2004 Toyota Prius problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (160) · Electrical System (93) · Vehicle Speed Control (47)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Toyota Prius model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
503 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Hybrid Propulsion System: Inverter 2012-11-14 · campaign 12V536000 · 350,662 vehicles
Defect: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2009 Prius vehicles manufactured August 6, 2003, through March 30, 2009 and FCHV-adv vehicles manufactured December 12, 2008, through September 13, 2011. During manufacturing, a scratch may have occurred inside of the electrically driven water pump at the coil wire. The coil wire may corrode at the scratched portion.
Risk: The corroded coil wire may break and the water pump could stop. The corroded coil wire could cause 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.
Fix: Toyota will notify its owners, and dealers will replace the electric water pump, free of charge. The recall began on January 17, 2013. Owners may contact their Toyota dealer or the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
Steering:gear Box:shaft Sector 2012-11-14 · campaign 12V537000 · 669,705 vehicles
Defect: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2009 Prius vehicles manufactured August 5, 2003, through March 30, 2009. The affected vehicles have a steering intermediate extension shaft assembly built with metal splines that complete the connection from the steering wheel to the steering gear. These splines may have been manufactured with an insufficient hardness.
Risk: Over time, the splines may wear and eventually fail resulting in a loss of steering ability, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the extension shaft and replace it if it is one with insufficient hardness, free of charge. The recall began during December 2012. Owners may contact their Toyota dealer or the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
Service bulletins (226)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2026-02-13 · T-SB-0009-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin includes basic procedures for performing a rescue charge on ni-mh high voltage (hv) batteries. this bulletin should be used in conjunction with the applicable model and model year repair manual while performing a rescue charge. the grx-5100 should be used wherever the repair manual ref
Engine 2026-02-13 · T-SB-0119-15 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
obsolete notice february 13, 2026: this bulletin is now obsolete. please see t-sb-0009-26.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0039-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix with rainwater, nighttime dew, or high humidity to form acidic compounds. if these contaminants settle and remain on a painted vehicle surface, especially the horizonal areas of the hood, roof,
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0038-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
to prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used instead of a cardboard type of anti-rust cover. the purpose of the wheel film is to shield the disc brake rotor from weather elements and initial rust before the vehicle is delivered to the customer.
Structure:body 2024-12-06 · T-SB-0035-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. if these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood, roof, and decklid, significant damage to the painted surfa
Structure:body 2024-12-05 · T-SB-0061-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
toyota vehicles are currently protected with rapgardtm protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. this material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. follow the removal procedure in this bulletin to remove the rapgardtm protective film wi
Showing the 6 most recent of 226 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-09-24 · Service Brakes“codes c1256 and c1391 acc low pressure and abnormal leak of acc press…”
2025-07-21 · Electrical System“the odometer on my 2004 prius stops at 299,999. this is a known problem in the 04-05 models that was corrected in 2006. leaves me unable to track miles for maintenance and other uses. this also has the problem with the entire digital dash going dark which means no speedometer or gas gauge. making the vehicle almost unable to be driven safely at thi…”
2022-11-12 · Electrical System“during a hot period of summer, my drive selector decided to not stay in the drive position unless i held it there. i could make the initial selection of drive and then stop on the gas, but it would not stay unless i physically held the lever down in the drive position. i never had an issue with the reverse position; only drive. i could always get t…”
2022-06-10 · Steering · 154,079 mi“the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated while driving 51 mph, the vehicle experienced phantom braking and a loss of power steering assist with the engine overheating message displayed. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage…”
2022-04-14 · Engine · 83,200 mi“the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled. the vehicle lost power steering functionality but the contact was able to safely pull off of the road. the contact stated that the check engine warning light and other unknown warning lights were illuminated before the vehicle stalled. …”
2022-04-02 · Vehicle Speed Control“i need your help to get toyota to fix 2 items: -abs accumulator: i understand toyota at one time had a recall on the ‘abs accumulator’, that may have expired. at that time, i did not have any issue, nor was i aware of the recall. now the ‘abs accumulator’ has gone out and is really hurting the braking. i had to get new brakes & they get locked beca…”
2022-02-17 · Service Brakes“abs failure. won't pressurize. anti-lock brakes quit working.…”
2021-11-27 · Service Brakes“toyota has issued time-limited 'warranty enhancement program zg1' instead of working with the nhsta to issue a comprehensive brake actuator assembly recall. zg1 was explicitly in place only from april 2016 to dec 2017, requiring dealer verification of an actual system failure prior to 31 dec 2017. my failure occurred in 2021 and toyota will not ext…”
2021-05-12 · Service Brakes · 242,520 mi“brake actuator went out and dealer said toyota used to cover it, but not anymore. i searched the internet and discovered this [part is bad in most prius vehicles and toyota extended the coverage on the 2010-2015 until august 31, 2021. unfortunately my car is 2004 and does not get the benefit of the extension. the cost to repair is almost $4,000. t…”
2020-11-08 · Unknown Or Other · 160,000 mi“all the instrument cluster lights continue to go out on my 04 prius. i don't know how much fuel i have this could be a safety issue. i don't know how fast i'm going this could definitely be a safety issue. and zero warning lights come on this is definitely a safety issue. by looking on the internet i can tell thousands of priuses have this exact sa…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.