2005 Toyota Prius owner complaints

About 6 weeks ago I began experience a random shut down of my ps head light. Only be turning my lights off and back on restored it for some amount of time.. Last week the same thing started happening with the ds headlight. Now ether one or both randomly just goes dark. When both go our on a two lane road it gets really dark. I can not cause it to happen and can not find anything that looks loose. It sometimes happens when the car is sitting still at an intersection. Some nights it happens several time in a 2 mile drive to the store and other times (rarely now) it does not happen at all. Heat doe not seem to be an issue since it sometime happens just after the car is started from cold. When checking the internet if find the prius headlight problem produces several blog and other

The driver's side headlight on my 2005 prius was going on and off and then went out all together after about 3 weeks. When I took it to the Toyota dealer they said the bulb and labor would be $320 and the computer that controls that one headlight was also out and that would be $250 - so it would be almost $600 for 1 headlight!! I think after reading many other prius owner's similar complaints on the internet that this is a design flaw and also an outrageous, unfair charge to consumers for an item that must has to work in order to use the car. I feel before I bought the car I should have been informed of the cost to repair a headlight and that some prius' have regular headlights on them and I should have been given a choice. *tr

Driver's side HID headlight on my 2005 prius goes out intermittently. If I turn the headlights off and then back on, the bulb stays lit for a little while, until it happens again. From what I'm reading on the internet, this is a common problem that Toyota is aware of but will not resolve. This is a safety issue - it's difficult to see with only one functional headlight. I paid good money to get the upgraded headlights, Toyota should stand behind their products and fix the problem. *tr

2005 prius HID headlights go out while driving and continue to go out intermittently as they will relight if cycled on and off. Replaced bulb and issue continues. *tr

I thought my headlights needed to be adjusted, so I took the car to have it done. The shop told me that the problem couldn't be fixed because it was the auto leveling sensor in the rear of the car. After a few more weeks of driving like that, a warning light came on the dash board and the display in the console. I ordered the part and had it replaced. It some what resolved the problem, but the lights still need adjusting. They are still not pointing high enough to light the road appropriately. The shop says that there is no way to adjust the lights further than what the sensor does. *tr

My passengers side head light went out. It came back on when I turned the switch off and back on again. It has happened three more times since, two of which were this morning alone (12/28/2012). *tr

Headlights turn off unexpectedly. Turning switch off and then back on temporarily resets and they work for 5 to 10 minutes then go off again. *tr

Head light are intermittent; same problem as 2006 and later recall

I have a 2005 Toyota prius. I got my car 8-23-2005 and on 10-13-2005 I was hit on the passenger side while making a left hand turn. The intersections was just after a traffic circle, signs was missing, it was raining, dusk and the person who hit me did not have her lights on and was driving too fast for conditions. My car stopped, and could not be restarted. It was towed. I called my insurance company and was sent to a repair facility. After several days they got my car, but because it would not start, towed it to a Toyota shop. It sat there for 10 days, until I called, then it was sent back to the repair shop. It took 6 more weeks for the car to be repaired. One delay was in getting the seat-belt, which was supposed to come with the seat, but did not. It had to be shipped from

On three separate occasions my headlamps have gone out. Each time it has been the right or left side. The fourth time. The lights came on using the hi-beam only. Numerous incidents have taken place. This is the second time my wife has been pulled over for this. I have replaced these myself. However, this last time it is not the bulb. It is the electrical system. According to the forum. Costs have been from $300 - 2k. Some dealerships assume some responsibility and others don't. This is a safety and expense issue. Driving home is very difficult at night and using the hi-beam is blinding to on coming traffic and against the law in most circumstances. *tr

The right, passenger headlight goes out and by turning the headlight switch off and back on, the headlight comes back on. It will go off again and I will have to perform the same procedure to get it to come on again. *kb this happens repeatedly during any given trip.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 Toyota prius. The contact stated that while he was adding fuel to his vehicle, the gasoline pump clicked notifying that the vehicle was full; however, when he removed the pump from the vehicle gasoline started flowing onto the ground. The failure and current mileages were 56340.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Toyota prius. When driving 65 MPH, the vehicle will stall without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, but because the failure could not be duplicated no repairs were made. Two weeks later the vehicle stalled again, but would not restart. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The technician stated that there was no fuel present in the fuel tank. However the vehicle had two quarters of fuel in the tank. Also when the cruise control was disengaged the vehicle would begin to accelerate. The failure mileage was 56,000.

1. Multiple events, in order of frequency: a) high speed w/cruise control (65-75mph) b) high speed before braking (65-75mph) c) hitting a bump before braking 2. Multiple events: a) car suddenly accelerated on its own and was difficult to slow / occurred multiple times, maybe 12-15 occurrences / gained control by turning cruise control off and firmly pressing on brake pedal b&c) car was initially unresponsive to braking / multiple times, approximately 3-5 / eventually slowed after firm compression on the brake pedal 3. Multiple events: a) I no longer use cruise control b&c) I am very observant whenever I brake. *tr

Even minor trepidation caused by any unevenness in the surface of the road while slowing down and applying the brakes will disengage the brakes momentarily causing a dangerous situation and risk of crash into vehicle in front. I observed this problem consistently in several prius ranging from 2005 to 2010 since I purchased mine in april 2012. I have complained about this to a couple of dealerships but was told "it is a driver's fault" ...!! All my friends owners of prius have observed the same problem in their cars.

The traction control override repeatedly engages arbitrarily under various circumstances, including hitting bumps/potholes at 35 MPH and accelerating from a stop on both wet and dry roads. I have seen reports online of people expressing their concern about this feature in snow, but our prius does it frequently. Aside from the inconvenience, this is a clear safety hazard when attempting to pull out into traffic. We have been told by the dealer that this feature cannot be disabled, but it would seem to me that it needs to be to avoid potential collisions. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 Toyota prius. The contact stated that the gear shifter would lock up, which prevented the vehicle from moving or changing gears. The failure occurred once in a tunnel while in traffic. The road crew had to move the vehicle to the side of the road. It took twenty minutes to re-engage the gear so that the vehicle could move again. Usually, it would take twenty to forty minutes before it re-engaged itself and for the gear to return to normal. The contact has called and sent letters to the dealer and manufacturer, but no one will speak with him. He has not taken his vehicle to the dealer for inspection. The failure mileage was 18,700.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 Toyota prius. A vehicle traveling approximately 35 MPH crashed into the contacts vehicle head on. The air bags did not deploy. A police was filed and 2 injuries were reported. The contact and a passenger were transported via ambulance to the emergency room. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an insurance company lot. The vehicle was not examined for the cause of failure. The failure and current mileages were 105,000.

In december 2010, 2005 Toyota prius was taken to dealer for pedal modification as part of the floor mat accelerator pedal entrapment recall. The dealer did not explain that pedal was actually being shortened by cutting off 1/4 inch at the bottom. After the recall modification was completed, accelerator pedal became stuck on after-market floor mat that had been in place in the vehicle since december 2005. Dealer did not mention this possibility at the time of the recall fix. (prior to modification, vehicle owner had checked to make sure that floor mat was properly anchored and that there was no way for accelerator to become trapped.) in this case, the modification intended to prevent floor mat entrapment actually caused the pedal to become stuck. *tr

The engine shut down without warning in the middle of a busy street, creating an unsafe situation with cars coming up behind in a single lane. *tr