2004 Toyota Prius: wrong fuel gauge reading

Filed Jul 21, 2025 · Electrical · MI

The odometer on my 2004 Prius stops at 299,999. This is a known problem in the 04-05 models that was corrected in 2006. Leaves me unable to track miles for maintenance and other uses. This also has the problem with the entire digital dash going dark which means no speedometer or gas gauge. Making the vehicle almost unable to be driven safely at this point. I have reached out to Toyota and they verify that it was an issue with this year range but because I have owned it too long they don't do anything about it

Filed Oct 20, 2020 · Lights · 160,000 miles · AL

About 1.5 years ago during a vacation. My car decided to not shut off. I drove to the nearest dealership that was about the close. They assisted and said to hold the power button down until it shuts off then turn it back on. This was a dealership in georgia. The mechanic had heard of the problem before. I recently had the front dash light go completely out. I did not have an instrument panel at all. The was not a way to see MPH, gas gauge, warning lights, nothing. The center monitor stayed on. It took 2 days but it came back on. A week later it happened again and again came back on. Warning lights came on and I drove to dealership. It was the 2nd water pump going out. As I was leaving my dash lights went out again. I took it back into the prius dealership. They had paperwork stating there had been issues with the metered dash before. Is there a recall on it or not? I had to have a car and was allowed to leave with the dash not working. I drove to a gas station. After filling with gas the dash lights came on again. I had to pay for the metered dash part to be ordered up front because the mechanic said it may come back on. There should be a recall on this as it is an ongoing issue. The mechanic even called it a short. Due tot he paperwork the desk representative had, it appears there have been several reports before on the metered dash shorting. Please help. I need the car and cannot afford these ridiculous prices for manufacturer mistakes.

Filed Apr 22, 2019 · Acceleration, Electrical · 115,000 miles · CO

I am the owner of a 2004 prius. After buying my car used 2 years ago I noticed that once in awhile the display, including fuel consumption, speedometer, odometer, and more, would not light up and that the car would not turn off easily several times I have been in situations where I have little gas an am unable to see my gas gauge or know how fat iam going on the highway. I understand that this was once covered by toyota under the warranty extension but is not considered a safety concern. The warranty extension is expired. In what universe are a functioning fuel gauge and speedometer not considered a safety concern? I am also concerned that this will deteriorate further and cause an accident.

Filed Jan 29, 2015 · Electrical · 105,000 miles · CA

I have been having a problem with my prius combination display (digital display that shows the speed, mileage, fuel level, current gear selection, etc.). Sometimes when I turn on my car, the combination display is blank and will not turn on. The rest of the car turns on, but that display remains blank. I can drive the car, but I can't see my speed, mileage, or what gear the car is in. This usually happens when it is cold outside (below 50 degrees or so). When the problem first came up in 2012, I would turn off the car and turn it back on and the display would then work fine. It was very hard to repeat the problem and it was quite intermittent. This winter (2014-2015) the problem has come back, but now the display will often not turn back on even if I power cycle the car. There is another new related problem. Whenever the car shows this display problem, I then cannot turn off the car. I press the power button and nothing happens. I even tried to hold it down for 3-10 seconds. The car will not shut off. I have to usually disconnect the battery to get it to power down. This problem has me concerned. Not being able to see my speed is my biggest concern. Also since the gear shift lever always returns to a reset spot (it doesn't stay in the gear position after you select your gear) it's impossible to see what gear the vehicle is in. Also very concerning. I took it to the dealer and they confirmed the problem/defect. It appears that many other owners have this same problem. I believe there is a defect in the manufacturing of the display/circuit board. Toyota did initially offer to fix the problem, but by the time I could actually repeat the problem to show to the dealer, the offer had expired for me to get it repaired. It's a serious issue that I wanted to report to the federal safety agency. Thank you.

Filed Aug 23, 2011 · Electrical · 180,000 miles · CA

Toyota prius 2004 generation 2, speedometer intermittent display problems. The dashboard lights go off and on very frequently for no reason. No display of speed and fuel gauge and also the odometer.

Filed Dec 17, 2010 · Electrical · 120,000 miles · PA

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. The contact stated that the touch screen module which included the temperature gauge, the fuel gauge, the odometer, etc failed. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer who informed him that the display screen was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure was approximately 120,000.

Filed Nov 17, 2010 · Fuel system · AZ

2004 toyota prius. Consumer writes regarding recall accelerator pedal interference *tgw the consumer stated he has received two recall letters. He stated he is pleased with his vehicle and is skeptical about letting the dealer work on his vehicle. *jb the consumer stated the gas gauge was inoperative, to the point where gas would leak out after filling the tank. The dealer informed him, they simply did not know how to fix the problem. Updated 12/01/11.

Filed Feb 8, 2009 · Electrical · 63,300 miles · WV

The digital dashboard which includes the speedometer, odometer/tripmeter, shift indicator and fuel gauge goes blank. This creates a safety hazard especially during night or poor weather driving, and when shifting. My local toyota service department manager acknowledged that toyota knows this is a common problem, but refused to fix it at no cost. The service manager also told me that he must impound my car until the new part is installed. He said that federal law required this as the new odometer must be set at the distributor before being shipped to the service department. This would cost approximately $800.00. Luckily for me the display came on during troubleshooting and I refused further service at that time. Now, a month or so later, the display shut off again and I am only driving the car during daylight hours.

Filed Jun 1, 2005 · Electrical, Transmission · 40,000 miles · NY

I have had 3 'stalls' of my 2004 prius which I drive 150 miles a day and it has 48k miles on it. All of the engine stalls have been at low speed (under 20 MPH) and have been preceeded by a red warning triangle light and the screen displaying something like 'critical problem'. On one incident I was in heavy traffic and managed to use the electric motor to get me to the side of the highway before the engine/motor stopped with no power. When I turned the power on/off several times the engine would start but there was no power. I did notice that on all three stalls my gas gauge was low (one or two bars) but I have run the car for thirty miles after the last bar started to flash so it's hard to tell if there is a connection. I did report this to the dealer but they had no information on it and the car reset each time after a period of time.