2008 Toyota Prius Electrical System Problems

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a direct purchase from the previous owner on August 3, 2025. The contact made other reports with a personal lawyer, the State Attorney General's Office, and AZ.FraudReport Agency. The contact had not heard back from the other contact regarding the other reports made. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 50,000 miles, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was over 200,000.

I recently took my vehicle to the dealership because all the hazard lights on the dash came on. They diagnosed it as an issue with the inverter water pump and suggested that the engine was overheating, which was causing the hazard light to appear on the dashboard. So I had them replace that part and everything was fine. A week later, I went to drive to work and my entire dashboard was out. My radio, clock, blinkers, and brakes worked, but I could not see the speedometer, gas gauge, odometer or any other dashboard features. When I tried to restart the car, it wouldn't turn off. I tried several times and even got my husband to try. When we couldn't turn it off, I drove blindly straight to the dealership. They diagnosed the issue as being a problem with the combination meter. Recently, I found out that there was a Customer Support Program through Toyota that replaced the combination meter in my same car model. This service expired in 2017. I got the car in 2020-21. Thankfully I was home, and was able to follow my husband to the dealership. I'm not sure what I would've done if this happened while I was out. I am also have traction issues with the brakes. When I try to brake on a slope or incline, the glide hazard lights come on. It's happened several times when it's raining, but it's been happening more when it's not. I typically give enough space between myself and the car in front of me, but it's concerning that the brakes lock up when I'm on any type of sloped surface.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the instrument panel failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the instrument panel went blank. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become a permanent failure. In addition, the front headlights and rear taillights failed to function as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at various speeds, the front headlights failed to work as intended. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the bulbs had melted into the wiring harness. The contact stopped driving the vehicle at night. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the instrument panel went blank. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become a permanent failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

About 3 years ago we started getting the red triangle of death with 2 amber lights on display the vsc and the round circle with the exclamation point in the center. This could happen in 500 miles or it could happen tomorrow. When this happens I loose all exceleration and air conditioning and a orange car emblem with an exclamation point in it on the display screen. Once safely off road press power button off and back on and everything is back to normal except red triangle and car on display screen car is then drivable again. Using a code reader to check codes no codes appear but still have red triangle. Leaving car set for a period of time and restarting car and red triangle is extinguished. Have to drive in right lane on freeway in case it wants to quit. The most recent time was last week had driven it about 80 miles with a stop about halfway for 1 hour and stopped for a movie came back got in car started it and within 1000 feet got the red triangle, was in left turning lane with red light, shut off and restarted and was able to drive again as in all other times, took it to a neighbor who had a code reader(about 9PM) and no codes found, he reset it and red triangle extinguished. This type of happening is very unnerving to say the least, dont know when or where it will lay down with us. Don't know if anyone else has had similar issues with their Prius ours has 213,000+ miles on it. Original hybrid battery it was checked in 2015 and some cells replaced by a shop certified to replace cells in this battery. Thank you.

Hello. My 2008 Toyota Prius had a malfunction with the "combination meter" which caused the vehicle dashboard to turn off completely, and we could not turn off the engine at times when stopped and parked. The dealer fixed the problem at a cost of $1580, and both the dealer and Toyota corporate through their brand engagement advocate acknowledged a long term problem with the combination meter. They had extended the warranty coverage for owners for this specific problem for about 10 years but not for owners like me with a vehicle 15 years old. I believe Toyota should cover and reimburse owners for this problem, which is potentially dangerous, no matter the age of the vehicle, especially for long term, loyal owners. There are many of these vehicles still on the road. Thank you. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The vehicle we own is no longer covered by an extended warranty offered to Toyota owners of 2004-2009 Prius. The warranty covered the replacement of the digital combination meter which, when failing, no longer displays anything on the dashboard. The situation is dangerous because you lose the ability to monitor fuel tank capacity, speed, warning lights, reverse lights and backup camera. To get around this malfunction requires that the back storage panels be removed and 12-volt battery be disconnected and reconnected. However, the fix is short term since the problem resets itself once the car is turned off. Even when the display is working, we have just discovered that the fuel gauge is inaccurate, causing a serious overflow of fuel due to the display showing 1 bar, when the tank was actually 50% full. Toyota, fully aware of this problem offered a "warranty enhancement" that offered replacement coverage up to September 30, 2013. It only covered customers whose care was demonstrating the problem, excluding any cars that were not showing signs of malfunction. We have a 2008 model, purchased from a Toyota dealership in 2011, that up until around 2-years ago showed no signs of malfunctioning. Therefore, the warranty did not apply. We now, however, are experiencing the malfunction on a daily basis and our vehicle is unsafe, and inconvenient to drive. I called Toyota regarding this and they will not offer any further coverage beyond the September 30, 2013 date. The repair for this malfunction is a minimum $1000, which rightfully should be covered by Toyota due to the potential safety issues surrounding this problem. We would like Toyota to acknowledge customers such as ourselves where the malfunction did not appear until later during our ownership of a 2008 Prius, and pay or reimburse for the repair.

I am currently having this issue with Combination Meter, which means the Prius dash board will not show any speed, fuel, P, R, D label and many more important information is not shown on display. I had complained to Toyota, CASE[XXX] on 19Dec2022, I have spoken to Danial N and manager Alex S from Toyota. They both have denied solving this issue from Toyota as the Warranty Extension ZTV has expired. Even I had provided them proof that Toyota knew about this problem, please see [XXX] from Toyota regarding this. My Prius has 258000 miles, and it is 2008, It is high mileage as per their documents this will accrue in high mileage Prius with cold weather. I live in NJ, and it is getting cold and my car as high miles. Toyota refuse to take care of the problem and I as a consumer will have to pay over $1200 to get it fix as this is only done at Toyota dealership. Currently I am thinking of getting it fix at Paul Miller Toyota of West Caldwell, 1155 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ 07006, 973-287-4050. What's sad is Toyota used to rank at the top of best customer service. I'm guessing most of the problems are just after the 9 years, calculated to guarantee fixing the problem to as few people as possible. THERE'S NO EXTENSION AND TOYOTA WON'T HELP. I TRIED AND WAS TOLD ALL DEALS EXPIRED AND TO HELP ONE WOULD MEAN THEY'D HAVE TO HELP ALL. WE'RE ON OUR OWN. Hoping that Toyota has released a solution to the dangerous and consumer related problem related to the failing Combination Meter. The previous ext. Warranty was only good for 9 years from date of first use which did not help many drivers. Super negligent and ripe situation for class action lawsuits not to mention many potentially fatal accidents on the roads. Toyota has denied fixing this problem even Toyota knows this is on going problem. As a government official please try to help me resolve this issue as this is a major concern for many millions of drivers which Toyota need to resolve this. Please INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Brake actuator is going bad, they had a recall on it and are refusing to fix it. Brakes are a lot harder to press.

Trunk lock will not unlock or allow opening, back latch malfunctions, when car battery dies or car looses power《• you cannot open the trunk and access emergency tools/equipment and battery to jump car. •》You have to access by climbing through the front of the car if you are able-bodied too. There is no opening handle from the inside of the trunk to be let out, scariest and one of the most important major safety concerns, theres no emergency exit from inside vehicle. Water/snow/ice also falls down into the vehicle when opening hatchback, it slides inward from hood of car or slides back from rear windshield and door, causes water to be pooled up in my battery compartment.

The electric dashboard (warning lights, speedometer, fuel gauge, etc.) is sometimes off when starting the car. The backup camera and the center display also will not be working. The car will not shut off when the displays are not working. It will usually fix itself after pushing the on/off button a few times. It has happened many times now but isn’t predictable. It hasn’t been looked at by a mechanic yet.

The instrument cluster goes completely blank (no fuel gauge, no speedometer, no odometer) and the car cannot be shut down.

DASHBOARD SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAUGE, HEADLIGHT INDICATORS, TRANSMISSION STATUS, CRUISE CONTROL DO NOT SHOW, ARE NOT LIT UP. BACKUP CAMERA DOES NOT WORK NOR DO THE BACK-UP LIGHTS. THIS OCCURED AFTER THE AUXILIARY BATTERY WAS REPLACED AND THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS AND BACKUP CAMERA WILL OCCASSIONALLY SPONTANEOUSLY RETURN WHEN THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN FOR A WEEK OR LONGER BUT THEN WILL GO OUT NEXT TIME THE CAR IS TURNED OFF. THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR TURNING OFF CONSISTENTLY AND AT TIMES THE START BUTTON NEEDS TO BE MANUALLY DEPRESSED FOR 5+ SECONDS TO SHUT DOWN.

Enroute to Maryland, dashboard lights failed - no speedometer, no gas tank info, no mileage. Safety issue.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the instrument cluster intermittently failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with instrument cluster failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

When driving on CA highway 4 at about 73 MPH the car complete shut off, with the momentum I safely manage to get on the off ramp and my car was towed to my house, the converter pump fuse was getting blown out every time I replaced, and need a new converter pump.

MY VEHICLE WAS SHOWING 4 BARS FOR HOW MUCH GAS WAS LEFT IN THE TANK. I DROVE TO FILL IT UP BUT DESPITE HOW MUCH I PUT IN THE FUEL GAUGE WON'T READ IT AND IS STUCK ON 4 BARS. WHEN DRIVING IT WON'T DECREASE EITHER I'VE DRIVEN OVER 70 MILES AND IT STILL WON'T ADJUST.

A RECURRENT AND HARD-TO-DIAGNOSE PROBLEM I HAVE HAD WITH MY 2008 PRIUS FOR SEVERAL YEARS IS THE FACT THAT THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY (SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAGE, DRIVE / REVERSE ETC.) WILL OCCASIONALLY NOT TURN ON WITH THE CAR ON DAYS THAT ARE COLD AND RAINY. ALTHOUGH NEWER MODELS (2019) BOTH EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE AND HAVE ENJOYED A RECALL FOR THE PART (THE COMBINATION METER) TO BE FIXED, FOR OLDER PRIUSES SUCH AS MINE THE EQUIVALENT WORK IS LIMITED TO THOSE WHO PAID FOR AN EXTENDED WARRANTEE RELATING TO THE KNOWN PROBLEMS OF THIS ONE SINGLE PART--A WARRANTEE THAT I WAS NEVER OFFERED WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2011, AND THAT ENDED IN 2015. THE 2019 RECALL'S INFORMATION IS HERE: HTTPS://PRESSROOM.TOYOTA.COM/?GENERATE_PDF=58021 EVEN IF I HAD PURCHASED THE PART'S EXTENDED WARRANTEE, WHETHER OR NOT I'D EVEN ABLE TO *USE* IT BY DEMONSTRATING TO THE TECHNICIAN THAT THE PROBLEM IS OCCURRING IS QUESTIONABLE, NOT TO MENTION LITERALLY UP TO THE WEATHER. THE PROBLEM BEEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR TECHS TO DIAGNOSE SINCE THERE AREN'T MANY COLD AND RAINY DAYS TO SET IT OFF WHERE I LIVE, NOT TO MENTION IT WOULD OFTEN RESOLVE ITSELF BEFORE THE CAR CAN BE TAKEN INTO THE SHOP FOR DIAGNOSIS. IT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE THIS TIME AROUND BECAUSE THE PROBLEM WAS WORSE THAN IN THE PAST, SEVERE ENOUGH THAT I COULD NOT TURN OFF MY CAR. THE FACT THAT TOYOTA WOULD HIDE REPAIRS FOR A MASSIVE SAFETY FLAW BEHIND A LIMITED-RUN WARRANTY, WHEN THE PROBLEM IS ACTUALLY BROADER AND AFFECTS CARS PRODUCED OVER 15 YEARS APART (2004 TO 2019) IS ONE THING. BUT THE FACT THAT THIS PROBLEM ACTUALLY CREATES A HAZARD FOR THE DRIVER--NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN OFF THE CAR, NOT BEING ABLE TO KNOW IF YOU'RE IN DRIVE OR REVERSE, OR EVEN HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING!-- MAKES THIS LIMITING BEHAVIOR SEEM SOMEWHAT DESPICABLE. I FEEL THIS RECALL SHOULD INCLUDE ALL AFFECTED PRIUS MODELS, BECAUSE THIS IS CLEARLY A BROADER DEFECT.

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IN MY 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS COMPLETELY WENT DARK WHILE DRIVING FROM PHOENIX TO MY HOME IN TUCSON. I WAS TRAVELLING ON I-10 AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 70MPH. TERRIBLY FRIGHTENING WHEN ALL GAUGES FAIL AT THE SAME INSTANT. THIS HAPPENED IN JAN 2021. SPEEDOMETER, FUEL GAUGE, HEADLIGHT INDICATORS, PRNDL, LCRUISE CONTROL, LIGHTS THAT INDICATE ENGINE EMERGENCIES DO NOT LIGHT. BACK-UP CAMERA DOES NOT WORK NOR DO THE BACK-UP LIGHTS. THESE ALL ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUES. HAVING RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM IT IS EVIDENT THAT TOYOTA KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AS THEY HAVE RECALLED THOUSANDS OF PRIUS' FOR THIS ISSUE. THEY ISSUED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE BUT MINE EXPIRED BEFORE I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN FEBRUARY, 2020. I FIRMLY AM CONVINCED THAT TOYOTA SHOULD HONOR THE WARRANTY FOR THIS DANGEROUSLY COMMON FAILURE WHICH HAPPENS TO MANY DIFFERENT MODEL YEAR OF THE PRIUS. IT'S, IN FACT, IRRESPONSIBLE OF TOYOTA TO NOT REPAIR THESE VEHICLES AS THEY HAVE KNOWN HOW MASSIVELY PREVALENT THESE FAILURES ARE. THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERS IS CHARGING OVER $1000.00 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I, FOR ONE, CANNOT AFFORD SUCH A COST FOR A MALFUNCTIONING, CRITICAL FOR SAFELY OPERATING THEIR PRODUCT, THAT SHOULD BE REMEDIED INTO PERPETUITY, SINCE THEY HAVE UNQUESTIONABLY BEEN FULLY AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND IT'S SEVERITY. I SHOULD NOT BE EXCLUDED FROM REPAIR SIMPLY BECAUSE THE FAILURE HAPPENED LATER IN THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE THAN OTHERS.

THE DASH LIGHTS ON MY CAR WENT COMPLETELY BLANK AND THE CAR IS UNABLE TO SHUT OFF. TOYOTA HAS A SAFETY CAMPAIGN THAT ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE BUT IT IS ONLY GOOD FOR FIRST 9 YEARS OF THE CAR. MY CAR IS A 2008 MODEL AND I UNDERSTAND THIS PROBLEM AFFECTS ALL 2004-2009 MODELS. AS THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN WITH NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN OFF THE CAR PROPERLY, IT IS CAUSING LOTS OF ANXIETY NOT KNOWING IF MY CAR IS ACTUALLY TURNED OFF IN MY GARAGE. MY MOM DRIVES THE CAR AND SHE'S 78 YEARS OLD, SHE CANNOT TELL IF THE CAR IS OFF WHEN SHE EXITS THE CAR. THERE ARE OCCASIONS WHERE THE HYBRID CAR TURNS ON WHILE IT'S IN THE GARAGE BECAUSE MY MOM WAS NOT ABLE TO TURN THE CAR OFF. THIS SHOULD BE AN ISSUE WHERE TOYOTA ISSUES A RECALL FOR THE SAFETY OF EVERYONE THAT OWNS THESE CARS AND PARKS IN A GARAGE.