64 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2005 Toyota Prius cite engine and engine cooling, 6% of all 1,051 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“ENGINE SHUT OFF AT APPROXIMATELY 8500 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL (CARSON PASS, HIGHWAY 88). DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35-40MPH. CLEAR DAY 70 DEGREES. NO WARNING LIGHT FOR OVERHEATING, BUT AUX FAN TURNED ON IN REAR SEAT.. TOWED CAR APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES TO CARSON CITY. INSPECTED BY TOYOTA DEALER IN CONSULTATION WITH TOYOTA SERVICE CONSULTANTS. REPLACED HYBRID CONTROL ECU. NO CHARGE TO ME AND TOYOTA REIMBURSED FOR 2 DAYS EXPENSES. TRIP HOME , AUX FAN TURNED ON AT 8500 FEET REMAINED ON UNTIL APPROX. 7000 FEET ELEVATION. CONSULTED TOYOTA, REFERRED ME TO TOYOTA DEALER NEAR HOME. THEY CONSULTED WITH TOYOTA HQ. HQ RECOMMEND ANOTHER TEST COSTING $500. DEALER COULD FIND NO FAULT. I ASKED TOYOTA FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF $500 AND TO INVESTIGATE ENGINE SHUT OFF AS A POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.TOYOTA REFERRED ME BACK TO LOCAL DEALER. MAINTENANCE MANAGER THERE TOLD ME THEY HAD ALREADY PERFORMED TESTS:NOTHING MORE TO BE DONE. HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM TOYOTA ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT OR FURTHER EVALUATION OF THE PROBLEM. *TR”
“WE WERE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT AND SUDDENLY, WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE STALLED COMPLETELY, THE CAR DIED, AND ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, INCLUDING A RED TRIANGLE, CHECK ENGINE, BRAKE, AND SOME OTHERS. THE PRIUS LOST POWER AND I HAD TO TURN ON THE HAZARD LIGHTS AND COAST TO THE SHOULDER. WE CALLED THE AAA TOWING SERVICE AND 911 (AS THE SHOULDER WAS VERY NARROW AND WE COULD NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR). THE OFFICER AND THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER CHECKED FOR ALL POSSIBLE DRIVER ERRORS, INCLUDING GAS, BUT DID NOT FIND ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY (THE GAS GAUGE SHOWED 5/8 FULL). THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN SUNNYVALE WHO ARE WORKING TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. THIS WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AS WE WERE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY, WITH A CHILD IN THE CAR, AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AT NIGHT AND THE CAR SUDDENLY DIED. IT HAS LEFT US SHAKEN AND WE WILL BE CONTACTING TOYOTA TO SEE IF THEY HAVE A FIX FOR THIS. *TR”
“I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN MY VEHICLE'S CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. SHORTLY AFTER I SAW A LARGE AMOUNT OF SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT OFF THE CAR. CAR SMELLED LIKE BURNED PLASTIC AND SMOKE. I WAS WORRIED THAT THE CAR COULD CATCH ON FIRE OR BLOW UP! I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO MY NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP.TOYOTA CLAIMED THAT THE THREE WAY COOLANT CONTROL VALVE HAD FAILED AND THE STEAM CAME FROM A RUPTURED LINE IN THE COOLANT SYSTEM. THE JOB COST ME $422.32. I DIDN'T MIND PAYING THE SERVICE BUT AFTER CAREFUL RESEARCH INTO THE PROBLEM WITH THE 3-WAY CONTROL VALVE ON THE PRIUS I HAD LEARNED THAT THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM.APPARENTLY THE VALVE TENDS TO STICK CAUSING NO FLOW OF THE COOLANT FLUID. I FEEL TOYOTA SHOULD FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT EITHER BY GETTING BURNED FROM A RUPTURED LINE OR THE CAR CATCHES ON FIRE. *TR”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT STATED THE DEALER REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER, BUT THE VEHICLE ONLY FUNCTIONED NORMALLY FOR ONE MONTH. THE CONTACT STATED THE FAILURE WAS BEING DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER FOR ONE WEEK. THE FUEL PRESSURE WAS ALSO BEING CHECKED TO SEE IF IT MET SPECIFICATIONS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN, BUT THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 75,500.”
“INCIDENT = ON 1/19/11 MY 2005 PRIUS BEGAN TO SHAKE WHILE DRIVING ON SURFACE STREETS. I PULLED OVER CHECKED THE CAR BUT SAW NOTHING THAT WOULD CAUSE THE SHAKING. I THEN STARTED THE CAR AND BEGAN TO DRIVE. THE SHAKING STARTED AGAIN LIKE AN UNBALANCED WASHER. I TOOK THE CAR TO HOLLYWOOD TOYOTA. TOYOTA CHECKED THE CAR AND INDICATED THAT 2 SPARK PLUGS HAD GONE BAD AND THAT 2 IGNITION COILS HAD SHORTED OUT. AS A RESULT THE ENGINE HAD CARBON DEPOSITS AND NEEDED EXTENSIVE CLEANING. I HAVE DONE ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE TO TOYOTA SPECIFICATION. AS A RESULT I CONTACTED TOYOTA'S OFFICES TO VOICE SAFETY CONCERNS. WERE THERE ANY OTHER SIMILAR REPORTED INCIDENTS AND DO THEY CONSIDER ANY SAFETY ISSUES. DIDN'T GET A CLEAR ANSWER AT ALL FROM THEM. TOYOTA ONCE AGAIN IS IN DENIAL WITH PRIUS PROBLEMS. DAMAGE RESULTING = COST WAS $989.81. I FEEL THAT TOYOTA NEEDS TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THESE REPAIRS. HAD THIS HAPPENED ON THE FREEWAY RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. I COMPLAINED TO TOYOTA AND THEY HAVE OFFERED ME $348.10 OFF THE TOTAL WORK. ITS NOT JUST A MONEY ISSUE ITS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL. *TR”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING DIAGNOSTIC TESTING TO DETERMINE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 164,000.”
Showing 6 of 64 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2009 Prius vehicles manufactured August 6, 2003, through March 30, 2009 and FCHV-adv vehicles manufactured December 12, 2008, through September 13, 2011. During manufacturing, a scratch may have occurred inside of the electrically driven water pump at the coil wire. The coil wire may corrode at the scratched portion.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.