2008 Toyota Prius: check engine light

Filed May 11, 2022 · Fuel system · AL

The catalytic converter was stolen off of the car and yes it is available for inspection upon request. I’m not sure of the safety risk, we drove the car one time and the engine light came on. The problem has not been reported to a dealer or independent service center. Once the incident happened one of our neighbors called the police and they came but they didn’t know which apartment we were in and out neighbor told us that it was our catalytic converter and the police waited for a few minutes and then they left. Our neighbor told us when they heard our car starting.

Filed Jun 26, 2021 · Engine · FL

While driving the 2008 Prius with approximately 107,219 miles for approximately 15 miles, all the RED LIGHTS appeared on the dashboard. The air condition stopped working with only hot air blowing. I immediately took the 2008 Prius to the Toyota dealer. This is the following repairs as follows: "A CEL ON, MULTIPLE WARNINGS: CS20 INVERTOR WATER PUMP - 7521 CT $300.98 Labor 1 04000 - 32528 HV ELECTRIC WATER PU $169.35 Part 1 00272 - SLLC2 SUPER LONG LIFE COOL $ 23.43 MISC. CHARGES $ 53.32 TOTAL CHARGES $547.08

Filed Aug 4, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 103,320 miles · FL

My coolant inverter pump has been recalled, and repaired before I bought the car, and the same issue is happening again after I bought the car less than a year ago. Today, the same check engine light came on, went to advanced auto parts and got the code p0a93 - coolant inverter pump failing.

Filed Jan 10, 2020 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · AZ

I was driving my car as normal on a city street and the speedometer and warning lights (except for the check engine light) all turned off. We pulled over but the car would not go into park or turn off. We had no choice but to continue driving, not knowing our speed or any warning lights that could prevent serious injury (including knowing the level of the gas). Once we got home it took about 10 minutes to get the car into park and off, but pressing the park and power buttons in random orders. I have no idea what ultimately allowed the car to turn off. It has happened twice now and it's scary not knowing the speed all the sudden in the middle of driving. Also, having been in such a habit of clicking the park button and being safely in park, we almost crashed into our house after being in the driveway the second time, not realizing the display had just gone out again for a second time upon arriving home. The car continued rolling forward of course until the brakes were slammed. I understand there was an extended warranty for my year prius (2008), but has since ended. This is a safety issue and I have no idea why this wasn't a recall. Toyota needs to continue to honor the repair of vehicles that are affected. Just recently, it was released that toyota is recalling the 2019 models for this same issue (speedometer going out) and they are referring to it as a safety issue. This should be done for any model affected and should not have an end date.

Filed Dec 8, 2018 · Acceleration, Electrical · WA

For several years our toyota prius has exhibited the following issue: intermittently, and without warning, when you start the car the dashboard does not light. As a consequent, you cannot not see the speed you're driving at, the fuel level of the car, any warnings such as check engine, low tire pressure etc, and you're not able to use a number of other important features such as cruise control. In addition, you are not able to turn off the car when you reach your destination. Because you cannot turn off the car, you cannot lock it. Undisclosed to customers, there has been for several years an extended warranty being offered by toyota, to the dealerships, to fix this problem (warranty policy bulletin, pol 12-05). This information is provided only to dealerships. As I customer, I never received information about this extended warranty. I only found out about it via other customers. Our local toyota dealership (toyota of olympia) has refused to apply the extended warranty and fix the problem. We contacted the dealership several years ago about the issue, which they have a record of. Toyota customer service also refuses to help us get this issue fixed and apply the extended warranty. The case number with customer service is 1812072507. Both toyota and the dealership state that the customer most replicate this intermittent issue to a dealership mechanic before either entity will authorize fixing the issue. Several weeks or months may go by before the issue appears and it appears only for an unpredictable duration before "going away", so this is an impossible burden of proof for the customer -- the customer has to take the car to a dealership at the moment the intermittent issue occurs, and must arrive at the dealership and get the mechanic to immediately drop their other work in order to hopefully witness the issue before it "goes away".

Filed Sep 7, 2018 · Brakes · 103,000 miles · FL

After 2nd day owning the brake light came on and 3 other lights vsc, circle with exclamation, check engine, and one more I believe. Went to toyota to find out the brake actuator is out and they would charge me 2 thousand dollars. There should be warranty on this malfunction. When driving we were luckily in a parking lot.

Filed Dec 27, 2017 · Engine · 108,497 miles · CO

My car had performed perfectly for the first 100k miles. By 112k miles the oil was very low, no oil on the dip stick when I went in to have the oil change. Yet there was no low oil light or engine light to warn me. This was a complete surprise to me since that had never happened before and the usage had been at a normal rate up until then. I began looking for leaks, etc with no evidence of that. The next service it was again extremely low. I now know that I must add about a quart every 1000 miles to keep up with its demand. The dealer and other mechanics all tell me the only solution is a new engine. Some suggest a used or rebuilt one though they are still many thousands of dollars. This problem, they say, will only get worse, clogging the spark plugs and potentially having an incident of engine stalling or shutting totally down while driving. This is a safety issue that toyota should be fixing. I paid $1500 for an extended warranty for the first 100k miles with no problems, and now, it seems, I am stuck with a true lemon! This car should be listed with the others that toyota has acknowledged have engine defects because it has the same problem. I will never by another toyota unless they warranty this issue. The word is getting out. They do not take care of their defect problems. So much for the very undeserved reputation of many toyota models!

Filed Jan 5, 2015 · Engine · 150,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the coolant control valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

Filed Jun 4, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 196,484 miles · CA

On this date while driving on the interstate 5 near los angeles my prius made a loud noise and started shutting down as I was driving on the far left lane. The car immediately slowed down and the vsc icon as well as the check engine light icon became visible, however the odometer was blank and I could not tell what speed I was traveling, the car was coming to a complete stop. Once I managed to get to the far right shoulder the car made a stop. I was almost rear ended by a big rig which had to swerve to the left side in order to avoid hitting my car. It wasn't until then that I noticed the red engine light icon displayed on the control panel not the odometer. I have never seen this warning light but after looking at the owner's manual it clearly stated that once this light appears you need to get the vehicle off the road as soon as possible or it will cause an accident. This was the first time I noticed this sign and it appeared after the fact. The car had no engine oil, which was ridiculous since I had not noticed any leaks and I take my car in every 2 months to the dealer for an oil change. The dealer had no explanation other than it did not have any leaks and they were not able to verify when the red engine oil came on. This happened on 5/30/14, my last visit to the dealer was on 4/12/14 and at the time they did not detect any problems with the oil leaking. This clearly makes no sense and they are refusing to take responsibility. Toyota owners should be very cautious as this should have never happened the sensor should have given me a warning prior to the car shutting down. This could have caused many fatalities being in a heavily populated highway.

Filed Feb 12, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 79,000 miles · ME

Was driving to nova scotia 10/18/13. Stopped for coffee after 2 hrs of driving. Car would not restart. Returning to maine10/20/2013 was passing a tractor trailer truck with another trailer truck passing behind me as well. No check engine light had come on at any time during the trip. Suddenly,all the warning lights on the dashboard lit up and the car stopped working while driving at 75 MPH. Tried not to slow too quickly with truck bearing down behind me ,but could not accelerate either. Car had popped into neutral . Got off on left of two lane highway .car was dead. Would not start. Had towed to toyota dealer in amherst. Diagnostics found no cause. Had to drive 4 hours back home next day not knowing if it would happen again. Took car to toyota dealer 45 miles from my home in us. The following week .no cause found. Happened again shortly after on main street, blocking traffic . Towed to local mechanic. Was there one week. Unable to diagnose. Towed 45 miles to toyota again. There another week. I was told it was a problem with fuse box assembly. Shortly after, the master warning light came on, as well as a warning symbol on the touch screen meaning 'malfunction in hybrid system.' towed again to toyota dealer. Front battery replaced. Noted today that prius recall on '09-'14 models for exact same thing that happened to my '08 model. Total cost $600.00 plus $270.00 towing and $120.00 for hotel .

Filed Dec 27, 2012 · Engine · MD

2008 toyota prius. Consumer writes in regards to defective parts replaced in vehicle. *smd the consumer stated the check engine light illuminated. After doing research, it appeared the problem was with the coolant control valve. The vehicle was taken to the dealership, where an inspection revealed the check engine light was due to the premature failure of the coolant control valve.

Filed Mar 10, 2010 · Fuel system · 20,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While the vehicle was traveling at a speed of 55 MPH the contact noticed that the check engine light appeared on the dashboard, moments later the vehicle suddenly shut off. The vehicle was taken to the dealership. The contact was informed that the failure was due to the fuel tank being empty. The failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 35,000.