2006 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

MY WIFE AND I PURCHASED A USED 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS. AFTER ABOUT 6 MONTHS ONE HEADLIGHT WOULD GO OUT. WE COULD CYCLE THE SWITCH AND THE HEADLIGHT WOULD WORK AGAIN. AFTER REPLACING THE BULB WITH A ORIGINAL BULB. BOTH HEADLIGHT HAVE GONE OUT. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. THEY QUOTED A REPAIR OF $3800. I BEGAN LOOKING FOR A LEES EXPENSIVE SHOP TO DO THE REPAIRS, WHEN THE OWNER OF A SHOP[ INFORMED ME THAT TOYOTA HAD SETTLED A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT CONCERNING THE HID ( HIGH INTENSITY DISPLAY) UNITS. THAT SETTLEMENT HAS NOW PASSED THE DATE TO SUBMIT A CLAIM. ALL CLAIMS HAD TO BE SUBMITTED BY MAY 30TH 2011. WE HAD NOT PURCHASED OUR VEHICLE AT THAT TIME. WHY HAS THERE NOT BEEN A RECALL DONE ON THESE VEHICLES? OBVIOUSLY TOYOTA IS AWARE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH IN THE SYSTEM OR THEY WOULD NOT OF SETTLED THE CLASS ACTION SUIT. WE NOW HAVE A VEHICLE THAT WE PAID $15000 FOR THAT CAN NOT BE DRIVEN AT NIGHT OR WHEN IT IS RAINING OUT, BECAUSE THE FAULTY HEADLIGHT INSTALLED BY THE MANUFACTURE. HOW CAN THE GOVERNMENT ALLOW A MAJOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURE TO ALLOW THESE CARS TO STAY ON THE ROAD, AND RISK SERIOUS INJURY? *TR

I BEGIN TO NOTICE BLACK MARKS ON MY FINGERS. IT TOOK ME AWHILE TO LEARN THAT THE LATCH COVER WAS DISINTEGRATING. I ASKED OUR LOCAL MECHANIC TO LOOK INTO GETTING IT REPLACED. HE REPORTED BACK THAT HE CALLED TWO TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS. ONE DEALER WANTED $500 FOR THE DEFECTIVE PART AND ANOTHER DEALER SAID THE PART WAS BEING CHANGE TO PLASTIC BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM AND WANTED $230 FOR THE PART. SINCE THIS SEEMS TO BE A DEFECT IN THE MATERIAL USED, I BELIEVE TOYOTA SHOULD RECALL THE CAR AND PAY FOR THE REPLACEMENT. CAN YOU ASSIST WITH MY REQUEST? [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

ON 05/22/2009, MY HUSBAND AND HIS [XXX] HAD A CAR ACCIDENT. MY HUSBAND'S CAR WAS HIT FROM BEHIND WHEN HE WAS DRIVING A TOYOTA PRIUS WITH HIS FRIEND SITTING IN THE FRONT PASSAGE SEAT. THE BACKS OF THE CHAIRS OF THE DRIVER SEAT AND FRONT PASSAGE SEAT WERE MOVE AND BROKEN.THE SEAT BACK SHAFT DAMAGE FAILURE. MY HUSBAND AND HIS FRIEND BOTH GOT HURT, AND MY HUSBAND WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR 6 DAYS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

AS I WAS DRIVING MY 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS AT NIGHT, I NOTICED THE ROAD SEEMED "DIM" ON THE RIGHT SIDE. I TURNED THE LIGHTS OFF THEN BACK ON AND IT WAS BRIGHTER. LATER I NOTICED THE SAME THING AND PULLED OFF THE ROAD TO FIND THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT WAS NOT ON, BUT IT CAME BACK ON AFTER TURNING THE SWITCH OFF AND ON AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, SOMETIMES AFFECTING THE LEFT HEADLIGHT AS WELL. ONCE, LAST MONTH, AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, BOTH HEADLIGHTS TURNED OFF! FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY FLIP THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH OFF AND ON TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. THE HEADLIGHT BULBS HAVE BEEN CHECKED AND DO NOT SEEM TO BE THE PROBLEM. HELP! *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 5 NORTH TO LOS ANGELES LATE EVENING AROUND 9:00PM. THE STEERING COLUMN BEGAN MAKING A GRINDING NOISE AND VIBRATING. EACH TIME I TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL EITHER TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT THE CAR MADE A VIBRATION AND GRINDING NOISE AND FELT STIFF. THE JARRING WAS FELT IN THE ACCELERATION PAD AND IN THE BRAKE PADS EACH TIME I EITHER ACCELERATED OR BRAKED. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER WHERE I SERVICE MY CAR ON JULY 5TH 2014. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE EXACT COMPLAINT I HAD. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT GAVE ME AN INVOICE INFORMING ME THAT THE CHARGES TO FIX THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE ELECTRIC MOTOR INSIDE WOULD COST ME OVER $2000.00. I CALLED TOYOTA ON 14TH JULY TO ASK IF THEY WOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS ISSUE. I WAS INFORMED BY TOYOTA ON JULY 18TH, THAT THEY WOULD NOT COVER THIS BECAUSE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND THE CAR HAD 148,000 MILES, AND THE RECALL WORK HAD BEEN DONE IN 2012 ON THIS VEHICLE. AS A PEACE OFFERING THEY SAID THEY COULD GIVE ME 700$ TO FIX IT OR BUY A NEW VEHICLE. THE DEALER, WHERE I WENT TO GET THE PROBLEM RESOLVED, SAID THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THIS WAS A DIFFERENT ISSUE FROM THE RECALL???? I NOW HAVE A VEHICLE THAT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE WHICH I AM BEING TOLD IS NOT COVERED BY THE COMPANY. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A STEERING COLUMN FAILING. I WAS NOT AWARE THAT MY VEHICLE EVEN HAD A RECALL. I HAD NO INTIMATION FROM ANYONE. AND NO I DID NOT REALIZE THAT IN LATE 2012 THE DEALER HAD DONE SOME WORK ON THE RECALL. WHAT IS THERE TO SHOW THAT THE WORK WAS DONE CORRECTLY AND THAT THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE PROBLEM IN ALL VEHICLES?? I HAVE HAD VEHICLES THAT I HAVE USED FOR OVER 200,000 MILES WITH NO MISHAPS INCLUDING A SAAB AND AN ACURA. *TR

MY HEADLIGHT GOES OUT. I ALERTED THE DEALER WHEN PURCHASING THE CAR. THEY SAID IT JUST NEEDED REPLACED. THEY DIDN'T TELL ME THIS WAS COMMON PROBLEM, NOR DID THEY OFFER TO CORRECT IT. I FOUND OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THIS PROBLEM ON THIS WEBSITE. NO NOTIFICATION WAS GIVEN TO CONSUMER. *TR

THIS COMPLAINT HAS NOT BEEN QC'D. THE CONTACT SUBMITTED AN EMAIL AND REQUESTED THAT THE OFFICIAL IVOQ BE WRITTEN VERBATIM TO THE EMAIL. KMJ I HAVE MULTIPLE SITUATIONS WITH MY TOYOTA PRIUS 2006 IN THE BEGINNING OF MAY 2014 I A LOUD BEEPING NOISE FILLED THE CAR. THE SYSTEM HAD MULTIPLE LIGHTS DISPLAYING SHOWING INCLUDING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT ( WHILE I WAS DRIVING), ABS,VSC, A RED TRIANGLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT IN THE MIDDLE, ETC. AS, THIS WAS HAPPENING CAR IMMEDIATELY STARTED SLOWING DOWN AND I WAS FORCED TO PULL IT TO THE SIDE OF THE STREET. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME THREE OTHER TIMES WHILE I WAS ON THE FREEWAY. ONE TIME I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND MY CAR AGAIN STARTED DECELERATING WHILE I HAD MULTIPLE CARS AROUND ME ON THE FREEWAY. ALL OF THE LIGHTS WERE DISPLAYING, I PUT MY HAZARDS ON AND WAS FORCED TO MOVE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHILE I WAS ALMOST HIT BY THE CAR BEHIND ME BECAUSE MY CAR WAS RAPIDLY SLOWING DOWN. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. THEY DID A DIAGNOSTIC TEST, MULTIPLE TEST DRIVES, BUT AT THAT TIME THEY DIDN'T KNOW. SO THEY TOLD ME TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME AND COME BACK IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. WITHIN THE WEEK I WAS EXITING OFF OF THE FREEWAY WITH MY CHILDREN WHEN I START HEARING THE LOUD BEEPING NOISE, ALL THE LAMP LIGHTS CAME ON, AND AS I AM WAITING IN LINE TO EXIT THE FREEWAY ONTO A BUSY STREET THE CAR STOPS. I PANICKED, PUT ON THE HAZARDS, THE CAR WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO SHIFT IT INTO DRIVE IT HAD MOVED TO NEUTRAL ON ITS OWN. I TURNED OFF THE CAR, TURNED IT BACK ON AND WAS SLOWLY ABLE TO MOVE THE CAR. THIS TIME I TOOK PICTURES OF THE LAMP DISPLAY TO SHOW THE SERVICE MEMBERS AS WELL. MY CHILDREN, MYSELF, AND OTHER DRIVERS COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY HURT! THE TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER TOLD US WE HAVE A BAD COMPUTER, THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE ECU, AND THE CAR WENT INTO A FAIL SAFE MODE. *TR

BOTH OF MY HID HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT (TURNED OFF) DURING NORMAL HIGHWAY DRIVING. SINCE THEN, THE LIGHTS HAVE CONTINUED TO TURN OFF RANDOMLY DURING NORMAL DRIVING. WHEN I TURN THE SWITCH OFF AND THEN BACK ON, THE LIGHTS OPERATE FINE FOR A WHILE, THEN GO BACK OFF. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE AND I SEE IT IS A COMMON ISSUE. *TR

I AM REQUESTING THAT NHTSA INVESTIGATE EXPANDING/ADDING-TO THE RECALL OF TOYOTA PRIUS COOLANT INVERTER PUMP FAILURES* TO INCLUDE COOLANT STORAGE PUMP FAILURES BLOWING A MAIN FUSE CAUSING DANGEROUS LOSS OF ALL POWER AND CONTROL. *TR ON MAY 31ST, 2014, WHILE TRAVELING AT ABOUT 60MPH, WITHOUT ANY WARNING, THE CAR INSTANTLY SHUT DOWN: NO DRIVE POWER, NO POWER STEERING, NO POWER BRAKES, NO FRONT PANEL DISPLAY. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. AFTER DIAGNOSIS, THE TOYOTA DEALER WITH ASSISTANCE FROM TOYOTA CORPORATE CONCLUDED THAT THE "COOLANT STORAGE PUMP" (NOT THE COOLANT INVERTER PUMP AS IN THE RECALL) WAS THE CAUSE OF THIS BLOWN "AM-2" 15-AMP FUSE WHICH SHUT DOWN THE HYBRID SYSTEM, POWER STEERING, BRAKES, ETC. THEY INDICATED THAT THE COOLANT STORAGE PUMP FAULT WAS A KNOWN CAUSE. THIS CAR IS WELL-MAINTAINED, DEALER MAINTAINED. IT HAD ALL THE RECENT RECALL UPDATES INSTALLED. IT WAS A MILD DAY ~75DEG. WE'D BEEN DRIVING ABOUT 10 MINS AFTER A 30 MINUTE STOP. VEHICLE LOAD WAS NOT A FACTOR -- TWO SLIM ADULTS, NO CARGO LOAD. NO ELECTRICAL CHARGING LOADS. I AM VERY CONCERNED WITH THE SAFETY IMPLICATIONS OF IMMEDIATELY LOSING ALL POWER, POWER BRAKES, POWER STEERING, WITHOUT WARNING, BECAUSE OF A SINGLE COOLANT PUMP FAULT. CAN YOU PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS. I HOPE THEY FIXED MY VEHICLE. AND I HOPE IF ANYONE ELSE HAS THIS PROBLEM ITS NOT DEADLY. THANK YOU, * RECALL OF INVERTER COOLANT PUMP 12V536000: "...OPEN FUSE, CREATING A STALL-LIKE CONDITION OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN. THIS MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH." PS I FOUND ANOTHER COMPLAINT THAT MIGHT BE RELATED (..SHUT OFF IN TRAFFIC, SIMILAR VIN, NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10567158). THOUGH THIS COMPLAINT SEEMS TO BE FOCUSED ON THE COSTS REPLACING ADDITIONAL PUMPS.

AFTER LONG DRIVE UP MOUNTAINS, VEHICLE LOST POWER WHEN GOING UPHILL, PRESSING ON THE GAS PEDAL RESULTED IN JERKY MOVEMENT OF A FEW FEET. VEHICLE STOPPED. CHECKED BATTERY AND IT WAS LOW BUT HAD TWO BLUE BARS. NO WARNING SIGNS WERE LIT ON THE DASHBOARD. MANAGED TO TURN VEHICLE AROUND AND IT COASTED DOWNHILL WITH NO SUBSEQUENT PROBLEMS. THE LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED ON A ROAD WITH A BLIND CURVE. TURNING BACK WAS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THERE WAS NO WARNING OF ANY PROBLEMS. DEALER WAS NOT HELPFUL IN SOLVING THIS POTENTIAL PROBLEM.