NHTSA Complaint #10129674 — 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS

CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER WHEN BEING DRIVEN 30 MPH ON CITY ROAD. COMPUTER SAID BATTERY POWER LOST; SEEMS LIKE GAS ENGINE WAS NOT RECHARGING BATTERY, BUT THERE WAS NO WARNING UNTIL POWER LOSS. I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY STREET WITH 2 SMALL CHILDREN, AS THE CAR WOULD NOT MAKE IT TO SIDE OF ROAD. ANOTHER MOTORIST HELPED PUSH ME TO SIDE OF ROAD AND NO ONE WAS HURT. THE GAS TANK WAS FULL AT THE TIME OF THIS INCIDENT. ALTHOUGH VEHICLE COULD NOT MOVE, THE DASHBOARD AND COMPUTER STILL HAD POWER; IT WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO SHUT IT DOWN, OR REMOVE THE KEY FOB. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP, AND NOW MUST BE TOWED TO ANOTHER DEALIERSHIP THAT SERVICES THIS MODEL. NO REPAIR HAS YET BEEN ATTEMPTED BUT I WANTED TO REPORT INCIDENT BECAUSE MY INTERNET RESEARCH INDICATED YOU WERE INVESTIGATING THIS MODEL FOR A NUMBER OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS. THE CAR WAS PURCHASED IN NOVEMBER 2003 AND HAS 15,299 MILES ON IT. I HAD ONE INCIDENT 12 MONTHS AGO WHEN I COULD NOT START THE VEHICLE, BUT I WAS ABLE TO FINALLY AFTER 10 MINUTES OR SO. I HAVE HAD NO PREVIOUS BREAK DOWNS HOWEVER.