10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 7 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 8 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 87,578 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The vehicle we own is no longer covered by an extended warranty offered to Toyota owners of 2004-2009 Prius. The warranty covered the replacement of the digital combination meter which, when failing, no longer displays anything on the dashboard. The situation is dangerous because you lose the ability to monitor fuel tank capacity, speed, warning lights, reverse lights and backup camera. To get around this malfunction requires that the back storage panels be removed and 12-volt battery be disconnected and reconnected. However, the fix is short term since the problem resets itself once the car is turned off. Even when the display is working, we have just discovered that the fuel gauge is inaccurate, causing a serious overflow of fuel due to the display showing 1 bar, when the tank was actually 50% full. Toyota, fully aware of this problem offered a "warranty enhancement" that offered replacement coverage up to September 30, 2013. It only covered customers whose care was demonstrating the problem, excluding any cars that were not showing signs of malfunction. We have a 2008 model, purchased from a Toyota dealership in 2011, that up until around 2-years ago showed no signs of malfunctioning. Therefore, the warranty did not apply. We now, however, are experiencing the malfunction on a daily basis and our vehicle is unsafe, and inconvenient to drive. I called Toyota regarding this and they will not offer any further coverage beyond the September 30, 2013 date. The repair for this malfunction is a minimum $1000, which rightfully should be covered by Toyota due to the potential safety issues surrounding this problem. We would like Toyota to acknowledge customers such as ourselves where the malfunction did not appear until later during our ownership of a 2008 Prius, and pay or reimburse for the repair.
- Vero Beach, FL, USA
I am currently having this issue with Combination Meter, which means the Prius dash board will not show any speed, fuel, P, R, D label and many more important information is not shown on display. I had complained to Toyota, CASE[XXX] on 19Dec2022, I have spoken to Danial N and manager Alex S from Toyota. They both have denied solving this issue from Toyota as the Warranty Extension ZTV has expired. Even I had provided them proof that Toyota knew about this problem, please see [XXX] from Toyota regarding this. My Prius has 258000 miles, and it is 2008, It is high mileage as per their documents this will accrue in high mileage Prius with cold weather. I live in NJ, and it is getting cold and my car as high miles. Toyota refuse to take care of the problem and I as a consumer will have to pay over $1200 to get it fix as this is only done at Toyota dealership. Currently I am thinking of getting it fix at Paul Miller Toyota of West Caldwell, 1155 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ 07006, 973-287-4050. What's sad is Toyota used to rank at the top of best customer service. I'm guessing most of the problems are just after the 9 years, calculated to guarantee fixing the problem to as few people as possible. THERE'S NO EXTENSION AND TOYOTA WON'T HELP. I TRIED AND WAS TOLD ALL DEALS EXPIRED AND TO HELP ONE WOULD MEAN THEY'D HAVE TO HELP ALL. WE'RE ON OUR OWN. Hoping that Toyota has released a solution to the dangerous and consumer related problem related to the failing Combination Meter. The previous ext. Warranty was only good for 9 years from date of first use which did not help many drivers. Super negligent and ripe situation for class action lawsuits not to mention many potentially fatal accidents on the roads. Toyota has denied fixing this problem even Toyota knows this is on going problem. As a government official please try to help me resolve this issue as this is a major concern for many millions of drivers which Toyota need to resolve this. Please INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (
- Parsippany, NJ, USA
Brake actuator is going bad, they had a recall on it and are refusing to fix it. Brakes are a lot harder to press.
- Pompano Beach, FL, USA
The electric dashboard (warning lights, speedometer, fuel gauge, etc.) is sometimes off when starting the car. The backup camera and the center display also will not be working. The car will not shut off when the displays are not working. It will usually fix itself after pushing the on/off button a few times. It has happened many times now but isn-??t predictable. It hasn-??t been looked at by a mechanic yet.
- Seattle, WA, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving over a bump or rock the anti-skid warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while driving the brakes, ABS, and traction control warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 164,000.
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
The instrument cluster goes completely blank (no fuel gauge, no speedometer, no odometer) and the car cannot be shut down.
- Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Dashboard speedometer, fuel gauge, headlight indicators, transmission status, cruise control do not show, are not lit up. Backup camera does not work nor do the back-up lights. This occured after the auxiliary battery was replaced and the dashboard lights and backup camera will occassionally spontaneously return when the car has not been driven for a week or longer but then will go out next time the car is turned off. There are problems with the car turning off consistently and at times the start button needs to be manually depressed for 5+ seconds to shut down.
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
Enroute to Maryland, dashboard lights failed - no speedometer, no gas tank info, no mileage. Safety issue.
- Milton, FL, USA
When driving on CA highway 4 at about 73 MPH the car complete shut off, with the momentum I safely manage to get on the off ramp and my car was towed to my house, the converter pump fuse was getting blown out every time I replaced, and need a new converter pump.
- Antioch, CA, USA
Instrument cluster in my 2008 Toyota Prius completely went dark while driving from phoenix to my home in tucson. I was travelling on I-10 at a speed of approximately 70mph. Terribly frightening when all gauges fail at the same instant. This happened in Jan 2021. Speedometer, fuel gauge, headlight indicators, prndl, lcruise control, lights that indicate engine emergencies do not light. Back-up camera does not work nor do the back-up lights. These all are extremely dangerous safety issues. Having researched this problem it is evident that Toyota knew about this problem as they have recalled thousands of Prius' for this issue. They issued an extended warranty for this issue but mine expired before I purchased this vehicle in February, 2020. I firmly am convinced that Toyota should honor the warranty for this dangerously common failure which happens to many different model year of the Prius. It's, in fact, irresponsible of Toyota to not repair these vehicles as they have known how massively prevalent these failures are. The local Toyota dealers is charging over $1000 to fix the problem. I, for one, cannot afford such a cost for a malfunctioning, critical for safely operating their product, that should be remedied into perpetuity, since they have unquestionably been fully aware of the problem and it's severity. I should not be excluded from repair simply because the failure happened later in this particular vehicle than others.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
My vehicle was showing 4 bars for how much gas was left in the tank. I drove to fill it up but despite how much I put in the fuel gauge won't read it and is stuck on 4 bars. When driving it won't decrease either I've driven over 70 miles and it still won't adjust.
- San Marcos, TX, USA
A recurrent and hard-to-diagnose problem I have had with my 2008 Prius for several years is the fact that the dashboard display (speedometer, fuel gage, drive / reverse etc.) will occasionally not turn on with the car on days that are cold and rainy. Although newer models (2019) both experience this issue and have enjoyed a recall for the part (the combination meter) to be fixed, for older priuses such as mine the equivalent work is limited to those who paid for an extended warrantee relating to the known problems of this one single part--a warrantee that I was never offered when I purchased the car in 2011, and that ended in 2015. The 2019 recall's information is here: Https://pressroom.Toyota.com/?generate_pdf=58021 even if I had purchased the part's extended warrantee, whether or not I'd even able to* it by demonstrating to the technician that the problem is occurring is questionable, not to mention literally up to the weather. The problem been very difficult for techs to diagnose since there aren't many cold and rainy days to set it off where I live, not to mention it would often resolve itself before the car can be taken into the shop for diagnosis. It was only possible this time around because the problem was worse than in the past, severe enough that I could not turn off my car. The fact that Toyota would hide repairs for a massive safety flaw behind a limited-run warranty, when the problem is actually broader and affects cars produced over 15 years apart (2004 to 2019) is one thing. But the fact that this problem actually creates a hazard for the driver--not being able to turn off the car, not being able to know if you're in drive or reverse, or even how fast you're going!-- makes this limiting behavior seem somewhat despicable. I feel this recall should include all affected Prius models, because this is clearly a broader defect.
- Ventura, CA, USA
1, dark instument panel, speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, prnd display. 2, power button inoperable, at the time of speedometer failsure this is very dangerous when driving without instrument panel, you do not know the speed of driving, you do not know when you run out of gas, you do not know which prnd mode you are at and you cannot turn off the power of the car.
- Natick, MA, USA
The dash lights on my car went completely blank and the car is unable to shut off. Toyota has a safety campaign that addresses this issue but it is only good for first 9 years of the car. My car is a 2008 model and I understand this problem affects all 2004-2009 models. As this is a safety concern with not being able to turn off the car properly, it is causing lots of anxiety not knowing if my car is actually turned off in my garage. My mom drives the car and she's 78 years old, she cannot tell if the car is off when she exits the car. There are occasions where the hybrid car turns on while it's in the garage because my mom was not able to turn the car off. This should be an issue where Toyota issues a recall for the safety of everyone that owns these cars and parks in a garage.
- Arcadia, CA, USA
I just purchased this vehicle one month ago. My son experienced the combination meter going blank while driving. He was unable to see how fast he was going, how much fuel he has, and what gear he is in. The biggest issue is he was unable to turn off the car once he finished his drive. Eventually he did. This apparently is a known issue by Toyota. The have a tsb on the replacement of the combination meter as well as a warranty enhancement program (ztv). From talking with Toyota, the original owner was sent a letter about the problem, but never did anything about it. Whether this was a problem for that owner or not at that time, I am unaware. Either way, this is now a problem for me and according to Toyota, the warranty enhancement has expired and now I am stuck paying for the repair. This is a safety issue and should be addressed and resolved by Toyota.
- Forest Hills, NY, USA
My coolant inverter pump has been recalled, and repaired before I bought the car, and the same issue is happening again after I bought the car less than a year ago. Today, the same check engine light came on, went to advanced auto parts and got the code P0A93 - coolant inverter pump failing.
- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA
My 2008 Toyota Prius brake system is very dangarous, on the hi way speed of 55 I push the brake softly, out of sadden car started acting like a wild horse slipping to the left and right and I am an experienced driver on ice, I lived in M ichigan for a long time, so I survived, and all drivers around me stopped and there was no accident, I am afraid driving that car, I have called Toyota dealer, seems like use to be a recall but they have some hesitions to accept the faulty, dangarous brake system, I am going to complain to the CEO of the company.god help me, I was lucky my family and I survived, my message to the Toyota Prius owners is please double check your VIN number and recalls, and insist to fix this common defect on Toyota Prius, by the dealer with no charges.very very unsfe brake system. And my instrument lights are on and off I can not see the speed and the odometer and the gas indicator, I heard it was a recall but the dealership did not accept it. If I want to fix these faulty defective parts would cost me over 4000 dollars, Toyota is responsible, I beleive should and must fix it for free valuntarly,
- Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Car won't start at times. A code of P0aa6 comes on but then I cannot get a sub code (detailed code) to determine what is wrong. I have taken it to 3 dealers and 3 separate mechanics and the same thing happens. They can't retrieve a sub code to figure out what's wrong. They reset it so I can get home and the same thing happens again and I have to tow it to another place. Can't depend on this car to start.
- South Pasadena, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to immediately stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the braking distance was extended. An audible chime was heard while the ABS, vsc, brakes, and battery warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake actuator and the ABS brake sensors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer (unknown) was notified of the failure. The manufacture was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 70,000.
- Homestead, FL, USA
- Olney, MD, USA