2005 Toyota Prius problems
Owners have filed 1,298 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Toyota Prius. Lighting is the most reported problem area, at 27% of complaints. After that come brakes (22%) and electrical system (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,298 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 133 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 93 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 1,080 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 195 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 88 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 117 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 150 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 123 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 107 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 84 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 82 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 41 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 24 |
| 200k+ miles | 69 |
What the data shows
Among the 1,080 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 78,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (305 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 133 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 93 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Toyota Prius with enough data (748 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Our son was killed on oct 22nd in a single car crash while driving a 2005 toyota prius( the police report states that he lost control, jumped the curb and died in the ensuing crash) while negotiating a curve while attempting to enter the freeway in tucson az. We strongly believe that this may have been caused by sudden acceleration and or brake problems. I know this is an older model, but in light of toyota's lies and cover-ups time will only tell.
Another driver failed to yield to me at an intersection. I struck the other car and the air bags did not go off nor did the seat belts lock into place to hold the passengers in a restrained position.
Headlights intermittently turn on. Left and right side sometimes do not turn on. They later turn on after multiple tries (turn on and off repeatedly). Both lights turn off while driving. Inspection at toyota dealer found possible fault with one headlight. Cost to replace headlights estimated at $900.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that the instrument panel failed to illuminate after the vehicle operated. The contact also stated that the reverse lights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 230,000.