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2010 Toyota Prius transmission complaints

Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 79, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2010 Toyota Prius transmission problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jun 25, 2018 · Engine, Transmission · 105,000 miles · CA

The vehicle was in a parking lot. Upon starting the car, the dash displayed "check hybrid system" and the vehicle could not accelerate above 25 miles per hour.

Filed May 11, 2018 · Engine, Steering · 120,308 miles · VA

I had been driving the car and had experienced the loss of power described in recent articles as being an inverter problem (that was the subject of a software update by toyota that may not have fixed the issue). After experiencing this issue several times, my autobody shop recommended replacing the throttle body as the diagnostic codes were not 100% clear what the problem was. I have replaced the throttle body and not had the issue since, but I thought I would report this just in case this is related to the inverter issue. The issue I had was exactly as described -- driving the car, then suddenly losing power and practically unable to move the vehicle (I was able to drive it maybe 3 MPH with no power steering, barely got out of an intersection in front of oncoming traffic one time it happened). This happened at various times, always while moving, both on the highway and on city streets, straight/turning. The only time it didn't seem to happen was when stationary. This is the article I read that compelled me to contact nthsa: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-dealership-refuses-to-sell-certain-toyota-prius-models-over-safety-issues/

Filed Apr 25, 2018 · Transmission · 139,800 miles · TN

Had recently purchased this vehicle used.. Vehicle suddenly was powerless in the middle of the highway. Struggled to coast to side of the road. Barely being rear ended by traffic approaching from behind. Over heated inverter replaced at no charge by toyota dealership. Then dealership tried to tell me the car needed $5200 in additional work. I am in disbelieve I was able to purchase a car with out this work being done to it.

Filed Mar 7, 2018 · Driver assistance, Engine · 110,000 miles · CA

My car completely shut down in traffic, engine, steering, transmission all quit and I was almost in a horrific accident as I could not control the car or get out of anyone's way. The check hybrid warning light was also on. It was towed and the garage said it was a software update that I was not made aware of that caused complete failure.

Filed Feb 26, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 68,000 miles · OR

Our prius has been losing power. It has 68k miles and we are the original owners. Driving at hwy speeds we noticed we have to push hard down on the gas just to get the car to maintain highway speeds. Hills are even worse. We are also still waiting on the parts to fix our headlights. Over the years I have changed the low beam bulbs at least 6 times! When are the parts coming?

Filed Dec 28, 2017 · Brakes, Suspension · 49,000 miles · TX · crash · 2 injuries

Car in two accidents over two years body was not properly welded back to the frame! Brakes were not properly realigned neither was the steering column transmission bands were not operating and would not shift and numerous other parts for leakage from brake lines to transmission lines all lines were broken and so are the seals on them!

Filed Apr 27, 2017 · Brakes, Engine · 130,000 miles · OK

When I am coming to a stop (braking normally) and hit a bump, the car surges slightly and the brakes become less responsive. It feels like I'm fighting the engine as it accelerates and I'm trying to brake against it. Releasing the brake and attempting again seems to be a solution, but I often don't have time before reaching the intersection I'm approaching. This consistently happens in two places in my daily commute with a slight buckle in the road approaching an intersection on city streets and county roads.

Filed Apr 10, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 166,834 miles · CA

I've had two toyota prius in my lifetime, a 2005 and a 2010 toyota prius, both have had the same issue where the engine would eat up all of my oil, I would have an oil change done and less than 2 weeks later I would have to check the oil gauge rod and find that the oil levels were below the bottom line, almost empty! The engine would be burning oil at such an alarming rate that I would repeatedly bring the vehicle to toyota for oil changes. I'm very unsatisfied with my toyota priuses. My car is currently at 166,384 miles and the engine cylinder has now given way and also the hybrid battery. I've gone only to toyota dealerships to have pristine consecutive service and no third party repair facilities have provided service. I am located in souther california in san diego. I have spoken to many other toyota prius owners and if you do a google search online as of (04/10/17) "toyota prius engine oil consumption" you'll find many forums with "excessive consumption" from many other users. Once you reach past the 140,000 mile mark, your car is pretty much done. Consider buying a new one. Toyota priuses and their engineers have to come up with a way to satisfy current and future prius owners as many of us will find that there will be many problems and issues down the road.

Filed Mar 23, 2017 · Transmission · IN

2010 toyota prius. Consumer writes in regards to dealership unable to duplicate unintended acceleration issues. *smd consumer sent additional information. *ld *js the consumer stated the unintended acceleration only occurred when braking while encountering a bump such as a chuckhole or, speed bump. The failure was intermittent. Updated 03/23/2017 *js updated 06/15/2017*js updated 09/11/2017*js updated 10/23/2017*js *js *js *js *js *tr *tr *tr *js *js

Filed Jan 27, 2017 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · WA

My 2010 toyota prius iv has 98,731 miles on it. The engine and power train malfunctioned during a cold start so I had to take it into the toyota dealer. It had to be towed to the dealership on a flat-bed tow truck because the car transaxle/transmission was locked in the drive position, would not go into neutral, and the car engine would not start rev above an idle. When I attempted to start it the engine acted like it was misfiring very badly and rattled very badly. It sounded like the engine was not getting any oil circulation so I didn't attempt any more cold starts. I could not get the engine into neutral or any other gear so I had it towed to the dealership. When the car was at the dealership I went through my records and found a letter titled 'warranty enhancement program notification - zf3' that I had received several years previous. The document extended my primary coverage until 31 march 2017 due to a potential faulty exhaust gas recirculation (egr) valve. 'a faulty egr valve would cause the engine to rough idle/rattle from the transaxle at a cold start due to a sticking egr valve. If this occurs, the vehicle may illuminate the check engine light and set diagnostic trouble code dtc p0401. If the condition is verified the vehicle will be repaired in accordance with the applicable technical service bulletin under the terms of this warranty enhancement program.' the symptoms my car experience during cold starts begin around 92,000 miles but no 'check engine light' or 'diagnostic trouble code' ever illuminated on the instrument panel. After 92,000 miles it only happened occasionally, and always during cold starts. Normally after a few seconds of idling the rattling would go away and the engine and drivetrain would perform as it should. I took my car in for a service and told the dealership what was happening, but they could not diagnose any problem.

Filed May 23, 2016 · Electrical, Transmission · 48,000 miles · MD

Vehicle lost power, stalled while driving at highway speed; "check hybrid system" displayed on dash; required replacement of inverter and intelligent power module

Filed Dec 21, 2015 · Driver assistance, Transmission · 10 miles · WA

Car would not drive, or reverse it shifts to neutral since first week I bought the car in aug 2010. I bought a toyota prius iii 2010 (from the dealership toyota of kearney mesa in san diego) in 2010. The car from the beginning would shift back to neutral when I set it to drive or reverse. I bought the car and am the only owner). After I encounter this, within the week I took it to the dealership where I bought it (san diego kearny mesa) and they told me that it was not a problem. Yes, it was a problem and they refused to fix it. This has happen to my car from week 1. Now 5 years later, today, the car would not engage in "d" or reverse. I tried at least for 10 minutes. I called a dealership now in seattle (since I take my car here for service) and I was told that they never heard about it. I searched online and I found that this problem/bug does happen. Today I could not set my car to drive or reverse for about 10-15 minutes. It's a safety issue. My steps: 1. Depress power button (to turn on) 1.1. Wait about 5-10 seconds 2. Depress the break + engage in d (drive) or (r) reverse. 3. The car goes to "n" neutral and cannot be put in gear drive or reverse. 4. Turn car off. Go back to step 1 until your car engages.

Filed Aug 24, 2015 · Electrical, Transmission · 262,000 miles · NJ

The vehicle runs ok and a few minutes later the yellow triangle turns on, as well as the check engine light and the vehicle starts to lose power. After a few more minutes the red steering wheel light comes on along with the "check hybrid system" message and the rest of the lights and the vehicles loses all power and stops. It will normally turn back on but there was one occasion where it didn't and my husband had to push the car to a parking lot. I took the car in on the recall which should cover this but all they did was update the software and blame the issue on a car accident. I don't know if this is true as just purchased the vehicle but it sounds to me that they could have fixed the issue under the recall.

Filed May 2, 2015 · Airbags, Brakes · 60,000 miles · GA · crash

I had just pulled into the garage and was at a complete stop when the car surged forward and slammed into to the back of the garage, I would tip overattempted to stop the car with the brakes and they were not working so I shifted the car to reverse and it speed out of the garage up an embankment into a fence. It. Was up on it's side and I was afraid that it would tip over so in an attempt to bring it down level I shifted to drive and it speed off forward it then jumped a row of bushes into the front yard and did a large circle in the front yard missing three large pine trees and hitting a small tree that ended up stopping the car and deployed the air bag.

Filed Oct 10, 2014 · Transmission · 31,700 miles · CT

On 4/24/14 I brought the vehicle into lynch toyota in manchester, ct in response to a recall to fix a problem which involved losing power when attempting to accelerate. The invoice covering the repair indicated "software update for mg ecu and power management ecu as per campaign eoe". On 9/29/14 I was driving in moderately heavy traffic on I-84 in west hartford, ct when I attempted to accelerate to pass a slow moving vehicle. As I began to pass, the accelerator suddenly failed to work and the engine stopped and would not respond even though I continued to depress the accelerator, although I had no power the steering worked and I was able to glide to the shoulder across the right lane of traffic. I turned off the engine, restarted it and it has functioned normally since. I returned to lynch toyota on 10/6/14 to have the problem addressed. They examined the vehicle but were unable to determine what was wrong and advised me there was nothing that could be done. I called toyota customer relations at 800‑331‑4331 and spoke with an individual who identified himself as "[xxx]". He also advised me that since the dealer could not diagnose the problem that nothing could be done. I asked him if toyota had received other similar complaints but he said there was no way to cross reference that information. The company's case number of my complaint is 1410062141. I am perplexed by the company's response because it has given me excellent service for the past 20 years. It seems very odd that it would not follow through further if for no other reason than the enormous liability exposure an obviously dangerous problem like this could present. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Oct 5, 2014 · Transmission · 52,000 miles · FL

Stopped at red light. Made left turn. Drove about 100 ft. Car engine stopped in traffic without any action on my part. Car rolled forward without power and then stopped.

Filed Jun 23, 2014 · Transmission · 121,943 miles · NC

The inverter in the car failed while accelerating. I accelerated from a stop light while the car was in power mode. Within a few seconds, the car lost power, and I could not keep up speed. The car entered a safety mode that only allows minimal forward movement. A few seconds later, the car would no longer move. Before the car stopped, several lights illuminated on the dashboard including the check engine light and power steering light. "check hybrid system" also appeared on the dash. A few months earlier, this car had the software update offered by toyota for the company's prius recall.

Filed May 13, 2014 · Fuel system, Transmission · 77,985 miles · CA

Making a right turn at 15 MPH and upon pressing gas pedal to accelerate after completing turn, power is reduced to 'limp home mode' at 10 MPH. Check hybrid system message appears on center console. 1 mile later the vehicle loses all power and will not restart. Emergency towed to nearest toyota dealership. Inverter on backorder from los angeles warehouse and estimate is 3 weeks to replace. Retail price of inverter plus labor and rental car expenses all covered under warranty is about $11,000 usd. Toyota has been exemplary in this ordeal and taking care of the customer. This is a heads up to other owners of inverter related to recall: recall subject : inverter failure may cause hybrid vehicle to stall report receipt date: feb 12, 2014 the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v053000 component(s): hybrid propulsion system.

Filed Mar 17, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 128,000 miles · NC

After driving for a combined time of 4 hours in a 5 hour period, my wife left a store she visited off zebulon road and I-475 near macon ga. When attempting to re-enter southbound I-475 the car failed and would not accelerate. A few seconds after the drive system shut down and would not restart. The dash indicators said check hybrid power system. The car was towed to a dealer rogers toyota in macon ga, where it now is. The dealer says that the problem was the engine control module though the inverter is being replaced under an existing recall issued last week. It is not clear if the engine control module is covered by the recall.

Filed Oct 9, 2013 · Electrical, Transmission · CA

Driving 45 MPH down busy 4 lane street when car just went out of gear from drive to neutral and wouldn't go into gear. Car came to a stop in heavy traffic and I was almost hit by several vehicles. Had to push to side of road. Called dealership and they sent a tow truck. They said they had never heard of this happening before but while I was sitting there waiting for a ride I went online and saw that this has happened to hundreds of people. The others affected by this defect said that heat causes a magnet to detach taking the car from drive to neutral. I am very thankful that this did not happen on the freeway or could have caused fatalities. Toyota has not recalled any vehicles or made notification to owners. This is dangerous and I'm only putting complaint in now since I didn't know how to previously. Found out 2 days after incident that the dealership has had this issue with more than 100 vehicles and that they were not being honest when they said they never saw this before. Toyota needs to get the word out before someone is killed.

Filed Aug 8, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 37,189 miles · MA

Driving on the highway in albany, ny area, slowed down to go through tollbooth as I began to accelerate to continue on highway, check hybrid light came on and engine abruptly stopped. I was able to coast the car from left lane over to the breakdown lane. Turned off car and was unable to restart. Toyota dealership found that the power inverter had failed and needed to be replaced. Error codes listed by dealer: p0a94 dc/dc converter performance.

Filed Jul 10, 2013 · Electrical, Fuel system · 106,000 miles · NJ

While driving at ca. 20 MPH a sudden jolt and clunk occurred and the car was stalled. Various dashboard lights came on, and the dash displayed "check hybrid system." towed to a toyota dealer, the problem was stated to be a failed inverter-converter that needed to be replaced.

Filed Mar 12, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 33,950 miles · NY

The incident occurred when I attempted to accelerate onto a two-lane highway. Because of a slow and sharp u-turn which precedes the short on-ramp, I disabled the eco mode for better acceleration. When I pressed down on the gas, the car immediately emitted a loud sound, became unresponsive and was unable to gain additional speed. Even so, there was no other option but to merge onto the roadway while doing no more than 30 MPH. In the meantime, the instrument panel showed a "check hybrid system" message along with several warning lights. I managed to avoid oncoming traffic (from behind) and safely pulled onto the grass. Attempts to restart the vehicle were unsuccessful with the previous message reappearing each time. The car required a tow to the nearest toyota dealer. I received a call from them the next business day, and they explained the cause to be a defective inverter based on the diagnostic code. Fortunately, the repair will be covered under toyota's hybrid warranty. It remains to be seen and I am hopeful this repair will fully resolve the issue.

Filed Mar 9, 2013 · Transmission, Wheels · 61,000 miles · NY

Rear wheel bearings failed at 61000 miles.

Filed Sep 26, 2012 · Transmission · 15,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. While stopped, the contact depressed the power off button to shut the engine off while the vehicle was still in drive. The contact stated the vehicle was designed to automatically go into park when the power off button was pushed. The contact exited the vehicle and the vehicle rolled away, crashing into a pedestrian. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital and sustained a broken tibia and crushed right ankle bone. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.

Filed Sep 12, 2012 · Brakes, Transmission · 28,000 miles · VA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle started to lose power lunged forward. The contact attempted to apply the brakes however, the brakes were inoperable and caused the contact to crash into another vehicle. The passenger of the second vehicle claimed an injury and was transported to the emergency room. The police were notified and a report was filed. The vehicle was inoperable and was towed to the dealer who had not yet diagnosed the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who advised that the vehicle diagnosis was going to take four to six weeks and offered no additional assistance. The failure and current mileage was 28,000.

Filed Aug 14, 2012 · Brakes, Transmission · 36,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota prius. The contact stated that whenever braking to drive over any uneven road surface, the braking distance was increased. The contact stated that the vehicle also seemed to push forward as if another vehicle had abruptly crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. The vehicle was not inspected. The failure mileage was 36,000 and the current mileage was 38,216. The consumer stated the vehicle was inspected by toyota. Toyota found no recalls or failures with the vehicle. The consumer stated to the service employee the vehicle lunged, all loose items flew back in the seats and the consumer was thrusted against the seat. The service employee replied that the consumer was mistaken. Updated 09/20/2012

Filed Apr 24, 2012 · Brakes, Fuel system · FL

I was entering a parking space, I approached the space about 5 MPH. The vehicle suddenly accelerated, the steering locked and the brakes went to the floor. The vehicle jumped the curbing and hit the truck in the next righthand space. It connected with the trucks left front fender. That stopped the vehicle.

Filed Feb 7, 2012 · Body, Brakes · 13,560 miles · CA · crash

While the car was parked in a hill with the parking brake it suddenly went backwards and hit the wall of the residency across the street like 500 feet down. Car was almost completely damage back, train suspension and all doors out of frame. Repair will take 8 weeks at a cost of 14850.00. There were no passengers in the car.

Filed Jun 23, 2011 · Electrical, Engine · 3,000 miles · MD

Second occurrence of this problem in three weeks. Driving downhill on a residential street at 25 MPH, slowing to a stop without applying the accelerator. Suddenly lost engine power. Applied accelerator, no response. Continued to lose speed as I rolled silently downhill toward the intersection. Applied brakes and stopped. Restarted the engine and it started up fine. The previous incident also occurred on a downhill grade, on an exit ramp from an parking garage. Fortunately both incidents happened at low speed and not in heavy traffic. I previously reported the first incident. Toyota dealer checked vehicle after each incident and could not replicate the incident or find a computer code that would explain it. Since this was the second occurrence and was familiar to me, and since I was not in traffic, I let it happen while observing my own actions, trying to check for driver error. My foot was not on the brake.the car was in drive. While the car was slowing, I tried pressing the accelerator deeply and then pumping the accelerator to see what would happen.. There was no response, and no sound. The same was true three weeks ago-no response to pushing the accelerator, even deeply, and no sound. Three weeks ago, the first time it happened, I also tried cycling through the "modes" (EV, prius, eco, power) with no effect. Each time, I hit the power button to power off, and then I hit it again to restart. Powering off and then restarting, both times, seemed like "rebooting" a computer. Fortunately traffic conditions both times gave me ample time to reboot. Will this happen again?

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