Problems · by component
2006 Toyota Prius engine problems
25 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2006 Toyota Prius cite engine, 2% of all 1,440 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
25
2% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“One afternoon, in the Summer of 23, I entered my Toyota Prius to run some errands. Once I proceeded to power on the car, none of the dashboard lights illuminated. This included the gas gauge, speedometer & transmission indicator. Fortunately, I was only driving a few blocks down the road from my residence as I live in a small rural town with little congestion, little traffic and mostly two-lane roads. I can't imagine this occurring in a much larger metropolitan city. When I arrived at my destination, I discovered that my Prius wouldn't shut off. This dashboard malfunction was preventing the Toyota from powering off. I quickly completed my errands with my vehicle running during this entire ordeal. Finally, when I returned home, I frantically researched on YouTube regarding this issue and discovered many others who also were having these no-illuminating-dashboard problems. Some YouTubers offered workarounds but the solutions will be temporary as the problem will eventually worsen until the Prius owners have no working dashboard lights. From the way I understand it, this problem is nothing more than a small computer board that's behind the speedometer and this…”
“The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while his wife was attempting to stop the engine and turn off the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact's wife was able to drive safely to the residence. The contact disconnected the battery and conducted a personal diagnostic test and the vehicle was operable. The vehicle was not diagnosed by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 265,817.”
“ACCORDING TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WHERE I HAVE MY CAR MAINTAINED, MY 2006 PRIUS IS IN NEED OF A NEW MOTHERBOARD. APPARENTLY THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS PRIOR TO SO MANY MILES ON THE VEHICLE BUT I HAVE MISSED THIS DEADLINE AS MY CAR DID NOT SHOW THESE SYMPTOMS PRIOR TO THE CUTOFF.. MY PRIUS WHEN TURNED ON DOES NOT TURN ON THE DASH BOARD FEATURES SO I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I AM DRIVING. ONCE I REACH MY DESTINATION I AM UNABLE TO TURN MY CAR OFF. THE POWER BUTTON DOES NOT RESPOND, USUALLY FOR SEVERAL HOURS. IN THESE CASES I USUALLY LEAVE MY CAR ON IN THE PARKING LOT WHERE I AM AND RETURN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS TO CHECK ON IT. IT TENDS TO TURN OFF AFTER TAKING THE CAR FOR A LONG DRIVE SEVERAL HOURS LATER. THIS OCCURS ABOUT TWICE A MONTH NOW.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 64 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HARTFORD TOYOTA SUPERSTORE LOCATED AT (135 W SERVICE RD, HARTFORD, CT 06120) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BATTERY AND TWO IGNITION COILS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED WHILE THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT AND THE ESP FAULT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO LYNCH TOYOTA LOCATED AT (179 TOLLAND TURNPIKE, MANCHESTER, CT 06042) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT INVERTER WATER PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 237,000.”
“I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY 95 SOUTH, ALMOST TO DELAWARE, AT NIGHT IN THE RAIN, AFTER 4 HOURS ON THE ROAD, EVERYTHING STOPPED WORKING. I COULDN'T ACCELERATE, I HAD NO BRAKES, AND EVENTUALLY EVEN MY LIGHTS WENT OUT. THE ENTIRE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS OUT. I WAS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, AND DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT OFF THE HIGHWAY, AND TO A GAS STATION. THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER COULDN'T EVEN JUMP THE BATTERY ENOUGH TO GET THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, AND HAD A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING IT UP ON THE FLATBED TO TOW IT HOME. I COULDN'T EVEN LOCK THE DOORS. I HAD A NEW KEY MADE AT THE DEALERSHIP ON 10/17/19 AND I WAS USING THAT KEY FOR HOURS DRIVING TO CT AND A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER I WAS HALF WAY HOME WHEN EVERYTHING IN THE CAR STOPPED WORKING. I WAS TOWED TO MY HOME IN MD BECAUSE I NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO UNPACK MY CAR AND COMPUTER BEFORE TAKING IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. WHEN THE SECOND TOW CAME THE NEXT DAY, I HANDED HIM THE KEY BY THE FRONT DOOR, WHICH WAS MY OLD KEY, AND HE WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR IN NEUTRAL RIGHT AWAY, AND AT THE DEALERSHIP THE CAR WORKED JUST FINE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THE NEW KEY. THE TECHNICIAN FOUND THAT "THE IMMOBILIZER ECU HAS AN INTERMITTENT OPEN CIRCUIT FAILURE,…”
“MY CAR OVERHEATED SUDDENLY, SHOWED MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS, AND WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING A FAILURE OF THE ELECTRIC WATER PUMP --SYMPTOMS EXACTLY IDENTICAL TO THOSE DESCRIBED IN !2V536000. MY CAR DID NOT STALL BUT HAD THE SECONDARY CONDITIONS SHOWN WHEN TOYOTA ENGINEERS TESTED THE LIKELY RESULTS OF FAILURE OF THE FAULTY COIL WIRE.”
Showing 6 of 25 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 4, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.