2009 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

A YEAR AGO, UPON TAKING OFF FROM A STOP MY CAR BEGAN TO STALL. I DRIVE TWO BLOCKS IT CONTINUES TO PUTT ALONG AND STALL, THEN AFTER LESS THAN A MILE IT STARTS TO RUN AS NORMAL. I TAKE MY CAR IN TO BE TOLD IT IS OUT OF GAS, WHICH IT DID NOT INDICATE LOW FUEL, IT HAD OVER A QUARTER OF A TANK. I INSIST THEY CONTINUE TO CHECK MY CAR OVER DAYS OF THEM DRIVING IT, AFTER A WEEK THEY EXPERIENCE SOMETHING SIMILAR AND REPLACE MY JUNCTION BOX. SINCE THEN I'VE REPLACE THE WATER PUMP, TAKEN MY CAR IN FOR A STEERING RECALL. ALSO, THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE MY CAR UPON TAKE OFF STALLS, BUT NOTHING SEVERE, JUST SOMETHING YOU FEEL WHEN ACCELERATING. RECENTLY, 6/5/14, I EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE, BUT THIS TIME I IMMEDIATELY PUT GAS INTO MY CAR EVEN THOUGH MY INDICATOR PANEL SHOWS I HAVE FUEL. ONLY THIS TIME I START MY CAR AND THE AIR CONDITIONER IS NOT WORKING AND IT CONTINUES TO STALL, AFTER TURNING MY CAR ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES AND DRIVING A FEW BLOCKS THE AC CUTS ON AND MY CAR BEGINS TO RUN FINE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY TOYOTA THAT BC THERE IS NO INDICATOR LIGHT AND IT'S RUNNING FINE THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. THERE WAS A RECENT RECALL IN FEBRUARY OF 2014 WITH SIMILAR ISSUES I AM EXPERIENCING BUT MY CAR WAS NOT APART OF THE RECALL. NOT SURE WHAT ELSE I CAN DO. NUMEROUS TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS HAVE BEEN OF NO HELP AND I FEAR THAT MY SAFETY IS AT RISK. *TR

I HAD JUST BOUGHT MY CAR ON FEBRUARY 19, 2014 AND NOTICED A HEADLIGHT OUT ON THE WAY HOME. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD REPLACE IT. I TOOK IT IN ON FEBRUARY 26, 2014 BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A REPLACEMENT BULB. THEY WERE GOING TO CALL ME WHEN IT CAME IN. THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT WOULD RANDOMLY SHUT OFF. ON MARCH 10, 2014 ON THE WAY HOME JUST AFTER DUSK THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME SLAMMED ON THEIR BRAKES TO AVOID A DEER. I SLAMMED ON MY BRAKES TO AVOID HITTING THEM AND MY LIGHTS JUST WENT OFF. I COULD NOT TELL HOW CLOSE I WAS TO THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND HAD NO CLUE IF ALL MY LIGHTS WERE OFF AND WHETHER THE CAR FOLLOWING ME COULD SEE ME. I WAS SCARED. I MEAN I WAS REALLY SCARED. I TURNED THE LIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON AND THEY WORKED. THE DEALERSHIP CHANGED THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT ON MARCH 13, 2014 AND TOLD ME THAT A SHORT IN IT HAD CAUSED THE HEADLIGHTS TO SHUT OFF. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE AT NIGHT. ON MAY 14, 2014 THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT SHUT OFF FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE INCIDENT. I AM AFRAID A SHORT IN IT WILL SHUT OFF BOTH LIGHTS SO I ONLY DRIVE AT NIGHT WHEN I ABSOLUTELY CAN'T KEEP FROM IT. THIS CAR IS GOING TO GET ME KILLED IF I DRIVE AT NIGHT. *TR

WHEN MY 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS REACHED APPROXIMATELY 65,000 MILES, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE ERROR CODE WAS P1121, INDICATING A PROBLEM WITH THE COOLANT CONTROL VALVE. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, AND THEIR CHARGE FOR REPLACING THE PART WAS $400. THE MECHANIC WHO INSPECTED THE VALVE SAID IT WAS NOT CLOSING SECURELY. HE SAID MAKING THE REPAIR WOULD NOT IMPROVE THE CAR'S PERFORMANCE OR AFFECT ITS VALUE, AND THEREFORE HE DID NOT RECOMMEND MAKING THE REPAIR. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE REALIZED THAT OPTING OUT OF THIS REPAIR DOES AFFECT THE CAR'S SAFETY. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS CONSTANTLY ON. EVEN IF I MANUALLY TURN IT OFF, IT COMES RIGHT BACK ON, SO IT IS UNLIKELY THAT I WILL BE AWARE IF OTHER MECHANICAL ISSUES EVER ARISE. MY MOTHER DRIVES A 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS WHICH JUST HIT 65,000 MILES, AND HER CAR PRODUCED THE EXACT SAME ERROR CODE. IT IS STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE THAT TWO CARS OF THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL, ONLY A YEAR APART IN AGE, IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD, WOULD PRODUCE IDENTICAL ERROR CODES AFTER REACHING ROUGHLY THE SAME MILEAGE FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN DEFECTIVE MANUFACTURING. I BELIEVE THIS ERROR CODE IS THE RESULT OF A MANUFACTURING ERROR THAT TOYOTA SHOULD ADDRESS THROUGH A SAFETY RECALL. TOYOTA'S OWN MECHANIC ADMITTED THAT THE REPAIR IS FINANCIALLY IMPRACTICAL FOR CUSTOMERS, YET IF THE REPAIR IS NOT MADE, DRIVERS ARE LEFT WITHOUT A FUNCTIONAL CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WHICH IS A SAFETY HAZARD. *TR

ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS PRIOR TO THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT DATE LISTED, THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS HAD INTERMITTENT COMPLETE OR PARTIAL HEADLIGHT FAILURE. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS THAT SEEM TO BE RANDOM IN NATURE EITHER THE DRIVERS SIDE OR PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WILL FAIL INDIVIDUAL WHILE THE COUNTERPART (OPPOSITE HEADLIGHT) WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE. ALSO, AS RANDOM AS ONE INDIVIDUAL HEADLIGHT FAILING BOTH HEADLIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT OR FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE OPERATOR HAS BEEN ABLE TO RECTIFY THE IMMEDIATE HAZARD BY SIMPLY TURNING THE MAIN ACTIVATION SWITCH FOR THE HEADLIGHT FROM "ON" TO "OFF" AND THEN TO "ON" AGAIN. THIS PROCEDURE WILL, ON MOST OCCASIONS TEMPORARILY RECTIFY THE IMMEDIATE HAZARD BUT THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE HAS AND WILL CONTINUE. OPERATOR CONDUCTED RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE AND DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THE 2005-2009 TOYOTA PRIUS IS DISPLAYING. TOYOTA CORPORATE WAS CONTACTED BY THE OPERATOR AND STATED THAT A CUSTOMER CARE INITIATIVE WAS DIRECTED TO ALL TOYOTA SERVICE DEPARTMENTS TO REDUCE THE COST OF REPLACEMENT BULBS. HOWEVER, WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS SITUATION IS A HEADLAMP HID BULB ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WAS REPLACED APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AGO AND IS THE MORE FREQUENT HEADLAMP FAILURE OCCURRING. THIS SEEMS TO INVALIDATE THE REMEDY THAT TOYOTA CORPORATE HAS DEVISED WHICH IS TO REPLACE THE BULBS. *TR

UNABLE TO ADD ANY GAS TO THE FUEL TANK EVEN WHEN TANK IS NEAR EMPTY. GAS JUST SPURTS BACK OUT OF THE FILLER NECK. OVER TIME WE HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS IS TEMPERATURE RELATED. AT OR NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND COLDER IT BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE AT TIMES TO ADD ANY GAS TO THE TANK. THE ONLY WAY TO ADD FUEL IS TO GET THE CAR TO A WARMER LOCATION AND LET IT SIT FOR A FEW HOURS. WE HAVE DETAILED RECORDS DOCUMENTING SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE WE COULD ADD NO FUEL AND MANY INSTANCES WHERE A NEAR EMPTY TANK WILL TAKE ONLY 1-2 GALLONS. THE CAR HAS BEEN SEEN BY TWO DIFFERENT TOYOTA SERVICE CENTERS BUT THEY CLAIM THEY CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG. TOYOTA USA HAS STOPPED RESPONDING TO OUR REQUESTS FOR HELP. WE ARE UNABLE TO TRUST THE CAR FOR EXTENDED TRIPS IN THE WINTER DUE TO FEARS OF GETTING STUCK WITH AN EMPTY GAS TANK. A (RELATED?) PROBLEM IS THAT THE FUEL LEVEL INDICATIONS ARE NOT CONSISTENT AND THUS CANNOT BE TRUSTED. *TT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEAD LIGHT FAILED. THE CONTACT TURNED THE SWITCH BACK ON AND THEN THE PASSENGER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY STATED THAT THE HID HEADLIGHTS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD STOP WORKING SPORADICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE BULBS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 94,000.

DRIVER INTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED TO AVOID COLLISION, THEN PRIUS UNINTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED AFTER IMPACT WITH THE OTHER VEHICLE, CROSSING THE MEDIAN AND CROSSING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION STREET LANES THEN UP ON TO THE SIDEWALK AND HIT THE CONCRETE BRIDGE RAIL AND FINALLY STOPPED. HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA, THEY WANT UP TO A MONTH TO PULL THE CRASH DATA FROM THE CAR. I ASKED IF THEY COULD PULL THE DATA IN A WEEK, THEY SAID UP TO 30 DAYS THE CAR WILL HAVE TO SIT AT THE DEALERSHIP. A MONTH IS UNREASONABLE TO GO WITHOUT A CAR. THEY REFUSED TO SEND THE INVESTIGATOR TO PULL THE DATA AT THE BODY SHOP, SAID IT MUST BE DONE AT THE DEALERSHIP. I GAVE THEM THE NAME & ADDRESS OF THE BODY SHOP. *TR

THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT SPORADICALLY SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN NEARLY EVERY TIME I DRIVE WITH MY HEADLIGHTS ON. I HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER TWICE BY A POLICE OFFICER BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. I FIND THAT IF I TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND ON AGAIN, THE ISSUE CORRECTS ITSELF, BUT THEN OCCURS AGAIN, SOMETIMES DURING THE SAME DRIVING TRIP. NOT ONLY DO I HAVE TO INCORPORATE EXTRA TIME DURING MY NIGHT COMMUTES BECAUSE I MAY BE PULLED OVER BY A POLICE OFFICER, BUT THIS IS DANGEROUS AND IS A KNOWN ISSUE. PLEASE CORRECT THIS ISSUE BY HAVING TOYOTA RECALL THE PRIUS. *TR

MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT STARTED GOING OFF WITHOUT WARNING, NOW BOTH LIGHTS ARE GOING OFF WITHOUT WARNING. SCARY SCARY SCARY AND DANGEROUS. I HAVE TO TURN THE HEAD LIGHTS ON AND OFF FOR THEM TO COME BACK ON; IT IS DANGEROUS WHEN I HAVE TO DRIVE AT NIGHT. IT MAKES IF DIFFICULT TO CONCENTRATE ON THE ROAD, AND IT BECOMES HAZARDOUS AND FREIGHTING. *TR