2006 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

PARKED CAR AT NIGHT IN COLORADO IN FEBRUARY, 2015. OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE WAS APPROX 25 DEGREES FARENHEIT. WE ATE DINNER AT A RESTAURANT, CAME OUT AND STARTED THE 2006 PRIUS. INSTRUMENT CLUSTER PANEL SHOWEING THE FUEL GAUGE, ODOMETER, SHIFT POSITION AND SPEEDOMETER FAILED TO COME ON. TURNED CAR OFF AND ON NUMEROUS TIMES - NO INSTRUMENT CLUSTER PANEL LIGHTS. THE FOLLOWING MORNING, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER PANEL WORKED FINE. THIS HAS HAPPENED OCCASIONALLY SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT IN FEBRUARY. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN; ONE IS UNABLE TO TELL WHICH GEAR THE VEHICLE IS IN, THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE, OR HOW MUCH FUEL THE VEHICLE HAS. AFTER CONTACTING TOYOTA, THEY TOLD ME THE EXTENDED WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED IN DECEMBER 2014. AS A SAFETY DEFECT, TOYOTA SHOULD STILL BE COVERING A KNOWN PROBLEM.

I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE HID HEADLIGHTS SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR. IT'S NOT THE BULBS, THERE IS SOME COMPUTER PROBLEM THAT IS RECURRING. I THINK THEY NEED TO RECALL THIS CAR AND FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

THE HEADLIGHTS OF THE 2006 PRIUS INTERMITTENTLY FAIL SUDDENLY. THIS WILL AFFECT EITHER HEADLIGHT, ALTHOUGH, ON OCCASION, BOTH HEADLIGHTS UNEXPECTEDLY FAILED WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. THE PROBLEM IS TEMPORARILY FIXED BY TURNING THE HEADLIGHT OFF THEN ON AGAIN. SEVERAL PRIUS OWNERS DESCRIBE THIS EXACT PROBLEM. THEY ALSO DESCRIBE THAT REPLACING THE HEADLIGHTS THEMSELVES DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

THE RIGHT SIDE HEADLIGHT TURNS OFF INTERMITTENTLY. I CAN MAKE IT WORK AGAIN BY TURNING THE LIGHT SWITCH OFF, THEN ON AGAIN. I HAVE TRIED TO GET IT FIXED, BUT THE PROBLEM WILL NOT REPLICATE AT THE MECHANICS. THEREFORE, I CANNOT GET IT FIXED. IF IT WAS THE HEADLIGHT, IT WOULD NOT TURN BACK ON. HOWEVER, I BELIEVE MY CAR HAS HIGH INTENSITY BULBS, SO I AM NOT SURE. *TR

THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT TURNED OFF WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN USE AND NOW THE FOG LIGHTS AREN'T WORKING. SOMETIMES IT WOULD TURN ON AND SOMETIMES IT WOULDN'T WORK AT ALL. YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN. *TR

HEADLIGHTS QUIT WORKING ABOUT ONCE A YEAR. (EACH AT DIFFERENT TIMES) SEALS HAVE BEEN CHECKED; NO MOISTURE GETTING IN. *TR

RIGHT HEADLIGHT WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, REDUCING VISIBILITY TO ONLY NEARLY 20%-30%. THIS IS VERY ANNOYING AND DANGEROUS AS THE VEHICLE MAY BE TAKEN FOR A MOTORCYCLE ESPECIALLY IN PARKING LOT AS OTHERS MIGHT MISTAKE THE VEHICLE WIDTH AND RESULTING IN COLLISION. HOWEVER, THE LIGHT IS RESTORED BY FLICKERING ON AND OFF. THIS ALSO OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT HIGH SPEED. FLICKERING MAYBE BE A HASSLE WHILE DRIVING AT SUCH SPEED. *TR

DURING THE STEERING INTERMEDIATE E SHAFT RECALL IN 2013 THE CLOCKSPRING WAS DAMAGED. AFTER A FEW MONTHS THE CERTAIN STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS (INFO, FRONT AND REAR DEFROSTER, AND THE RECIRCULATE AIR) WORKED INTERMITTENTLY AT FIRST. THEN, ABOUT A YEAR AFTER THE RECALL, THEY ONLY FUNCTIONED WHEN THE WHEEL WAS TURNED SIDEWAYS. NOW THEY DO NOT WORK AT ALL. I'M CONCERNED THE AIR BAG WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS ERROR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF FUEL ALTHOUGH THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATED THAT 1/4 TANK OF FUEL WAS IN THE FUEL TANK. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT A FAULTY FUEL BLADDER CAUSED A FALSE FUEL GAUGE READING. THE COMPUTER WAS RESET, BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.

COMBINATION METER FAILED LEAVING THE VEHICLE WITHOUT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER INFORMATION. THERE IS A MANUFACTURER WARRANTY EXTENSION WHICH DOES NOT COVER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD OVER 9 YEARS. THIS REPRESENTS A HAZARD TO THE PUBLIC WHICH HAS A DOCUMENTED SOLUTION AND REPLACEMENT COMPONENTS. *TR