Ignition problems of the 2005 Toyota Prius

Three problems related to ignition have been reported for the 2005 Toyota Prius. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Toyota Prius based on all problems reported for the 2005 Prius.

1 Ignition problem

Failure Date: 05/26/2011

I rolled slowly (<1 mph) uphill to the parking slot (l. A. Code, 2%grade down away from buildings) up to the parking cement stop, and was ready to shut it down. The engine started to race, about to go over the cement stop when I put my foot on the brake. The car continued over the cement stop. I pushed harder on the brake and the car started to drive over the sidewalk. Then the car drove through the plate glass of the studio and then came to a stop inside. I put the car into neutral and tried to turn the car 'off'. The car's engine was still on after several tries to turn it off and I had my foot off the brake and on the floor. Then the car took a turn to the left and drove through the wall (my foot was still on the floor). I got out of the car without taking it out of neutral and it was still "on". I took the key with me to the middle of the room (I used the keyless ignition) so the car should have "chimed" because; the passenger side door was open, I was out of the car, and the car was still left "on". However, the car did not chime (indicating it did not detect I was 12 feet away). My teacher came up to the shattered glass window of the studio at the same time the security officer for the Mini mall a few minutes after I got out of the car. I was looking for my insurance card in my purse when the three of us witnessed the car "rev" again and the wall began to shatter with plaster and wooden studs falling around the car with no one driving (the car was in neutral). Because of the movement of the car, without a driver and in the wall, the security guard tried to get people out of the building. The towing company could not 'pull' the vehicle out of the wall with their tow truck for more then 20 minutes so, I gave my car key to the police officer and he gave it to the towing company. The man from the towing company drove the car out of the wall and out of the studio.

2 Ignition problem

Failure Date: 12/17/2009

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated the vehicle does not go into ready mode to start the engine. This has happen twice and all the the symbols illuminate on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they cannot duplicate the failure. The manufacturer had not been called. The failure mileage was 30,000.

3 Ignition problem

Failure Date: 05/07/2005

Car was being driven on multi-lane city arterial in moderate traffic. To try to quickly avoid an obstructing vehicle ahead, driver rapidly depressed accelerator pedal to fullest extent while steering. Car then immediately, and without warning, lost all engine power and rolled to a stop. Two general warning lights on dashboard illuminated. Repeatedly depressing accelerator pedal produced no motion or other result. After engaging emergency flashers, only way to regain engine power was to shut off ignition, which required engaging parking circuit and depressing power on/off button, then after shutdown procedure was complete, again pressing power on/off button and waiting for hybrid system to energize. Warning lights again came on but car now responded to accelerator and driver was able to move to parking lane. This was the third time in the eight months of owning this new car that such a sudden shutdown occurred. After the first two times in late November-early December 2004, car had been taken to dealer for service and was returned to owners reported as fixed by replacing faulty accelerator sensor.




Safety Ratings of Prius Cars
Fuel Economy of Prius Vehicles
Prius Service Bulletins
Prius Safety Recalls
Prius Defect Investigations