general problems of the 2003 Toyota Prius

For no apparent reason when driving, the emergency brake will engage, without pressing the e brake pedal. Also, intermittent once car is parked and doors locked, alarm will just start going off for nonreason.

My 2003 Prius (first gen, from japan), has been thru a few recalls - 1 was to seal the battery better early on (04ish), then it was given new pinion shaft nuts. Latest issue has been an issue all along, just not diagnosed/fixed til now. Sometimes the 'check engine' light would come on, with the car/! /triangle graphic on touch screen. This time it didn't go away. Long story short, it was the electric water pump that needed to be replaced. Dealer said it wasn't cycling properly, leaking antifreeze; also a big hybrid battery issue was showing up, but they suspected when fixing water pump it might clear up battery issue. Did research, found this has been a big issue for a lot of Prius owners. Saw the consumer reports & this story, from a Toyota news release. The following is exactly what I've experienced, & my car was part of the pinion shaft nuts/steering column recall, but not water pump recall!: "Toyota is recalling 670,000 of their popular Prius hybrids in the us to correct two safety issues. They say all of the vehicles will be inspected to see if a part in the steering shaft needs to be replaced due to an issue that could cause excessive wear. 350,000 of these same Prius vehicles (from 2001-2010 in japan ) are also being recalled to replace the electric water pump for the hybrid system. Toyota says the pump could fail and cause the hybrid system to stop running. They said its dealers will inspect & replace any defects free of charge. Recall notices will go to owners in Dec. 2012. About 2. 77m vehicles worldwide are affected. "Toyota did not pay for my repair, $669; that was with a 15% off coupon! I am keeping my receipt. Toyota needs to include my VIN in the next batch of recalls for this defective water pump, which has been defective since day 1, but a slow diagnosis, that may have affected the overall function of the hybrid system battery permanently. No fun!.

I took my car in a week before this incident because I needed service and was going on a trip to san diego with my 5 yr old daughter. Keyes Toyota in van nuys did everything to it and replaced my front brakes and inspected everything including the other brakes. . . So yesterday, im on the freeway and suddenly a piercing, long beep happens and 2 warning lights come on. " brake and abs" . . . I'm thinking " what just happened! I just had my car made perfect the other day!!?? . . And then, not two minutes after those warning lights came on, my brakes completely failed!! pedal to the floor nothing! :-( . . . I was soooooo scared. . . . I put my hazards on and crept over to find a shoulder . . . . I weaved over without causing an accident thank god so I get to the shoulder thankfully but it's a short shoulder. . . And im praying as I roll to a stop . . I've been back and forth with the dealership and Toyota corporate these past 24 hours because I should not have to pay over $2000 for something that is the manufacturers fault!!. . . I could have died or killed someone. . . What if my daughter was in the car and I was at an intersection slowing for a red light!!?? OH my god!. . . Something has to be done. . . I'm fully ready to sue Toyota. . . Go to the news outlets. . . Los angeles times. . . Anyone who will make this public. . . No one should die because they are trying to help the environment. . . . And no one should die because a corporation won't own up! . . I'm putting a stop order on the repair tomorrow morning. . . . I'm hoping you can help me and others who could potentially be fatally injured (or their children) from an electrical system that just fails! both the dealership and corporate just said " well, that particular part only has a 3 yr warranty or 36,000 miles and so after that it's the owners responsibility. Really? it's my responsibility if your crazy faulty car kills me or my child? nuts!.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Prius. While the contact was driving 5 mph out of a parking lot the vehicle suddenly stopped accelerating after the vehicle traveled over a patch of ice. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealership and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 150,000. Updated 03/30/10. Updated 09/28/10.

Warning light comes on and manual says do not operate vehicle, park immediately. This happened on my 2003 Toyota Prius in December. Fortunately the dealer was open and when reported said it was not a big deal, the care was drivable and should be brought in for service. In service found master warning light codes p0300, 301, 302, 303, 304, -3191, p33101, c1202 then noted "found warranty enhancement to clean throttle body (eg9016. 5 01. 99). Was never notified of this issue and was parked in dangerous location while attempting to ascertain what steps to take in light of the "do not operate vehicle" warning in the manual. Same situation arose in our 2002 Prius this date and awaiting results of dealer's analysis (although when the light went out they said we could just as easily cancel the service appointment). In both cases service departments seemed familiar with problem (and my service advisor referred to it as a "silent recall". ).

2003 Toyota Prius -- in cold weather the cars computer does not act properly and will shut down the engine.

2003 Toyota Prius with engine problems. Consumer states that the triangle and engine lights would illuminate upon starting the vehicle. Mechanic stated that there was oil in the air intake and on the sensors. The consumer stated twice while his wife was driving, the vehicle shut off, which left her driving with just the electric motor.

Toyota Prius hybrid 1. Tire blow out with the right psi and clear beautiful day. Dealer will not warranty or change tire. 2. The car stop and started running only on electrical service. Call Toyota dealer and they ask me to start the car three times and it will go away. I did it and drove to the dealer they explained to me that the humidity was causing the problem. This had happen about four times and every time the humidity was high but this is and inconvenience not just to me but my wife. One of this days the easy fixing will not work them what?.