Problems · by component

2009 Toyota Prius electrical system problems

60 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota Prius cite electrical system, 12% of all 502 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
60
12% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
4
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the electrical system

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, extra effort was needed to stop the vehicle while depressing the brake pedal. In addition, the contact stated that the instrument panel intermittently went blank and failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the ABS and the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 157,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 14, 2025Service brakes, hydraulic, Electrical systemODI 11642706
“The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the instrument cluster was intermittently inoperable. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would fail to start or to turn off intermittently while pressing the Push to Start button. The contact stated that the vehicle would respond as needed after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel combination meter had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic related the failure to Toyota Campaign Number: ZTV and referred the contact to the dealer for the repair. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under Toyota Campaign Number: ZTV. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 167,532.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 23, 2024Electrical systemODI 11590307
“The hybrid water pump failed/ aka the inverter coolant pump. This was recalled years ago and has failed again. The previous owner of my car replaced it in 2013, so Toyota is refusing to replace it again, despite the fact that the part is faulty and has compromised the safety of my vehicle. This issue was diagnosed by a mechanic yesterday, error code P0A93. The master warning light, check engine light, brake light came on. The AC stopped working. The brakes nearly gave out on me driving on a bridge in New York City. This part was recalled. Toyota refuses to honor the recall a second time. They clearly did not properly engineer this part! It failed again! They should be responsible for fixing this issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 15, 2023Electrical system, Unknown or other, Service brakesODI 11538564
“The car stopped moving while I was driving. The engine is functional but it will not engage the drivetrain. The dashboard lights up intermittently. Most of the time the dash is dark. The local Toyota dealer will not take this car into the service department since it is over 10 years old and the dealer has not done all the regular servicings of the car. So I can not drive it.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 3, 2022Power train, Electrical systemODI 11445914
“The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the instrument panel lights would turn off and no instrumentation could be accessed or read. The failure was intermittent, and finally got it to shut off after trying many different things. Consumer had a hard time turning off the car. The cause of the failure was not determined but the contact was informed that a manufacturer’s extended service which addressed the failure was available from the manufacturer. The manufacturer and dealer were contacted but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 215,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 2, 2021Electrical systemODI 11439079
“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…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 15, 2021Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11421092

Showing 6 of 60 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.