2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

DT: TOYOTA 2004 PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING 20-45 MPH VEHICLE STALLED AND LOST POWER. *AK THE STALLING WAS DUE TO A INVERTER/CONVERTER FAILURE. *JB

THE CAR STALLED WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT A TRAFFIC LITE. WARNINGS LIGHTS ON INCLUDED: VSC,ENGINE WARNING LITE. CAR RESTARTED AND WENT ABOUT 500 FT. GOING ABOUT 35 MPH AND STALLED AGAIN. COASTED TO BERM, CALLED DEALER, WHO SAID IT WAS DRIVEABLE TO DEALERSHIP. STARTED OUT ON I295, WENT UP TO 48 MPH AND ENGINE STOPPED. COASTED TO SIDE OF ROAD AND WAS TOWED TO DEALER. DEALER KEPT CAR OVER A WK, SAID SINCE BATTERY WAS DEAD, CHIP HAD NO INFO. THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND RETURNED IT TO ME.

NOTHING SPECIAL OR EXTRAORDINARY LED UP TO THIS FAILURE. I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AT ABOUT 7:00AM. THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE WAS ABOUT 70 DEGREES AND THE CAR IS KEPT IN A GARAGE EVERY EVENING. IN THE MIDDLE OF ACCELERATION (I WAS GOING ABOUT 25MPH), THE CAR STALLED AND THE "RED TRIANGLE OF DEATH" CAME UP ON THE DASH, ALONG WITH SEVERAL WARNING LIGHTS. THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM ALSO PROVIDED THE WORD "PROBLEM" AND A LITTLE, RED CAR SYMBOL WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO AN APARTMENT COMPLEX UNDER BATTERY POWER ONLY. I THEN SHUT THE CAR OFF, WAITED A FEW SECONDS, AND THEN STARTED IT AGAIN. THE ENGINE DID KICK BACK IN AFTER THIS, BUT THE WARNING SYMBOL (LITTLE, RED CAR) ON THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM DIDN'T GO AWAY. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THAT THEY HAD TO "RECALIBRATE THE ENGINE COMPUTER." THE CAR IS NOW RUNNING AS NORMAL. THE CAR IS A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS. MY WORRY WITH THIS IS WHAT IF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING ACROSS KANSAS, WHILE 80 MILES AWAY FROM ANYONE TO HELP YOU? THE BATTERY POWER SURELY WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO GET YOU TO SAFETY. THIS IS A PROBLEM INHERENT IN THE SOFTWARE OF THE ENGINE COMPUTER AND IT SHOULD BE FIXED FOR ALL OWNERS.

I WAS TRANSITIONING BETWEEN TWO FREEWAYS IN MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS AND HAD STARTED BRAKING/DECELERATING FOR A LOOMING TRAFFIC JAM UP AHEAD WHEN THE GAS ENGINE STALLED AND ALL DASH WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, ALONG WITH THE NAV SYSTEM SCREEN SAYING "PROBLEM" AND A RED CAR ICON. MY SPEED COULD HAVE BEEN ANYWHERE BETWEEN 70MPH AND 35MPH AT THE TIME OF THE STALL. THE ELECTRIC MOTOR WAS STILL FUNCTIONAL, SO I EXITED THE FREEWAY, PARKED THE CAR, POWERED IT OFF, THEN POWERED IT BACK ON. THE RED TRIANGLE OF DEATH WAS STILL LIT ON THE DASH, AS WELL AS THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT, BUT THE GAS ENGINE WAS NOW OPERATING NORMALLY AND WAS RECHARGING THE ALMOST-DEPLETED ELECTRIC DRIVE BATTERY. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE HOME WITHOUT ANY FURTHER INCIDENT. THE NEXT DAY, I TOOK MY CAR INTO TOYOTA OF HUNTINGTON BEACH FOR REPAIR, AND THEY "REPROGRAMMED [THE] ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE". MY SYMPTOMS SEEM RELATED TO THE PE05029 DEFECT INVESTIGATION AND THE NHTSA ODI COMPLAINTS OF OTHER PRIUS DRIVERS. THIS DESPERATELY NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ITEM BECAUSE A SUDDEN DECELERATION TO 40MPH ON A FREELY MOVING FREEWAY WITH OTHER TRAFFIC TRAVELING AT 75MPH COULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS REAR-END COLLISION RISK.

VEHICLE STALLED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25-30MPH ON SURFACE STREET WITH 1/4 TANK OF GAS REMAINING.

I OWN A TOYOTA PRIUS PURCHASED IN FEB. 2004. ON THREE OCCASIONS, THE WARNINGS LIGHTS HAVE COME ON WHILE DRIVING AND THE CAR RAPIDLY LOOSES ALL POWER AND CANNOT BE MOVED. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT OCCURRED TODAY, 8/14/05. I HAVE NOT BEEN SATISFIED THAT WHATEVER HAS CAUSED THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED, AS APPARENT WITH TODAY'S INCIDENT. I HAVE REPORTED THESE INCIDENTS TO TOYOTA AND WILL SEND THEIR SUBSEQUENT CORRESPONDENCE. I HAVE OWNED TOYOTA VEHICLES SINCE 1980 AND THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. WITH THIS THIRD INCIDENT, I INTEND TO PURSUE ALL AVENUES AVAILABLE TO RECTIFY THIS SITUATION. *NM

STARTING AROUND MAY,2005, WHEN VEHICLE WAS STARTED WITH THE BATTERY INDICATOR NOT QUITE AT FULL CAPACITY, LETS SAY SEVEN 'BARS', JUST PUTTING THE CAR IN REVERSE WOULD BEGIN THE GRADUAL DECLINE OF CHARGE. IF DRIVING UP A FRWY RAMP, THE INDICATOR WOULD SHOW THE CHARGE HAD DROPPED INTO THE 'RED' ZONE. AT THIS TIME THE ENGINE WOULD SOUND LIKE THE RPMS WERE ABOUT 4,000, A REAL REVVING SOUND. SLOWLY ,WITH A STEADY LEVEL DRIVE THE BATTERY WOULD RECHARGE AND LOOK AS IF IT WERE NORMAL. THERE WAS NO STALLING OF ENGINE BUT I RARELY DRIVE AS SLOW AS 65 MPH! THE WHOLE PROCESS, HAPPENING AT LEAST ONCE A DAY WAS VERY NERVE WRACKING...ESPECIALLY IN THE MOHAVE DESERT WITH MANY 18-WHEELERS SURROUNDING THE CAR. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I IMMEDIATELY CALLED TOYOTA OF TEMECULA VALLEY. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS NOT GOOD AND TO BRING THE CAR IN FOR DIAGNOSIS. WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN, A 'TECHNICIAN' LOOKED AT THE INDICATOR AND SAID IT WAS OK AND NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. I HAD A DIFFICULT TIME BELIEVING THAT AND MADE AN APPT. WITH TOYOTA OF EL CAJON. WHEN THEIR TECHNICIAN USED A DIAGNOSTIC SCANTOOL HE ALSO SAID HE COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. I DID NOT BELIEVE HIM OR THE SERVICE $80/HR. GUY AND SAID THERE WAS EITHER SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEIR DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND/OR SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEM TO THINK I WOULD GO ALONG WITH THEIR STORY. I HAD NO IDEA HOW RIGHT I WAS UNTIL I READ ABOUT THE DEFECT INVESTIGATION ON YOUR WEBSITE. MY PRIUS HAS NOT STALLED (YET) BUT IT HAS ALL THE PROBLEMS LEADING UP TO IT. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS, ON THE WORK RECEIPT THEY GAVE ME, TO HAVE RECALCULATED THE HV ECU WITH THE 40D CODE AND THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE WORSE. I WILL HAVE TO GO BACK AGAIN TO THE DEALERSHIP AND FIGHT FOR MY RIGHT TO A SPEEDY REPAIR. *JB

DT: VEHICLE STALLED INTERMITTENTLY AND LOST POWER. *AK THE CONSUMER SOLD THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. *JB

3 MONTHS AGO, ALL OF THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS IN MY TOYOTA PRIUS 04 CAME ON. I BROUGHT IT STRAIGHT TO THE DEALER. THEY TOOK IT FOR A TEST DRIVE, BUT THE LIGHTS HAD GONE OFF AND THEY REFUSED TO CHECK IT, SAYING IT WAS OKAY. THEN, YESTERDAY, ALL OF THE LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. I WAS ON THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY BRIDGE AND COULD NOT PULL OVER ANYWHERE. THEN, THE ACCELERATOR STOPPED WORKING AND THE CAR ROLLED TO A STOP. I CALLED 911 AND TRIED TO TURN OFF THE CAR. THE CAR WOULD NOT TURN OFF. THE ACCELERATOR STILL WOULDN'T WORK AND I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF HEAVY TRAFFIC ON THE BRIDGE. FINALLY, CALTRANS USED A TOW TRUCK TO PUSH ME OFF OF THE BRIDGE. I WAS THEN TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALER. THE TOYOTA DEALER CHECKED THE CAR AND DISCOVERED THAT I HAD A BUG IN THE SOFTWARE CONTROL UNIT. HE UPDATED THE SOFTWARE AND, SUPPOSEDLY, IT NOW WORKS. I ASKED HIM IF IT WAS THE SAME ISSUE THAT WAS REPORTED IN THE NEWS AS A POTENTIAL RECALL AND HE SAID YES. *JB

2004 TOYOTA PRIUS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE FAILED TO START BUT VEHICLE OPERATED IN ELECTRIC MODE. WHEN BATTERY FAILED, THE VEHICLE SHUTDOWN IN PARK SO WE WERE UNABLE TO PUSH THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE STREET. FAILURE OF A COMPONENT SHOULD NOT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE SHOULD NOT FAIL IN PARK. *JB