2008 Toyota Prius Power Train Problems
- 38
- 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 38 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- drive neutral · 8 records
- back neutral · 7 records
- back drive · 7 records
- gear shift · 5 records
- reverse drive · 4 records
- failure mileage · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 10 |
| 60–100k mi | 8 |
| 30–60k mi | 8 |
| 1–30k mi | 6 |
| 150–400k mi | 3 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Power Train
On the morning of 11/14/18, vehicle (w. 112,000 miles on it) failed to start or move in our driveway. 12/5/18 advised by caseys, thetoyota dealership in .williamsbsurg va., that the cvt had failed and would need to be replaced at a cost of $6500 - happens occasionally!. Subsequently sold vehicle to dealer employee for scrap. I note the nhtsa is considering a recall on the cvt's installed in the toyota corollas.…
ODI 11174803
Power Train
Car shift lever pops out of drive position and reverse position intermittently on startup. Seems to happen when interior of car is hot after sitting in sun for a long period.
ODI 11129447
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
Car stalled completely under high speed acceleration about 70-75mph mph on freeway. Lost all power .
ODI 11138977
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that the gear shifter would not stay engaged in reverse or drive. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred periodically. In order to keep the gear shifter engaged in drive or reverse, it would have to be held in that position. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was not…
ODI 11129532
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While driving various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently shifted into neutral and stopped. The vehicle made a chiming sound and unknown warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
ODI 10985809
Electrical System · Power Train
Inverter water pump replaced at 75000 miles under recall and failure. Same pump failed again at 146600 miles. Replacement pump lasted less miles than original. Pump design or manufacture is not adequate for service. Diagnosis was pump seized during expressway driving (65 mph). Did not cause an immediate stoppage but vsc warning caused reduced controllability.
ODI 10967347
Power Train
What's wrong with toyota and nhtsa? Today in hot weather with the air conditioner on my 2008 prius once again suddenly dropped itself out of drive into neutral without warning and in the middle of the highway. One has to hold the shifter in drive to get out ofeveryone's way. If this isn't a life-threatening safety hazard then i don't know what is. Unless you want a few folks to die before anything gets done about…
ODI 10871364
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
I have had my 2008 prius since it was new and i have taken meticulous care of the vehicle with documentation to prove it. The vehicle is burning oil to the extent that i have to put a quart of oil in every 700 miles. My local dealership confirmed it is an issue with the vehicle but toyota usa said they won't do anything about it because there "has not been enough complaints". However, the toyota prius chat website…
ODI 10897546
Power Train
On a warm/hot day the vehicle drops suddenly itself out of drive or reverse. This can happen from being parked or crucially while one is driving. Usually the air conditioner is on. You can be driving down a city street or highway when the car drops itself out of gear,' very dangerous and scary. One has to hold the shift mechanism in drive continuously to avoid an accident. The internet documents this exact defect in…
ODI 10759598
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
Vehicle was off and in park. Vehicle was started and shifted into drive. In less then 1 second, vehicle slipped out of drive and into neutral as described in the technical service bulletin issued by toyota (t-sb-0142-11). Problem as reoccurred multiple times since, including while driving at speeds above 45 mph.
ODI 10748808
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While driving 5 mph, the vehicle shifted gears into neutral. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 148,000. Updated 04/07/15*lj the consumer was unable to shift into gear and popped into neutral. The next day, everything worked…
ODI 10681619
Engine · Power Train
The car moves from drive to neutral mode. I put the car in "d" and it suddenly moved back to "n". Keep the lever held on "d" and you can drive, otherwise it switches back to "n". Happened 3 to 4 times today. Very scared if this happens when driving on the freeway or getting started at a traffic light as the car behind may not have enough space or indication of the vehicle slowing down because of loss of accelerator.…
ODI 10670009
Power Train · Steering · Vehicle Speed Control
Gear shifted into neutral without use of gear shift control. Happened several times and wasn't able to shift into reverse or drive. Kept going back to neutral. Park also wasn't working. Powered car off which did put in park. Restarted and drove home without issue. Tried to recreate at home and same problem occurred. Was able to manually hold gear shift in drive or reverse to move car into driveway. Have left car at…
ODI 10616525
Power Train
1 - after being parked the car will go into reverse or drive, but when you let off of the brake, it will go into neutral. 2 - if left running in park, the car will go out of park and go into neutral. This will allow the car to roll, if it is not on exactly flat level ground. 3 - while driving, the car will jump out of drive and go into neutral. 4 - in all of these incidents, you can hold the shifter lever in the…
ODI 10616403
Column Shift · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the vehicle would independently shift from drive into neutral. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was unable to be replicated. The technician informed the contact that replacing the shifter may rectify the failure but was unable to guarantee it would be a permanent fix. The manufacturer was notified of…
ODI 10595039
Power Train
When i tried to shift my car into gear, it automatically went to neutral . This has happened several times in warm weather. I have had to drive holding the lever in the appropriate position. This is both cumbersome as well as extremely dangerous. I did call my local toyota dealer to report the problem, but was never called back. Since this occurs sporadically , i just let it go. It happened again yesterday, may 6,…
ODI 10715079
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train
My 2008 prius won't stay in gears occasionally gear jumped back from d to n mode. Fortunately, it didn't happen when i drove 70 miles per hour. I went to toyota center and they said i have to pay for the shift lever. I don't know why i should pay for it, it is a defect of this car, not because how i drive this car. Plus, i don't have this money, so i didn't repair for it. I need to report this before someone get…
ODI 10588213
Body · Power Train
On occasion the vehicle will pop out of d or will have a problem getting into d. This day i parked, left the vehicle running (on) since it was cold in boston and my wife was sitting in the passenger seat. Existed the car, retrieved a package i was delivering from the back seat and left. About 5 min later, my wife said that all of a sudden she feels the car moving forward and before she can stop it the car crashed…
Crash reported
ODI 10564473
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the power train moved into neutral independently. The contact moved the gear shifter back into drive. One week later while the contact was driving 60 mph, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the gear shift mechanism would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was…
ODI 10534114
Power Train
Last week i went out driving with a friend, i was delivering meals on wheels to various homes in my area. At one house i brake the car to a stop and shifted into park and left the motor running. I then got out of the driver's seat, went and opened the back door, took out the necessary meals, closed the door and then went into the house for the delivery. In the meantime, my friend sat in the parked car and after a…
ODI 10519656
Power Train
When i put the car in drive, it slips back into neutral. In order to drive the car, i must hold the lever in the drive position. The dealer is charging me $500 to fix but i believe this is a defect and a safety problem and should be addressed by the manufacturer. I have read many examples of this problem on toyotanation.com under "2008 prius won't stay in gear". *tr
ODI 10478881
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated while driving the gear would shift into neutral on its own. The contact shifted back into drive gear but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection and they stated that the lever assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure…
ODI 10478274
Power Train
After 10 minutes of city street driving, the car was idling in park for 2 minutes. The car was then put into drive and the brake slowly released. As soon as the engine turned over to assist the battery drive, the shift knob bounced into neutral and the dash indicated neutral as well. With the brake on, the shift knob could be placed back into drive and the dash indicated drive. The car stayed in drive for the first…
ODI 10460859
Power Train
The car shifts from both r (reverse) and d (drive) to n (neutral) for no apparent reason. This usually happens after first getting into the car. I'll shift into r, and it will drop to n. Same for d. This can happen a few times each time. Usually, when i hold it in place long enough to start moving over 3 mph, it seems fine and i do not need to continue holding the shift lever. However, lots of reports online, and i…
ODI 10462064
Power Train
I stopped at my mailbox yesterday and put the car in park. When i got back in the car and attempted to drive away the car slipped into neutral all by itself. I put it back in drive and again it slipped into neutral. It did this 5 times before i finally held the knob down into drive so i could get the car home into my driveway. When i started the car this morning it seemed to work fine, but i am finding tons of…
ODI 10457456