2004 Toyota Prius problems and complaints
Owners have filed 610 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Toyota Prius. The most-reported areas: Exterior Lighting (184), Electrical System (177), Engine And Engine Cooling (89).
Key takeaways
- 610 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
- 38 involve a crash, 2 a fire, 29 reported injuries.
- Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting | 184 | 30% |
| Electrical System | 177 | 29% |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 89 | 15% |
| Service Brakes | 73 | 12% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 52 | 9% |
| Hydraulic | 39 | 6% |
| Power Train | 34 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 18 | 3% |
| Unknown Or Other | 14 | 2% |
| Equipment | 13 | 2% |
| Electric | 13 | 2% |
| Steering | 10 | 2% |
One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
| Version | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Toyota Prius 4-DR. | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated |
Latest complaints, as filed
Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.
Service Brakes - filed 2025-09-24
Codes C1256 and C1391 ACC low pressure and abnormal leak of ACC press
Electrical System - filed 2025-07-21
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 una...
Electrical System - filed 2022-11-12
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; on...
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More for the 2004 Toyota Prius
Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.