Toyota Prius won't start problems

Filed Mar 20, 2026 · Brakes · NC

My brake actuator and brake booster are failing. All of my dashboard lights have come on (brake, ABS, Traction Control, brake system warning light). Unfortunately, I am over 10 years and Toyota is saying that I need to pay out of pocket for the repairs. This is a known problem and should be covered. I was unaware of the known issue and my car didn't start having problems until after the 10 year mark. I am under 150,000 miles.

Filed Jun 23, 2023 · Electrical · IN

When I parked my car and stopped the engine after driving for 90 min/62 miles on June 22, 2023, I found that I couldn't lock my car's door, through my remote, door handle or the switch inside the door. Upon further examination, I saw complete loss of the power: no light, no audio, no other accessory power, no start of engine. Foot press on the brake feels heavy/less responsive. One hr after the incident I went back (because I had some business to attend) to the car, everything looked normal (with full functions recovered) as if nothing happened before. 6 hrs later the car still behaved fine. I measured 12-v battery and it registered 12.3 v (I bought the car new 8 years ago and I haven't changed the battery yet). I noticed that my the clock in the car lost 10 mins (behind correct time) and I concluded the complete loss of battery power lasted about 10 mins. By the time of this report, I have started the engine 5 times without any problem but this loss of power gravely concerns me. I saw recalls for similar problems affecting similar prius models/years however my car is not on the list.

Filed Aug 17, 2022 · Fuel system · CA

Fuel pump malfunctioned. The vehicle stalled at low speeds while driving on an incline and gave a large red exclamation error sign on the dashboard. It stopped accelerating and came to a stop. Afterwards the engine will not start anymore. The car was towed to a garage and they found the fuel pump to be faulty.

Filed Sep 25, 2021 · Brakes, Electrical · CA

As stated from 5 months after we bought it, and the first prius, the car won't start. No matter if parked flat, keys in or out over night, or the temp, when the break is pushed it is squishy and makes draining noise and won't start. As a dr on call i have LOST patients because I could not leave my house. i carry and use the charger daily ever since. Taken in lots. they say, "you don't drive enough..or some other bogus excuse, like don't leave keys in car, which is how priuses start and run!. the car is driven in all ways a lot. also we buy headlights and headlamps on both about every 2 months. also it looses power and has shut off while driving. the worst is when it would start on its own in the locked garage. at that point my wife just quit driving all together. nothing but nightmares. She almsot crashed on fw when power went out.

Filed Jun 30, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · NC · 1 injury

Check hybrid system light ignites, slows down vehicle in middle of high speed highway. First incident November of 2020 then several incidents after. Repair shops don't assure problem according to error codes & they recommend possibilities they cannot assure will resolve the problem. Car was taken into local dealership after receiving recall notice for software and airbags prior to November 2020 when the issue began. Software update took a couple of hours. Restart/reboot temporarily allowed driving again. Most recently the system entirely shut down & the car will not start or run. Abandoned car on side of the road and got heat exhaustion from walking the rest of the way home and had vehicle towed. Error lights come on including "check hybrid system" says "shift to P position when starting" and will not allow start.

Filed Jun 15, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · VA

My 2009 Toyota Prius abruptly lost power while driving. The electrical system turned off and the vehicle stalled while going 50 mph on a 2-lane parkway. While I was able to put my hazard lights on and steer the vehicle, I had no other control and was at a high risk of a crash. There's no emergency lane and few areas wide enough to pull over on the parkway. I was forced to coast the vehicle until I could pull off the parkway onto a patch of grass off the busy road. There were no warnings, messages, or other symptoms of the problems prior to failure. I had plenty of gasoline in the tank, so it wasn't due to a lack of fuel. The car would not start after pulling over and I had to get towed. After researching the issue, it sounds very similar to the safety recall involving certain 2013-2015 Model Year Prius and 2014 – 2017 Model Year Prius v in the United States, the press release for which was published on June 24 2020: https://tinyurl.com/4mrnz9nr Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on April 23 2018 about a similar issue, referring to a recall in 2014 which was intended to fix overheating problems in the 2010-204 Prius inverter. Those recall documents suggest that Toyota has been tracking this issue with the inverter since 2011. https://tinyurl.com/afwvt2sc A sudden power loss is generally considered a serious safety defect. I could have gotten into a serious car accident today and injured myself or other drivers. The 2009 Toyota Prius model had a recall issued on recall date: 11/14/2012 under the federal safety agency Campaign ID: 12V536000, referring to a "short circuit between coil wires and a possible open fuse, creating a stall-like condition of the hybrid system while the vehicle is being driven. This may increase the risk of a vehicle crash." At this time, I don't believe Toyota has conducted due diligence into ensuring the safety of the 2009 Toyota Prius model. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance reps.

Filed Nov 11, 2020 · Body, Electrical · 133,425 miles · OH

My toyota prius was involved in a hit run accident. Yark collision completed work on vehicle. When picking up car from yark my car would not start spoke with one of the mechanic he said my battery died and I explained to them I had no issues ,prior to bringing my car to yark I had just had diagnostic test done at toyota. Vehicle sat at my residence over night and vehicle had died again. I contacted yark told them I was bringing battery in for them to charge because I was not sure as to what was going on since we had already replaced battery. Vehicle also had my skid plate in trunk prior to drop off and now I am having electrical issues my horn now does not work and I have children .I did not receive my car until 1 month and half due to insurance not getting back to us . Vehicle has been non drivable since pick up.

Filed Jul 22, 2020 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · CA

Car won't start at times. A code of p0aa6 comes on but then I cannot get a sub code (detailed code) to determine what is wrong. I have taken it to 3 dealers and 3 separate mechanics and the same thing happens. They can't retrieve a sub code to figure out what's wrong. They reset it so I can get home and the same thing happens again and I have to tow it to another place. Can't depend on this car to start.

Filed Nov 16, 2019 · Electrical, Fuel system · 100,000 miles · TX

My vehicle will not go but about 30 or 40 maybe 50 on highway after very slow exelaration I'm almost killed every time I get on the highway highway and reg streets to excearate it very very slow to start then I have to pull over and kill it start over not using het or air now it just won't start have not had it checked can't afford it

Filed Oct 7, 2018 · Engine · 118,000 miles · NY

While driving on a side road on 9/26/2018 I received an alert message that said "check hybrid system. Stop the vehicle in a safe place." I pulled the vehicle over and shut it down. The vehicle would not start for a minute but then started again. I called the toyota dealership where I get my car serviced and I asked them if it is okay for me to drive it home since I was 110 miles away. They told me it was okay to drive and I took the car to them to get it checked out upon getting back in town. They confirmed that the warning had come on, however could not find anything to fix it. So they reset the error message and returned the car to me. I am afraid to drive the car on the road without a fix since it could stop at a high speed and cause me to be in a crash. I am surprised how does toyota have a protocol to let users drive a faulty car on the road?