Electrical System Problems of Toyota Prius - part 2

The light up display for the odometer, fuel gauge, and speedometer does not always light up. When it is not lit, the cruise control and any warning and informative alarms/lights also do not work. This is a well-known issue among owners of these cars, related to the capacitors on the circuit board for the display being defective, and there is extensive documentation of it online. It may also have had a technical service bulletin released for the issue, but I'm not entirely sure. The light goes out intermittently and is not always consistently out. I did mention it to the service personnel when I took it in to get recalls repaired recently, and they didn't seem surprised or unaware of the issue. I did not ask them to diagnose or fix it, as I know I can get it done for a better deal elsewhere.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Prius 🔎.

The following describes a near total failure of the brake system that accompanies and is triggered by routine aging of the battery. I believe this applies to multiple model years and editions of the Prius, based on reports by other owners on owners' discussion groups. I believe this should have the highest severity level. Here is what happens: an alarm is sounded, several warning lights abs, vcs appear, and soon after that, the front brakes stop working. The rear brakes then prove ineffective and lock up. The happens with high frequency under any of the following conditions: (a) as the battery approaches 3yrs age, (b) it is excessively cold outside. (c) there is a higher than typical load on the 12v system from any of a variety of reasons. After installing a fresh new 12v battery, the above happens with much less frequency. There no warning on the dashboard to indicate that the condition of the 12v battery is not safe for operation of the vehicle. It seems clear that the route cause is that the brake control unit is configured within inadequate tolerance for the normal aging of the 12v battery, compounded by the absence of warning on the dash. This probably traces back to a poorly chosen ldo voltage regulator in the design of the brake control unit. Recommendation: review the electrical designs for the brake control unit, all model years, replace as needed and update the dash board computer to provide warning when the battery condition is not sufficient for safe operation of the vehicle. I further recommend that this be done with all due haste, as the condition is quite dangerous. Qualifications: phd chemical physics and electrical engineer.

In 11/2024, I started experiencing intermittent noises coming from the engine compartment of my 2011 Toyota Prius. The initial sound resembled the buzzing noise generated when first starting the vehicle. Then the noise started to persist for extended periods after the vehicle was turned off. It would oscillate between buzzing for approximately 10 seconds & remaining dormant for about 1 minute, repeating this cycle. The duration of these cycles could extend for up to 20 minutes. Concurrently, I experienced several instances where the brake pedal would abruptly become stiff & difficult to press. Notably, no warning lights were illuminated on the dashboard. Recognizing these symptoms as unusual, I conducted online research and discovered that the issue could potentially stem from a malfunction in the “brake booster pump and assembly. ” given the potential for a loss of braking power and the risk of personal/public safety, I scheduled a diagnostic inspection at Toyota of poway, poway, CA, on 12/18/2024. It confirmed the presence of a problem with the brake booster pump and associated components. In light of this diagnosis, I made the decision to refrain from driving the vehicle until the repairs were completed. The repair costs amounted to $3,475. 47. I found I had received a notification from Toyota’s customer support program, designated as “customer support program notification-zjb. ” this notification explicitly acknowledged this defect & provided a repair coverage policy that stipulated a coverage policy of which I’m no longer entitled to. Despite not meeting the eligibility criteria for the repair coverage program, I am deeply troubled by the fact that this recognized defect persists in vehicles currently on the road, such as mine, without any corresponding recall action and subsequent repair costs covered by Toyota. Fortunately, I was spared from any accidents as a direct consequence of this issue. Many similar complaints here support this dangerous issue!.

See all problems of the 2011 Toyota Prius 🔎.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the instrument panel went blank. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become a permanent failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Car was diagnosed at a Toyota dealership with a brake booster issue reading code 20te07 after my vehicles brakes suddenly would not work and the car continued to jolt forward. The brakes wouldn’t stop the car. According to Toyota, my vehicle is three months outside of the warranty period but under the covered mileage so we are left to repair this defect ourselves. This was a very dangerous situation and could have cost us and our children our lives instead of just the $4800 repair cost. This has happened to both of our Prius’s so this is not a rare issue. Toyota needs to have a plan for these parts failing suddenly and they should all be recalled for safety in my opinion. The experience was very scary and we had zero control over the vehicle when the brakes suddenly went out. Where do I join the class action lawsuit?.

See all problems of the 2014 Toyota Prius 🔎.

I was driving on the highway during rush hour when a loud beeping noice began. My 15 year old cousin was in the passenger seat and began to check for the source of the beeping. I was driving 55mph on a busy highway with no safe shoulder stop. As I was preparing for the exit, the brakes suddenly became dysfunctional. The pedal was extremely hard to press down and I found myself unable to slow down the car in enough time to avoid hitting upcoming traffic. I found myself in an urgent, life threatening situation and needed to pull over into the emergency lane located before the exit. I could not just consider my safety, but that of other drivers and my 15 year old passenger. She is traumatized. I was able to get the car to stop with my entire weight on the pedal. Once stopped, I scrambled to find the reason for the sudden brake problem, checking if anything rolled under my foot, if the floor mat was loose, if the gear shift was wrong, even checked if I accidentally hit the emergency brake. Nothing was out of place. No new dash lights. I looked in the manual. I had no information. I went to jiffy lube and they performed a diagnostic test and informed me they are unable see all the codes with hybrids because Toyota’s computer can only see just in August I went to Toyota for my oil change, nothing was said about the brakes needing to be fixed and how repairing them now would prevent the failure of the accumulator pump system. If I had known paying $400-$500 for the brakes then would prevent having to pay $3000 to replace a pump. I would have made that sacrifice and went outside of my budget. This is paramount information that should be disclosed to all Toyota customers that take their car in for care and pay. After further research, I strongly believe Toyota employees purposely withhold information from their customers not informing consumers about avoiding pump failure and the need repair their brakes and is complicit in any incident caused by pump failure may cause.

The low-beam headlamps on thousands of 2011 Toyota Priuses were burning out very prematurely (a matter of weeks, not months). Toyota corporate said they created a customer support program to replace the headlight wiring harness free of charge, but this program ended in 2019. I believe that Toyota should be compelled to issue a recall to replace the wiring harnesses on all 2011 Toyota Priuses, because working headlights are a critical component of a safely traveling vehicle. The cost of replacing the wiring harness is more than $700, a real dent in a working family's budget. For now, we are replacing the burned-out bulbs. However, we believe a recall initiated by NHTSA is warranted in this case.

I was driving the vehicle around 55 mph when a check hybrid system warning popped up. About 30 seconds later the vehicle went from being in drive to b (brake mode) and the vehicle began to slow at a rapid pace with no warning. Could potentially cause an accident as this occurred with very little warning.

The abs pump( accumulator and booster) are regularly failing on all Toyota Prius( 2010-2015). When the abs pump starts to fail, the warning lights for traction control, brake and abs come on. These lights come on at all speeds and its very hard to bring the vehicle to a complete stop when this happens. The brakes completely stop working and the brakes become rock solid. The brakes become so hard that they can’t be possibly be depressed to stop in time. I nearly missed getting killed from this as I am out of country and Toyota is refusing to fix it since its not a recall and I am in canada. Toyota is asking $3500 in parts and $1500 in labor to repair. I can not afford it and this issue is on all Prius from 2010-2015. This is a major safety hazard and can cause serious injury and damage. Toyota is refusing to repair it since they believe the cars are out of warranty. However Toyota has been notified about this safety hazard arising on all Prius(2010-2015) but decline to respond or take action. I urge NHTSA to take action and get this resolved as the abs brakes failing on the Prius can be really dangerous and can cause life threatening accidents.

See all problems of the 2010 Toyota Prius 🔎.

About 3 years ago we started getting the red triangle of death with 2 amber lights on display the vsc and the round circle with the exclamation point in the center. This could happen in 500 miles or it could happen tomorrow. When this happens I loose all exceleration and air conditioning and a orange car emblem with an exclamation point in it on the display screen. Once safely off road press power button off and back on and everything is back to normal except red triangle and car on display screen car is then drivable again. Using a code reader to check codes no codes appear but still have red triangle. Leaving car set for a period of time and restarting car and red triangle is extinguished. Have to drive in right lane on freeway in case it wants to quit. The most recent time was last week had driven it about 80 miles with a stop about halfway for 1 hour and stopped for a movie came back got in car started it and within 1000 feet got the red triangle, was in left turning lane with red light, shut off and restarted and was able to drive again as in all other times, took it to a neighbor who had a code reader(about 9pm) and no codes found, he reset it and red triangle extinguished. This type of happening is very unnerving to say the least, dont know when or where it will lay down with us. Don't know if anyone else has had similar issues with their Prius ours has 213,000+ miles on it. Original hybrid battery it was checked in 2015 and some cells replaced by a shop certified to replace cells in this battery. Thank you.

This NHTSA web site adivses owners to "file an online complaint" if ". . . The manufacturer has failed to remedy the recall in a timely manner. . . " it is NHTSA #24v274 and has been active for 11 weeks without the manufacturer's remedy. There is no public estimate of a date for this recall to be addressed, except for a vague "third quarter of 2024" which implies an additional 11 weeks for any remedy to be provided. I think that 22 weeks is not a remedy in a "timely manner. ".

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Passenger side low beam headlamp has continued to need to be replaced. I was not made aware of a "customer service protection program" on this and when I contacted Toyota they said it was too late for the repair, electrical harness, to be covered by their extended warranty. I never received information regarding the extended warranty. They stated they sent it to the correct address. But just because you mail something doesn't always mean it is delivered to that address. Also, I had my car serviced many times at Toyota dealerships and they never informed me of this extended warranty. If I had been made aware of the extended warranty I would've had it repaired in a timely manner. I have spoken to two representatives of Toyota and they stated they could not help me. I'm wondering why this is not considered a recall issue as it does affect the safety of driving a vehicle and the lights stop working. This may not be the right place to ask this question but I'm hoping someone in your organization can help me.

While my daughter was driving brake pedal faded and rear brakes locked up causing her to lose initial control of car . Steering felt tight . Many warning lights , check hybrid system , brake lights , steering warning lights , along with abs lights came on . Took car to Toyota dealer to diagnose it needs brake booster and master cylinder module . Service consultant said known issue with TSB but it had expired . Many , many complaints of this same incident of Toyota and Prius forums .

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius 🔎.

I was driving and suddenly the car started beeping and the brake, e-brake, abs, and traction control lights came on. As soon as I found an opportunity I tried to brake but the car would not stop and the brake pedal became really hard. I had swerve to avoid hitting cars in front of me. It was the scariest moment of my life. I shifted the car from d to b to use the engine braking. I finally was able to slow down enough to turn right on a side street and pushed on the brake pedal with all my strength and it finally came to a stop. I was lucky I didn't have a collision or strike a pedestrian, that I also drive defensively and leave enough space in front of me, and that I was on a surface street and not on a freeway which I frequently use because if I was I would have surely crashed. This is not right. Brakes should not suddenly fail! under any circumstances. It was confirmed by a mechanic that it's the brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies had failed and had the following codes c1252, c1253, and c1256 were found. The same issue and codes reported in TSB pol18-03.

See all problems of the 2013 Toyota Prius 🔎.

While driving on the highway, abs, "brake"/e-brake, traction control lights lit up all at the same time out of the blue. No prior engine lights/codes before this incident. During that trip, brakes felt more difficult to press, loss all brake regeneration for the hybrid battery but was still about to brake for that entire 100 miles trip. As of now, the car is still able to brake but it looks like it's just primarily using the mechanical brakes all the time now. It still has that different brake feel compared to when before all those engine lights went on. Regenerative braking is no longer working. Brought the car to the shop at was given the error codes c1391 and c2315.

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 to 10 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure persisted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the battery on two occasions, but the failure reoccurred. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 173,699.

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v274000 (electrical system, latches/locks/linkages) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota Prius 🔎.

While driving vehicle on the freeway it stated braking power low, stop in a safe place, antilock brake system malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, lane departure alert malfunction. I was almost in a major scary accident.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota Prius 🔎.

See all over the internet that 2010 Prius have a recall for inverter. I called the dealer they said no recall with my VIN. I was told that a new inver is almost $5000 dollars. I need help I have bought 3 Toyota already. Please help me with good will or warrenty the inverter like you have so many other people with 2010 Prius. If not I willand my family will never buy a Toyota again. Please call or email me 480 236 7841 josephblakehefner@gmail. Com the Prius died when driving and we almost got in a major accident because it stalled with no warning.

I was idling at a parking space and went to turn off my car. The vehicle surged forward and the brake sign came on. I pushed my brake to the floor and nothing happened. I was moving toward a brick wall so I put in in reverse and the car surged backwards. The brake sign came on and I pushed the brake to the floor and again nothing happened and I ended up hitting the car behind me. I immediately took my car to the dealership where they kept it for 3 days and said they could find nothing wrong and it was safe to drive. I just got it back from having the body work done and am afraid to drive it as this might happen again or worse. I am reporting it to let you know and to see if this has occurred and been reported as happening in this make and model previously. I also have 2 witnesses to what happened.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Total malfunction at highway speeds. Very unsafe, the car completely shut off. This may have resulted in a highway fatality due to collision as the vehicle was in the fast lane. Ntsa please do your due diligence and investigate the faulty, defective hybrid system as I believe the faulty inverter recall is much more larger than the original recall.

Dc DC inverter , I did contact with Toyota corporate but they said my VIN it is not in recall, I need help please.

My 2010 Toyota Prius hatchback suddenly had 4 or 5 warning lights appear on the dashboard and my brakes failed to function properly. It felt like the power brakes was turned off ! although I did get the vehicle stopped, it surely was a dangerous situation. I understand that Toyota knows about this problem, and have read that it was warranted if this happened before 150,000 miles. My Prius has approx 167,000 miles right now and to replace the brake actuator, the cost will be $ 3 - 5 thousand dollars…absurd amount in my opinion. Since this critical feature (brakes) has a long known history of being faulty on Toyota vehicles it should be warranted for at least 25 years and at least 300k ! my Prius is “unsafe to drive” and is nothing more than a paperweight…I repeat, Toyota knows, and has known about this defective brake actuator problem for years and years!!! please lean on Toyota to up the warranty of this faulty brake problem for the many, many Toyota owners who have purchased the Toyota product and and not screwing the public like they are doing now !.

On Saturday February 17, while shifting to reverse in a back alley to back up slowly, the car engine suddenly and loudly revved and shot backwards at accelerating speed. I slammed on brakes which did not respond at all, thus forcing me to attempt to shift gears which also failed to stop the acceleration. Car only stopped because it went up a curb and hit the corner of a parked vehicle in a neighbors driveway. If I had been on busier street and not a back alley this could have resulted in numerous vehicle collisions and unimagined fatalities. Car is being towed on 2-19-2024 to advanced collision repair on 4511 central Ave, columbia heights, for diagnostic assessment. There were no warning lamps, messages or other indicators prior to this terrifying lack of vehicle control . This was first episode since purchasing car approx one year ago. Incident was captured on neighbor’s home camera. Other neighbor heard the revving and ran out due to spontaneously loud revving of an engine.

Took vehicle for state inspection on 2/13/2024, failed inspection because of brake warning lights. Slip indicator, electronically controlled brake warning light, brake warning light, anti-lock brake system, and low tire pressure lights are all on. I have looked into it, and it seems the brake actuator/booster used to be under warranty, however since this is a 2013 in 2024 with almost 210k miles on it, it no longer qualifies for the original recall.

I was dropping my daughter off at school and the car completely shut down on me and turned off in the middle of an intersection. I have just had brakes and oil changed but ever since I got the car codes keep popping up and when checked it’s all good. Front lights keep glitching and even with new brakes there is still a bad sound. My dash computer thing keeps going in and out. It happens a lot more when it rains and makes a sizzling sound I’m afraid to drive it in the rain. I’m besides myself how the car turned off on me and my child we couldn’t move I could accelerate and we almost got hit then another light came on and I couldn’t even turn my wheel. Very dangerous.

The hybrid system was shut down while driving. The symptoms are like the description in this recall (NHTSA campaign number: 18v684000). However, my VIN is not on the recall list.

Abs brake warning light on-stays on-this just happened within last 2 weeks. Not sure on safety measures but unsure if I keep driving it the brakes will just give out. The problem has been confirmed and seen by tire max but no diagnostic tests were ran. The just saw the light was on. No one has inspected the vehicle component by the manufacturer, police, or insurance company. No warning lamps prior to the problem but the abc warning light stays on while cranked and it first appeared about 2 weeks ago. I do want to add that a similiar recall or warranty had been put out by Toyota on sept 4th 2020-(t-sb-0089-20) for 2012-2014 Prius v & c stating: "some 2012-2014 model year Prius v hybrid vehicles may exhibit a condition where the brake, abs, and/or trac warning lights are on and/or a check vsc message displays. Diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) c1391, c1252, c1256, c1253 may be stored. This condition may be caused by a small internal brake fluid leak inside the brake booster assembly with master cylinder. The warranty was for Prius v or c but my Prius(no v or c) has been affected with the same issue but Toyota will not honor this warranty or recall due to the problem not showing as specific to my VIN#. So I am reporting this problem so it can be submitted that there is a similar problem with my Prius as well as the Prius v or c so others could submit their problem as well. I cannot afford to fix this myself. I need Toyota to back up their cars.

Hello. My 2008 Toyota Prius had a malfunction with the "combination meter" which caused the vehicle dashboard to turn off completely, and we could not turn off the engine at times when stopped and parked. The dealer fixed the problem at a cost of $1580, and both the dealer and Toyota corporate through their brand engagement advocate acknowledged a long term problem with the combination meter. They had extended the warranty coverage for owners for this specific problem for about 10 years but not for owners like me with a vehicle 15 years old. I believe Toyota should cover and reimburse owners for this problem, which is potentially dangerous, no matter the age of the vehicle, especially for long term, loyal owners. There are many of these vehicles still on the road. Thank you. Mike norcio mpnorcio@gmail. Com 301 873 7069.

Brake system failure. Traction control light, brake light, abs light, and brake system warning light all lit up on dash. The regenerative braking is no longer working or charging battery. Obvious loss of stopping power. Does not feel safe to drive at all. Toyota wants $3,000-$4,000 for the repair. Toyota should be held liable for these failures causing crashes and potential fatalities. This should already be a recall.

Check hybrid system. Stop the vehicle in a safe place. About 90,000 miles 2013 Prius bought brand new and regular all dealer maintenance completed. Lost power on the road and very slow pickup. Not drivable and very unsafe car. Thanks.

Hi I want submit issues with the master cylinder and abs pump assy I have 2 vehicles same model with average same mileage and both had issues with this system if I drove any distance below 25 mph in a constant time the dash lights comes on traction control, abs light, brake light , and the brake pedal goes low and barely brakes make this situation dangerous when I stop if you try turn it off the engine and on again lights stay there but if I reset the codes the pump works again for some while and then again when you don’t expected lose pressure and I am really afraid for my safety and my family, and I am not the only one with this problem is too many Prius owners who have the issues I went from dealer and they advice $3000 dlls fix situation who motivate people to lose money for $1200 in parts and $1800 dlls in labor for something they can resolve it because in reality is an manufactured defect.

Combination meter often does not turn on when turning the car on. This means you cannot see a speedometer, any warning lights, fuel tank levels, or mileage. Also the trunk gets locked and is unable to open. Sometimes the car will not turn off. This has been happening on and off for over a year but has gotten increasingly worse. There are no warning signs. This can happen any time you turn on the car but might not always happen. It can also prevent you from turning off the car. When searching online, it seems this is a common problem with high mileage Priuses between 2005-2009 and so Toyota extended a warranty on it but did not tell all of the owners, most likely to get out of a recall.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Prius 🔎.

I had lost functionality for some buttons on the steering wheel that didn't directly impact safety. On replacing the clockspring mechanism inside the whweel I decided to inspect the old unit. Four of the lines in the flex cable are impacted by corrosion, three have already failed. The fourth line is one of the airbag's electrical lines. I'm filing an issue report because the airbag would be next impacted by this failure and I believe there's a fair chance the corroded line could fail during the vehicle's attempt to fire the airbag on the wheel.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Brake booster and brake booster pump assembly are faulty and failing. Brakes are still functioning, but will ultimately fail without warning, from what I have read. This is highly dangerous for myself and other motorists. I was driving last week and tried coming to a stop at an intersection. I pushed the brake pedal and the car hesitated and then jumped/lurched forward before coming to a complete stop. The brake booster is sounding every 30 to 45 seconds to try and build back the pressure it is losing. Toyota offered a "customer support program" for these parts, as there's been numerous premature failures. Unfortunately, my vehicle no longer fits within the parameters of the support program (see attached). From what I've read though, Toyota has been negligent with replacing the brake booster under the support program. I have called Toyota corporate and they have offered no reprieve and won't stand behind this faulty part. Toyota needs to be forced to recall these 3rd gen Priuses and ordered to replace the breaking system. Expecting customers to shell out between $2-3k to have the ability to safely break/stop their vehicle is ridiculous, especially when Toyota is more than aware of this issue. I was quoted $2600 over the phone to remedy the issue from an independent hybrid shop. I've owned 7 Toyota's and two have been Priuses. This 2011 is by far one of their worst to roll off the assembly line with numerous reports of breaking problems, oil consumption issues, and head gasket failures. They need to stand behind their product(s), especially to brand loyal customers. Read more complaints about the breaking system: https://m. Carcomplaints. Com/Toyota/prius/2011/brakes/service_brakes. Shtml?fbclid=iwar1j7lj3haj3r1hy7lnmd4ervyxmlmhby_i98kpefgqyhyhft8gnyi1ptck.