My 2008 toyota prius shut off while i was driving on the road i could've involved in big accident if i was on a highway the way it shutdown without any warning sign. it just suddenly stopped
Son was driving car on city street going around 35 mph, then 20 brakes went out completely until parked. started with a loud beep noise, lights on dash then brakes no longer worked. he had to push as hard as he could to try and at least slow car down not to hit car in front of him, pulled into bike lane to avoid crash as car would not stop. turned car off and left in parking lot. i went to get car to drive home and then brakes were working. however scared to let him drive it in case issues happen s again. have not taken to dealership yet. the other issue is since we purchase the car burns oil, car has around 130k miles and before 3000 miles up have less then quart of oil and no.lwaks in drive way therefore feel it must be buring oil. add ouk at each gass fill up to avoid no oil.
While driving down the road the instrument panel went black. i could not see driving speed or remaining fuel. i drove to toyota dealer and could not shut down the engine upon arrival nor remove my key from the key slot. there are numerous online complaints about "prius instrument cluster not working". toyota quietly agreed to extend warranty coverage for 9 years from date of first use or until 2013. https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/2004-2009-toyota-prius-combination-meter-warranty-extension-ztv.174/ i believe this should have been a safety recall as it is unsafe to operate a motor vehicle under these conditions and the operator might not be able to shut off their vehicle or remove the ignition key. there are almost 700,000 affected vehicles in the class. repair costs $925 or more for affected owners. several have posted videos of home remedies involving disconnecting the battery terminals to cause a "reset", which may encourage other owners to continue to operate the vehicle in an unsafe condition where failure is imminent.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. while driving at low speeds, the vehicle stalled and completely turned off. the vehicle would then restart without warning. the vehicle was towed to right toyota (7701 e frank lloyd wright blvd, scottsdale, az 85260, (480) 771-6449), but the cause of the failure was not determined. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.
Car stalled completely under high speed acceleration about 70-75mph mph on freeway. lost all power .
Running on a city street at 20 miles, gas pedal would not work, could not decrease or increase mileage. brake pedal worked but went all the way down and finally stopped with a jerk. a constant noise and and has a toyota confirmed brake acctuator problem that toyota refuses to help since extra warrant expired in 12/2017
Defective engine required replacement prior to 139k miles (due to cylinder malfunction and excessive oil consumption), at a cost of $3700 for a used one. this has also damaged the catalytic converter, quoted at $900. at 149k miles, the hybrid battery has failed as well, which has a quoted replacement cost of $2400. while slightly outside of warranty, the engine and hybrid battery are both core components that are expected to last significantly longer. in carb states, toyota even warrants the hybrid battery for 150k miles. the cost of replacing them exceeds the kbb value of the car, which is unacceptable for a 10 year old vehicle with average mileage that was properly maintained. i contacted both the dealership and manufacturer, and neither will accept any ownership in the matter, or provide assistance on repair costs.
Excessive oil consumption. one quart down every 1500 miles. first noticed jan 5, 2018
Car burns a quart of oil every 1000 miles which started at 150k. this is an ongoing problem that cant be fixed.
Toyota prius (2008) - fire after minor accident (battery fire) after a fairly standard rear end collision (25-30 mph), my toyota prius caught fire and burst into flames. i was stopped at a red light on a city street in chicago, il when the accident occurred, my vehicle was not in motion. within minutes of impact (to right rear of car), the responding police officer saw fire under the car (began in rear) and the fire dept was called. the fire travelled to the front of the car and the car has been deemed a total loss. the police and tow company believe this was caused by the prius battery and these cars are very unsafe to be on the road with this condition. there has been no related recall on this vehicle, but it's incredibly unsafe and i'm very happy i was not traveling with my children at time of accident. i appreciate you taking time to review this case and taking steps to ensure toyota addresses the issues with the prius vehicles. i've attached the police report and photos of the car fire (i also have video of the fire, but the file is too large to attach on this submission - available upon request). no major injuries - i experienced soreness / headaches from impact/whiplash and saw my doctor following accident (no major injury). please review and let me know if i can provide anything else / answer any questions. thank you in advance! [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).')*jb
Our 2008 prius experienced engine failure while driving ca. 70 mph on a day when the temperature was between 90 and 95 degrees. this appears to be the same problem with the inverter that has happened on later models, especially as 'high thermal stress' featured in reports of those. two mechanics were unable to pull a computer code on it and said they couldn't offer an opinion unless it was replicated. each mentioned the inverter problem, but claimed that it could only have happened on model years more recent than ours. a toyota company rep claimed never to have heard of it happening on any car before 2010. i asked if there were a database of such issues she could check to see if other owners had anything similar happen before 2010, but she declined to do so. i believe she claimed that the company maintained no such database. all i remember for sure is that she projected no inclination to follow up, appearing to treat it as a one-off problem that didn't merit further attention. this happened while i was passing a truck, with a car close behind clearly intending to pass me after i had gotten around the truck. i suddenly realized that i had no acceleration and that the dash lights had come on. i was luckily able to steer across the driving lane to the right shoulder without being hit as my speed dropped. i tried starting the car again; it started up as if nothing had happened so we continued, carefully, on our way. that specific problem has not reoccurred, although there were two incidents (one earlier that day and one the day before) when pushing 'start' failed to start the engine. dash lights and air conditioner fan came on, but engine did not start until the 'start' button had been pushed twice more. in both of these cases the temperature was also in the 90s.
I have three major problems with my 2008 prius. #1 the engine intermittently, will not turn off when parking the car. #2 the dash lights also intermittently will not come on, affecting my ability to see how fast i am going on the highway or streets, it also prevents me from seeing how much gas is left in the tank. #3 the outside air and air conditioner, also will not work, intermittently.
Cluster went blank and vehicle would not power off, key fob stuck in ignition. toyota service recommended replacing combo meter but i am one month out of warranty. i was driving tried to park but car would not turn off, but would come to a stop in the parking lot. *tr
The car has an 11.9 gallon gas tank and i cant put in more then 7 gallons of gas at a time. when pumping...if the pumps rushes the gas into the tank too quickly...i cant get any gas because the pump will turn off as if the tank is completely full when its empty. i have had sensors checked and its the bladder of the gas tank.
Toyota has excluded the prius in advising their owner about excessive oil consumption but included the camry, corolla, seqoiua etc. it burns/not leaks 1 quart every 1,000miles. no warning light on the prius just have to keep checking it. dealer says no fix except eventually put in a new engine. on the prius chat forum many people have noted the same problem with no assistance from toyota.
At 93,000 miles my 2008 toyota prius began rapidly consuming oil. i was told by dealer that nothing could be done and i needed to carry oil with me and check level every time i fill up my gas tank. this is a known issue with the toyota prius according to my dealer and web research.
Burning oil and clogged injectors at 90000 miles despite have all oil changes at prescribed intervals as advised by toyota. an engine rebuild and injector replacement have been recommended. no satisfaction from toyota despite known problem.
Car suddenly loses power and hazarde warning,brkaes,abs lights come on. took to dealer,they charged $600 and did not repair the problem. the vehicle was in motion going 45 mph.
My car had performed perfectly for the first 100k miles. by 112k miles the oil was very low, no oil on the dip stick when i went in to have the oil change. yet there was no low oil light or engine light to warn me. this was a complete surprise to me since that had never happened before and the usage had been at a normal rate up until then. i began looking for leaks, etc with no evidence of that. the next service it was again extremely low. i now know that i must add about a quart every 1000 miles to keep up with its demand. the dealer and other mechanics all tell me the only solution is a new engine. some suggest a used or rebuilt one though they are still many thousands of dollars. this problem, they say, will only get worse, clogging the spark plugs and potentially having an incident of engine stalling or shutting totally down while driving. this is a safety issue that toyota should be fixing. i paid $1500 for an extended warranty for the first 100k miles with no problems, and now, it seems, i am stuck with a true lemon! this car should be listed with the others that toyota has acknowledged have engine defects because it has the same problem. i will never by another toyota unless they warranty this issue. the word is getting out. they do not take care of their defect problems. so much for the very undeserved reputation of many toyota models!
I have had my 2008 prius since it was new and i have taken meticulous care of the vehicle with documentation to prove it. the vehicle is burning oil to the extent that i have to put a quart of oil in every 700 miles. my local dealership confirmed it is an issue with the vehicle but toyota usa said they won't do anything about it because there "has not been enough complaints". however, the toyota prius chat website has numerous complaints about oil consumption. toyota did an extended warranty for the corolla and camry but refuses to do anything for the prius. numerous attempts have been made with toyota usa to correct this issue but they refuse to do so. they did say they corrected the issue in the newer models . . .but yet don't want to acknowledge that is it an issue! so, they corrected an issue that they currently don't acknowledge is an issue!! second to this issue is that the back window can only be closed by the driver's window button and will not close for the person sitting at that window in the back.
I was driving my prius up mauna kea summit access road on the big island (hawaii) today when the power stalled. i was already at the visitor center (elv. 9,000 ft) so i steered off the road, sat for awhile, then started up the car. it started up but the power seemed off and on. i turned around and headed down the mountain. by the time i got to the bottom of the access road, i had no power and a red triangle light with an exclamation mark came on. of course i was out in the middle of nowhere, 40 miles from any homes, so i coasted 43 miles down the mountain until i reached hilo town and steered into a gas station. i asked the owner if i could leave the prius there while i called a tow truck. she said i had to move my prius into a parking stall. i thought maybe we could push it into the stall. i tried starting the car and the power came on, just like that. but the red triangle light with exclamation mark didn't go away. i managed to drive home, which was only a few miles away. the prius seems to be driving fine now, with the exception of the red triangle light, but i know something is wrong.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. when the vehicle was started, the instrument panel gauges did not display. on several occasions, after turning off the vehicle, the engine continued to operate. the failures were not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer and an unknown dealer were notified of the failures. the failure mileage was 30,000.
Vehicle was off and in park. vehicle was started and shifted into drive. in less then 1 second, vehicle slipped out of drive and into neutral as described in the technical service bulletin issued by toyota (t-sb-0142-11). problem as reoccurred multiple times since, including while driving at speeds above 45 mph.
When i put the car in reverse or drive, it pops back into neutral - even when the car is driving down the road. it doesn't happen consistently. for example, i drove it to the store and it was fine. when i came out of the store to drive home, it had the issue all the way home. i had to hold the gear shifter in drive the entire time to make it home or it would go into neutral by itself. i didn't have a car crash but this could have easily caused one if i wasn't paying close attention to it.
I was driving 50mph when the car lost power.the car suddenly had no power brakes, no ability to easily steer, no engine power and many warning lights came on including an warning that the main hybrid battery was not charging. the car would not respond to acceleration. the car came to a stop. i held the start button the car shut off. the car restarted with no problems. all the warning lights were off. i put the car in drive and started to accelerate. all the warning lights come on just as before and the car suffers the same issues again. i went through the same process of turning the car off and turning it back on. the car started up again with no problems again, all the lights were off. it failed on more time on the trip home. i was able to restart the car and put my emergency lights on. i never drove over 25mph on the trip back to the house. my family took the car to wilson toyota in bellingham wa. they examined the car and said the 12v battery had failed. they told my family that the main 12v battery runs all the electrical to get the car started and running. we told the dealer the car still had electrical power. they still replaced the 12v battery. the following day my family went to look at the car and a service person at the dealer, who said he was new to this location, said he had noticed that the 12v battery had seemed to be replaced recently. they said they would keep the car to keep looking over its systems. on 4/16/2015 my family called toyota to discuss our safety concerns with regard to how the car failed. we explained we also have a 2007 prius that had the main hybrid battery fail and that all the warning lights that came on were similar in both cars. the dealer has said there are no codes that said the main hybrid battery is failing. i am worried that i or my family could be seriously injured if the car failed in this manner again while on a busy highway or intersection. *tr
Engine compression catastrophically fails approximately every 2000 miles. *tr
The car moves from drive to neutral mode. i put the car in "d" and it suddenly moved back to "n". keep the lever held on "d" and you can drive, otherwise it switches back to "n". happened 3 to 4 times today. very scared if this happens when driving on the freeway or getting started at a traffic light as the car behind may not have enough space or indication of the vehicle slowing down because of loss of accelerator. *tr
Driving on sb hwy 35 at 74mph, master warning light came on and vehicle shut down, no electrical or engine control. pulled safely to shoulder of road. car would not restart. got out of car, locked car, unlocked car (toyota technician instructions), then car restarted. got car off the road, contacted state farm for tow to autonation toyota south austin. toyota technician removed a third party telematic device (in-drive) from obd port. vehicle diagnostic scan showed two communication errors u0100 and u0111. third party telematic device was not reinstalled. vehicle was test driven, held overnight, test driven again and the errors or shutdown did not repeat. toyota service manager said they have seen third party devices connected to odb port cause errors and have to be removed or replaced. we have three hybrid vehicles in our household each with a third party telematic device from in-drive. all three have been removed and returned to in-drive with supplied packaging and return instructions. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. the contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the front passengers side. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine mount became loose and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 115,000.
On this date while driving on the interstate 5 near los angeles my prius made a loud noise and started shutting down as i was driving on the far left lane. the car immediately slowed down and the vsc icon as well as the check engine light icon became visible, however the odometer was blank and i could not tell what speed i was traveling, the car was coming to a complete stop. once i managed to get to the far right shoulder the car made a stop. i was almost rear ended by a big rig which had to swerve to the left side in order to avoid hitting my car. it wasn't until then that i noticed the red engine light icon displayed on the control panel not the odometer. i have never seen this warning light but after looking at the owner's manual it clearly stated that once this light appears you need to get the vehicle off the road as soon as possible or it will cause an accident. this was the first time i noticed this sign and it appeared after the fact. the car had no engine oil, which was ridiculous since i had not noticed any leaks and i take my car in every 2 months to the dealer for an oil change. the dealer had no explanation other than it did not have any leaks and they were not able to verify when the red engine oil came on. this happened on 5/30/14, my last visit to the dealer was on 4/12/14 and at the time they did not detect any problems with the oil leaking. this clearly makes no sense and they are refusing to take responsibility. toyota owners should be very cautious as this should have never happened the sensor should have given me a warning prior to the car shutting down. this could have caused many fatalities being in a heavily populated highway. *tr
After a routine oil change at 149,706 miles, my 2008 toyota prius began using an excessive amount of oil, about 1 quart every 1,000 miles. i have had the oil changed regularly since the car was new (i bought it new in january 2008) and have had nearly all the required service done by a registered, licensed mechanic in middletown, california, which is where i live. i discovered the excessive oil use when i next had the oil changed at about 155,000 miles.
Every few weeks (even several times in the same week), the dashboard lights on the car go completely dark, without warning (no, the dimmer switch is not turned to "low" or "off"-- that is the first thing we tried). simultaneously, or sometimes at different times, the car refuses to turn off, even when the "off" switch is pressed constantly or intermittently, for up to a half-hour. obviously, it is extremely dangerous to leave a car running, so one cannot leave the car; when driving, the loss of all the dashboard information is terrifying, especially at night when it is so distracting as to be potentially crash-causing. the toyota dealer first claimed it was the 12-volt battery, so we replaced it. this did not fix it. at the dealer's request, we left the car with them for a long weekend, and they claimed that since they weren't able to reenact the situation, they could not help us. after some back-and-forth, they agreed to replace a "combination meter," which toyota had apparently found troublesome enough to offer free "out-of-warranty" repairs of. however, the dealer first said toyota would not pay for it unless the dealer was able to independently verify the trouble, and they were not able to recreate the distressing situation. as if we would lie in order to receive a new combination meter! we just want to car to work and be safe. now we are waiting five-plus days for the part to come in, and not even sure if it will fix our problem. there's plenty of discussion of this exact same issue all across the internet. why has the company not figured this out, and trained its mechanics accordingly? *tr
Was driving to nova scotia 10/18/13. stopped for coffee after 2 hrs of driving. car would not restart. returning to maine10/20/2013 was passing a tractor trailer truck with another trailer truck passing behind me as well. no check engine light had come on at any time during the trip. suddenly,all the warning lights on the dashboard lit up and the car stopped working while driving at 75 mph. tried not to slow too quickly with truck bearing down behind me ,but could not accelerate either. car had popped into neutral . got off on left of two lane highway .car was dead. would not start. had towed to toyota dealer in amherst. diagnostics found no cause. had to drive 4 hours back home next day not knowing if it would happen again. took car to toyota dealer 45 miles from my home in us. the following week .no cause found. happened again shortly after on main street, blocking traffic . towed to local mechanic. was there one week. unable to diagnose. towed 45 miles to toyota again. there another week. i was told it was a problem with fuse box assembly. shortly after, the master warning light came on, as well as a warning symbol on the touch screen meaning 'malfunction in hybrid system.' towed again to toyota dealer. front battery replaced. noted today that prius recall on '09-'14 models for exact same thing that happened to my '08 model. total cost $600.00 plus $270.00 towing and $120.00 for hotel . *tr
While driving,no more gas power,warning lights on,vsc too.throttle response was not working,turned off the car for few minutes and restarted it,it worked for a short while and did it again... toyota oakland said i needed to replace the engine throttle body.$1600!!! one month after the warranty wore off. *tr
I rear-ended the car in front of me in a very low speed accident, listed on my ticket as 1+ mph by the police officer who witnessed my accident while at the scene attending to an already-occurred accident. when i was 2-3 car lengths behind the car in front of me, going approx. 5-10 mph, i saw their brake lights go on, and i pushed the brake pedal and nothing happened. i pumped the brakes, and nothing happened. when i realized that my car's momentum was not slowing in the slightest, and that i was going to hit the car in front of me, i tried to maneuver into the vacant right lane, but the failure of the car to even slow down made accident avoidance not possible. when i struck the car in front of me, the blow was primarily with the left front corner of my car contacting the center of their bumper. my car was totaled; their car need a new rear bumper but only for cosmetic purposes. i will testify under oath in a court of law that the brakes in my 2008 toyota prius failed, and that is why i had this wreck. *tr
My car had hesitation issues since shortly after i bought it. it would bog down, and almost die in traffic. i would lose speed on the hwy/road & nearly get hit. previously, the dealer replaced the gas tank because its "bladder" was bad @ 54,057 miles on 08/05/2011. the factory split the cost on this repair (which appears to occur more than they are admitting). the performance improved for a little while, but there has always been funny noises coming from my vehicle and the car would not power on at times. other times, it would freeze or power off. the maintenance warning lights would come on and then turn off. infrequently, air would come through the backseat vents like it is supposed to. frequently, i would smell unusual smells after stopping my car. my car ate up the inside of a new set of tires very quickly despite being properly aligned. the hvac blower motor was cutting on and off at times and making funny noises. many times when it would cut off, i could open and slam the hood and the hvac blower motor would engage, as if there was an electrical short in it. when the hvac blower motor quit altogether, i took my car to the dealer. the dealer said that the mower had gone out. there was an actual problem with the hv electric water pump as well as a factory recall. interestingly, the dealer discovered tat the engine motor water pump was also leaking. what a coincidence! now that all of these components have been replaced, my car appears to work normal again like it has not worked since i first bought the car. *tr
I had been driving the car for less than 10 minutes when the "red triangle" red problem light came on the screen. i immediately looked for a safe place to pull over when the car made a series of short dinging sounds and the car was automatically put in neutral and the brake engaged--in the middle of a busy intersection! i was forced to flee the vehicle as there were oncoming cars that didn't look like they were going to stop. when the signal changed, i went back to the car and put on the emergency flashers. then i tried to put the car back in drive and it would not budge from neutral. i then switched the car off and back on and was able to drive it out of the intersection safely. if this had occurred even 5 minutes later, my 9-year-old daughter would have been in the vehicle with me and we would not have been able to react as quickly as i did. the car has been towed to my personal mechanic by aaa for diagnosis, but at this time it does not appear that this was an error, but a design flaw that put my safety in critical danger. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. the contact stated that while driving 15 mph, he heard a rattling noise coming from the engine. the contact pulled the vehicle into a parking lot and noticed that there was to puddle of oil under the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection where they stated that there was a hole in the engine pan . the manufacturer was notified and stated that they had to review the case with the dealer. the failure mileage was 60,000. updated 07/26/12
This is in regards to the electrical fuel pump that is already being recalled. i had my vehicle shut off while driving in traffic. i had it towed to the toyota dealership at the time and they replaced the electric water pump, the water pump, and the battery. my invoice came out to $1213. i sent this to toyota for a refund when the recall notice came out. they refunded me a mere $428 (this is for only the electric water pump) claiming that they do not have anything that shows the battery or the other water pump could be effected by the recall condition. it seems strange that i brought my vehicle in when i experienced exactly the same condition described in the recall and ended up needing multiple parts replaced when toyota claims only the electrical water pump may be effected. i had no other issues with my vehicle leading up to this so it seems highly unlikely that the water pump and battery just went bad at the very same moment the electrical water pump stopped. *tr
A sudden jerk and a bunch of warnings lights appeared on dashboard. the car made it 20 miles to my home but i was running on a damaged engine. took it to the dealer the next day, allen toyota of gulfport, ms, and they fixed it saying water pump had to be replaced charging me $295. i have receipt. dealer told me to apply to this website as i recently received a recall notice from toyota about this part promising they would reimburse if the part had been repaired at my expense before receiving recall letter. *tr
I was driving my 2008 prius on highway and warning light came on. in 2 minutes all power gone and i have had to towed to the dealer. they said, water pump failed and because of that hybrid inverter fried. car was out of guaranty and there was no recall about water pump. i paid nearly $5.000.00 for water pump and hybrid invertor. i have seen there is a recall about water pump now. is there any way i can get my money back? *tr