There are 47 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2009 Toyota Priusin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Breaking system failure do to ASB Actuator, breaks are locking and vehicle is engine braking.
The hybrid water pump failed/ aka the inverter coolant pump. This was recalled years ago and has failed again. The previous owner of my car replaced it in 2013, so Toyota is refusing to replace it again, despite the fact that the part is faulty and has compromised the safety of my vehicle. This issue was diagnosed by a mechanic yesterday, error code P0A93. The master warning light, check engine light, brake light came on. The AC stopped working. The brakes nearly gave out on me driving on a bridge in New York City. This part was recalled. Toyota refuses to honor the recall a second time. They clearly did not properly engineer this part! It failed again! They should be responsible for fixing this issue.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the instrument cluster was intermittently inoperable. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would fail to start or to turn off intermittently while pressing the Push to Start button. The contact stated that the vehicle would respond as needed after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel combination meter had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic related the failure to Toyota Campaign Number: ZTV and referred the contact to the dealer for the repair. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under Toyota Campaign Number: ZTV. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 167,532.
My 2009 Toyota Prius abruptly lost power while driving. The electrical system turned off and the vehicle stalled while going 50 mph on a 2-lane parkway. While I was able to put my hazard lights on and steer the vehicle, I had no other control and was at a high risk of a crash. There's no emergency lane and few areas wide enough to pull over on the parkway. I was forced to coast the vehicle until I could pull off the parkway onto a patch of grass off the busy road. There were no warnings, messages, or other symptoms of the problems prior to failure. I had plenty of gasoline in the tank, so it wasn't due to a lack of fuel. The car would not start after pulling over and I had to get towed. After researching the issue, it sounds very similar to the safety recall involving certain 2013-2015 Model Year Prius and 2014 – 2017 Model Year Prius v in the United States, the press release for which was published on June 24 2020: https://tinyurl.com/4mrnz9nr Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on April 23 2018 about a similar issue, referring to a recall in 2014 which was intended to fix overheating problems in the 2010-204 Prius inverter. Those recall documents suggest that Toyota has been tracking this issue with the inverter since 2011. https://tinyurl.com/afwvt2sc A sudden power loss is generally considered a serious safety defect. I could have gotten into a serious car accident today and injured myself or other drivers. The 2009 Toyota Prius model had a recall issued on recall date: 11/14/2012 under NHTSA Campaign ID: 12V536000, referring to a "short circuit between coil wires and a possible open fuse, creating a stall-like condition of the hybrid system while the vehicle is being driven. This may increase the risk of a vehicle crash." At this time, I don't believe Toyota has conducted due diligence into ensuring the safety of the 2009 Toyota Prius model. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance reps.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the instrument panel lights would turn off and no instrumentation could be accessed or read. The failure was intermittent, and finally got it to shut off after trying many different things. Consumer had a hard time turning off the car. The cause of the failure was not determined but the contact was informed that a manufacturer’s extended service which addressed the failure was available from the manufacturer. The manufacturer and dealer were contacted but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 215,000.
WE HAVE A 2009 PRIUS WHICH STALLED ON THE FREEWAY AS MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING IT YESTERDAY (10/16/2020). LUCKILY, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A BUSY AUSTIN FREEWAY, MY HUSBAND WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER IT TO THE SHOULDER AND CALL AAA TO TOW THE CAR TO THE SERVICE STATION. ON INSPECTION, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE REASON FOR THE STALL WAS THE FAILURE OF THE INVERTER DRIVE PUMP ALONG WITH THE 12V BATTERY ON BOARD. THIS CAR WAS PART OF THE RECALL FOR THE INVERTER DRIVE PUMP AND THAT WAS REPLACED BY AN AUTHORIZED TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER IN 2013 FOR A SIMILAR ISSUE. ON THE OCT 16TH, 2020, THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS - NO ENGINE CHECK LIGHT AND NOT EVEN THE 'MAINTENANCE REQUIRED' LIGHT - THE CAR TURNED ON JUST FINE, MY HUSBAND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT 5 MILES TO THE FREEWAY, GET ON THE FREEWAY AT 60 MPH AND DRIVE A FEW MILES ON IT BEFORE LOSING ALL POWER IN THE CAR. THE SERVICE TECH INFORMS US THAT THE INVERTER PUMP CAN BREAK DOWN DUE TO JUST REGULAR DRIVING - BUT THERE WAS ZERO INDICATION THAT THIS UNIT, WHICH APPARENTLY IS CRUCIAL TO THE CAR WHILE BEING DRIVEN, WAS IN ANY DANGER OF IMMINENT FAILURE. I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS PART IS EXAMINED OR SERVICED AS PART OF REGULAR MAINTENANCE, BUT NO WARNINGS WERE RAISED WHEN THIS CAR WAS LAST SERVICED, AT AN AUTHORIZED TOYOTA SERVICE STATION IN DEC OF 2019.
THE AM2 FUSE RANDOMLY SHORTED, AND WHEN REPLACED KEEPS SHORTING, AS CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS RECALL FOR THE 2ND GENERATION TOYOTA PRIUS' INVERTER COOLANT PUMP.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MEDIA HOME SCREEN FAILED TO FUNCTION AS DESIGNED DUE TO FREQUENT GLITCHES. SEVERAL OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES WERE ALSO INOPERABLE INCLUDING THE BACK CAMERA DUE TO THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT CALLED EDDY'S TOYOTA OF WICHITA (7333 E. KELLOGG DR, WICHITA, KS 67207, (316) 652-2222) WHERE HE WAS INFORMED THAT THE HOME SCREEN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT REPLACING THE MEDIA HOME SCREEN MAY NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE FAILURE WOULD NOT RECUR. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER VIA EMAIL HOWEVER, A RETURN RESPONSE WAS NOT RECEIVED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 170,000.
OUR PRIUS STARTED MAKING THIS NOISE RECENT... 4 SECONDS OF SPINNING CLICKING, THEN QUIET FOR 5 SECONDS THEN REPEAT. HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING, WHILE PARKED AND I JUST WENT OUT THERE WITH MY KEYS IN MY POCKET AND OPENED THE DOOR AND IT STARTED MAKING THE NOISE WHEN THE ENGINE STARTS...SO DOES THE RATTLING AND KNOCKING SOUNDS. WHEN I HIT ON BRAKE, THE BRAKE BOOSTER MAKES VERY ANNOYING NOISE.
OUR PRIUS STARTED MAKING THIS NOISE RECENT... 4 SECONDS OF SPINNING CLICKING, THEN QUIET FOR 5 SECONDS THEN REPEAT. HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING, WHILE PARKED AND I JUST WENT OUT THERE WITH MY KEYS IN MY POCKET AND OPENED THE DOOR AND IT STARTED MAKING THE NOISE WHEN THE ENGINE STARTS...SO DOES THE RATTLING AND KNOCKING SOUNDS. WHEN I HIT ON BRAKE, THE BRAKE MAKES VERY ANNOYING NOISE.
2009 TOYOTA PRIUS DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT KEEPS GOING OUT, IT WORKS WHEN YOU TURN ON THE VEHICLE, AND THEN IT GOES OUT, I HAVE CHANGED THE BULB, AND ALSO CHANGE THE BALLAST, BUT NO LUCK, I GOT THE WARNING 3 DAYS AGO, AND NOW IF I GET PULLED OVER, I WILL GET THE TICKET,
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED APPROXIMATELY THREE OTHER TIMES. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE BRAKES SEIZED WHILE DRIVING THROUGH A PARKING LOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (T-SB-0032-16) IN REFERENCE TO THE ABS ACTUATOR, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES AND CASE NUMBER: 1806043060 WAS FILED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 183,483.
MY HEADLIGHTS KEEP RANDOMLY TURNING OFF ON THEIR OWN WHILE PARKED OR DRIVING, IN THE DARK OR THE LIGHT. TO TROUBLESHOOT I HAVE REPLACED THE HEADLIGHTS AND TIGHTENED THE WIRE CONNECTIONS, BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUES. ONLY TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON SEEMS TO TEMPORARILY FIX THE PROBLEM...UNTIL THE NEXT TIME IT TURNS ITSELF OFF. I HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH MY HONDA PILOT 2005 A FEW YEARS AGO AND THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL ON THE HEADLIGHT WIRE HARNESS KIT THAT WAS CORRODED FROM HUMIDITY AND OVERHEATING AND FAILING. THIS HAS NOW HAPPENED DOZENS OF TIME ON MY PRIUS, MOSTLY AFFECTING THE LEFT HEADLIGHT ONLY, BUT A COUPLE TIMES ON BOTH HEADLIGHTS.
THE MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY (MFD) STOPPED WORKING AROUND 200K. AT FIRST, THE SCREEN WOULD NOT RESPOND TO TOUCH, THEN IT WOULD FREEZE OR APPEAR FUZZY, THEN THE DISPLAY HAD STATIC OR WOULD GO ON AND OFF, NOW IT IS JUST BLACK, WITH THE RARE INCIDENT (EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS, USUALLY WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE) WHERE THE MFD DISPLAYS A WHITE SCREEN OR GRAY SCREEN WITH LINES THROUGH IT. AS MANY OF THE VEHICLES FEATURES (REAR CAMERA, A/C, RADIO, ODOMETER, MILEAGE, ETC.) ARE CONTROLLED THROUGH THE MFD, I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO UTILIZE THESE FEATURES. ON OTHER MESSAGE BOARDS (PRIUSCHAT) THIS APPEARS TO BE A RATHER COMMON PROBLEM AND SHOULD WARRANT SOME SORT OF CORRECTIVE ASSISTANCE FROM THE MANUFACTURE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY EXPLODED AND BURST INTO FLAMES WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SECURELY PARKED FOR SIX WEEKS WHILE THE CONTACT WAS AWAY. THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS WERE AT THE SCENE, BUT NO REPORTS WERE FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED THE CONTACT WITH A CASE NUMBER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000.
I WAS DRIVING MY 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS ON A VERY COLD DAY (ROUGHLY 10 TO 20 DEGREES F). THE RED BRAKE WARNING LIGHT WAS ON, ALONG WITH THE ABS, VCS AND YELLOW "!" LIGHTS. THE BRAKES WERE EXTREMELY SOFT FOR ABOUT THE FIRST 5-10 MINUTES OF OPERATION. I WOULD PUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL AS FAR AS IT WOULD GO (IT WOULD NOT GO ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR) AND THE BRAKES WOULD SEEMS TO BE ENGAGING AT ABOUT 30%-50% OF THEIR NORMAL STOPPING POWER. AFTER THE VEHICLE WARMED UP, THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASH WENT AWAY AND THE BRAKES BEGAN OPERATING NORMALLY. THE FOLLOWING WEEK, MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON ANOTHER VERY COLD DAY (AGAIN PROBABLY ABOUT 10 DEGREES). SHE STATED THAT THE ABOVE MENTIONED LIGHTS STAYED ON FOR HER ENTIRE COMMUTE (LESS THAN 10 MINUTES) BUT THAT WHEN SHE ARRIVED TO WORK, HER BRAKES WERE NOT WORKING. SHE DESCRIBED THAT SHE PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AS FAR AS IT WOULD GO, BUT THE BRAKES DID NOT SEEM TO BE FULLY ENGAGING. SHE STATED THAT SHE NEARLY HIT A WALL AS SHE WAS PULLING INTO THE PARKING LOT AT HER WORK. I HAVE FOUND SIMILAR ISSUES LISTED ON PRIUS FORUMS ONLINE. PERHAPS IT IS A ELECTRICAL OR COMPUTER PROBLEM AS OPPOSED TO A PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES. WE HAVE NEVER HAD THE PROBLEM WHEN THE TEMPERATURE WAS ABOVE 25 DEGREES.
RIGHT HEADLIGHT INTERMITTENTLY GOES OUT. SOMETIMES TURNING HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON BRINGS THE HEADLIGHT BACK ON. THE HEADLIGHT USUALLY DOES NOT TURN ON WHEN THE CAR IS STARTED UP.
DISPLAY FOR ODOMETER, SPEEDOMETER AND GAS GAUGE GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY.THE 'COMBINATION METER' (A.K.A. 'INSTRUMENT PANEL' OR 'CLUSTER', THE THING YOU'RE LOOKING AT IN FRONT OF YOU) IS BAD. THERE ARE SEVERAL ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS IN THE CIRCUIT BOARD THAT CONTROL HOW IT 'POWERS UP', AND THEY FAIL. LACKING THE ABILITY TO POWER UP, THE DISPLAY GOES BLACK. JOE MYERS QUOTED US $1156 FOR REPAIR, AND ONE WEEK REPAIR TIME. SERVICE ADVISOR SAID THAT REPAIR PART IS FIXED PART SO THAT PROBLEM WILL NO LONGER OCCUR. WE MUST DRIVE THE VEHICLE TILL WE REPLACE IT. NO OFFER WAS MADE TO PROVIDE A LOANER CAR IF 07 PRIUS WENT INTO SHOP FOR REPLACEMENT CLUSTER. IT IS REALLY UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITHOUT KNOWING SPEED THAT CAR IS TRAVELING. AND WE WOULD NOT KNOW GAS LEVEL. WHO WANTS TO RUN OUT OF FUEL? VERY UNSAFE. WHY ISN'T TOYOTA OWNING UP TO THIS DEFICIENCY? SHOULDN'T IT BE A RECALL REPAIR? WE ARE THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND WE HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE SHOP FOR REPAIRS SINCE WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE.
MY HEADLIGHT PASSENGER SIDE KEEPS GOING OUT AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF TURNING ON. THIS KEEPS ME FROM DRIVING AT NIGHT. MY COMPUTER CONTROLS ON MY DASH BOARD THAT WORKS THE AC. AND DISPLAYS THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAR DOES NOT WORK. MY ABS BREAK LIGHT WILL NOT GO OFF. THIS HAS AFFECTED MY BREAKING SYSTEM ON MY CAR. ALL OF THESE ITEMS I HAVE MENTIONED ALL OCCURRED WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE CAR.
TRAVELING 101 NORTH TOWARD VENTURA, ON THE TOP OF THE DOWN HILL GRADE JUST SOUTH OF THE CAMIRILLO SPRINGS EXIT. ALL LIGHTS ON PANEL CAME ON. ESTIMATE 65 MPH, APPLIED BRAKE TO SLOW WITH TRAFFIC FLOW. NO BRAKES,NO WARNING.SEMI TRACKER TRAILERS ALSO SLOWING. TOOK EXIT BOTTOM OF HILL WITH FLASHES ON, WENT THRU STOP SIGN AS MY SPEED AT APPROX 45-48MPH. WENT THRU SECOND STOP SIGN MADE SHARP LEFT PULLED EMERGENCY BRAKE ON... THIS IS A GARAGE CAR SERVICED BY DEALER ONLY, 3RD TIME FOR ELECTRICAL PROBLEM! NEVER WHILE DRIVING.... THIS WAS NEAR FATAL! THIS WAS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM OF THE MANUFACTURE, NEVER REPAIRED CORRECTLY! HAVE 3 COPIES OF REPAIRS FOR THE ELECTRICAL STARTING 6 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE CAR...HELP.
Showing 1–20 of 47 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026