2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

RIGHT FRONT HEADLAMP OPERATING INTERMITTENTLY. DEALER REPAIR QUOTE WAS OVER $500. ONLINE ADVICE SUGGESTED THAT TOYOTA SHOULD/WOULD REPAIR AT NO COST. INITIALLY DEALER SERVICE MANAGER WANTED OWNER TO PAY LABOR, OVER $300, AND DEALER WOULD SUPPLY PART. OWNER STATED THAT SINCE THIS WAS A SAFETY AND DEFECT MATTER, TOYOTA SHOULD PAY FULL COST. AFTER 24 HOURS, DEALER AGREED TO REPLACE HEADLAMP AT NO COST. BOTH HEADLAMPS WERE REPLACED AT NO COST TO OWNER. OWNER IS 30 YEAR CUSTOMER OF THIS DEALERSHIP. SERVICE MANAGER STATED THAT TOYOTA WILL PROBABLY POST A RECALL NOTICE ON THIS MATTER. *TR

2004 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS HAD HEADLIGHT REPLACEMENTS FIVE (5) TIMES ON THE PASSENGER SIDE AND NOW HAS THE SAME PROBLEM ON THE DRIVER SIDE. 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS HAD BOTH SIDES REPLACED. BOTH CARS SUFFER FROM INTERMITTENT OPERATION WHICH CAN BE TEMPORARILY RECOVERED BY TURNING THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH OFF THEN BACK ON. ALL TOYOTA WANTS TO DO IS REPLACE BULBS WHEN THE BULB OBVIOUSLY IS NOT THE PROBLEM. I AM SURE THEY ARE BEING DISINGENUOUS WITH CUSTOMERS IN AN ATTEMPT TO POSTPONE THE INEVITABLE. IT IS WAY PAST TIME FOR A RECALL - PLEASE! *TR

I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM DESCRIBED HERE: THE MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY (MFD) FAILED. (CROSS REFERENCE NHTSA COMPLAINT #10173892). THIS IS A KNOWN DESIGN DEFECT (CROSS REFERENCE ANALYSIS ON WEB: HTTP://TECHNO-FANDOM.ORG/~HOBBIT/CARS/MFD/COMPARE.HTML AND HTTP://TECHNO-FANDOM.ORG/~HOBBIT/CARS/MFD/). TOYOTA ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (EITHER EL-002-04 OR EL-002-05 - CONFLICTING INFO ON THIS) ON JAN 10, 2005. WHEN THE MFD FAILS, ONE CANNOT CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF AIRFLOW TO THE WINDSHIELD (DEFROSTER). THIS PRESENTED ME WITH VISIBILITY PROBLEMS DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE. AS SUCH, I CONSIDER IT A SAFETY ISSUE. TOYOTA HAS BEEN AWARE OF THIS FOR 3 YEARS, GIVEN THE DATE OF THEIR TSB. THE ROOT CAUSE APPEARS TO BE AN UNDERSIZED SOLDER PAD ON ONE OF THE ELECTRONIC CARDS OF THE MFD. THIS RESULTS IN A CRACKING OF THE SOLDER JOINT. BECAUSE MY PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT, COMING AND GOING ON A FREQUENT BASIS, I PRESUME IT WAS A MICRO CRACK. THIS DOES NOT HELP WHEN THE WINDSHIELD IS FOGGING OVER. ALL OF THE VARIOUS ERROR MESSAGES THAT WERE DISPLAYED ON THE MFD WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE INFORMATION ON THE ABOVE REFERENCED WEB URL'S. THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE RELEASE F OF THE ELECTRONIC CARD ASSEMBLY AND WAS CORRECTED WITH RELEASE G. THERE ARE PICTORIAL COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE TWO RELEASES ON ONE OF THE WEB URL'S. GIVEN THAT THIS HAS AN IMPACT ON VISIBILITY DURING THE WINTER MONTHS, I AM SHOCKED THAT TOYOTA CHOSE TO SIT ON THIS PROBLEM. THE SUPPLIER OF THIS PART TO TOYOTA IS FUJITSU. *TR

I WAS APPALLED TO FIND THAT IT COST OVER $500.00 TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT AND WAS TOLD TO EXPECT THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE LIGHT WOULD LIKELY NEED TO BE REPLACE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. *TR

THIS HAPPENED TO ME AND COST OVER $700 TO FIX: FAILURE OF INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT PUMP. HYBRID VEHICLE HAS 2ND COOLANT LOOP FOR HIGH VOLTAGE INVERTER/CONVERTER. FAILURE OF INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT PUMP ALLOWS INVERTER COOLANT TEMPERATURE TO RISE WELL ABOVE NOMINAL. AT A CERTAIN TRIGGER POINT HYBRID CONTROL ECU SETS A TROUBLE CODE THAT IMMEDIATELY DISENGAGES OPERATION OF INVERTER/CONVERTER (AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DISENGAGES CRUISE CONTROL AND A/C, WHICH RUNS OF ALTERNATING CURRENT PRODUCED BY INVERTER). IMMEDIATE IMPACT IS A SUDDEN LOSS OF VEHICLE DRIVE POWER AS INVERTER/CONVERTER SUPPLIES TO ELECTRICITY TO MOTOR GENERATOR 2 (MG2) WHICH IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO DRIVE WHEELS AND SUPPLIES NEEDED MOTIVE FORCE TO MAINTAIN HIGHWAY SPEEDS (ICE ALONE IS INSUFFICIENT). ALSO INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT LOOP PROVIDES COOLING FOR MG2 & MG1. CONTINUED OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH FAILED INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT PUMP COULD RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF MAIN ELECTRIC DRIVE MG2 AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER. PUMP FAILURE OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING, ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF INTERMITTENT PUMP OPERATION/NON-OPERATION PRIOR TO FINAL FAILURE. THE FAILURE SEEMS TO BE THE RESULT OF EITHER A DEFECTIVE INVERTER/CONVERTER PUMP ASS'Y OR ONE INSUFFICIENTLY ENGINEERED TO WITHSTAND CONTINUOUS OPERATION IN SUCH A CRITICAL COMPONENT. PUMP FAILURE OCCURRED AFTER APPROXIMATELY 160,000 MILES, ALTHOUGH HAS BEEN KNOWN TO OCCUR IN OTHER INSTANCES AS EARLY AS 32,000 MILES. SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND DISENGAGEMENT OF CRUISE CONTROL AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEEDS COULD CAUSE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL OR TO BE UNABLE TO SAFELY STEER TO A SAFE BREAKDOWN LANE. *TR

EITHER OF THE HEADLIGHTS WILL RANDOMLY TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING. WHEN I QUICKLY TURN OFF THE HEADLIGHTS AND TURN THEM BACK ON, THEY WORK AGAIN FOR A WHILE. THE PROBLEM SEEMS RANDOM AND INTERMITTENT. IT HAPPENS TO BOTH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AND THE PASSENGER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT. *TR

FAILURE OF INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT PUMP. HYBRID VEHICLE HAS 2ND COOLANT LOOP FOR HIGH VOLTAGE INVERTER/CONVERTER. FAILURE OF INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT PUMP ALLOWS INVERTER COOLANT TEMPERATURE TO RISE WELL ABOVE NOMINAL. AT A CERTAIN TRIGGER POINT HYBRID CONTROL ECU SETS A TROUBLE CODE THAT IMMEDIATELY DISENGAGES OPERATION OF INVERTER/CONVERTER (AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DISENGAGES CRUISE CONTROL AND A/C, WHICH RUNS OF ALTERNATING CURRENT PRODUCED BY INVERTER). IMMEDIATE IMPACT IS A SUDDEN LOSS OF VEHICLE DRIVE POWER AS INVERTER/CONVERTER SUPPLIES TO ELECTRICITY TO MOTOR GENERATOR 2 (MG2) WHICH IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO DRIVE WHEELS AND SUPPLIES NEEDED MOTIVE FORCE TO MAINTAIN HIGHWAY SPEEDS (ICE ALONE IS INSUFFICIENT). ALSO INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT LOOP PROVIDES COOLING FOR MG2 & MG1. CONTINUED OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH FAILED INVERTER/CONVERTER COOLANT PUMP COULD RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF MAIN ELECTRIC DRIVE MG2 AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER. PUMP FAILURE OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING, ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF INTERMITTENT PUMP OPERATION/NON-OPERATION PRIOR TO FINAL FAILURE. THE FAILURE SEEMS TO BE THE RESULT OF EITHER A DEFECTIVE INVERTER/CONVERTER PUMP ASS'Y OR ONE INSUFFICIENTLY ENGINEERED TO WITHSTAND CONTINUOUS OPERATION IN SUCH A CRITICAL COMPONENT. PUMP FAILURE OCCURRED AFTER APPROXIMATELY 160,000 MILES, ALTHOUGH HAS BEEN KNOWN TO OCCUR IN OTHER INSTANCES AS EARLY AS 32,000 MILES. SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND DISENGAGEMENT OF CRUISE CONTROL AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEEDS COULD CAUSE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL OR TO BE UNABLE TO SAFELY STEER TO A SAFE BREAKDOWN LANE. *TR

HEAD LIGHTS ON A 2004 PRIUS GOING OUT AND BEING ABLE TO TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON BY JUST TURNING THE SYSTEM OFF AND THEN TURN IT BACK ON AGAIN. JUST LIKE A COMPUTER, IF SOMETHING IS WRONG, SHUT DOWN AND START OVER. THIS HAPPENS ALMOST EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR NOW, THE CONSEQUENCES ARE NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE AT NIGHT AND DURING THE DAY SAFETY IS DIMINISHED WITHOUT THE HEADLIGHTS. THE HEADLAMPS WERE REPLACED BUT DID NOT REPAIR THE PROBLEM. THE OLD PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE. *TR

DRIVER'S FRONT SEAT FRAME FAILED UPON REAR IMPACT. CAR WAS STOPPED, IMPACT WAS AT APPROXIMATELY 25MPH. THE SEAT BACK PORTION WAS TWISTED TOWARDS THE DRIVER'S DOOR WHILE THE SEAT BOTTOM PORTION REMAINED FACING FORWARD. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. CAR WAS TOTALED. *TR

ON MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS, THE LIGHTS GO OUT RANDOMLY. OF COURSE, AT NIGHT. I TOOK IT TO TWO TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS, AND THE FIRST COULDN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE SECOND DEALERSHIP SAID THE FIX FOR ONE LIGHT WOULD BE AN ASTONISHING $850 BECAUSE IT'S A DEFECTIVE ELECTRONIC CONTROLLER. SINCE MY LIGHTS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY OR AFTER BEING TURNED ON AND OFF...AND AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET AND DISCOVERING THIS DEFECT IS COMMON. I'M THINKING LIGHTS CUTTING OUT WHILE DRIVING, IS QUITE DANGEROUS, AND IT'S A POTENTIAL HAZARD FOR BOTH DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS. MANY PRIUS OWNERS BELIEVE THIS IS A PRODUCT DEFECT IN NEED OF A RECALL FROM TOYOTA BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. *TR