NHTSA Complaint #10140006 — 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS

THE FOLLOWING HAS HAPPENED ON 4 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, 3 TIMES I HAVE BEEN DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES FROM HOME AT SPEEDS OF 65 TO 70 MILES PER HOUR. ON THESE OCCASIONS THE DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHTS HAVE COME ON AND THE GASOLINE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRIC MOTOR WILL CONTINUE OPERATING IN A LIMITED CAPACITY, SO I CAN STEER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE ENGINE WILL START WORKING AGAIN WHEN I TRY TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT NOT FOR A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, THIS HAS BEEN VERY FRIGHTENING, AS I AM USUALLY ALONE IN THE CAR. THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED I HAD TO WAIT APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AT DUSK BEFORE THE CAR STARTED AGAIN. I HAD CALLED SEVERAL TOW TRUCKS, BUT THEY TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT COME FOR ANOTHER 45 MINUTES TO 2 HOURS AS THEY WERE THAT BUSY. I HAVE HAD MY CAR INTO THE TOYOTA SHOP EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENED AND THEY KEEP TELLING ME NOTHING IS WRONG. WELL, SOMETHING IS WRONG...I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM THE ONLY PERSON HAVING THIS TROUBLE. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE THEM FIX THIS PROBLEM. I BOUGHT THIS CAR USED AND IN GOOD FAITH, OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE OF GAS PRICES. BUT NOW I GUESS I KNOW WHY IT WAS TRADED IN AFTER ONLY 2 YEARS. THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS OCTOBER 10TH, 2005. *JB