2005 Toyota Prius Power Train Problems
- 27
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 27 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- back neutral · 7 records
- gear shifter · 5 records
- drive reverse · 4 records
- failure recurred · 4 records
- several times · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 12 |
| 1–30k mi | 5 |
| 60–100k mi | 4 |
| 150–400k mi | 4 |
| 30–60k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Power Train
When i attempted to shift into drive or reverse, the car would revert back to neutral unless i held down the gear shift in position. This happened when i had the car in motion on city streets. Parking (using the button on the prius) was also difficult, and i had to try multiple times to put the car in park as it continually wanted to go back to neutral.
ODI 11170267
Power Train
Prius will not stay in gear, keeps popping back into neutral. First happened when stationary --- press power button, "ready" on the dash, go to shift into drive or reverse and it pops back into neutral. This occurred when the vehicle was in motion on a city street. Finally got it to work (no idea why?) then when driving, again, it popped into neutral from drive. Very dangerous!!!
ODI 11031991
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. While driving various speeds, the gear shifter failed to change from drive into neutral. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition, the vehicle was previously serviced per an unknown recall in which the inverter water pump was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was…
ODI 10995117
Electrical System · Power Train
The car jumps out of gear, or it won't go into park. But it started to drives away after i got out of the car, or as i was getting out. This happen twice, once at the dealer. The display for transmission position was broken. The same display that shows speed, fuel level and other items was not working. Also, i could not shut off the car or remove the key. The first time it happen was 8/19/2015 at a car wash. The…
1 injury
ODI 10758925
Electrical System · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. After the vehicle was shifted into the park position, the contact exited the vehicle as it began to roll away. The vehicle struck the contact. The instrument panel failed to illuminate. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries reported. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition,…
ODI 10758945
Electrical System · Fuel/Propulsion System · Power Train
Bought one-owner 2005 prius 11-26-2014 after paying for a pre-purchase inspection at a toyota dealer showing complete service record including all recall campaigns. 4-19-2015 without warning on the expressway, the entire 'combination meter display' simply turned off, leaving the car running in the blind, no gauges/meters/guidance of any kind. The car continued to operate and i drove directly home and parked it.…
ODI 10711889
Power Train
Car would not stay in drive. When i put the car into drive, it would immediately revert to neutral. The car might only advance a couple of feet and then it would pop back into neutral. Sometimes it would immediately pop back, never really staying in drive. Holding the sifter in drive would allow the car to drive. After the car would pop back into the neutral position, the car could not put it into park as well. I…
ODI 10690257
Power Train
I purchased my prius used in june 2014 this was my first winter with it obviously. Any time it about 10 below zero in mn this winter i had to hold my car in drive or reverse, sometimes as long as 5 miles+. *tr
ODI 10703810
Power Train
Shift lever plastic shield warped, preventing going into park. Car can roll forward when you think park is engaged. *tr
ODI 10550121
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that he attempted to shift into park but the gear shifter failed. The contact had to turn the vehicle off in order to shift into park. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the gear shift unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 130,000.
ODI 10503116
Electrical System · Power Train
I started up the car this morning, put it into reverse, and a second or two later, it shifted itself into neutral. The shift lever felt like there was more resistance to it than usual. This happened several times and also happened when i tried to put the car into drive. After about 15 minutes of turning the car on and off and trying to shift several times, the car finally stayed in gear. The problem is the same as…
ODI 10496047
Power Train
The electronic(?) shift mechanism in the car malfunctions/does not stay engaged in temperatures approximately 28 degrees fareheit & below when car has sat idle for periods of time. The night of this incident i was returning from a business trip where my car had been sitting out in the weather for approximately 28-30 hours. The temperature this particular day was 9 degrees; however, i have had this happen in the past…
ODI 10494421
Electrical System · Power Train
Outside temperature approx 32 degrees f. Gear shifter on dashboard would not electrically seal-in or stay in position after going into reverse, the first time. Backed car out of driveway and shifted into drive, it immediately went back into neutral position and would not stay in drive - electrically. The only way to keep the car in gear was to physically hold the gear shifter into desired position. Physically held…
ODI 10488865
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle independently shifted from drive to neutral. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The vin…
ODI 10489100
Electrical System · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. In order to start the vehicle, the emergency brake had to be engaged. The contact also stated that the headlights failed intermittently but would function normally after attempting to activated them several times. In addition while driving at various speeds, the transmission would erroneously shift into neutral and all of…
ODI 10491631
Electrical System · Engine And Engine Cooling · Power Train
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).…
ODI 10438520
Electrical System · Power Train · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
I rolled slowly (<1 mph) uphill to the parking slot (l.a. Code, 2%grade down away from buildings) up to the parking cement stop, and was ready to shut it down. The engine started to race, about to go over the cement stop when i put my foot on the brake. The car continued over the cement stop. I pushed harder on the brake and the car started to drive over the sidewalk. Then the car drove through the plate glass of…
ODI 10444425
Electrical System · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
We were traveling along a familiar country road on a warm sunny day. When we arrived at a rural store there was only one other customer there. I slowly eased into the designated parking area which was situated about 17 inches above the lawn below. I was probably traveling less than one mile an hour. When i braked, the car accelerated and propelled itself over the blocks and railroad ties that are found in front of…
Crash reported
ODI 10380708
Power Train
We own two 2005 toyota pruis. We bought the first at sunrise toyota and six months later we bought the second at a toyota dealership in virginia. The former pruis (car #1) had 96,000 miles on it when the lever to change the gears began to slip from the drive or reverse mode into neutral repeatedly. Fortunately we were stopped with the engine running when this first occurred. On the latter prius (car # 2), with…
ODI 10384453
Cooling System · Electrical System · Power Train
2005 toyota prius stalled on an overpass with no shoulders. The transmission became stuck in park, and the vehicle could not be pushed since the front wheels were locked up. The car was eventually towed, and it had to be dragged onto the flatbed wrecker since the front wheels would not roll. The problem was determined to be a failed pump for cooling the inverter. The pump failed such that it blew a fuse that also…
ODI 10365356
Power Train · Traction Control System
The traction control override repeatedly engages arbitrarily under various circumstances, including hitting bumps/potholes at 35 mph and accelerating from a stop on both wet and dry roads. I have seen reports online of people expressing their concern about this feature in snow, but our prius does it frequently. Aside from the inconvenience, this is a clear safety hazard when attempting to pull out into traffic. We…
ODI 10557264
Frontal · Power Train · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Vehicle Speed Control
My daughter was driving our 2005 prius at about 30 miles an hour at approximately 3pm when she saw a truck stop approximately 300 feet ahead of her. She applied the brakes but the prius did not stop and collided with the truck causing a total loss of the prius. The road surface was wet from snow and the temperature was approximately 34 degrees. Although the car was heavily damaged the air bags did not deploy. This…
Crash reported
ODI 10304443
Power Train
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that the gear shifter would lock up, which prevented the vehicle from moving or changing gears. The failure occurred once in a tunnel while in traffic. The road crew had to move the vehicle to the side of the road. It took twenty minutes to re-engage the gear so that the vehicle could move again. Usually, it would take twenty to forty minutes before it…
ODI 10252865
Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
I have been driving my 2005 prius for 5 years and have experienced the following nearly 20 times, when braking, if a pothole or bump in the road is hit, the car seemingly jerks forward/accelerates for a split second. And the vsc light on the dash will go on for a short time. *tr
ODI 10304299
Engine And Engine Cooling · Power Train
Purchased 2005 toyota prius - vin # jtd kb2 ou1 530 793 29 on july 20, 2005 -registered it to my wife krista gottlieb. On july 22, 2005 when this car had about 80 miles on it, i was driving it on the highway in traffic at about 50 mph - when suddenly i lost complete power. By that, i mean that the accelerator pedal was completely unresponsive. I am not aware of what the instruments indicated as i was preoccupied…
ODI 10140213