2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

WHILE DRIVING, THE ABS, VCS AND RED BRAKE LIGHT ALL CAME ON. HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THE BRAKE ACTUATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR $3,000. IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS: REPLACE BRAKE ACCUMULATOR ASSY. (BRAKE ACCUMULATOR ASSY. LEAK/ LOW PRESSURE (C1256, C1391))

SHIFTER STICKING IN DRIVE POSITION AS OPPOSED TO RETURNING TO ITS HOME POSITION. WHEN THIS SHIFTER STICKS, THE PARK BUTTON BECOMES DISABLED AND VEHICLE REMAINS IN DRIVE EVEN THOUGH PARK BUTTON IS ENGAGED

MY CAR HEAD LIGHTS ARE TURNING OFF, AT FIRST IT WAS ONE NOT TURNING ON AND THEN IT WAS THE OTHER ONE, NOW THEY TAKE TURNS. IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE WHICH ALMOST HAD MAKE ME CRASH MORE THAN 2 TIMES. TO THE POINT THAT I AM UNABLE TO USE THE CAR DURING THE NIGHT. THIS HAPPENS IF THE CAR IS PARKED OR RUNNING.

I WAS DRIVING THE PRIUS ON CITY STREETS IN RAIN. I CAME TO A STOP AND STARTED TO DRIVE AND A BUNCH OF EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND BEEPING STARTED. THERE WAS NO UNUSUAL NOISE OR GRINDING UNTIL I APPLIED THE BRAKES. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS HARD AND HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOST BRAKING POWER. ALL LIGHTS AND BEEPING CONTINUED AFTER TURNING OF AND RESTARTING THE PRIUS. I TOOK IT TO A CERTIFIED TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THE DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A BAD BRAKE ACTUATOR. AS BEING A PRIUS OWNER I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH AND KNOW THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS AND THAT 9 MONTHS AGO TOYOTA WAS REPLACING THIS PART FOR FREE. I FEEL LIKE TOYOTA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM AS MY PRIUS ONLY HAS 80K MILES AND A 3 THOUSAND DOLLAR REPAIR IS PRETTY OUTRAGEOUS FOR A CAR THAT HASN'T EVEN HIT 100K MILES.

3 DAYS AFTER BUYING MY 04 PRIUS BOTH OF MY LOW BEAMS AND ONE OF MY HIGH BEAMS WENT OUT. A FEW MONTHS AFTER REPLACING THEM MY DRIVER SIDE LOW BEAM WENT OUT, THE HIGH BEAM WAS FINE. 2-3 MONTHS AFTER RE REPLACING THE DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM THE PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM WENT OUT. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY HEADLIGHTS ABOUT 5 TIMES EACH (10 TIMES TOTAL DRIVER+PASSENGER SIDE) I HAD MY GROUND WIRES CHECKED, I CONSTANTLY CHECK MY FUSES, MECHANICS SAY NOTHING IS WRONG WITH MY LIGHTING, BUT HERE I AM WITH THIS REOCCURRING ISSUE. I HAVE BEEN USING THE SAME KIND OF BULBS BECAUSE I CAN'T IMAGINE SPENDING MORE MONEY ON A BULB TO HAVE IT BLOW OUT IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS (XTRAVISION 9003 12.8V,55/60W HALOGEN). APPARENTLY MY REVERSE LIGHTS AREN'T WORKING EITHER, AND ONE OF MY LICENSE PLATES LIGHTS IS OUT (I THINK THE PLATE LIGHT IS PROBABLY NOT CONNECTED TO THE OTHER LIGHTS GOING OUT) ZI DO THINK THE REVERSE LIGHTS ARE A RELATED PROBLEM THOUGH. MY LIGHTS GO OUT BOTH IN MOTION AND STATIONARY (I COULDN'T TELL YOU IF IT HAPPENS ON TURNS OR NOT, BUT IT CAN HAPPEN ON HIGHWAYS), SOMETIMES I CAN GET THEM TO COME BACK ON BY GIVING A LITTLE SMACK, BUT USUALLY A FEW DAYS AFTER THAT THEY OFFICIALLY BURN OUT. I'VE RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM ON PRIUS FORUMS AND APPARENTLY I AM NOT THE ONLY PRIUS OWNER EXPERIENCING THIS WITH THE SAME FREQUENCY, THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR THIS ISSUE, YET SO MANY OF US ARE EXPERIENCING THIS, WHICH IS QUITE DETRIMENTAL TO OURS AND OTHERS SAFETY. SOMETIMES I CAN'T TELL MY LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT TIL I GET PULLED OVER OR AM ABLE TO SEE MY HEADLIGHT REFLECTION ON ANOTHER VEHICLE, EVEN WORSE IS WHEN I'M WONDERING WHY I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING WHEN IT'S SO DARK OUT JUST TO FOUND OUT ONE OF MY HEADLIGHTS BLEW AGAIN. I STILL OWN THIS VEHICLE AND STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THIS IS A CONTINUOUS PROBLEM.

I WAS DRIVING MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS ON THE HIGHWAY THERE WERE 5 PASSENGERS IN THE CAR INCLUDING ME. SUDDENLY THERE WAS A LOUD ALARM IN THE CAR. IT WAS A LOUD BEEP. THE BREAKS COMPLETELY FAILED. WHEN I STEPPED ON THE BREAKS THEY DID NOT REACT. I WAS GOING 65 MILES AN HOUR ON THE HIGHWAY AND THANKFULLY WE WERE NOT GOING DOWN HILL. I USED THE ENGINE BRAKE AND PRESSED REALLY HARD ON THE BREAKS TO BRING THE CAR TO A STOP ON AN OFF-RAMP. SINCE I WEIGHT 300 POUNDS I COULD PUT ALL MY WEIGHT INTO THE BRAKES AND FINALLY BROUGHT IT TO A STOP. IF MY WIFE WAS DRIVING WE WOULD HAVE CRASHED. THE WHOLE EPISODE TOOK LIKE 3 MINUTES. IT WAS AGONIZING BECAUSE I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO CRASH AGAINST OTHER CARS BECAUSE I HAD NO WAY OF INFORMING THEM THAT I HAD NO BRAKES. THE IDEA OF GOING IN THE RAMP WAS TRYING TO MINIMIZE THE DAMAGE TO OTHER PEOPLE. THE ALARM CONTINUES WHEN I TURNED ON THE CAR. I TOOK THE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THAT THE ACTUATOR WAS THE CULPRIT. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS A MATTER OF TIME. I WAS SITTING ON A FAULTY PART. THEY SAID IT WAS ON A WARRANTY AND NOT ON A RECALL SO THEY COULD HAVE ONLY FIXED IT IF IT FAILED AND I WAS TOO LATE FOR THE FIX. THE WARRANTY EXPIRED ON DECEMBER 31, 2017. IN OTHER WORDS, MY 147,700 MILES TOYOTA IS ESSENTIALLY TOTALED. THE FIX COST MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THE CAR. THEY TOLD ME TO DISABLE THE ABS AND I WOULD BE OK. A MAVIS BRAKE MECHANIC TELLS ME NOT RISK IT. I ALWAYS TOOK MY TOYOTA TO SERVICE AT TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS. THEY NEVER MENTIONED THE RECALL IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT WAS ON. WHEN THEY PERFORMED THE OIL CHANGE THE LIGHT WOULD TURN OFF FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AND THEN TURN ON. I COULD HAVE KILLED MYSELF IN THE CAR. I FEEL LUCKY THAT NOTHING HAPPENED. I AM LOOKING FOR A MECHANIC TO FIX THE PROBLEM BUT IT IS HARD TO FIND INDEPENDENT HYBRID MECHANICS. TOYOTA WANTS TO CHARGE $2800

THIS OCCURRED TO ME YESTERDAY WHILE TRAVELING 60 MPH IN 94 F HEAT ON I-76 E JUST BEFORE THE 676 / 76 SPLIT. I WAS TRAVELING IN THE FAR LEFT LANE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER. LOOKING AT THE DASH I NOTICED THE SHIFTER HAD MOVED ITSELF INTO N (NEUTRAL), IT WOULD NOT MOVE BACK INTO DRIVE. I APPLIED MY HAZARD LIGHTS AND BEGAN FORCED MY WAY RIGHTWARD ACROSS THREE LANES TO THE SHOULDER, SPEED RAPIDLY DECREASING AND SEEMINGLY MORE SLUGGISHLY THAN A NORMAL COAST. I THINK THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS AUTOMATICALLY BEING APPLIED OR I WAS FIGHTING A BRAKING SYSTEM. ONE LANE FROM THE SHOULDER, A UPS TRUCK WAS HEADED FOR ME FROM BEHIND. LUCKILY, HE WAS ABLE TO SWERVE INTO THE SHOULDER AND PASS ME THERE AS HE COULD NOT MOVE LEFT INTO OTHER TRAFFIC. WE ONLY NARROWLY AVOIDED A COLLISION WITH ME OR THE ELEVATED BARRIER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I HAD ONLY 10 MPH LEFT AND NO ABILITY TO REDIRECT MY VEHICLE. ONCE ON THE SIDE OF THE EXPRESSWAY, I WAS ABLE TO GOOGLE THIS WELL-KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE. I LET THE VEHICLE COOL OFF, TURNED OFF THE AIR CONDITIONING, THOUGH DIDN'T WANT TO RISK TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF. I WAS CONCERNED I WOULD HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NIGHTFALL TO GET BACK INTO TRAFFIC (STILL FLOWING AROUND 60 MPH AND A VERY NARROW SHOULDER) LUCKILY DURING A SMALL TRAFFIC BACKUP UP THE ROAD I WAS ABLE TO RE-ENTER TRAFFIC AT A MODEST SPEED. I CROSSED MY FINGERS AS THE REST OF MY COMMUTE (ANOTHER 2 MILES OR SO) WAS 95% HIGHWAY DRIVING. LUCKILY THE CAR HELD OUT FOR ME TO GET HOME.

ABS BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY HAS FAILED. I'M GETTING THE RED BRAKE LIGHT WITH THE LOUD CONSTANT BEEPING TONE IN CAR. THE REAR BRAKES ARE ONLY BEING ACTIVATED AND I CAN BARELY STOP.

BOUGHT CAR A FEW WEEKS AGO AND LIGHTS CAME ON AND BRAKES DID T WORK. VERY SCARY. TOYOTA DEALER SAID I MISSED A WARRANTY EXTENSION LAST YEAR. BRAKE ACTUATOR PROBLEMS THEY SAID. VERY DANGEROUS. WHY IS THERE NO RECALL?

FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THERE IS A CLUNKING SOUND FROM THE STEERING COLUMN WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL FROM SIDE TO SIDE, EITHER STATIONARY OR WHEN MOVING.*DT*JB