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to Toyota Prius owners.



A software problem is causing some Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid cars to stall or shut down while driving at highway speeds, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the problem involves Priuses from the 2004 model year and some early 2005 models.

The newspaper reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has logged 13 reports of the engine shutdowns, while Edmunds.com, a popular vehicle-information and shopping site, has had 13 individuals post complaints in a Prius forum. Some of the cars that shut down had to be towed to the shop before they could be restarted.

The newspaper quotes an official from Toyota as saying the stalling problem is due to a software glitch in its sophisticated computer system.

The car has both a gasoline engine and an electric motor, which is set to provide it with power during certain driving conditions, particularly in city driving. The gasoline engine is supposed to be shut down or run at a very low level when the car is driving slowly or idling but provide most of the car's power when it is cruising at highway speeds.

The report said no injuries or fatalities have been linked to the problem, but it did not say whether there had been accidents due to the problem.

A NHTSA spokesman said the agency is monitoring the complaints, but no formal investigation has been initiated.

Toyota spokesman Sam Butto told the newspaper the auto manufacturer identified a "programming error" in the computer systems of 23,900 Prius cars last year and sent owners a service notice advising them to bring the cars into dealers for an hour-long software upgrade.

He couldn't say how many Prius owners got the upgrade and whether the latest problems involve buyers who never got the upgrade or if an altogether different glitch is shutting the car down.

It's never happend to me I love mine!

Only way for the car to shut down is to push the powerbutton while it's running...and if someone is doing that well...they dont deserve to be within 100 miles of a priii.

heh all you people complaining about high gas prices but refuse to do the sensible thing and instead have to insult us

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

I've never complained about high gas prices. Im quite content with them. Sure it's annoying sometimes, but it doesn't change my driving habbits.

And this problem obviously isn't the result of hitting the power button, since the Toyota rep even said it was due to a computer glitch in the car.

IMO, the Prius is an overly complex hybrid that only appeals to the niche market of enviromentalists and urban dwellers. There is no mass market for a hybrid car. Maybe in the future, but not now.

If they made the Prius less boxy looking, I'd be sold. Heck, I'm thinking of getting a hybrid anyway - and I'm by no means an "environmentalist" however broadly you want to define that word.

:teps on endangered plant, throws styrofome cup over shoulder into pod of dolphins::

j/k

But seriously, I want one out of complete self-interest. I don't want to pay as much for gas. And since, for the immediate future (next 25 - 50 years) petroleum is the way it's going to be, I see nothing wrong with people getting hybrids, or with car manufacturers making new generations of them.

I'm not entirely sold on how much they help the environment - cause think about it: you need to recharge the battery at night, right? That takes electricity from one's home... and that electricity is still generated from, most likely, a fossil-fuel burning plant. Which means that, if everyone had a hybrid, those plants would need to burn more fossil fuels to make up for the higher electricity demands. Of course, I have no numbers to show anything, but logically it makes sense...

The bottom line is, go hybrids!

---

Back in the saddle!

I'm not entirely sold on how much they help the environment - cause think about it: you need to recharge the battery at night, right?

No, hybrids recharge their batteries while the car is moving, utilizing the forward motion of the vehicle. So you don't have to plug it in.

Andys right, you never have to plug it in.

Thats why it's a hybrid. It's a hybrid of gas and electric.

Amazes me that people cant seem to understand that .

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Thats why it's a hybrid. It's a hybrid of gas and electric.

Hey, I understand this concept very well, I was just misinformed. I was under the impression that you needed to recharge the battery separately, that's all. I'm not knocking their usefullness by any means.

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Back in the saddle!

Heh, that reminds me of the infamous Optispark on the 93-97 LT1's i'm only on my third. Next time it dies it's Delteq time.

You can find something wrong with ANY new car... it's kinda funny that you'd pick out a hybrid to make a story on. Heck, only 13 have been reported? That's nothing. I doubt a TSB would even be put out if only 13 have had problems.

You can find something wrong with ANY new car... it's kinda funny that you'd pick out a hybrid to make a story on. Heck, only 13 have been reported? That's nothing. I doubt a TSB would even be put out if only 13 have had problems.

Very true. I just think its an odd problem that the computer is turning the car off. Maybe its running Windows?

And to each their own. Personally, drive what you want and what you can afford. I love my big vehicles. I don't complain about the cost of fuel & I have a diesel which has been higher than all the others lately, but like anything else, if you can't afford it then don't buy it.

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

A lot of Prius ownders over here report that on downhill sections of the freeways, both engines shut down and they just coast down the hill...

I dont know how this affects steering/braking.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

hahahahaha, sorry had to laugh.

Just at everyone picking at each other. My truck has so many TSB's it ain't even funny, same with just about every vehicle out there.

And yes there will be a TSB for it Tim. Just not a recall; not for that few. A TSB is more of a look out for this known problem.

Koi

Recall:
Make : TOYOTA Model : PRIUS Year : 2004
Manufacturer : TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 04V558000 Recall Date : NOV 18, 2004
Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTSWITCH
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 183090


TSB:

(19 found)
including a software update on that engine:

Technical Service Bulletins Summary

Make: TOYOTA
Model: PRIUS
Year: 2004
Type: PASSENGER CAR
Service Bulletin Number: 00204
NHTSA Item Number: 10006227
Summary Description:
HV ECU SOFTWARE UPDATE.*MR

Report Date : May 17, 2005 at 03:38 PM
SEARCH TYPE : VEHICLE
YEAR : 2004
Make : TOYOTA
Model : PRIUS
Type : PASSENGER CAR
Results : 19



My truck has:

Report Date : May 17, 2005 at 03:38 PM
SEARCH TYPE : VEHICLE
YEAR : 1988
Make : FORD
Model : F350
Type : ANY

Results : 38 <-----!!!

ok, and in the complaints for consumer safety only one incidence has officially been reported:

Make: TOYOTA
Model: PRIUS
Type: PASSENGER CAR
Year: 2004
Complaint Number: 10079385
Summary:
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE STALLED. CONSUMER RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, AND PULLED OVER. CONSUMER NOTICED ALL WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD AND REMAINED ON. CONSUMER HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT INSISTED THAT WARNING LIGHT SHOULD BE TURNED OFF. *AK


Last edited by Koi Keeper at 17-May-2005 14:46

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

Just not a recall

I know what TSB is.