: the contact stated when the weather is 10 degrees and below, the instrument panel did not illuminate or provide readings. This is especially difficult in driving conditions because the speed of the vehicle can not be read. The vehicle displayed the same problem several months ago, again in frigid weather of 10 and below. The dealer was notified and replaced the navigation system. After repairs were made, the weather was warmer and the contact was not able to confirm that the problem still existed. The manufacturer was contacted and replied this was a normal characteristic of the vehicle.

- Monroe, CT, USA

On three occasions my 2004 Prius has started without pushing the "start" button. On 11/19/05 two people had gotten into the back seat and closed the doors. I was standing behind the car. It was at night. As I slammed the hatch back door shut I could see the display panel light up in the dark and hear the car start. When I got in the car I only had to put the car in reverse to pull out. The dealer said this wasn't possible.

- Reston, VA, USA

I have a 2004 Toyota Prius I was driving on the highway and my gas engine shutdown and all the warning lights on the dash turned on. I had to have my car towed to the nearest dealer for repair. I had asked the manufacture to see if my vehicle had any recall or tsb and they said "no". then if that's the case why am I having the same issue that everyone seems to have with this car? I think Toyota does not know what the problem is and does not know hot to fix it. This is a very serious problem lucky I was able to get T the should safely.

- Auburn, GA, USA

Toyota Prius owned by our Agency has had the engine stall problem 3 separate times.

- Tukwila, WA, USA

2004 Toyota Prius developed problems with stalling.** answer required***. the first time the consumer experienced a problem with the vehicle, the dealer determined the battery was not holding a charge. The consumer experienced 2 other incidents with the vehicle.

- Malibu, CA, USA

Total breakdown of consumer's wife 2004 Prius on September 2, 2005 in san jose, California. The vehicle suddenly lost power while merging into the interstate. A loss of gas engine power with failure of the internal combustion/engine to start, resulted in only electric motor propulsion and breakdown on the highway as the battery quickly went to single pink bar level within a 1/2 mile. Multiple mil lamps lit up. Began to merge onto the highway from a stop speed of 30 or 40 mph and slowly accelerated into heavy traffic. Had to pull off to the breakdown lane of the highway with all of its debris, etc. The dealer completed the repairs at san jose's capitol Toyota on 9/2/05. The dealer fixed the car. But the consumer contacted a Toyota pries advisor who stated if there was a service bulletin for this characteristic that would prevent the roadway failure then why was it not executed during prior services on 3/9/05, 5/26/05 and 6/09/05. This indicated that the car was reliable after the repairs. The consumer, an accomplished engineer, said Toyota knew about software bugs. A software bug did not impair operation until the right combination of environmental factors was reached. All pries had this potential bug that contaminated the electronic control module (echo).

- San Jose, CA, USA

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.

- Towanda, PA, USA

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.

- Hope, RI, USA

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.

- El Cajon, CA, USA

Toyota 2004 Prius. While driving 20-45 mph vehicle stalled and lost power. The stalling was due to a inverter/converter failure.

- Merritt Island, FL, USA

I was accelerating into a yield situation where I had room to merge from an offramp and the gas motor didn't kick in. The check-engine light flashed, the car vibrated, and it moved only as if the electric motor was going for a few seconds and then, as I was flooring it, the car jarted out into the intersection where now there wasn't room and I became involved in an accident

- New York, NY, USA

I was driving my 2004 Toyota Prius approximately 35-40 miles per hour on a local street when the "check engine" light and the safety triangle light both illuminated. I noticed that the gas engine stopped running at the time of the failure although the electric motor got me to the dealership where the car is serviced. The dealership called me in a couple of hours to tell me that the car is ready. I was told that they just had to reset the computer software to fix the car. I know that you are researching this problem and wanted to make you aware of my sitiuation. Thank you.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

Fax ltr investigation of the Toyota Prius hybrid electric vehicle model years 2004 & 2005 reports of vehicle stalling at high speeds.

- Washington, DC, USA

2004 Toyota Prius cut off while consumer was driving at highway speeds. When the consumers vehicle stalled on the highway, another motorist rear ended the consumers vehicle.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

A. how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power" 4 minutes, 50 mph. B. has the consumer accelerated, decelerated or drove at a steady pace when the vehicle lost power? steady pace. C. after the vehicle lost power was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed. It stalled out. D. did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? if so, describe the lights that were lit. As it happened a hazard icon and an engine check light came on. E. did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? yes, 30 seconds. F. was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled" if so, how long did it took, 3-4 times or 2-3 minutes)" took a couple of times, but it started within a minutes. G. was driver able to restart the vehicle after letting it sit awhile? yes. H. was the vehicle towed? no. I. what was wrong with the vehicle" it required an update of a computer program. J did the dealer reprogram the electronic control unit (ECU) or any software" yes. K. vehicle had special service campaigns 40A or 40D performed prior to the incident? when consumer called Toyota she was told vehicle was up to date on all services. L. had vehicle any problems since the repair" no. Consumer had a problem six months ago where it stalled..

- Southlake, TX, USA

My 2004 Prius "died" with little warning while I was driving about 40 mph on a busy street. I coasted to a stop with cars flying by me. Very dangerous. Car was towed to the dealer, who explained there was a software problem and they reprogrammed the car's computer. This is an extremely dangerous problem! I'm afraid to drive this car.

- Rockville, MD, USA

The check engine light illuminated on the dash and remained on for about a day. Other light illuminated as well but the consumer can't remember which ones. The consumer made it to his destination where he stayed 2 hours, and upon leaving the engine started immediately. The consumer called the dealer but they offered no diagnosis. The dealer did not reprogram the electronic control unit.

- Bloomfiled, KY, USA

.how long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power" had driven about 10 minutes on commuting home was driving at least 50-60 mph. B.was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power?driving at a steady state. C. vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed?not able to continue driving, could not restart vehicle. Did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? an odd beep and then some symbols illuminated on control panel but can't remember what symbol, thinks it make have been a car with an X through it. Referred to owners manual. Called for help.. came to a complete stop just seconds after the beep and warning lights. F was unable to restart vehicle. G. no restart whatsoever. H. was the vehicle towed? yes to a dealer. I.what did the dealer say was wrong with the vehicle" diagnosis code did not have available, but was aware of service bulletin pertaining to this issue. Questioned why there had not been a recall. J. did the dealer reprogram the ECU (electronic control unit) or any software" yes-the ECU. K.did have recall on navigation software update prior to this episode. L. has the vehicle had any problems since the repair" no but fearful it may happen again.

- Orinda, CA, USA

When I started my vehicle, all the dash lights came on and remained on. I was able to put my vehicle in park and neutral only. I was unable to turn the power off on the vehicle. It was using electricity only. The gas engine would not kick in when stepping on the gas pedal. I let the car sit for about 5 minutes then was able to turn the power off. I was then able to start the car again and drive it. I traveled approximately 35 miles without incident. I then shut the car off. I then turned the car back on and the same incident occured for the second time that day. I called the dealership the following day to report the incident. I was told they were unable to do anything with the vehicle since it was running ok now. They did fax me a copy showing that I reported this incident. This vehicle has now stalled on me a total of 3 times within a 3 week period. The first incident was on 5/23/2005 and I had to have my car towed to the dealership.

- Ozawkie, KS, USA

How long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power" he was driving for about 25 minutes and 35 mph and the warning lights illuminated. B. consumer's vehicle lost power?/decelerated and was going to make a left turn off a highway again the lights signaled warning, but car was still running. Called Toyota to see what to do about this because there was no answer as to what those signals were. Toyota told to continue driving and vehicle lost power. After driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed" was unable to continue driving, had to be towed. Called Toyota about the lights not appearing. Was told by Toyota to continue driving, and vehicle lost power.

- Seabrook, TX, USA