2004 Toyota Prius: multiple warning lights

Filed Apr 13, 2020 · Electrical · 250,000 miles · OH

Headlights occasionally go out at random while driving. Began with driver side, very intermittent, became more frequent, now also includes passenger side. Both have gone out at the same time while driving at night twice. Turning all lights off briefly and back on will re-illuminate the headlights. Problem first occurred several months ago and has gotten progressively more frequent. Now, once light(s) goes out during a drive, it will continue to do so repeatedly every few minutes. Very dangerous.

Filed Aug 29, 2018 · Brakes · 82,000 miles · IA

I was driving the prius on city streets in rain. I came to a stop and started to drive and a bunch of emergency lights and beeping started. There was no unusual noise or grinding until I applied the brakes. The brake pedal was hard and had significantly lost braking power. All lights and beeping continued after turning of and restarting the prius. I took it to a certified toyota dealership and the diagnosed the problem as a bad brake actuator. As being a prius owner I've done my research and know this is a very common problem with these cars and that 9 months ago toyota was replacing this part for free. I feel like toyota needs to address this problem as my prius only has 80k miles and a 3 thousand dollar repair is pretty outrageous for a car that hasn't even hit 100k miles.

Filed Jun 5, 2013 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · FL

I was traveling on i95 when all the brake warning lights came on (ABS, brake, etc.). I tried to slow down the car, but the brakes didn't seem to work. Finally, the regen system kicked in, and slowed the car. When I jammed my foot hard on the brake pedal, the car stopped with a jerk. This is not the first time this has happened. The first time it happened (when all the lights came on), I brought the car to the dealer (kendall toyota), they reset and recalibrated the computers in the car, and everything seemed ok. About 9 months later, the same thing happened. This time, the ABS computer had a hard failure. They replaced it with a low mileage used part, and everything seemed fine for about 3 months. Then it happened again last thursday. Brought it into kendall toyota on thursday evening, and on friday they told me the I needed a new ABS computer. Turns out toyota knows about this problem and has redesigned the ABS computer, but never sent out any notice to their customers. This is why the used part didn't last long. This a very dangerous situation and I could have easily been in a serious accident if I had not experienced faulty braking in the past (see below). A new ABS computer plus installation from toyota cost approximately $3000. The symptoms I was having when I reported complaint # 10292409 were identical to those above, except that no indicator lights came on. They car did not want to stop (and even seemed to "run away") until I jammed my foot on the brake. Searching the internet, this seems to be a common problem with prius.

Filed Oct 24, 2012 · Brakes, Engine · 92,521 miles · MA

My 24 yr. Old child was driving out of a driveway at 5 MPH when the car stopped and all warning lights including brakes and engine and triangle went on. It would not restart. It would not take a battery jump. Had it towed to toyota service and they discovered code p0335 present and verified a faulty crankshaft position sensor, replaced it, and cleaned throttle body. The car works now. Cost for diagnosis and service was $367.07. This faulty part was a part of a recall dated in 2006 for 2001 and 2002 priuses. We wish to advise the agency that we believe the year 2004 and perhaps other years ought to be considered for the same recall as the 2001 and 2002 prius models with respect to a faulty crankshaft position sensor. We believe our car had a faulty sensor and that we should be a part of the earlier recall, and also obtain a full reimbursement for charges. This sudden stopping by the vehicle poses a very dangerous situation for any driver. Our child would have been on a major highway just a few minutes later and could have been the victim of a horrendous accident. We urge your agency to be proactive in investigating this matter. Thank you.

Filed Oct 11, 2012 · Electrical · 141,000 miles · DE

. 10/09/2012 I went to start my 2004 prius I hit the power button and the dashboard lights had not work. You did not know the status of the car. Actuated the power switch and the brake peddle numerous times to no avail. I tried to select the gear and the car would move. But dash board display did not light. The lights and turn signals work fine. I drove 15 miles home with on display. I selected the park button and the car parked I went to turn off the power button and the car would not turn off the was in the battery mode. I tried to shut it off by disconnecting the 12 volt battery to no avail. I found a fuse that if I pulled it out the car would shut off. I tried the power numerous times and the car turn on and with the dashboard display working. On the morning of 10/10/2012 I tried go to work and when the power and the brake are pushed the dash board lights would not light. The car would move if selected to drive now the engine was running because the car was cold. I placed the car in park and selected the power button to off now the engine will shut off. Again I tried the power and the brake numerous times to no avail. I tried the fuse trick again it worked the engine stopped. Replaced the fuse and tried the power button it work and the dash display were lighted with numerous lights because I shut the down in unapproved mode. Turned the power switch on & off. Numerous times all light were normal except the check engine was on I drove to the toyota dealer. I was told that is a normal issue the dashboard displays go bad. I understand the dashboard display can go bad. My issue is the safety problem that when the display fails the power button does not shut car off in the battery mode or the engine mode. That's a big issue .

Filed Mar 9, 2011 · Engine · 123,000 miles · CA

I was driving on the freeway at about 63 miles per hour, I had been driving for about 20 minutes when my engine cut out, all the lights on my dash turned on including the check engine and red triangle warning light. I drifted to the shoulder and powered the car off. I tried to start it 2 more times, both times the engine did not start and the red triangle and the check engine lights came on again. I waited longer and tried to power up the engine again, it started with the check engine light on. I took it to the dealership 3 days later (they could not see me sooner), ran the codes and it only came up with the code poaof, which means that the engine did not start. They had no explanation of what happened and did not seem to share my concern that this could happen again. The did recall work for me and sent me home.

Filed Sep 10, 2010 · Lights · 129,213 miles · PA

Car: 2004 toyota prius problem: intermittent failure of both headlights while driving. Last night while driving along an unlit country road, both headlights failed simultaneously. After stopping the vehicle the lights came back on by turning on and off the headlamps using the stalk mounted switch. This is a very dangerous situation, many others have had the same problem. See the toyota recall website and try this search, "trouble shooting prius hid bulb and hid ecu", and you will get this result,"found: 62255 results for "trouble shooting prius hid bulb and hid ecu". But the site only allows you to see and access 45 other "other results", that are very generic and talk about other toyota models. Why can't the public see the 62,255 search results. Also check the forum at "http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/47938-my-hid-bulb-replacement-my-06-prius.html". There are 175 posts dating back to 2008. This is unacceptable to have all the lights intermittently fail in any vehicle. This problem is widespread and deserves the attention of the federal safety agency right now.

Filed Jul 11, 2010 · Lights · 104,204 miles · IL

Major problem with the vehicle's headlights. They intermittently turn themselves off without any warning. Tried replacing them per the manual instructions but the installed lamps are different than the manual, so replacing them is not an option. I consider this a major safety defect. These lamps are supposed to last the life of the car. Any headlamp that stops working without warning is a safety issue. I have never heard of this happening before with any car. You can make the light come back on by turning all the lights off and then on again. This defect is going to cause a major accident and folks are going to get hurt or worse.

Filed May 31, 2010 · Brakes, Transmission · 50,000 miles · VA

My 2004 toyota prius has left me stranded for 15 minute periods of time while parked on my street. All the dashboard lights come on as well as the following red warning "caution - transmission "p" lock mechanism is abnormal. Park in a flat place and apply brake." I was parked on a mild incline and I always use my parking brake. This however makes me suspicious of whether the parking brake is hardy enough to work when parked on the crown of a street parking space. I applied and re-applied my parking brake without success. I open and closed the hood without success. I open and closed my door without success. I placed all my passenger seat items on the floor without success. I held the ignition button without success. I placed my key fob into the ignition without success. And when trying to remove my key fob so I could go call a tow truck, the entire dashboard housing for the ignition key came loose and dis-articulated in my hand. I just carefully pushed the plastic housing back into the dashboard.... However, that was depressing to see. Finally, after all the tinkering for 15 minutes, my car finally turned off. I was then able to turn it back on and drive away without a problem. In retrospect, this has happened on at least 4 occasions since december 24, 2009 and I just assumed that during the bout with my injured leg that I was not adequately placing enough force on the parking brake..... But should this happen so easily?? I have seen many other similar complaints online. I would like to know if this is part of the whole safety issues with cars not being able to stop while running. Thanks.

Filed May 26, 2010 · Engine · 69,042 miles · CA

Driving home at night on the 405 freeway at approx. 65mph, suddenly all the dash warning lights illuminated, including the mil symbol, along with a warning symbol on the navigation screen. I pulled off the freeway and parked at the curb. After checking the owners manual, I slowly drove the rest of the way home on surface streets. The next morning (monday) I drove my car to miller toyota in culver city. The primary diagnosis was failure of the inverter coolant pump, which was replaced under the terms of my toyota platinum extended warranty. However, upon further research, I discovered that toyota had issued a technical service bulletin (tsb) covering this very part, on january 26, 2007, indicating that they were aware of this failure-prone part, and that an "improved" replacement assembly was now available to address the issue. In addition, replacement would be covered under their 5-year/60,000 mile toyota powertrain warranty. Approximately one month later, on may 15, 2010, while driving my father's 2004 prius to have new tires installed, the same sequence of events occurred. I immediately drove the vehicle to the nearest dealer, santa monica toyota, where it was diagnosed with the same failure code, p0a93 (inverter cooling system performance). Although the vehicle had only 34,242 miles on it, it was not covered under the powertrain warranty, as the time limit of 60 months had expired. No amount of discussion with the dealer or toyota's customer experience center could convince them that this part should be considered part of the hybrid system, and as such be covered under their 7-year/100,000 hybrid warranty (despite it being named the hybrid inverter coolant pump). On-line prius-related chat rooms are full of identical situations involving this part. Clearly, toyota knows this part is prone to premature failure, but continues to treat it as a "secret warranty" item in order to avoid having to issue a formal recall.

Filed May 11, 2010 · Engine · 133,939 miles · TX

Failure of inverter coolant pump occurred without warning during normal driving conditions. This is apparently a common problem occurring at many different mileage intervals for other owners. Immediate significant loss of power and several warning lights illuminated. Cruise control and A/C went offline. Requires replacement which in this instance was $605.00.

Filed Feb 3, 2010 · Brakes · 95,000 miles · MD

Driving approx 35 MPH. Applied brakes lightly to slow before a sharp right turn. Brakes "froze" and required extreme pressure to slow and then stop the car before reaching an intersection approx. 100 feet beyond the curve. The car stalled and lost power during this maneuver, which was accompanied by very strong smell of burning rubber and multiple warning lights. Upon restarting the car, it felt as if the brakes had seized such that it was difficult to proceed through the intersection to a safe place to pull over. I then turned the car off and on repeatedly until the warning lights extinguished and normal operation resumed. My local shop (not a toyota dealer) said there was a code for communication failure with the brake system but no indication of damage to the brakes or wheels. This was the first instance for this problem, which has not occurred subsequently.