2008 Toyota Prius problems
Owners have filed 1,894 complaints about the 2008 Toyota Prius with NHTSA. Exterior lighting accounts for 30.8% of them — the clear leader, ahead of electrical system at 12.5%.
Complaints1,894
Crashes214
Fires10
Injuries103
Deaths8
What owners report breaking
Exterior lighting 30.8% · 583
Electrical system 12.5% · 236
Service brakes, hydraulic 9.2% · 175
Vehicle speed control 8.2% · 156
Service brakes 7.7% · 145
Service brakes, electric 4.1% · 77
Structure 3.6% · 69
Power train 3.0% · 57
Severity
Of those complaints, 214 describe a crash, 10 describe a fire, 103 report an injury and 8 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 17 model years of the Toyota Prius in this data, 2008 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 2010 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 49 in the last three years against 66 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 55,000 miles.
In owners' own words
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that his headlights would diminish slowly and over time they would not function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised him that he needed to replace the bulbs. Within a few months after the bulbs were replaced, the failure had recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. Rvk Exterior lighting · reported at 78,000 miles
The hid bulb on the passenger side of my 2008 Toyota Prius with only 40k miles on it, goes out intermittently. If I turn my switch off and then back on, the bulb will come back on, for a little while. The dealership wants $300 to replace the bulb. The hazard of possibly losing the driver side light before I can get the passenger side repaired is of great concern. This is a continuing, constant problem. Exterior lighting · reported at 41,500 miles
The headlights intermittently fail - turn off - during driving (without warning). Fortunately, so far only one headlight has failed at once. Toyota is aware of this issue, but so far there haven't been enough problems, apparently, to justify a safety recall. Seems like a very serious thing - and it is just a matter of good fortune on Toyota's part that there have not been fatalities (to my knowledge). Exterior lighting · reported at 112,011 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…