general problems of the 2008 Toyota Prius - part 1

The dashboard of the car fades in and out randomly. Sometimes the dashboard doesn't come on at all. And when it does come on, it appears the mileage may have not increased even though the vehicle has been in use. This means that when the dashboard is off the driver is guessing at speed of the vehicle and at the fuel.

The combination meter is faulty and this makes the dash not show. You don’t know how fast you’re going, how much gas you have, it’s very unsafe and the warranty is supposed to be for 9 years but they will not allow that for everyone even if you have the same problem as someone who was allowed the warranty.

While driving, the gear lever doesn’t stay in drive or reverse and pops back into neutral. It’s not engaging in drive or reverse.

Trunk lock will not unlock or allow opening, back latch malfunctions, when car battery dies or car looses power?• you cannot open the trunk and access emergency tools/equipment and battery to jump car. •?you have to access by climbing through the front of the car if you are able-bodied too. There is no opening handle from the inside of the trunk to be let out, scariest and one of the most important major safety concerns, theres no emergency exit from inside vehicle. Water/snow/ice also falls down into the vehicle when opening hatchback, it slides inward from hood of car or slides back from rear windshield and door, causes water to be pooled up in my battery compartment.

The catalytic converter was stolen off of the car and yes it is available for inspection upon request. I’m not sure of the safety risk, we drove the car one time and the engine light came on. The problem has not been reported to a dealer or independent service center. Once the incident happened one of our neighbors called the police and they came but they didn’t know which apartment we were in and out neighbor told us that it was our catalytic converter and the police waited for a few minutes and then they left. Our neighbor told us when they heard our car starting.

Air bags did not deploy driver's side seat belt adjustment did not go low enough seat belt tightened so tight my pelvic bone could have broke and killed me the reflection of the dash lights on the windshield at night the battery replacement(s) being way too expensive and explosive needs the blind spot mirrors the undercarriage needs to be more secure the cost of amount of public knowledge for muffler needs lifted up a bit easier ways to add covers to seats I guess the whole navy missed coach buzzer a little more than we did lol headlights t center vents air flow speedometer change delay by maybe . 2 seconds not enough charging ports nor were they real none of my hands free electrical safety features worked properly gas guzzler my boyfriend thinks I tried to kill him backseat adult who doesn't listen really just didn't listen or care driver remembers everything braking should always be left up to the driver no too close warnings or nothing security system failed when my car and tires were not left untouched back hatch will still open if keys are locked in the car other drivers hit me and ran needs a more sturdy beam to use for the jack to jack up to change a tire.

There seems to be a problem with the float in the gas tank. Once car gets down to empty, the fuel tank will only allow you to pump in 5 to 6 gallons of gas into the tank. We searched online and apparently a lot of people are having this issue but may not have reported it to NHTSA. Thanks.

There is a rampant �epidemic" with the Toyota Prius of stolen catalytic converters (cc) for all model years. The cc (including oxygen sensor) is made of precious metals that have skyrocketed in price on the �open market�. The Prius cc contains 8% precious metals of rhodium, platinum, and palladium. Thieves can get �in-and-out� within a matter of minutes (1-3) and then re-sell the cc on the open market. Examples of how rampant this (1) August 2020, the charlotte-mecklenburg county police department reported a 357% increase in stolen ccs; (2) yesterday, when filing a police report with the athens-clark county police department on my 2008 Prius cc, detective told my son it was the fifth (5th) report of a stolen catalytic converter that day; (3) my local repair shop told me they have installed at least 5 replacement ccs in the last 2 weeks�far exceeding anything to-date. The cc on my 2008 Prius was stolen on Wednesday, February 10. (I also have a new 2021 Prius that I am deathly afraid to drive anywhere for fear of getting the cc stolen. ) the cost of replacement for a stolen cc can range from about $1,600 (after market) to more than $5,000 (oem-Toyota). My 2008 Prius, it has cost me $1,704 for the replacement (after market) catalytic converter. . Read more...

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.

Randomly my instrument panel goes blank while in motion and can only be retrieved by hard turning the car off when stopped, you loose your speedometer, lights, and all until reset. Other issue with speedometer readings that are consistently off between 5-15mph with no fix, resolutions or repairs.

The back latch of my 2008 Toyota Prius has degraded and no longer functions. I am unable to open the back hatch door. I am concerned that in case of an emergency I will not be able to open my trunk and have access to my spare tire, tools, flares , etc. Because of this mfg. Quality defect, I would like to have Toyota pay for the expense of this repair. My car is unsafe as is.

My wife and I own 2 Prius 2nd generation models since 2014. The issue is with the instrument cluster randomly malfunctioning and not displaying when the vehicle is on and sometimes not being able to turn the vehicle off. It happens while driving, stationary, raining, just randomly. This has happened more than 10 times on my car alone, and my wife can contests to hers as well. What we both are experiencing is one of many situations. While driving the dash lights and interior lights will just not work: I'm unable to see driving speed, if my headlights are on. Even while stationary we experience the same thing. The main reasons for reporting this is because coincidentally it happens to both of us at random times in 2 different vehicles same model and year. From my own research this has been going on for a while with other owners with the same models. I don't know what constitutes as a safety concern for recalls, but I feel this is one. I'm fortunate to not have any accidents so far. But for others who are experiencing this can accidentally start speeding, or become startled because of the sudden loss of dash visuals, and result in harm of other's or property. This just happened again today and I just had to say something since this has been a persistent issue for my wife and I. Thanks for taking the time to read this and please look into this.

Ventilation circuit to select inside to outside air has been cyber-terrorised several times. The system is vital to operate securely, as a disabled constituent, in a great metropolis, that has sewage and garbage vapors everywhere. They access the funtion to open the damper to let outside air in suddenly, exposing my respiratory system to inhale waste. I have respiirated. Garbage air pollution, here in new york so much, it has activated my childhood asthma. Please find a way to seal the ecu's.

Driving through the rocky mountains, my brake actuator failed causing the front caliper to seize. I was unable to brake safely. The vehicle swerved during braking and failed to respond in time to prevent collisions. Had I been in a high-traffic area, injury or fatality would have been likely. This is a known issue and Toyota extended the warranty on this part. Unfortunately, though I am still within the mileage limit, the warranty period expired weeks before the problem was diagnosed. I stress that this is a known issue which presents an imminent danger to drivers, passengers, and the public at large.

The inside to outside air vent actuators are moving in different directions, venting intake manifold gases into the cabin. Synthetic oil smell in the cabin, via the two front vents.

The trunk latch on this model is faulty and dangerous. The material used for the latch is too susceptible to temperature and either become rock hard in the winter cold or melty and gooey in the summer heat. It is almost impossible to get into my trunk through the back latch in the wintertime. I try and maybe if the weather is warm enough and it's just right, I can get into my trunk about 10 percent of the time, if that. Recently, I tried to open my trunk unsuccessfully. It opened enough to not be securely shut, but not enough to pop open. I was then also unable to shut the trunk. What ended up transpiring was a trunk that would register as opening and shutting, without the actual ability to fully open it or shut it. So the car door light must have come on at some point and drained my battery which then left me stranded on a winter day in a cold parking lot away from home. All because Toyota effed up and used a very poor choice in materials for their trunk latches. This is something that they should correct so other people don't have trunk issues that end up causing problems. If someone needs to open their trunk in the winter time to retrieve medicine, like an epi-pen, then they are screwed. If someone needs to open the latch to help remove an animal or child out of a car for whatever reason, they are screwed. If they just simply want to have trunk functionality for hauling groceries, they are screwed. And if they are like me and manage to unfortunately find that sweet spot where the trunk only partially opens, but not fully, and their battery ends up becoming drained and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere, they are also screwed. Toyota made a mistake, and they should do something to fix it. I love my Prius, but this one trunk latch issue is enough to make me reconsider other cars with functional door latches.

Speedometer randomly turns off so you can not see how fast you are going. Dealer says it is a known warranty issue, but I am no longer covered.

Abs actuator, vcs failure. Unsafe braking issues. Toyota dealer is quoting $2500 to fix. Found that a warrant extension was added by Toyota as this is a known issue, although Toyota corp is saying that the warranty extension expired January 1st, 2018. A friend with a 2006 Prius has the same warranty extension expiration (letter attached) and where my car is a 2008 model, Toyota corp advises that the extension expires at the same time and that there is no other options, that they will not assist with this safety problem.

Vehicle repeatedly shifted into other gears while driving at full speed (neutral occurred most often, but also experienced it shifting into park). This also occurred after car had been idling. The shifter did not appear to move on it's own, yet car would shift out of drive on it's own. This occurred on the highway, idling, and on regular surface streets. Anywhere in between 5-75 mph. TSB 0142-11.

More recently, I am concerned about safety and serviceability of my car - Toyota Prius second generation. The car was purchased in the u. S. And imported to russia, VIN jtdkb20u483416497. The car check showed that there are some problems on these cars. I checked this on site Toyota. Com/recalls, and received the following information: 1. Safety recall c0t 2. Safety recall c0u my Prius has not completed campaign status of safety recall. Now my water pump is broken. I sent the request to the Toyota us and russian distributor in September 2016 (I think it is enough) but they don't want to help me. One of my requests has been documented at your national hq under file #1609140180. But now if I ask us distributor about request status they answer is like that: "mr. Plakhotnyuk, we sincerely apologize; once we can provide an answer to you, you will be contacted directly on the next steps to take. Renee t. Toyota customer experience center" the russian distributor answered that my Prius don't covered by safety recall program, and I need to fix my Prius problem by myself. Can you help me with my prblem? I don't know what can I do more to fix my problem? I want to send to you the necessary information: 1. Full name of the registered owner: plakhotnyuk andrey vitalievich. 2. Registered owner's physical address in russia (no apo address): shuvalovskiy prospect, 74-2-35, saint-petersburg, 197082, russia. 3. Registered owner's phone number in russia: +7 (981) 737-02-70 4. Name and address of the Toyota dealer where I would like the recall to be completed: "Toyota center primorskiy" shkolnaya st. 96a, saint-petersburg, 197374, russia. Tel. . Read more...

Trunk/hatch release--rubber piece, has gummed up for the second tim. It was replaced once by a recall--now what?.

The latch handle on the hatchback has disintegrated. It is getting harder to open hatchback.

When driving vehicle in warm weather it slips on its own from drive to neutral. This happens while driving down the road. In order to continue you have to hold the gear lever in d or else it slips back into n which of course causes you to lose speed. This happens if you stop at a stop light and then try to go. Also happens while you are driving down the road. There have been complaints on a Toyota forum (customers) and numerous people are having this problem. Nothing shows up in diagnostic tests. We had our 12v battery replaced because a low charge message came up. Still having same problem. Other posts say it's the shift lever and it is a manufacturer flaw. This fix is another $500. This is clearly a safety issue and a manufacturer issue.

The rear hatch handle cover - which appears to be rubber - started deteriorating rather quickly in the summer heat about 2-3 weeks ago and has turned into a rubbery, sticky black mess. The deteriorating rubber has interfered with the use of the hatch release handle. A couple of days ago, the car would not start and was completely dead. We discovered that the rear hatch had not closed completely and resulted in an interior light remaining on which completely drained the battery. There are many complaints on internet blogs and chat forums from other Prius owners having the same problem. I believe this could easily result in a safety issue due to the inability of the rear hatch to close properly and potentially opening during operation of the vehicle. My local Toyota dealer charged me $208 to repair/replace the latch. In my opinion, this appears to be a vehicle defect which should require a recall or a warranty extension from Toyota and a refund of any monies paid by Prius owners to fix the problem.

The black rubber is disintegrating and falling off the outside trunk latch, making it difficult to open the hatchback to get to the spare tire or battery. This is also happening to my neighbor, who parks right next to me and also has a 2008 Prius.

There is a glass area below the lip of the hatchback, that exploded when shutting the hatchback. The glass was not hit by any object inside or outside the car. Glass just exploded.

2008 Prius will not shift into gear. The shift gears pop back into 'neutral' position and will not stay in 'drive' or 'reverse' making it impossible to drive.

The car moves from drive to neutral mode. I put the car in "d" and it suddenly moved back to "n". Keep the lever held on "d" and you can drive, otherwise it switches back to "n". Happened 3 to 4 times today. Very scared if this happens when driving on the freeway or getting started at a traffic light as the car behind may not have enough space or indication of the vehicle slowing down because of loss of accelerator.

I called Toyota about the stalling software recall and my car is not on the list and needs to be added to it. My car does the same thing as the others reported. When I hit a bump on any street or freeway the engine flutters and the slippery when wet light comes on and it hard excellorates forward even when my foot is on the brake and there's really no stopping it.

Rubber like material that made the hatchback latch has melted to the plastic/metal. Difficulty opening. On some occasions, it will not open. Will not open in extreme heat or cold weather. All doors should function properly. Dealership will not replace even though it is obviously a problem.

Vehicle starts, runs for limited time -2-3 mins. Shuts off vehicle starts no electrical visibility on dash. . Blank. Vehicle starts with electrical visibility, runs for 3-5 miles, looses electrical visibility. Vehicle starts with electrical visibility runs for 3-4 miles . Vehicle stops, shuts off in traffic. Vehicle will not start. Requires jump start,,. And runs enough to take car to dealer. Vehicle will not start, requires jump start and will not hold charge. Requires towing to dealer.

The liftgate glass release switch cover has turned into a black blob and makes it impossible to get into the trunk to access the spare tire and any safety equipment on board. This problem has been reported by many 2007-2008 Prius owners.

The black part on the "trunk" which you have to touch to open the hatchback, started melting the first summer after we bought the Prius. Every summer since it drips black rubber, which smears all over your hand every time you open the door. In the winter, it doesn't melt, but the trunk is extremely difficult to open, which could create a risk of death, if passengers were trapped inside a burning car after a collision. From what I read on the internet, Toyota is denying this is a manufacuring defect, claiming that people are using the wrong products to clean their cars. Which is illogical, and wholly inaccurate in this case, since my husband certainly never washed the car for the first several years he had it, until I got tired of a dirty car and had it detailed. It was melting long before that. Toyota needs to accept responsibility for their mistake, and fix it.

The latch handle on the hatchback has "melted" for lack of a better word. The handle has become gooey and leaves a black residue on my fingers every time I open the hatchback. Because of this problem, the handle is harder to use, making it more trying to open the trunk.

The rear hatch release button/cover has disintegrated into a mush of black gooey material that turns my hands black. I have read that many other people have had this issue but that there has not yet been a recall. It doesn't seem reasonable that a 6 year old car should have this happening to many people. Clearly it was a defective part to begin with.