Software Problems of Toyota Prius - part 2

My 2005 Toyota Prius has a problem with the headlights going out,it started in December 2009 and as of today they go out about every 5-10 minutes . . . I called Toyotas customer service and they implied there was no wide spread problem with the headlights on the 2005 Prius . . . I have an associated press article in front of me that says (the Prius is a highly computerized car and has had many problems in the past . . . In 2005 Toyota repaired 75,000 Prius that had a software problem that caused the car to stall and the Prius also has had problems with the headlights going out since 2001 ) is there a fix that they would not tell me about . . . Thanks.

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My 2010 Prius stalled in traffic cutting off all power including emergency flashers. The vehicle would not restart for 8 minutes. I immediately took car to the dealer and reported my problem. I was told it was a software glitch which was immediately corrected.

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2010 Toyota Prius software defect in the engine control system. Consumer states while reversing before the start up operation is complete the brakes grab. The consumer parked facing an upslope at the dealer to get his license plate installed. To leave, the consumer put his foot on the brake and pressed the power button. As the dashboard started to light up, he shifted into reverse, released the parking brake and the foot brake and started to ease down the ramp. As the consumer applied the foot brake, the brakes grabbed badly. The consumer released and re-applied them, and again they grabbed. The grabbing was severe enough that the vehicle was not safe to drive and the consumer just stopped. The consumer believed the behavior indicated a defect in the software that controlled the start-up sequence. The control computer should not allow the vehicle to be shifted into drive or reverse until the power-on operations have been fully completed.

Interior instrument failure. Temperature app. 23 deg. F. Car started normally mfd came up fine. Main dash instruments failed to come on. No speedometer, gearshift indicator, fuel gauge, or odometer. All exterior lighting worked fine. Vehicle shifted into reverse and drove normally for about 15-20 min. When I parked and tried to turn off the car by pressing the power button the vehicle failed to shut down. Contacted Toyota USA and was informed that they rely on their dealerships for tech support. Went through manual drivetrain shutdown by pressing and holding the power button. Shutting down all accessories to limit accessory battery. Could not lock vehicle. Approximately 30 minutes later went out to the car and vehicle powered up as though nothing had happened. I believe that the temperature was the issue and there is some software issue that is not in the owners manual. Anytime you cannot turn off a vehicle there is a risk for an accident and or injury from an unoccupied vehicle. The dealership service dept. Theorized that the accessory battery may be low. But this would result in the car not bringing the main battery online. Toyota should address this issue .

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2004 Prius, 84,00 miles. Intermittent headlight failure, both right and left. Headlight(s) would go out while driving at night. Dealer said it was hid computer and the repair bill is $1140!!!! researching on internet reveals this is a common problem. It is definitely safety relayed and I feel Toyota should make the repair at no charge. I'm not excited about replacing the computer not only because of the cost, but can I expect the problem to repeat in a few years?.

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While driving Prius on major highway in dfw metroplex during evening rush hour the warning light came on, then a couple seconds later, entire dash board information screen and all warning lights flashed. Car engine continued to run, and would not turn off, but no power was available to steering or brakes. This problem occurred at the apex of a bridge. However, was able to coast the car into the median between the merge ramp of the major highway and the interstate. Very dangerous situation if it had occurred before apex of the bridge. )called the dealership, who in turn, called a tow truck. Had to basically play with power button, brake, and gear shift to get it into neutral so the car could be loaded onto the tow truck. Took dealer three days to diagnose the problem. It was blamed on a short in auxiliary battery. However, it seemed to be working okay. This was the third time occurrence such as this happened to this car, as well as a non-functioning driver information screen, that if the car was hot inside then information screen worked, if no, then the screen stated no connection to air conditioning , which occurred since first time the shut down happened. Thought this problem was supposed to be fixed with the software upgrade that they installed after the last occurrence. It appeared that this defect happened every 18,000 miles . Now there is 79,000 miles on the car.

Vehicle does not achieve advertised fuel consumption performance. I have complained about this since the first service visit. Today a factory technician got unachievable results suggesting that our real world experience after 29,000 miles with the vehicle is normal. He claimed to have gotten 66. 984 mpg after a 42. 2 miles of 55 mph highway and "in town" driving, noting only that an out of fuel fault had never been cleared.

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2004 Toyota Prius: display screen has stopped working. No screen capability or accessory buttons operate. Dealer has ordered a 'crossover' unit, but it has not arrived to date (almost three weeks). New unit costs over $2000. Vehicle was not involved in any incident. Dealer believes it is a software problem.

We have two 2005 Toyota Priuses which have exhibited identical stalling and shifting problems. The hybrid system will stall or not operate and will not allow us to shift the vehicle into gear periodically. One Toyota dealer says we need to replace the transaxle, and another was not sure and said there best "guess" was to refresh the ecu and hybrid control module software , however after doing extensive research online believe it to be a combination of a software glitch attributed to a leak in waterproofing a gasket near an ecu. The problem was brought to the dealers attention almost a year ago while the vehicles were still under warranty. All they did was simply "flash" or refresh the memory and did not actually resolve the problem. The Prius' hybrid-related components, including the hybrid control module are covered for 8 years/100,000 miles. We also mentioned to the dealer the unusual and excessive tire wear on both vehicles, some of the tires had no tread and were already bald after only 12,000 miles. I am wondering if this could be related to the steering or traction control issues prevalent with this model.

Incident: car engine on 2002 Prius having trouble starting and dying after having been started. We were told that the "engine control unit" was showing an error and due to a manufacturing or software problem, could not be reprogrammed and had to be replaced.

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After Toyota's recalling 75,000 Prius in u. S. , I took my 2005 Prius into torrance Toyota(310-325-75000) to have the software"glitch"repaired. Michael gallagher(service advisor) told me there is additional glitches and now my car is inoperable and he has been ask.

I was driving my 2004 Toyota Prius approximately 35-40 miles per hour on a local street when the "check engine" light and the safety triangle light both illuminated. I noticed that the gas engine stopped running at the time of the failure although the electric motor got me to the dealership where the car is serviced. The delership called me in a couple of hours to tell me that the car is ready. I was told that they just had to reset the computer software to fix the car. I know that you are researching this problem and wanted to make you aware of my sitiuation. Thank you.

My 2004 Prius "died" with little warning while I was driving about 40 mph on a busy street. I coasted to a stop with cars flying by me. Very dangerous. Car was towed to the dealer, who explained there was a software problem and they reprogrammed the car's computer. This is an extremely dangerous problem! I'm afraid to drive this car.

A. How long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? approximately 20 minutes: 35 mph. B. Was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power? accelerating c. After the vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed? no d. Did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? yes if so, describe the lights that were lit. Engine indicator and exclamation mark e. Did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? no; immediatley f. Was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled? if so, how long did it take (# of attempts and/ or time ã‚ 3-4 times or 2-3 minutes)? no g. Was the driver able to restart the vehicle after letting it sit awhile? if so, how long was this after the vehicle stalled? no h. Was the vehicle towed? no I. What did the dealer say was wrong with the vehicle? the wiring would pulled from the vehicle j. Did the dealer reprogram the ecu (electronic control unit) or any software? donã‚t know k. Has the vehicle had special service campaigns 40a or 40 d performed on it prior to the incident? (note: the consumer would have received a letter in the mail notifying them to bring his or her vehicle in for repair. Campaign 40a or 40d addressed software issues with the Prius hybrid vehicle electronic control unit. ) no l. Has the vehicle had any problems since the repair?contact states he has experienced power failure in his 2005 Toyota Prius. The vehicle has not been repaired yet.

A. How long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? 4 minutes, 50 mph. B. Has the consumer accelerated, decelerated or drove at a steady pace when the vehicle lost power? steady pace. C. After the vehicle lost power was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed. It stalled out. D. Did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? if so, describe the lights that were lit. As it happened a hazard icon and an engine check light came on. E. Did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? yes, 30 seconds. F. Was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled? if so, how long did it took, 3-4 times or 2-3 minutes)? took a couple of times, but it started within a minutes. G. Was driver able to restart the vehicle after letting it sit awhile? yes. H. Was the vehicle towed? no. I. What was wrong with the vehicle? it required an update of a computer program. J did the dealer reprogram the electronic control unit (ecu) or any software? yes. K. Vehicle had special service campaigns 40a or 40d performed prior to the incident? when consumer called Toyota she was told vehicle was up to date on all services . L. Had vehicle any problems since the repair? no. Consumer had a problem six months ago where it stalled. .

2004 Prius had warning lights come on and stalled in April 2005. Software upgrade was performed by dealer. Warning lights have come on again yesterday, June 12.

2004 Prius slowed, then stopped on a highway due to a software problem. Towed to dealer. Dealer corrected the next day.

I was driving my 2005 Toyota Prius at about 45 mph when the vehicle went dead. The battery charge indicator went to zero, the engine warning light came on, the master warning light came on, the vehicle stability control warning light came on. I pulled to the side of the road. At first the vehicle would not shut off. After several attempts the vehicle shut down. I restarted the vehicle, and with the engine service light on was able to get it first home, then to a Toyota dealer. The dealer said the vehicle needed an "upgrade" to its software and reprogrammed the ecu. ( at no charge to me as the vehicle is still under warranty). If an upgrade was available and required, I feel I should have been notified so that I and my wife were not put at risk.

2004 Toyota Prius died at 65 mph on I-395 carpool lanes. Multiple warning lights flashed on. Was able to coast it over and restart for a mile or two when it completely died again. Was towed to springfield va Toyota dealership were it was serviced. Error codes c2318 (low voltage error - power supply malfunction), battery code 8442 were reported. Also, check engine light on, found code p3791/engine won't start. Reprogrammed ecu dp0199. Cars shutting down in high speed traffic is a crash waiting to happen. We're not convinced that re-setting the engine code is enough to fix the problem. Has the original software problem been located and fixed? dealership couldn't give us that answer.

While driving my 2005 Toyota Prius at about 40 mphin left lane on route 158 in kitty hawk, nc, the accelaratorl quit working, but neither engine quit. Was able to let car go into shopping center lot (this was dangerous situation and my 8 year old grandaughter was in the car). Electirc engine provided the power with out accelerator assistance. Had car towed to elixabeth city Toyota dealer. Mechanic took two days to find a wasy to get accelerator working. He said thatin conjuntion with Toyota corporate engineersover telephone he ran tests and many errors showed up not related to the accelerator. The problems sounded to me like it was in the computer's system. Mechanic was eventually told to shut down all computers and re-boot them one by one. I asked him about the cause and he said none was discovered. Car has not repeasted problem, but I remain concerned. Related this problem to my purcahse dealer (lustine Toyota in woodbridge va) assistant service manager. I was told they could not do anything unlesss the problem occurred again - this is not reassuring. And I aapeared to know more about the problem that they did or was willing to admit. I even gave them a copy of an artilce (the japan times - 5/16/2005) that I found on the web referred to a wall street journal article about the problem. It said tha ttoyota corp had sent letters to Prius owners telling them to take thier cars in for a software upgrade computer. No letter wa sever sent to me! and dealer did not react to letter.

Dt:. How long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? had driven about 10 minutes on commuting home was driving at least 50-60 mph. B. Was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power?driving at a steady state. C. Vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed?not able to continue driving, could not restart vehicle. Did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred? an odd beep and then some symbols illuminated on control panel but can't remember what symbol, thinks it make have been a car with an x through it. Referred to owners manual. Called for help. . Came to a complete stop just seconds after the beep and warning lights. F was unable to restart vehicle. G. No restart whatsoever. H. Was the vehicle towed? yes to a dealer. I. What did the dealer say was wrong with the vehicle? diagnosis code did not have available, but was aware of service bulletin pertaining to this issue. Questioned why there had not been a recall. J. Did the dealer reprogram the ecu (electronic control unit) or any software? yes-the ecu. K. Did have recall on navigation software update prior to this episode. L. Has the vehicle had any problems since the repair? no but fearful it may happen again.

1) I received a notice from Toyota about a navigation system software update. The car was brought to the dealership where the update was performed. 2)after leaving the dealership, in less than 2 miles, the car engine stalled as I was depressing the accelerator. I pulled to the side of the road. 3) my car has the smartkey system, so at the time, the key was not inserted. After inserting the key, I was able to restart the car. This occurred again afew days later, and the car was restarted only after inserting the kay.

I own a 2004 Prius. While driving approx. 60 mph on hwy 110 in los angeles, the warning light came on. Less than 5 seconds later, the car lost all power. It even ceased to coast despite the fact that I was on a significant down hill grade. In an attempt to exit the freeway, I navigated the vehicle to the right, where it stalled completely in the right lane, blocking moving traffic. The California highway patrol (chp) quickly came (they were in the area and arrived without being called) and pushed the vehicle off the freeway. After waiting about 20 minutes, the car restarted and I drove for about 10 miles on surface streets. The next morning, I was able to drive one mile to the dealer. The service department of Toyota of hollywood, where I purchased the vehicle, said it was due to a "software glitch" and that it needed to be "reprogrammed. " they completed this work in less than 24 hours. They also replaced the bumper which had been damaged by chp in the process of pushing the vehicle off the freeway. Their service was excellent and I have not had subsequent failures. Nevertheless, it was a serious malfunction and should be thoroughly investigated.

While driving vehicle will just stop. Consumer states there is a software problem with engine being faulty from the computer. Consumer receives a dozen warning lights. Vehicle was towed to a dealership so that the vehicle could be diagnosed. Consumer is aware of other similar complaints.

A. How long and at what speed was the consumer driving before the vehicle lost power? had been driving for about 15 minutes going about 65 mph. B. Was the consumer accelerating, decelerating, or driving at a steady- state when the vehicle lost power? owner believes she was slowing down at the time of stall. C. After the vehicle lost power, was the driver able to continue driving the vehicle? if so, how long and at what speed? owner was afraid to drive it, and called dealership and had it towed. D. Did any warning lights appear before and/or after the incident occurred. If so, describe the lights that were lit. All warning lights were on as it stalled. E. Did the vehicle eventually stall and come to a stop? how long did this occur after the warning lights were lit? the vehicle did stall and come to a stop. Vehicle stalled, then lit up seconds after stalling. Yes. F. Was the driver able to restart the vehicle right after it stalled? g. Wass the driver able to restart the vehicle after letting it sit awhile? if so, how long was this after the vehicle stalled? no no attempt was made to restart because it was towed. H. Was the vehicle towed? yes. I. What did the dealer say was wrong with the vehicle? dealer said there was a software glitch. Dealer reprogrammed the ecu (electronic control unit) or any software? yes.