2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

MY TOYOTA PRIUS STALLED WHILE MOVING AT ABOUT 35-40 MPH IN CITY TRAFFIC IN CHANDLER, ARIZONA. THE EMERGENCY LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE QUIT. I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AS IT COASTED, THEN WE PUSHED IT INTO A PARKING LOT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO TEMPE TOYOTA (NOW POWER TOYOTA) AND THEY RE-PROGRAMMED THE ON-BOARD COMPUTER, AND I HAVEN'T HAD A PROBLEM SINCE.

2004 PRIUS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35-45 MPH WHEN WARNING LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD WENT ON. CAR DIED WITHIN SECONDS IN MIDDLE OF BUSY STREET AND WOULD NOT RESTART, HAD TO TOW TO DEALER. DEALER CLAIMED THEY DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS BUT SAID "IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN"

YAPS (YET ANOTHER PRIUS STALL). I WAS NOT GOING FAST - PROBABLY ABOUT 10-15 MPH. JUST LIKE THE OTHER REPORTS, IT LOST POWER, ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, AND IT COASTED TO A HALT. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART IT BUT THE ICE WOULD NOT KICK IN SO IT RAN IN ELECTRIC MODE ONLY. AFTER LESS THAN A MILE THE BATTERY WAS ALMOST DRAINED SO I HAD TO PULL OVER AND PARK IT. HAD IT TOWED IN TO THE NEAREST DEALER - TOYOTA OF SEATTLE - WHERE THEY SAID IT WAS A SOFTWARE ISSUE AND THEY'D SEEN IT BEFORE. THEY PERFORMED AN UPGRADE AND RETURNED IT TO ME.

CAR WAS DRIVING NORMAL AT 45 MPH....ENGINE QUIT. WOULD NOT RESTART. CAR WAS TOWED TO TOYOTA DEALER.

DT: CONSUMER STATES WHILE GOING SOUTHBOUND, HE ACCIDENTALLY BUMP THE VEHICLE OUT OF GEAR FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL AT ABOUT 70 MPH. AFTERWARDS CONSUMER PUT VEHICLE BACK IN DRIVE. IT SEEMED AS THOUGH VEHICLE WAS DEAD. CONSUMER HAD TO STOP THE VEHICLE THEN PUT BACK IN DRIVE AND THEN MERGE BACK ONTO THE HIGHWAY. *TT

I AM ESTIMATING THE DATES - I TOOK MY 2004 PRIUS TO THE DEALER ON OCTOBER 12, AS IT WAS NOT DRIVING RIGHT SINCE I HAD DONE A "HARD BRAKE" THE WEEK BEFORE. THE SERVICE DEPT WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING AMISS. THEN, WHILE DRIVING TO WORK THAT FRIDAY, MY CAR INDICATED THAT I NEEDED TO STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY (VIA THE RED TRIANGLE ETC. LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD). I WAS TRAVELLING AT ABOUT 45 MILES PER HOUR AT THE TIME. I COASTED INTO A LEFT TURN LANE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO COMPLETE THE TURN INTO THE PARKING LOT AS THE CAR HAD SHUT DOWN. I WAS PUSHED INTO THE PARKING LOT. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALER (LARRY MILLER TOYOTA ON W. BELL ROAD). I WAS TOLD THE ECU WAS REPROGRAMMED AND THAT THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT WAS NOT SENT TO OWNERS, BUT DIRECTED DEALERS TO DO THE FIX ONLY WHEN THERE WAS A CAR WITH THE FAILURE. MY CAR HAS EXHIBITED THE RED TRIANGLE ONE OTHER TIME, 4/15/05 I BELIEVE, IT WAS TOWED AGAIN, TO BELL ROAD TOYOTA. THE ANSWER SEEMS TO BE "IF THERE IS NO CODE ON THE COMPUTER THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG, WE CANNOT FIX IT, SINCE WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEM IS."

1. I WAS DRIVING ON THE LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY. TRAFFIC BECAME CONGESTED SO THE PACE WAS STOP AND GO. I STARTED TO ACCELERATE (WAS GOING ABOUT ~35 MPH) WHEN MY 2004 PRIUS LOST POWER. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER. ALL THESE LIGHTS CAME ON INDICATING THERE WAS A PROBLEM. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND GET OFF THE ROAD., I CALLED THE 800 NO. FOR ROADSIDE ASSIST. BUT THE WAIT WAS OVER AN HOUR. AFTER ~20 MINUTES I STARTED THE CAR TO TRY TO BOOST THE POWER THE ELECTRIC BATTERY. I DROVE IT IN A PARKING LOT AND KEPT BRAKING. THE CAR SEEMED FINE SO I CANCELLED ROADSIDE ASSIST. I THEN DROVE IT ANOTHER 250 MILES HOME WITHOUT A PROBLEM. AFTER HEARING THE NEWS I THOUGHT THE PROBLEM I HAD WAS THE SAME. I WASN'T SURE WHAT FURTHER STEPS TO TAKE. I DID HAVE MY TOYOTA DEALER CHECK IT OUT BUT SOMEONE ELSE DROPPED THE CAR OFF FOR ME SO I'M NOT SURE THEY TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD THE ACTUAL PROBLEM. THEY DID A COMPUTER ADJUSTMENT. NO PROBLEMS SINCE THIS ONE AND ONLY INCIDENT.

DT: ENGINE SHUTS DOWN AND WILL NOT START, ALSO BATTERY DIES. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, AND THEN THE ENGINE DIES. CALLER HAD TO PUSH CAR OFF THE ROAD. DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG THE FIRST TIME, AND THE OTHER TIMES THEY REPLACED A FLOOR HARNESS THAT WENT TO BATTERY, AN AMPLIFIER, THE ORIGINAL BATTERY. CALLER READ ARTICLE ON HIS VEHICLE ABOUT SAME PROBLEM. MANUFACTURER SAID THE AMPLIFIER FIXED THE PROBLEM.

DT: THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON CONSUMER TURNED CAR AROUND TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER, AND THE CAR JUST SHUT OFF. DEALER DID CLEAR EVERYTHING (THE LIGHTS), AND THE CAR STARTED BACK UP.*AK

DAD: VEHICLE RUNS AND SUDDENLY STALLS AND STOPS WORKING. OWNER ATTEMPTS TO START CAR AGAIN, AND IT DOES NOT START. CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES, AND DEALER FIXED IT. BUT, AFTER SOME TIME THE CAR DID NOT WORK AGAIN. OWNER STATED THAT CAR WAS SERVICED ON REGULAR BASIS.*AK