| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2004 Toyota Prius repairs by problem area
Engine (39%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (3%)
Brakes and Traction Control (3%)
Suspension and Steering (12%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (32%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (4%)
Other (6%)
Select a problem area
- Engine
- Transmission and Drivetrain
- Brakes and Traction Control
- Suspension and Steering
- Electrical and Air Conditioning
- Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim
- Other
Chart based on 232 repairs.
2004 Toyota Prius electrical repair cost distribution
$2500+ (0%)
$1000 - $2499 (3%)
$500 - $999 (9%)
$100 - $499 (37%)
< $100 (51%)
Chart based on 75 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2004 Toyota Prius 4dr Hatch
76-horsepower 1.5L I4 Hybrid CVT FWD
| 120000 mi | Blower motor on AC / Ventilation system failed. |
| 220000 mi | Brake light out, requires replacing entire tail light fixture, i was able to pull one from a wreck i own. |
| 242000 mi US $40 |
Replace Driver side HID headlight bulb. |
| 246000 mi | Brake light failure rear passenger side. Replaced Tail light assembly. |
| 298000 mi US $130 |
Replace fan |
| 305000 mi US $800 |
Replace compressor |
| 106500 mi US $478 |
non-hybrid battery |
| 149000 mi US $147 |
Replaced 12 volt battery, the 2nd replacement; both covering approximately 75k miles. Off brand install. required new connecting cables for both posts. |
| 82000 mi US $200 |
Replace 12v battery |
| 147200 mi US $100 |
Rear tail light on passenger side replaced. Purchased online for $90 and installed in less than 20 minutes. But, tail light is not working after 3 weeks. My only problem with this car are the lights (headlights and rear lights). |
| 138700 mi US $50 |
Passenger side headlight bulb needed to be replaced. |
| 150000 mi US $2000 |
New condenser and valve |
| 212000 mi | Warrantee extension for the Combination Meter Display. Speedometer was blank one morning and Toyota covers that for even high mileage cars until August. |
| 107900 mi US $350 |
Auxiliary battery would not take a charge and had to be replaced. |
| 5520 mi | Electrical system failure. Software reloaded. |
| 7744 mi | Radio stops when console display comes on. Display replaced. |
| 20000 mi | Dealer replaced DVD Navigation System (the whole unit, including the MFD) for no charge. The system was not functioning due to me playing with the hidden setup screens and setting the unit to expect a DISC with an impossible region code. My Fault, Free F |
| 152000 mi US $50 |
Replaced left rear tail light assembly after some LEDs went out. |
| 155000 mi C $20 |
Changed headlight bulb. Kind of finicky to change actually. |
| 324000 mi US $90 |
Replaced instrument cluster. |
| 276000 mi US $179 |
AGM (Yellow Top) was flat again, would not take a charge, negative battery terminal was starting to detach. Purchased a new AGM battery and installed it with the assistance of the previous owner. |
| 148000 mi US $978 |
10A AC/HTR fuse blown, found to be fault of hybrid-side coolant pump malfunction/short. coolant pump replaced. |
| 76000 mi US $240 |
12v battery died and was replaced |
| 52000 mi US $600 |
Radio and A/C controls will not work at MFD but work at steering wheel. Service tech reported bad MFD unit. He said he had seen this before and that, "what happens is something comes ‘loose’ in the monitor (MFD)." Dealer informs, "out of warranty." |
| 40000 mi US $600 |
Amount covered by extended warranty. The multi-function screen began to lose its connection to the car's LAN sometime early in 2008; the connection was intermittent but the drops grew more and more frequent. Common problem in early Prii according to net. |
| 100000 mi US $150 |
Starter battery problems |
| 99200 mi C $40 |
Both HID Headlight bulbs replaced |
| 59200 mi US $100 |
AM radio reception poor or non existant. Fixed twice before but back again. |
| 60000 mi US $400 |
AC was not performing. Leak check and recharge. All ok |
| 60000 mi | AM radio reception poor or non existant despite multiple repair attempts. |
| 68000 mi US $300 |
Switch for right passenger window |
| 76000 mi US $176 |
Original starter battery had died after 10 years, starter battery replaced. |
| 152000 mi US $145 |
AC was not delivering cold air. System was checked for leaks and recharged. |
| 99000 mi | Had the passenger side window switch replaced. |
| 86000 mi | Multi Function Display (MFD) failure MFD replaced with refurbished unit. |
| 157000 mi US $15 |
MFD screen intermittently malfunctions, several times/day with audio and a/c problems. I took out MFD, cleaned the main connection between the two inner circuit boards, sprayed same with contact cleaner from Radio Shack. Reassembled and works like new. |
| 98000 mi | Replaced audio system headunit because it wouldn't play CDs reliably. |
| 124000 mi US $190 |
Replaced passenger side tail lamp assembly because the LED brake light was working intermittently. One LED was completely non-functional and the rest would fail to illuminate about 50% of the time. |
| 42145 mi US $164 |
AC Condenser leak |
| 172000 mi | Classic 2004 MFD failure. Repair requires dash removal, MFD removal (with minor dis-assembly) and re-soldering connector pin 60 connection. Instructions at: http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/mfd/ $3000 if Dealer did the work! |
| 173000 mi US $82 |
CD player rejecting most CDs. Replaced unit with one salvaged from a 2006 Prius. Part came from AutoBeYours.com |
| 211000 mi US $250 |
The Salvage Stereo installed previously became intermittent (CD skipped tracks). Had a local Stereo shop install a Pioneer Stereo for $250. Works much better than the OE in all respects, but gave up the steering and MFD control functions. |
| 213000 mi US $170 |
The 12v battery was finally showing it's age. Replaced it with an Optima Yellow-Top (with Japanese thin terminals). |
| 288000 mi | MFD intermittent blackout. Not repaired as I now have a new 2016 Prius |
| 182900 mi C $41 |
A/C blowing only cool. Bought R124a and hose and added refrigerant to fix. |
| 191580 mi | AC discharge hose clogged, resulting in wet rear floor. Cleared using a wire (thanks YouTube). |
| 205840 mi C $2349 |
Condenser and compressor replaced. (I tried recharge first but that didn't fix it) |
| 38 mi | Burned out L.E.D. "Headlights On" indicator light. Dealer quoted $542 to repair/replace. High cost due to labor of pulling dash. |
| 119800 mi US $975 |
Replaced both headlights, at $150 each, which required removal and replacement of front bumper for an additional $125 labor. Vacuum seal wouldn't close so had to be replaced. Parts and labor $550. |
| 185000 mi | Headlight replacement, right side. Didn't do it myself because replacing the bulb requires detaching an air hose. |
| 194900 mi US $150 |
One headlight replaced |
| 251000 mi US $200 |
Car wouldn't start. Battery replaced. Problem remains. |
| 252000 mi US $200 |
Some wiring problem was causing the battery to drain. |
| 67000 mi | Have the fancy 6 cd radio, but the problem is the AM is junk, it cannot pull in the traffic news stations in my area. Several friends are having the same problem with pulling in the am stations, including the mechanic who looked at it and checked antenna |
| 162000 mi US $30 |
I replaced the two HID headlights with cheap aftermarket bulbs. The lights were going out while driving. Turning the light switch off and back on made the lights come back on. Now the lights stay on until they are turned off. |
| 108000 mi US $150 |
Right set of LED rear brake lights went out. The entire taillight assembly have to be replaced. |
| 138000 mi US $220 |
The 12 Volt battery died. The car would not start, no lights and smart key could not unlock doors. The battery was just two years old. |
| 80000 mi | Original battery died. Not bad at almost 80,000 miles. |
| 126000 mi US $550 |
Rear tail light assembly had to be completely replaced because the fiber optics went out |
| 117000 mi US $100 |
Replace two HID headlights by myself. |
| 125000 mi US $50 |
CD changer failed - eject mechanism gear cracked (common failure). Attempted repair with recycled part from eBay, however it was non-functional as well. Second part has been provided by seller, but not yet installed. |
| 125000 mi | CD Changer replacement, 2nd attempt with different used unit which was provided as an exchange from the eBay vendor. Repair was successful. |
| 135570 mi | Resoldered "pin 60" for Multi-function display since the display would only intermittently display audio, climate control, and hybrid system information. This is a known defect for early Prius, and the 2nd time I've performed this repair for this car. |
| 124000 mi US $268 |
Rear headlight leveler sensor failed. The arm was stuck so the car could not raise or lower the headlights, thus causing the headlights to point straight down and throw an error. Problem was solved after replacing the headlight level sensor. |
| 130000 mi US $30 |
Replaced healight bulbs that were failing, bought aftermarket on ebay |
| 165000 mi US $65 |
Passenger led tail light need to be replaced. Ordered after-market part on ebay and replaced myself in about 20 minutes. |
| 167300 mi US $70 |
Driver brakelight housing needed to be replaced as LEDs stopped working. Bought aftermarket part on ebay and replaced myself, quick repair. |
| 168000 mi US $80 |
One headlight bulb started blinking out, replaced both bulbs myself. Bought parts from amazon. |
| 98000 mi | Repair to the A/C door that switches from outside to recirculating. |
| 116000 mi US $660 |
LED brake lights went very dim. All day to diagnose and very expensive to repair and replace part. |
| Speedometer display recalled due to occasional failure at start up for over a year. Hadn't repaired it prior to recall because of the cost. |
| 166000 mi US $110 |
Passenger side brake LEDs not working, replaced with used tail-light assembly that includes brake LEDs |
| 121000 mi US $340 |
right rear led brake light went out, entire light fixture required replacement |
| 136000 mi | Left headlight went out and was replaced |
See TrueDelta's information for all Hatchbacks
See TrueDelta's information for all Toyota models.
