2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT APPROX 45 MPH IN MY '04 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING AND BATTERY POWER RAN OUT CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL.

DT: THE CONSUMER OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS. HE SAYS THAT HE IS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE BECAUSE IT WILL SHUT OFF WHILE IN TRAFFIC. ALSO THE PARK MECHANISM WILL DISENGAGED AND THE LOCK BUTTON DOES NOT UNLOCK THE DOORS AS SPECIFIED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. ALSO THE START BUTTON DOES NOT CONSISTENTLY START THE VEHICLE PROPERLY. *JB THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED: INOPERATIVE BRAKE LIGHT, THE FUEL DOOR SPRING WAS REPLACED, DOME LIGHT REMAINED ON, ENGINE WOULD DISENGAGE, LIGHTS WOULD REMAIN LIT AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE UNTIL THE VEHICLE WAS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED TO GET THE BRAKE LIGHT TO GO OUT, RATTLING AS IF IT WERE GOING TO STALL, THE ALARM SOUNDED ON ONE OCCASION WHEN THE DOOR WAS OPENED, FUEL DOOR SPRING MALFUNCTIONED AND FUEL DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN. THE TECHNICIANS WERE UNABLE TO VERIFY THE DOOR LOCK MALFUNCTION. THE CONSUMER WOULD LIKE THE VEHICLE REPLACED WITH A 2005 MODEL EQUIPPED AS DETAILED ON THE ORIGINAL INVOICE INCLUDING AFTERMARKET ITEMS PAID FOR. *SC

DT: THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS. THIS VEHICLE WOULD STALL AT HIGH SPEEDS. HE WAS GOING 65-70 MPH AT TIME OF INCIDENT. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT WARNING. IT EXACTLY WHAT THE REPORTS SAID HAPPENED TO HIM. HE CAN BE CONTACTED BY ODI FOR THIS IF NEEDED. ALSO, HAD PREMATURE WEAR ON TIRES. HAD THE FRONT AND REAR ENDS ALIGNED THREE TIMES SINCE HE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE.*AK

MY1994 TOYOTA PRIUS SUDDENLY STALLED AS I WAS DRIVING. I HAD TO BE TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A PROGRAMMING ERROR IN ONE OF THE COMPUTER CHIPS.

MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS STALLED WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 40-45 MPH WITH A FULL TANK OF GAS ON 5/14/05. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND IT COASTED TO A STOP. I TURNED OFF THE POWER SWITCH AND RESTARTED IT AND THE ENGINE CAME BACK ON AND RAN FINE EXCEPT WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STILL ON. THE NEXT DAY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS OFF AND THE ENGINE RAN FINE. I TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALER'S SERVICE CENTER AND THEY SAID THEY DID SOMETHING WITH THE SOFTWEAR AND IT SHOULD RUN FINE NOW.

I WAS DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 101 NORTH IN A STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC. I NOTICED THAT THE BATTERY LEVEL CONTINUED TO DROP AND THE GAS ENGINE FAILED TO START TO RECHARGE THE BATTERY. I MANAGE TO SLIDE OUT OF THE FREEWAY AND STOPPED ON THE SHOULDER. I COULD NOT SHUT OFF THE CAR FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AFTER 5 MINUTES AND THE GAS ENGINE STARTED. THE DISPLAY SHOWED SYMBOLS OF "CHECK ENGINE" AND "HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING" AND A TEXT MESSAGE - "PROBLEM!". I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO THE DESTINATION VIA A LOCAL ROUTE.

I HAVE A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS (PURCHASED DEC. 2003). APPROXIMATELY 10 MARCH 2005 I WAS DRIVING AT CITY SPEEDS (<40 MPH) WHEN THE GASOLINE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I WAS ABLE TO PROCEED ABOUT A MILE ON THE ELECTRIC ENGINE UNTIL THE BATTERY BECAME DRAINED. I CALLED FOR A TOW UNDER WARRANTY SERVICE. WHILE WAITING, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE GASOLINE ENGINE AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR, BUT HAD THE CAR TOWED INTO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INVESTIGATION OF THE FAILURE AND REPAIR. AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS OF INVESTIGATION, THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEM AND TOYOTA HAD NOT ISSUED ANY SERVICE BULLETINS DEALING WITH SUCH A PROBLEM. AS RECENTLY AS LAST WEEK, WHEN I HAD THE CAR SERVICED, THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT THEY WERE UNAWARE OF ANY SIMILAR REPORTS AND TOYOTA HAD NOT ISSUED ANY SERVICE BULLETINS. I GAVE THEM A COPY OF AN ARTICLE FROM A RECENT WALL STREET JOURNAL DETAILS REPORTS OF THESE PROBLEMS AROUND THE COUNTRY. I HAVE NO FURTHER PROBLEMS OF A SIMILAR NATURE, BUT I AM SOMEWHAT APPREHENSIVE OF RECURRENCE. OTHERWISE THE CAR IS WONDERFUL. I GET ~50MPG IN THE SUMMER AND IT HANDLES WELL.

DT: CONSUMER STATES: WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER 3000 MILES ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, AND WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE VEHICLE SLOWLY LOST POWER AND WAS GOING ABOUT 25 MPH. AFTER ABOUT 20 MIN VEHICLE STARTED BACK, THE DEALER DID DIAGNOSTIC AND RESET THE SYSTEM. *AK

COMPUTER SHUT DOWN IN THE TOYOTA PRIUS CAUSING CAR TO STOP IN A MATTER OF MINUTES ON TWO OCCATIONS.

WAS DRIVING MY 3 MONTH OLD '04 PRIUS ON A 2 LANE HWY, LATE NIGHT, 50MPH. PRIUS ENGINES SUDDENLY STOPPED AND MANY WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. I PULLED OVER, THOUGH THERE WAS NO SAFE PLACE TO DO SO, SET MY FLASHERS AND BEGAN CALLING FOR HELP. SPENT THE NEXT HOUR CALLING POLICE AND TOW TRUCKS, TOO BUSY IN A DANGEROUS PLACE TO TROUBLESHOOT. DID NOT FEEL SAFE IN THE CAR DUE TO HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC. FINALLY TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND CAR WAS ADMITTED IN THE MORNING. DEALER KEPT FOR 5 DAYS, ASKING ME TO TAKE IT HOME, NOTHING WRONG. I INSISTED THAT I WAS NOT COMFORTABLE TAKING THE CAR HOME UNTIL SOMETHING WAS DONE TO FIX IT. CALLED TOYOTA USA HQ AND REPORTED THE PROBLEM. THEY WORKED WITH THE DEALER AND EVENTUALLY GOT MY CAR BACK. 1 WEEK LATER, SAME THING HAPPENED, DAYTIME, WITH MY FAMILY ABOARD. THIS TIME, WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND DRIVE TO DEALERSHIP. REPORTED INCIDENT TO TOYOTA USA HQ. WHILE CAR WAS IN SHOP, TOYOTA SENT ME A LETTER OFFERING TO BUY THE CAR BACK FROM ME, DUE TO MY LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THE CAR. I REGRETFULLY ACCEPTED. I AM VERY MUCH ENTHSED BY THE PRIUS POTENTIAL, BUT THESE GLITCHES ARE SCARY. TOYOTA BUYING THE CAR BACK FROM ME ALMOST FELT LIKE A COVERUP ATTEMPT.