipment. eventually, the latch button started working again, but it remains cracked, hard in the cold, and gooey in the summer. i am hoping to replace this part as soon as i am able to spend the $300'500 that the dealership charges for this repair. this latch button is clearly defective and was tested for neither cold (<40f) nor warm (>80f) weather.
The back latch of my 2008 toyota prius has degraded ("melted" almost). it no longer functions properly, and i am unable to open the back hatch door easily. sometimes it requires considerable effort and perseverance to get it open. i am concerned that in the case of an emergency, i will not be able to get the door open. this is a major cause for concern and it is a serious safety hazard. the item in question is a rubber pad, about 1" x 3", located facing down on a horizontal surface of the trunk lid, just above the license plate. it covers a momentary contact switch. when you depress the switch, through this rubbery pad, the computer checks to see if there's a key in the vicinity. if there is, the automatic latch for the trunk is activated and the trunk opens. the rubber pad deterioration interferes with the functioning of the latch and toyota refuses to address this issue proactively in spite of numerous complaints related to the defective materials they have used. *js
Trunk latch handle is a sticky mess. leaves black marks on fingers. fix this problem toyota!
My car is consuming oil. told toyota dealer about it 2-3 years ago several times and they kept saying just add oil. now it is worse. i need to add oil every gas fill up. not leaking or burning, but using oil! i have added 4 quarts since last oil change and only gone over approx 2200 miles.
as an active duty member of the military, i move frequently. my mailing address was at address "a", then i moved to address "b" nearly two years ago. since the move, i have received several mailings at address "b" from toyota dealerships (spam mail, flyers, etc.) and from toyota corporation (pending recall notices). i recently received at address "b" a notice from toyota corporation that there was an upcoming recall for my vehicle's steering shaft and water pump. the actual recall notice, with instructions on how to receive repairs at toyota's expense, was just mailed last week to address "a". i still live at address "b" and never changed my address back to "a". fortunately, the current resident of address "a" forwarded the recall notice to me, at personal expense. it's hard to imagine how toyota could accidentally revert to an earlier address only for the mailing notice that costs toyota time and money. i went to the toyota website to update or verify the address they have on file for an owner. before an owner can access that information, the owner must read through a lengthy "terms and conditions" agreement and provide an e-mail address so that, among other things, toyota can send "offers". i'm not interested in additional "offers" from toyota, nor permitting an open marketing agreement with them. i would only like my defective product repaired. *tr
The black hatch release on my 2008 toyota prius has melted making it very difficult (sometimes impossible) to open the hatch. toyota is apparently aware of this problem yet refuses to issue a recall. the cost to replace with part exceeds $300. this is a safety issue as doors need to function properly on a vehicle.
Passenger headlight suddenly went out. will come back on momentarily if you turn lights off and back on. *tr
After a vague sense that both head lamps were sometimes going dark, i noticed that the passenger side was "out" and had it replaced at a cost of $245 for parts and labor. now the other bulb is going dark on and off. if dark, it can be made to illuminate by turning lights off and back on. bulb most often goes dark at speed.
Problem: rear right wheel stud broken. i removed right side front and rear wheel lug nuts to rotate tires using the toyota supplied lug wrench. switched the tires and reinstalled the lug nuts. however one lug nut on the right rear wheel would not tighten. after a couple turns i decided to remove the other lug nuts on the right rear wheel to see what was wrong. one of the lug nuts fell off when i attempted to remove it. inspection revealed that the wheel stud had broken off about 1/2 inch from the wheel flange. i pressed the broken stud from the wheel flange and installed a new stud purchased from the local toyota dealer. this kind of failure, if it were to happen during vehicle movement, could result in a catastrophic accident. i have the broken stud and lug nut in my possession. looks like a cyclic fatigue, something that should never occur in this application.
Headlight goes on, then goes off. won't stay on. i was informed the other one could go out at any time, so i should replace both, at great expense. i was told by toyota that the hid headlights were covered under the regular warranty, but not the extended warranty. bulbs (especailly those costing $300) should not burn out or randomly flicker on a two year old vehicle. to prevent future/additional problems, i had to replace both headlights, including the one that was working. this is a definitlely safety issue...i check bulbs regularly, and all are working when i turn the car on. obviously, i can't check while i'm in motion - which is when they flash off - and was fortunate that both bulbs didn't burn out at the same time, which could have resulted in a crash, injury or accident (or worse) that i would have been liable for.
(transmission problem) in a hot summer day where temperature was above 98 degrees, while in drive, the gear will not stay in drive and switched to neutral. it happened while i was going thru an intersection, it could have caused an accident due to this unexpected change from drive to neutral even though i had my foot on the accelerator. since that first incident, it happened infrequently, but several times during the last two years and only during the hot summer months. when it does happen, it would not stay in drive, reverse or go into park, it just default to neutral. the only way to keep it running is by manually holding the gear handle to drive or reverse. this can be a dangerous condition if it happens in the middle of an intersection without understanding how to keep it in drive manually. i have mentioned this to toyota dealer and their answer was that they have no other complaints. i think an investigation should be initiated on this defect to avoid potential loss of life. there is a forum on the internet with other drivers relating their similar experiences: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-343977.html
We own a 2008 prius. the transportation secretary (and the latest incident in calif.) leads us to believe it is unsafe. all we can get from toyota and its dealer is wait until you get a letter. when is the government going to force them to do something? *tr
Pursuant to the 2010 toyota prius recall, it must be noted that we have 3 toyota priuses in my family -- mine is a 2008 prius, my mother has a 2008 prius, and my significant other has a 2007 prius -- and all of them have the same braking issue that i keep reading about in the news. everytime a bump, pothole, railroad tracks, or any other road anomoly is driven over, the brakes disengage. since we live in mn, there are a lot of potholes, so the brake disengagement issue happens daily. this issue has been mentioned to our local toyota dealership. we were told that the issue is normal operation of an antilock breaking system.... that seems doubtful in light of the 2010 prius recall. please make sure that other prius model years are considered for government investigation. i think you will find that most prius owners are aware of and have thought about this break disengagement issue. regards, [xxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).*cc
My wife kathy and i own a 2009 prius. we have experienced a problem that is persistent but the dealer cannot replicate the problem on the last several visits for routine service. they checked bulletins etc. but claim no problem exists. the problem: "lunging of the vehicle and noise with shaking of the car." my wife drives the vehicle most of the time and experiences the problem often. i experienced the problem mainly in a parked situation standing next to the car talking to friends. in quiet mode, something like a compressor kicks in or engine starts, car literally lunged forward and rocked back and the clanging noise sounded as if the motor mounts were not doing their job. i explained the symptom to the dealer and they said there is not a compressor? i realize compressors are old school but that's the best correlation i can come up with. another issue: after starting the car, moves from park to neutral but will not go into reverse or drive. this is an occasional issue. please help! response: thank you for contacting toyota motor sales, u.s.a., inc. we appreciate your consideration and hope to have your email addressed as quickly as possible. our current office hours are monday through friday from 5 am to 6 pm and saturday 7 am to 4 pm pacific time. if you need immediate assistance, we recommend you contact the customer relations manager at your local toyota dealership. ----- dealership said they cannot find anything! ------ my wife and i are realtors and we've had clients that don't want to ride with us in a prius because of the recent news. i just want to know if my vehicle is safe?
On 3 separate days, 2 during the summer of 2009 and 1 during the summer of 2010, our prius transmission has automatically and repeatedly shifted from d (drive) to n (neutral) without warning while the car was moving. all incidents happened on extremely hot days (temperatures near 100) in the afternoon after the car had been parked out in the sun and without us having made any accidental contact with the shifter / drive selector while driving. this created dangerous situations several times as the car erratically slowed as we entered intersections or pulled out onto busy streets. our initial response was to depress the accelerator, but when this had no effect, we discovered the transmission light had moved from d to n. it was especially dangerous when making left hand turns on busy streets with oncoming traffic. we discovered that we could keep the car moving by constantly holding the shifter / drive selector lever in the d position. turning off the air conditioner did not help the problem. after the first time this happened, we took the car to the dealership to investigate the problem, but the service technicians there were unable to reproduce it. this glitch remains a concern to us because the loss of power and acceleration is unpredictable and therefore dangerous, but at least we know we can keep the car moving by holding the shifter in the d position. because the car is so computerized, i suspect an electronic component of the drive system may malfunction at high temperatures. the mileage number i gave is an approximation since i didn't record the actual mileage when this first happened, but the dealer who serviced the car shortly thereafter should have that information.
I am writing about a caution statement on page 48 of the toyota prius 2008 owner's manual. the caution statement states "people with implanted pacemakers or cardiac defibrillators should keep away from the smart key system antennas." people wanting to test drive or purchase the prius or any vehicle with a smart key system should be asked prior to driving or purchasing the car if they have either of these devices. if so, the smart key system should be deactivated. also, toyota should send a letter to all owners of vehicles with a smart key system warning them to deactivate the smart key system if either the driver or a passenger has a pacemaker or defibrillator. this caution information should not be located on page 48, but should be clearly posted on the vehicle and sticker. *tr
The back latch on my 2008 toyota prius trunk has been made with faulty materials. the poor choice in materials used to construct the latch are a safety concern. in extreme temperatures, the latch does not function properly. in extreme heat, the latch melts and burns and sticks to my hand and anything else it comes in contact with. in extreme cold temperatures i am unable to get my trunk open. this was a design flaw that could affect my safety if i was ever in need of getting into my trunk, or out of it in a life or death situation. if i was stuck in my car and the only way out was through my trunk because of a crash or avalanche or other disaster, i better hope that it's on a nice warm day, because if it's on a cold day i'm screwed as it will be nearly impossible to get me out. this is a design flaw on the part of toyota, and i would appreciate them taking into account their customers safety and remedying an issue that was caused by them using a material that does not work in extreme temperatures. i love a lot about my prius, but a latch that melts and freezes and only works properly when the temperature is between 45 and 75 isn't acceptable to me.