2010 Toyota Prius Fuel System Problems

Your check engine light has been coming on for 14 years due to a cracked fuel canister that's causing an emissions leak. Toyota issued a recall in 2016 for this exact issue on millions of Priuses, but the company says your 2010 model wasn't included in that recall and has refused to repair it. The problem has existed since your car was new. Fixing this will likely require replacing the fuel canister.

Your 2010 Prius has a leaking charcoal fuel canister that's been defective since you got it. While millions of other Prius models were recalled for this same problem, your car wasn't included in the recall. You notice a strong gasoline smell when fueling up, your check engine light stays on continuously, and you're concerned about a potential fire hazard.

Check Hybrid System warning lights came on and I lost all ability to drive vehicle and had to coast to the side of the road.

VEHICLE SHUTTERED AND WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON WHILE DRIVING ON BUSY ROADWAY. WAS ABLE TO PULL ONTO SIDE STREET AND STOPPED VEHICLE. OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES WERE OVER 100 DEG F AND MY WIFE WAS ALONE WITH THE VEHICLE. ATTACHED MECHANIC ESTIMATE LISTS CODES AND INDICATES THE INVERTER FAILED. WE HAD THE ECU UPDATED IN 2016 TO AVOID THIS FAILURE BUT BELIEVE TOYOTA'S ECU FLASH FAILED TO FIX THE ISSUE. SUBSEQUENT EXTENDED WARRANTY DID NOT COVER THIS VEHICLE'S VIN # ACCORDING TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WE CONTACTED ON 05/29/2020. *TR

HYBRID SYSTEM SHUT DOWN WHILE TRAVELING. LOSS OF POWER HAZARD. HYBRID SYSTEM MALFUNCTION INDICATED ALONG WITH LOSS OF TRACTION AND TROUBLE INDICATOR ON DASH. *BF

WELL-MAINTAINED, DEALER-SERVICED VEHICLE SPUTTERED AND STALLED WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEED. WAS FORTUNATELY ABLE TO COAST TO A STOP ON THE SHOULDER, BUT VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART. DEALERSHIP IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS A FUEL PUMP FAILURE, WHICH OCCURRED WITH NO WARNING.

I TOOK MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS TO DEALER SHIP FOR A SOFTWARE UPDATE, AND NOW THE HYBRID SYSTEM KEPT HAVING PROBLEM, ONCE I DISCONNECT THE 12V BATTERY, THE CAR WILL DO FINE FOR LIKE A WEEK, THEN THE HYBRID SYSTEM WILL SHUT DOWN, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN BEFORE THE SOFTWARE UPDATE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE "HYPER" SYSTEM FAILURE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO TOYOTA OF SEATTLE (1925 AIRPORT WAY S, SEATTLE, WA 98134, (206) 382-4300) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE EGR VALVE AND INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE FUEL PUMP WAS REPAIRED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 180,000.

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND CAR BEGAN TO LOSE SPEED -- ONLY PERMITTING TRAVEL AT ABOUT 50 MPH. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, THE CAR SHUT OFF ENTIRELY. FORTUNATELY, WAS ABLE TO GET TO SIDE OF ROAD BUT THIS COULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DUE TO LACK OF WARNING, AND FACT THAT WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY WHERE OTHERS ARE GOING 60-70MPH OR FASTER. THE INVERTER OVERHEATED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS ISSUE WAS PART OF A RECALL, BUT DID NOT INCLUDE MY YEAR/CAR. EXTREMELY UPSETTING THAT TOYOTA DOES NOT RECALL IT OR AT A MINIMUM SEND A WARNING TO OWNERS TO HAVE THIS LOOKED AT. THIS CAN CAUSE POTENTIALLY FATAL ACCIDENTS, AND TOYOTA SEEMS TO BE AWARE OF THE ISSUE.

TOYOTA INVERTER FAILURE. MY SPECIFIC VIN WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, BUT THE IPM DID FAIL, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, WHILE DRIVING, MY CAR LOST ALL POWER & WENT INTO LIMP HOME MODE. FORTUNATELY THE STREET WASN'T BUSY & I WASN'T STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE AS I HAD MY 6 WEEK OLD NEWBORN IN THE CAR WITH ME. I HAD DUTIFULLY CHECKED TO SEE IF MY CAR WAS INVOLVED IN THE RECALL & IT WASN'T, EVEN THOUGH IT FAILED. THEY ONLY FIX IT AFTER IT FAILS, WHICH IS OUTRAGEOUS. SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE WHEN THEIR PRIUS LOSES ALL POWER WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.

LEAVING A PARKING LOT DRIVING AT UNDER 20 MPH, 'CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM' FLASHED WITH ENGINE ICON APPEARING; AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AT 104 DEGREES. DROVE HOME AND CONNECTED WIFI ELM 327 THAT DISPLAYED P0A080 DTC. FAILURE MILEAGE 152510 JUST OUTSIDE 150K CALIFORNIA EMISSIONS WARRANTY BUT BELOW 10 YEAR WARRANTY AT 9 YEARS AND 2 DAYS FAILING 07-16-18. DROVE TO NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP 07-17-18 WHO DIAGNOSED DTC P0A80 P0A3000 TO BATTERY BLOCKS V06 12.67 VOLTS, V07 13.91 VOLTS. V05 14.14 VOLTS, V09 14.18 VOLTS, V10 14.18 VOLTS. DETAIL CODE 1 IS 123. POOR FUEL MILEAGE AND OSCILLATING CHARGE DISCHARGE OF HYBRID BATTERY PACK BEGAN 02-09-2015 AT 91,036 MILES TYPICALLY 42.7 MPG. TOYOTA MOTOR SALES DENIED GOOD WILL ASSISTANCE REQUEST CITING OUT OF WARRANTY CASE # 1807172401. REMEDY IS REPLACE HYBRID BATTERY PACK AT NEAR $4K WITH CORE EXCHANGE.

ON 05/12/2018, THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY, WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE MESSAGE "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" WAS DISPLAYED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVEABLE AT NORMAL STREET SPEEDS AND HAD TO BE TOWED OFF THE FREEWAY ONRAMP. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP ON 05/16/2018, WHERE THE DIAGNOSTIC FOUND THAT THE INVERTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DIAGNOSTIC DID NOT FIND ANY OTHER FAULT CODES. THE INVERTER WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THEN, 3 WEEKS AFTER THE COMPLETED REPAIR (LESS THAN 200 MILES), ON 06/11/2018, THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AND IDLING WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE MESSAGE "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" WAS DISPLAYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE SAME TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, WHERE THE DIAGNOSTIC FOUND THAT THE FAULT CODE WAS WITH THE HYBRID BATTERY THIS TIME, WHEN IT PREVIOUSLY HAD NOT BEEN AN ISSUE. AFTER THE CODE WAS CLEARED, THE VEHICLE WAS 100% DRIVEABLE AND TAKEN HOME WHILE WE CONSULTED OPTIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE REPAIR OR DIAGNOSTICS.

48 MPG WHEN PURCHASED NEW IN JULY 2009. 30 MPG AT 130,000 MILES IN 2016. GUMOUT AND SEAFOAM HELPED CLEAN OUT FUEL INJECTORS WITH IMPROVED 35 MPG.

HYBRID BATTERY COMPLETE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING. OWNED THE CARS 7 YEARS SINCE NEW.

IN FALL OF 2015 RECALL FOR HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE WAS PREFORMED TO COMPUTER SYSTEM. IN THE FALL OF 2016 I WAS PULLING OUT ONTO TRAFFIC ONTO A STATE ROUTE WHEN ENGINE LOST POWER AND LIGHTS FOR THE HYBRID SYSTEM CAME ON. WAS RUNNING ON ONLY GAS ENGINE WITH LIMITED SLOW ACCELERATION TO ABOUT 35 MPH. WAS ABLE TO SAFELY DRIVE IT TO A LOCATION TO PARK IT UNTIL FLAT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. WAS TOLD BY TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THAT THE HYBRID SYSTEM FAILED, UPON RESEARCH I FOUND IT FAILED EXACTLY AS STATED IN THE RECALL THAT WAS DONE IN FALL OF 2015. THE PREVIOUS RECALL "FIX" WAS TOO LITTLE TOO LATE THE DAMAGE HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE. FOUGHT WITH TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND CORPORATE ABOUT THAT THIS WAS A RECALL FIX THAT FAILED AND DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY WOULD NOT COVER THE COST OF THE $3000 REPAIR ENTIRELY AND I AM STUCK PAYING HALF OF THE REPAIR THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED ENTIRELY UNDER THE RECALL.

OIL CONSUMPTION. I PURCHASED MY PRIUS WITH 77000 MILES FOR A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. MY CAR NOW HAS 140000 MILES AND CONSUMES 2-3 QUARTS OF OIL PER WEEK. I HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR HELP. I WAS DIRECTED TO HAVE AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST PREFORMED. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM TOYOTA MAY OFFER REPAIR ASSISTANCE HOWEVER MY ENGINE IS NOT ON THE LIST OF TOYOTA APPROVED VEHICLES ELIGIBLE FOR COMPLEMENTARY REPAIR. I AM REQUIRED TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THE TEST AND REPAIRS. I WILL UPDATE WITH RESULTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

WHILE ACCELERATING ON A HIGHWAY GOING FROM THE RIGHT LANE TO A LEFT LANE WITH MY TWO YOUNG CHILDREN IN THE CAR, I GOT A" CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" ON THE SCREEN. WHICH MADE THE CAR UNABLE TO ACCELERATE, ALL I COULD DO WAS TO PUT MY HAZARDS ON AND PULL THRU 3 LANES OF HIGH SPEED CARS TO GET TO A BREAKDOWN LANE NEXT TO AN ON RAMP, SO I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 4 LANE HIGHWAY AND 2 LANE ON RAMP. I THEN GOT MY KIDS OUT AND RAN ACROSS THE ON RAMP TO PUT THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONCRETE BARRIER FOR PROTECTION. THEN I WENT BACK TO THE CAR TO GATHER WATERS AND FOOD BECAUSE IT WAS 90 DEGREES OUT IN UTAH, I WAITED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR 30 MINUTES UNTIL A TOW TRUCK CAME. I AM VERY VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT COULD'VE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AND ALSO PUT OUR LIVES AT STAKE FROM POSSIBLE RE END.

WHILE IN MOTION AT 30 MPH ON A CITY STREET(BRIDGE), ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD CAME ON AND THE CAR SLOWED DOWN TO LESS THAN 20MPH. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR AT 20 TO A REPAIR SHOP. HAD THIS HAPPENED ON A FREEWAY WITH LIMITED OR NO SHOULDER OR WHILE IN THE LEFT LANE, IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A SERIOUS AND DEADLY ACCIDENT..SINCE TOYOTA FAILED TO NOTIFY ME OF THIS PROBLEM, I TOOK IT TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS FAILURE OF THE INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE (IPM), PART OF THE HYBRID INVERTER. I THEN HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WHERE THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED AS PART OF THE WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. I AM INCLUDING A PDF THAT SHOWS THE DIAGNOSIS PERFORMED BY HAWTHORNE AUTO AS WELL AS A COPY OF A LETTER FROM TOYOTA THAT I NEVER RECEIVED. I CANNOT OVERSTATE THE POTENTIAL DANGER THIS DEFECT COULD CAUSE. A LESS EXPERIENCED DRIVER MIGHT HAVE PANICKED. CERTAINLY, IF THIS HAD HAPPENED ON A FREEWAY IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, I COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED - DRIVERS GENERALLY AND REASONABLY DO NOT EXPECT CARS GOING 60 TO SLOW DOWN FOR NO APPARENT REASON TO 20. TOYOTA HAS DETERMINED THAT THIS PROBLEM MERITS ONLY A "WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT" RATHER THAN A RECALL. I BELIEVE THAT THEY DO NOT WANT TO ISSUE A RECALL BECAUSE THIS IS AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR. I HOPE THAT NHTSA WILL TAKE STEPS TO MAKE THIS A RECALL BEFORE SOME INNOCENT PERSON DIES AS A RESULT OF THIS SERIOUS DEFECT. I HAVE SENT YOU THE DOCUMENTATION THAT I FELT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT FOR YOUR INVESTIGATION BUT I HAVE MORE IF YOU NEED IT, INCLUDING MANY PAGES THAT DETAIL THE RESULTS OF THE DIAGNOSTICS PERFORMED BY HAWTHORNE AUTO. RESPECTFULLY, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

THE VEHICLE'S FUEL GUAGE BECAME STUCK CAUSING ME TO RUN OUT OF FUEL ON A BUSY HIGHWAY ALMOST RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT. AN ATTEMPT TO REFILL THE TANK WAS ONLY MINIMALLY SUCCESSFUL IN THAT ONLY 3 GALLONS WERE ACCEPTED BY THE TANK.

TOYOTA RELEASE A RECALL FOR 2010 TO 2014 TOYOTA PRIUS. RECALL WAS MADE TO AFFECTED PRIUS MODELS TO RECTIFY SOFTWARE IN TWO OF THE PRIUS'S ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNITS, ONE FOR THE MOTOR/GENERATOR AND THE OTHER CONTROLLING THE HYBRID SYSTEM.I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE RECALL DONE, HERE IS WHERE MY PROBLEMS STARTED, I SAW A DROP ON MPG FROM 52 TO 44. I WAITED HOPING IT JUST NEEDED TO RESET, SO AFTER DRIVING MORE THAN 10,000 MILES, MPG STILL DID NOT COME BACK. I HAD THIS CAR FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND COMMUTE HAS BEEN THE SAME. OTHER PRIUS OWNER HAS RAISED THE SAME CONCERNS AS NOTED IN HTTP://PRIUSCHAT.COM/THREADS/WHO-HAS-DONE-THEIR-RECALL.137632/ I TAKEN MY CAR BACK AND THEY CAN FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH AND THAT 44MPG IS OK. HAVING A RECALL MESS UP WITH THE PERFORMANCE AND NOT BEE TOLD SO IS NO GOOD BUSINESS .PLEASE HELP. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL SENSOR UNIT MALFUNCTIONED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO STALL WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE HAS HAVING A FAULTY FUEL SENSOR GAUGE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FUEL SENSOR GAUGE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 54,047.

LEASED A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 3 MTHS AGO. RIGHT FROM THE START GIVES VERY LOW MILEAGE: 39-41MPG AND HAVE BEEN TRACKING IT BETWEEN EVERY FILL UP. ALWAYS FILLED UP 10 GALLONS AND RESET TRIP METER EVERY TIME. GIVES ONLY 390-410 MILES PER FILL UP. COMPLAINED TO THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER AT GREENTREE TOYOTA AND THEY SAY THAT NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THE MILEAGE SHOULD IMPROVE AFTER 10,000MILES. RIGHT NOW THE CAR HAS OVER 5200MILES. FOR THE LAST 2 MTHS, I STARTED NOTICING THAT THE SPEEDOMETER IS READING HIGHER TOO. IF THE ROADSIDE RADAR SHOWS 35, THE PRIUS SPEEDOMETER SHOWS 37 AS THE SPEED. AN OVERAGE OF 2 MILES. SO, IF WHEN I HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR 900MILES IN ACTUALITY, THE ODOMETER WOULD READ 1000MILES AND HENCE THE CAR IS AGING AT A FASTER RATE AS FAR AS MILEAGE IS CONCERNED AND ALSO THAT THE FUEL ECONOMY IS AFFECTED EVEN FURTHER SINCE THE CAR IS NOT GIVING EVEN THE 39-41MILES PER GALLON. THE DEALERSHIP MANAGER CHARLIE MONECO TELLS ME THAT IT IS NORMAL INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR THE SPEEDOMETER TO BE OFF AND THAT THESE ARE NOT CERTIFIED SPEEDOMETERS. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER MANAGER [XXX] TELLS ME THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THAT IT IS WITHIN LEGAL LIMITS FOR THE SPEEDOMETER TO BE OFF. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER TECHNICAL MANAGER [XXX] BLANK TELLS ME THAT THEY TEST DROVE TO LIKE VEHICLES AND FOUND THAT BOTH VEHICLES DID THE SAME MILEAGE AND HENCE THE CONCLUSION THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR. I QUESTIONED THE TESTING PROCESS SINCE THERE IS NO OUTSIDE SOURCE LIKE A RADAR THAT IS CLOCKING ANY OF THE CARS TO TELL WHICH ONE IS AT WHAT SPEED. CALLED TOYOTA MOTOR CORPN. AT 1-800-331-4331 AND SPOKE TO [XXX] AND SHE SAYS THAT IF THE DEARLERSHIP AND ITS SERVICE CENTER IS SAYING THAT THEY CAN DO NOTHING, THEN THEY STAND BY THE DEALERSHIP. TOYOTA CANNOT HELP ME ANY FURTHER. THE CASE NUMBER FROM TOYOTA IS # [XXX] LODGED TODAY 12.06.2010. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH SHE SMELLED A STRONG GASOLINE ODOR. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED AND THERE WERE NO VISIBLE LEAKS. THE DEALER AUTHORIZED THE TOW TRUCK TO RETRIEVE THE VEHICLE SINCE SHE WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE IT. THE DEALER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND DID NOT FIND ANY LEAKS OR DETECT ANY GASOLINE ODOR. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 7,000. UPDATED 03/09/10. *LJ UPDATED 05/12/10.8JB