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 · Engine And Engine Cooling
Tl - the contact owns 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while trying to turn off the vehicle it would not shut off. The contact mentioned that the failure had occurred several times before, he was not able to turn off the vehicle until it was warm. The vehicle was taken into the dealership and they were not able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The…
ODI 10374750
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Unknown Or Other
Headlight goes on, then goes off. Won't stay on. I was informed the other one could go out at any time, so i should replace both, at great expense. I was told by toyota that the hid headlights were covered under the regular warranty, but not the extended warranty. Bulbs (especailly those costing $300) should not burn out or randomly flicker on a two year old vehicle. To prevent future/additional problems, i had to…
ODI 10367452
Electrical System
The instrument panel on a 2008 prius decides not work at varied times. It is a sporadic problem which occurs then goes away. You could be driving down the highway at night then you see that you have no display telling you: 1) how fast you are going, 2) how much gas do you have, or 3) distance traveled. It's too difficult to troubleshoot because the problem would goes away. *tr
ODI 10365554
Electrical System
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph on the freeway the hybrid warning light illuminated on the instrumental panel and the vehicle suddenly stalled. He was able to drift the vehicle onto the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The diagnosis determined that the air flow sensor failed. The vin was not available. The vehicle was repaired.…
ODI 10365946
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
High density headlight on passenger side burned out quickly, after only 2+ years of driving. Dealer garage replaced at no cost - since it was still under the full extended warranty. High density headlight on driver side went out while driving. It went back on later that day, and has been intermittent since, but mostly not working. Just started researching replacement bulb prices when i found out how many people have…
ODI 10493570
Electrical System
Prius starts when the power button is pushed. There is no dashboard lights and since the dash board is digital there is no way to tell what gear the car is in or what speed you are traveling. Car drives without an operational dashboard which the dealer does not recommend. Car is under 2000 mile warranty. Dealer unwilling to repair combination meter which is the cause of the problem because they could not replicate…
ODI 10357416
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Hid headlights unexpectedly shut off while driving. When i turn them off, then back on, they work perfectly fine, but i don't know when they'll go out again. This is clearly a safety issue. It does appear that the hid headlight equipped prius has some electrical or design defect. *tr
ODI 10335547
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Hid headlights unexpectedly shut off while driving. This is clearly a safety issue and appears to be a defect with the electrical system or design of the lighting components other than the bulbs because if i turn them off they come back on fine every time like there's nothing wrong with them. *tr
ODI 10335546
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Hid headlights that unexpectedly shut off while driving, but come back on when manually turned off, then on. Appears to be problem with the electrical system, not the lights, or a design defect. *tr
ODI 10335544
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Our prius headlights go out intermittently. Usually one at a time, but several times they have both gone out at the same time almost causing a crash. I took it to the toyota dealer it was purchased from while still under warranty, they claimed it was a light bulb "going" out, that was 3 years ago and the bulb still isn't out. *tr
ODI 10482177
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Service Brakes
On 20 may 2010 at 11,966 miles every brake/stability warning light came on (including the warning for the parking/emergency brake which was not engaged), regenerative braking appeared to have failed, and hydraulic/friction brakes behaved as if abs was acting at a very slow pulse rate, approximately a 5-second cycle. For about 2 seconds during the "off" portion of this cycle the brakes were effectively inoperative,…
ODI 10489082
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Multiple occurrences over the past 3 years of headlights (one or at times both) going out unexpectedly without warning. You go into partial lighting or total darkness. After a few minutes you can turn the headlights back on and they may stay lit for few minutes or several hours. I have had dealerships look at the car and say that it is just the bulbs failing (bulbs that are suppose to last 10 times longer than…
ODI 10485786
Automatic Transmission · Electrical System
Severe safety concerns with a 2008 prius are the following: the answers and solutions to the following are necessary before anyone could be considered safe driving this 2008 prius: 1.why did our prius have a power failure on april 13th while driving at 60 mph on a flat stretch of hwy 101 going north at the blithedale exit in mill valley, ca? 2.why while driving up divisidero around 11:30 or 12 noon on april 25, 2010…
ODI 10331423
Electrical System
The 2008 toyota prius has a strong smell that resembles a electrical burning smell it makes your eyes water and your cloths smell like it long after you have left the vehicle. The dealer is not sure where it is coming from. There are other reported claims of the same smell on the internet. *tr
ODI 10329069
Electrical System · Power Train
2008 toyota prius. Consumer states fault in vehicle *tgw the consumer stated he backed out of a parking space, shifted into drive and the vehicle refused to respond to drive as he pressed the accelerator. It seemed the brake was on. A master fault appeared on the screen. It said batteries will not charge if let in the neutral position. After several tries, it finally responded. *jb
ODI 10328494
Electrical System · Parking Brake · Power Train
I left my 2008 toyota prius running and had to run back into a home where i'd just left a sales appointment. Eventhough i had the key fob in my pocket, i noticed out of the corner of my eye as i was crossing the street back towards the house that my car was careening into the buick parked across the street. I ran and jumped in and steered it away from t-boning the parked buick, but could not keep it the driver's…
Crash reported
ODI 10320355
Electrical System · Vehicle Speed Control
2008 prius regularly thrusts forward after about 30 seconds from starting the car. Then, car looms back into position. It has always scared me and makes me insecure to drive the car. This has been going on since i bought the car in december 2007, so the date of the incident below is inaccurate. I felt i should report this in light of the recent reports of defects, etc. Thank you. *tr
ODI 10317044
Electrical System · Latches/Locks/Linkages
In early 2010 (estimate), the rear driver side door lock of our 2008 toyota prius would not unlock with key faub or driver side door lock/unlock button. I took vehicle into poway toyota (poway, ca) and they stated door lock actuator failed, which they replaced at my cost. By the summer of 2010 (estimate), the other three door locks have failed. I must use the key to open the front driver's door and reach over to…
ODI 10440255
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I purchased a 2008 prius with hid bulbs and they both started going out a couple weeks after owning it while i was driving home at night. In just a matter of minutes, i had no lights at all! I was in a urban area, so the street lights were there so that i could see. But if i were in the country, as i usually am about once a week, i would have been in big trouble. *tr
ODI 10318140
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I have a 08 prius. Several days ago someone told me that one day-time running light was out. Two nights ago i checked and both lights were working so i thought i was ok. Last night after driving about an hour, both head lights went out. I turned the switch off and on again and the lights came back on. About a minute later the right light went off. After another hour of driving the left light went out and i repeated…
ODI 10312625
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Hello....i just received a notice from toyota entitled customer support program..(no mention of recall). In it, they say that there is a problem with headlights going out...and while they've been charging for them at 300 dollars each, they now realize that it's some kind of electrical issue....that causes the lights to fail...now, in light of everything else, it seems that this is a potentially serious problem and…
ODI 10320665
Electrical System
I have a 2008 toyota prius. Every now and again for no apparent reason the digital dashboard (led) will not come on upon engine startup or it goes off while driving. The car runs it just the dashboard is blank. The most recent incident was this past friday. The dealer, arlington toyota, in arlington heights, il has not been able to find the cause of the problem.
ODI 10307471
Electrical System · Vehicle Speed Control
I was driving my 2008 prius about 20 to 30 mph down a straight road, a slight descending grade and coasting, when it accelerated with my foot off the accelerator pedal. This happened for about 4-5 seconds and a speed gain of approximately 5-10 mph. It startled me, if a car had been in front of me, there would have been a serious problem. A light flashed on the dash but it happened so fast that i could not tell which…
ODI 10381521
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I own at 2008 toyota prius. Recently, i was driving at night on a dark stretch of rt. 15 in pa and my headlight turned off. I thought i must have somehow hit something to cause it to turn of, i quickly turned the knob and it went on again. It has since happened a few times and may in fact have happened more frequently but i only notice it if i'm on a unlite or not well traveled road. I see from prius owners' message…
ODI 10307238
Electrical System
Our office owns a toyota prius that i drive occasional to work assignments. I took the car on a trip to see a work project but stopped to pick up another employee before heading to the site. When i pulled up to pick up the employee the prius's entire dashboard display went blank. I pulled the car into a parking space and tried to turn it off. The "key" would not come out of the receiver. I realized the car was still…
ODI 10319610