Check a VIN

2008 Toyota Prius acceleration problems

156 complaints (10% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 28,500. 55 crashes reported.

owner complaints
156
of this car's complaints
10%
typical mileage
28,500
crashes
55
recalls
1

Which part fails

  • Accelerator pedal
    13
  • Cruise control
    1

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Toyota Prius acceleration problems in other years

200120052010201520202025

Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Toyota Prius acceleration

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Sudden acceleration 53

Related recalls

Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedalReported October 5, 2009 · 4,445,056 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.
Risk
A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.
Remedy
Toyota filed an amended defect report on november 25, 2009, stating that dealers will modify the accelerator pedal and, on certain vehicles, alter the shape of the floor surface under the pedal. These changes address the risk of pedal entrapment due to interference with the floor mat. Redesigned accelerator pedals will become available beginning in april 2010 and dealers will replace any modified pedal with the new pedal if desired. Also, dealers will replace any genuine toyota or lexus all-weather floor mats with redesigned all-weather mats, or repurchase the previous mats from owners who do not want the new ones. Additionally, software modifications will be installed on camry, avalon and lexus es 350, is 350 and is 250 models that will ensure that the brake overrides the accelerator in the event both brake and accelerator pedals are applied. Toyota will begin mailing letters to owners on december 31, 2009. Owners may contact toyota at 1‑800‑331‑4331, lexus at 1‑800‑255‑3987.

Recall number 09V388000 · Recall details

What 2008 Toyota Prius owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Aug 31, 2025 · Acceleration, Electrical · MI · crash

Randomly my instrument panel goes blank while in motion and can only be retrieved by hard turning the car off when stopped, you loose your speedometer, lights, and all until reset. Other issue with speedometer readings that are consistently off between 5-15mph with no fix, resolutions or repairs.

Filed Jul 2, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA · crash

My name is [XXX] ,i am filing this report on behalf of My daughter [XXX] the driver of the vehicle that involved with the unintended acceleration on the 2009 Toyota Prius .On a good clear morning on [XXX] . My daughter drove the 2009 Toyota Prius to work- when she enter to the parking lot at the speed round 5 mile/hour . Just when she was making a left turn on to the entrance gate with her left foot on the brake pedal . On a sudden the vehicle RPM unintended rev up too high and the vehicle had an unintended accelerating to move forward aggressively causing lose control of the steering . Also she could not brake even though her left foot was on the brake pedal and pressing hard to try to stop the vehicle . . This dangerous incident causing her Prius to bumped into the electrical gate panel control box . The accident caused some damages to her Prius and to the entrance gate control box though no body was hurt . But it got us through the terrible experience because it could kill some one for sure . My daughter been driving this commute car daily in the past 5 years and she has the skill of 20 year driving with good record . This Prius of her still have all OEM equipments with no add- on parts-,no modifying part on any systems what so ever- and NO extra floor mat cause we been warned before about the possible of unintended acceleration causing by aftermarket floor mat to any vehicles. . We feel unsafe after the mystery accelerating problem on Toyota Vehicle that could take people lives . So the mystery unintended accelerating on car is REAL . I am currently checked and find out her Prius has 2 incomplete recalls (un-notice to us ) but none of them related to the unintended acceleration problem . We would like the federal safety agency to take this problem seriously to save people life . I will included photos of this incidents and willing to provide all information if needed to address this problem, again to save lives . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5

Filed Dec 20, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · NJ

I am currently having this issue with Combination Meter, which means the Prius dash board will not show any speed, fuel, P, R, D label and many more important information is not shown on display. I had complained to Toyota, CASE[XXX] on 19Dec2022, I have spoken to Danial N and manager Alex S from Toyota. They both have denied solving this issue from Toyota as the Warranty Extension ZTV has expired. Even I had provided them proof that Toyota knew about this problem, please see [XXX] from Toyota regarding this. My Prius has 258000 miles, and it is 2008, It is high mileage as per their documents this will accrue in high mileage Prius with cold weather. I live in NJ, and it is getting cold and my car as high miles. Toyota refuse to take care of the problem and I as a consumer will have to pay over $1200 to get it fix as this is only done at Toyota dealership. Currently I am thinking of getting it fix at Paul Miller Toyota of West Caldwell, 1155 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ 07006, 973‑287‑4050. What's sad is Toyota used to rank at the top of best customer service. I'm guessing most of the problems are just after the 9 years, calculated to guarantee fixing the problem to as few people as possible. THERE'S NO EXTENSION AND TOYOTA WON'T HELP. I TRIED AND WAS TOLD ALL DEALS EXPIRED AND TO HELP ONE WOULD MEAN THEY'D HAVE TO HELP ALL. WE'RE ON OUR OWN. Hoping that Toyota has released a solution to the dangerous and consumer related problem related to the failing Combination Meter. The previous ext. Warranty was only good for 9 years from date of first use which did not help many drivers. Super negligent and ripe situation for class action lawsuits not to mention many potentially fatal accidents on the roads. Toyota has denied fixing this problem even Toyota knows this is on going problem. As a government official please try to help me resolve this issue as this is a major concern for many millions of drivers which Toyota need to resolve this. Please INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (

Filed Aug 20, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · FL

The inverter water pump failed while I was driving 50mph, it caused the car to stop working and the brakes malfunctioned as well. When I tried to hit the brakes I had to hit them a lot harder and it still acted like it wasn’t going to stop. I was lucky enough that the light up ahead was still green and the cars in front of me started going forward.

Filed Mar 22, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · OH

Dashboard speedometer, fuel gauge, headlight indicators, transmission status, cruise control do not show, are not lit up. Backup camera does not work nor do the back-up lights. This occured after the auxiliary battery was replaced and the dashboard lights and backup camera will occassionally spontaneously return when the car has not been driven for a week or longer but then will go out next time the car is turned off. There are problems with the car turning off consistently and at times the start button needs to be manually depressed for 5+ seconds to shut down.

Filed Mar 18, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 146,500 miles · AZ

Instrument cluster in my 2008 toyota prius completely went dark while driving from phoenix to my home in tucson. I was travelling on I-10 at a speed of approximately 70mph. Terribly frightening when all gauges fail at the same instant. This happened in jan 2021. Speedometer, fuel gauge, headlight indicators, prndl, lcruise control, lights that indicate engine emergencies do not light. Back-up camera does not work nor do the back-up lights. These all are extremely dangerous safety issues. Having researched this problem it is evident that toyota knew about this problem as they have recalled thousands of prius' for this issue. They issued an extended warranty for this issue but mine expired before I purchased this vehicle in february, 2020. I firmly am convinced that toyota should honor the warranty for this dangerously common failure which happens to many different model year of the prius. It's, in fact, irresponsible of toyota to not repair these vehicles as they have known how massively prevalent these failures are. The local toyota dealers is charging over $1000.00 to fix the problem. I, for one, cannot afford such a cost for a malfunctioning, critical for safely operating their product, that should be remedied into perpetuity, since they have unquestionably been fully aware of the problem and it's severity. I should not be excluded from repair simply because the failure happened later in this particular vehicle than others.

Filed May 19, 2020 · Acceleration, Brakes · 220,000 miles · AZ

My brake, ABS, vsc, and (!) lights are on. The brakes work at roughly 10% stopping power. Makes an awful buzzing noise when the brakes are applied and the warning chime is on constantly the high pitch ring is unbearable. I called my local toyota service dealer and was told the champagne ended nov 30th 2017.

Filed Feb 18, 2020 · Acceleration · 76,000 miles · NY

For the past year since I've had the vehicle the car accelerates instead of slow down if I hit a bump or before I step on the break it speed up and slips instead of slow down.

Filed Dec 15, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 150,000 miles · PA

My 2008 toyota prius shut off while I was driving on the road I could've involved in big accident if I was on a highway the way it shutdown without any warning sign. It just suddenly stopped

Filed Jul 26, 2019 · Acceleration, Electrical · 250,000 miles · AZ

The speedometer does not display when turning on the car. I figured out that by unplugging the battery in the back it would sometime bring it back on. Now it only comes on every once in a while, it's no longer keeping track of miles when not on, as well as the fuel gauge is not keeping track of gas and have ran out twice because it stated half full.

Questions about the 2008 Toyota Prius acceleration

Does the 2008 Toyota Prius have acceleration problems?

Owners have filed 156 complaints about the acceleration of the 2008 Toyota Prius, 10% of all its complaints.

At what mileage do 2008 Toyota Prius acceleration problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 28,500 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2008 Toyota Prius acceleration?

Yes, 1 recall: 09V388000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.

What year does the Toyota Prius have the most acceleration problems?

The Toyota Prius model years with the most acceleration complaints are 2010 (287 complaints), 2008 (156 complaints) and 2007 (124 complaints).

Other 2008 Toyota Prius problems

Lights 583Brakes 391Electrical 235Driver assistance 82Body 68Engine 65Fuel system 58Transmission 54Airbags 41Steering 18Visibility 15Locks 12Seat belts 9Tires 8Suspension 6Wheels 6Seats 3

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2008 Toyota Prius?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history