2008 Toyota Prius Electrical System Problems
- 197
- 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 197 stored complaint records:
- 7 indicate a crash
- 6 indicate injury
- 2 indicate fire
What owners report
- combination meter · 21 records
- both headlights · 13 records
- water pump · 10 records
- instrument panel · 8 records
- rear hatch · 8 records
- come back · 8 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 60 |
| 30–60k mi | 32 |
| 100–150k mi | 31 |
| 150–400k mi | 28 |
| 1–30k mi | 25 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While stationary and driving various speeds, all of the instrument panel indicators failed to illuminate. South dade toyota in homestead, florida was made aware of the failure and stated that it was a factory defect. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The contact was referred to nhtsa. The failure mileage was 75,000.
ODI 11054519
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Initially the passenger side headlight began to flicker. Then it went out. When i turned the lights off and on again it came back on. Since then completely randomly one light or the other, but more commonly the passneger side will flicker and dim, and then later go out. Turning the lights off and back on will usually restore the light but more than half the time only to a dimmed or flickering condition. Sometimes…
ODI 10761128
Electrical System
Our car was exhibiting a serious defect that toyota has already found and documented on their site, saying that they are doing an extended warranty to correct the problem. However, they have grossly mismanaged this extended warranty by not providing the part at all or perhaps at some far future time (we still don't know when we will get our car back, perhaps months or never). When word gets out that customers who…
ODI 10670237
Electrical System · Hatchback/Liftgate
The hatchback lift has deteriorated and no longer works. The toyota service representative quoted me $570 to replace it, stating it could pose an electrical system safety issue. No damage has occurred and since it is keyless ... How does this happen? The clear coat has degraded only on the piece of metal that encloses the hatchback's lift mechanism and started flaking about the same time that i noticed it was…
ODI 10663239
Electrical System
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that the display screen shorted intermittently and then failed to work without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who inspected the fuses and cleaned the screen. The technician replaced the multi display unit. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 104,000.
ODI 10690617
Electrical System
The spiral cable that controls the electrical supply to the steering wheel (radio, heating,air conditioning, etc. Failed). In some vehicles the air bag power supply is routed through this cable and the air bag power supply fails when the spiral cable fails. In my particular case the air bag warning light did not come on but most of the other switches ceased working).
ODI 10667405
Electrical System · Engine
Driving on sb hwy 35 at 74mph, master warning light came on and vehicle shut down, no electrical or engine control. Pulled safely to shoulder of road. Car would not restart. Got out of car, locked car, unlocked car (toyota technician instructions), then car restarted. Got car off the road, contacted state farm for tow to autonation toyota south austin. Toyota technician removed a third party telematic device…
ODI 10649235
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Visibility/Wiper
Both of my cars headlights turn off intermittently and for no reason (the bulbs and ballasts have been replaced and are in working order). I will be driving down the road at night (interstate 70mph) and occasionally both headlights will just turn off. I have almost gotten in a wreck multiple times due to the fact i'm driving at night and out of nowhere my lights go out. This is a huge safety issue. When looking this…
ODI 10626183
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
The first time both lights went out, we were traveling south on i-95 near richmond, va. Prior to this, we thought the lights had dimmed a couple times, but when we checked them, they were fine. There is no mistake when you loose both headlights while on high beam, there are no fog lights, so it gets very dark. I think going to low beam gave us some light (the fog lights) but do not remember, i then turned the light…
ODI 10650009
Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
The rubber rear hatch door release button on my 2008 toyota prius started to degrade and become sticky in hot summer weather. I originally thought that the latch was sticky and greasy because dealership service people had opened the car with greasy hands, but then the latch button cover became stiff and difficult to press a few months later, when the weather turned cold. This became a real safety hazard when i…
ODI 10872130
Electrical System
The dashboard light will not come on and i could not read mileage or how fast i was going. Eventually, car shuts down in motion. Took it to keyes toyota in van nuys, ca. They acknowledged there was a defect and recall and would fix it after a few days they are telling me i have to spend about $4000 to get it fixed because there are fuses burnt and cannot determine what is causing this. *tr
ODI 10596391
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Right head light would go off on it's own. Light was replaced by dealer about a year ago. Now both headlights go out!!!!!! *tr
ODI 10627786
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Low beam headlights have failed . Drivers right headlight fails mostly, but left headlight fails about 33% of the time. I have lost both headlights after a while and is extremely dangerous at night! We have had to stop driving at night because headlights will not stay on past 5 mins. I have looked into the class action lawsuit and at 60000 miles i do not qualify for the settlement. I am very concerned with the…
ODI 10610875
Electrical System · Service Brakes
There is a leak inside the 12v battery compartment that houses the battery and the electronic brake controller. The car's hatch leaks water in from rain and car washes and it collects around the 12v battery. In this prius, this area has the battery, electronic brake controller, and further back is the hv battery. There should not be any water that can leak into this area with the electronics. There are many google…
ODI 10566912
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
When i was on the freeway, one of my headlights just went out. I had the same exact headlight replaced only one year ago. A few days later, both of my headlights had the same problem. They would flicker and then just go out while i am driving at high speeds. If i turn the light switch on and off while i am driving they sometimes come back on. Sometimes i have to pull over and restart the car for them to come back…
ODI 10566618
Body · Electrical System
On the hatch, the exterior switch to open the hatch is covered by a rubber seal to prevent moisture. Unfortunately for me (and apparently hundreds of other consumers i've spoken to online), the rubber eventually dissolves and destroys the switching mechanism, leading to an inability to open the trunk/hatch. This has potential safety implications as if there were a battery fire, i'd have no way to open the hatch to…
ODI 10622595
Electrical System
When i started the car the dash lights didn't come on. This has happened 3 times. Doesn't really sound like a big deal until you realize you don't know how fast you're driving, don't know how much gas you have - not to mention, if anything goes wrong with the car while this is happening the warning light will not illuminate. Also when this happens the car doesn't turn off. *tr
ODI 10566949
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Pulling away from home after starting car, i noticed dashboard lights were out, no speedometer, etc. Although blinker lights worked. Later, backing up, i noticed the camera image did not work. Big problem was when i got to work and car would not turn off. I tried for 20 minutes including that i made the mistake of putting smart key into slot thinking that would help only to realize that key could not be removed…
ODI 10556797
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Purchased used in oct 2013, first had to replace headlight in dec 2013. Have replaced right headlight 6 times and ballast once. Problem only temporarily resolved. This month headlight went out again. Have replaced ballast and bulb with no success. Headlight will not stay on longer than 30 sec before going back out. *tr
ODI 10667246
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Intermittent headlamp failure. Flicking lights on and off will temporarily remedy only to fail again during the same drive. Near accident on pitch black mountain road when both lights failed. Bulbs have been replaced multiple times by dealer and problem continues. I've been pulled over by law enforcement and given warnings. We have two young children and cannot safely drive our car during the night or for travel.…
ODI 10683538
Electrical System · Engine · Exterior Lighting
Every few weeks (even several times in the same week), the dashboard lights on the car go completely dark, without warning (no, the dimmer switch is not turned to "low" or "off"-- that is the first thing we tried). Simultaneously, or sometimes at different times, the car refuses to turn off, even when the "off" switch is pressed constantly or intermittently, for up to a half-hour. Obviously, it is extremely…
ODI 10576068
Electrical System · Engine
Was driving to nova scotia 10/18/13. Stopped for coffee after 2 hrs of driving. Car would not restart. Returning to maine10/20/2013 was passing a tractor trailer truck with another trailer truck passing behind me as well. No check engine light had come on at any time during the trip. Suddenly,all the warning lights on the dashboard lit up and the car stopped working while driving at 75 mph. Tried not to slow too…
ODI 10564026
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
My headlight keeps going out. I know its a known problem but there has not been recall and it did not occur until recently, so it does not fit in with the toyota 50,000 miles and under rule. However, i have been stopped a couple times and its happening more and more every day. This should be recalled! *tr
ODI 10542824
Electrical System · Engine · Service Brakes
I rear-ended the car in front of me in a very low speed accident, listed on my ticket as 1+ mph by the police officer who witnessed my accident while at the scene attending to an already-occurred accident. When i was 2-3 car lengths behind the car in front of me, going approx. 5-10 mph, i saw their brake lights go on, and i pushed the brake pedal and nothing happened. I pumped the brakes, and nothing happened. When…
Crash reported
ODI 10548760
Electrical System
This happened when i was driving in sfo city on an uphill street. It was bumper to bumper traffic and the car was going just fine (stop-and-go), and at one point it just stopped on the uphill and won't pull up. I had half+ tank of gas, battery was showing 4 bars, the car was on (all electrics okay) but won't pull up even when pressing hard on the gas. There was a emergency warning light that came (system malfunction…
ODI 10536553