2006 Toyota Prius: engine failure

Filed Feb 1, 2017 · Airbags, Brakes · 196,000 miles · CA · crash

Tl* the contact owned a 2006 toyota prius. While driving approximately 30 MPH, another vehicle suddenly stopped in front of the contact's vehicle. The contact depressed the brake pedal to the floorboard, but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact's vehicle crashed into a road sign. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact coasted to the side of the road and the engine failed. The contact was not injured and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and an insurance lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 196,000.

Filed Jan 26, 2017 · Engine, Fuel system · 150,000 miles · MA

Engine failure; driving on roadways, highways the main warning light on dash lights up, followed by sudden engine failure seconds or minutes there after. Toyota professionals have failed to properly diagnose this danger/malfunction, or recommend a proper solution. I have been caught on the interstate in very dangerous areas with total engine loss. This represents a major malfunction and could lead to serious injury, accidents and death nationwide. Please alert others.

Filed Jul 31, 2015 · Electrical · 147,000 miles · CO

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the instrument panel seized without warning. The vehicle resumed normal operation the next morning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 147,000.

Filed May 2, 2014 · Fuel system · 100,650 miles · IN

The prius was being driven up a hill when it suddenly stalled and the gasoline engine died. It was very difficult to safely move the vehicle out of traffic, since the electric mode was not capable of moving the vehicle forward up the hill. The vehicle's fuel meter on the dash displayed 3 bars remaining (indicating there should have been over 1/4 tank of fuel remaining). The vehicle was towed to a toyota dealer, who said a software reload and cleaning the throttle bottle fixed it. A little over a week later, the vehicle was being driven on interstate, and the driver was passing a semi-trailer. While in the passing lane, the vehicle stalled again, and caused great danger as it had very little electric power to limp to safety. The gas engine would not run or start again, with the exact same symptoms as before. Again the fuel meter showed 3 bars remaining. However, it was found that it took over 11 gallons of gasoline to then fill the tank, and the total tank capacity is in the 11 gallon range. A search of the internet resulted in other similar complaints, with one entry citing a toyota technical manual that included the statement regarding the fuel gauge, "the inclinometer must be reset if the customer complains that they can only pump a few gallons of gas into their tank or that they run out of gas with three or four bars left on the fuel meter." it is very concerning & frustrating that toyota apparently is aware that their vehicles can run out of gas unexpectedly due to a faulty fuel gauge, and it can place the operator and passengers in great danger. I have contacted the toyota dealer about the expensive repair bill ($300) that did nothing to address the cause of the problem. They are willing to look at the car again, now that they understand it is likely a bad fuel gauge system, but this is a very dangerous situation that toyota has apparently known about.

Filed Feb 4, 2010 · Brakes, Steering · 4,860 miles · MA

In 10/06, I had an incident where the brakes and steering of my 2006 prius ceased to function briefly, as I tried to brake at an intersection. I took the car in to my toyota dealer shortly after -- they checked it but found nothing wrong, so nothing was done. The day in question was drizzly and the roads wet. It was daytime, and I was driving with my children in boston, approaching the forest hills intersection. There were trolley tracks in the road (since removed), which I try to avoid, since I know they can be slippery. As I approached the intersection, going about 20 MPH, I put my foot to the brake. At that point, it seemed to me that both the brakes and the steering ceased to function or froze up, so that I couldn't stop the car or keep it going straight. Thus the car kept going, veering to the right, with one wheel banging into and up onto a curb, before the car stopped. The whole thing took only a few seconds. I turned the car off and sat there in disbelief, since I'd experienced nothing like this in 30 years of driving. Fortunately, there were no other cars close by, so I didn't cause an accident, and I had been going slow enough so that neither I nor my two boys were hurt. I have come to know the car better, and have learned that often when the road is slippery or rough, yellow warning lights will flash, and the brakes will seem briefly less crisp. It is possible that the wet conditions and the trolley tracks on the day of the incident contributed to what happened. However, I want to emphasize the qualitative difference of the 2006 incident. I'm not a car expert, but it felt to me like the car's electronic system had seized up, not like there was some mechanical problem. It felt as though there was a brief but complete severing of the connection between my actions with my feet and hands and how the car behaved. It was very frightening.