Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. While parking, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently. The brakes were engaged, but failed to stop the vehicle. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle. There were no injuries and no damages and it was unknown if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the computer in the vehicle caused the unintended acceleration. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 09V388000 (vehicle speed control). The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 120,000. Updated 5/18/15
Tl* the contact owned a 2005 Toyota Prius. After the vehicle was parked and turned off, it suddenly accelerated to 65 MPH without warning and crashed into a retention wall. The front air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported and a police report was not filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to the contact's residence. The approximate failure mileage was 280,000.
We have a 2005 Toyota Prius that was involved in an accident as a result of the car taking off on it's own and the brakes not working. The Prius only stopped when it hit another car and then we were unable to get the car turned off. This was not due to the floor mat recall. The car was in park and took off, would not stop even with both feet on the brakes, it stopped only upon impact. Literally was seconds away from pinning a person inbetween the two vehicles. This could have LED to a death or serious injury. Since then the car was repaired but Toyota engineers test drove it for about 10 miles and of course it didn't happen to them so they indicated there was no problem. We had 51,000 miles on the car before this happened. Currently the car sits in the driveway not being used because of the defect. This model is not part of the recall yet but obviously is defective. …
Last evening 3/3 my 2005 Toyota Prius experienced a stuck gas pedal causing me to go in and out a ditch then across the road and hit a sign prior to my finally being able to get it into neutral. Since neither Toyota total care/roadside assistance or the Toyota of bowie dealership would tow it to the dealership I placed a claim with my insurance company usaa. When I got to the dealership they were extremely unhelpful saying I had to make a complaint with Toyota as they were not Toyota but an independent dealership. They did not want to look at it since it looked fine on one side but they didn't even want to hear about the under carriage. The car is there waiting for my insurance adjuster to look at it. They also advised that I needed to complain to NHTSA.gov since there's nothing wrong -- without even looking at it they said this. …
On 11/24/09 I was parked in a san francisco shopping mall parking lot and started my vehicle, put it reverse, released the brake and it, immediately, accelerated out of the angled parking space, across the one-way single lane and crashed into the rear of a car similarly parked on the opposite side of the traffic lane. I frantically hit brakes but the car did not stop and, in fact, seemed to speed up. I am absolutely convinced that the cause of the accident was a fault in the accelerator mechanism. I, at first,thought it was my fault and said so to my insurance company within an hour of the accident. But on reflection, I decided it was the car itself and the following day I called my insurance company and told them that it was a fault with the car that was the cause. I have tried to contact Toyota corp. Numerous times by email and have not been successful. …
The automatic braking system (ABS), vehicle stability control (vsc), brake light, and brake system warning lights (4) on the Prius all came on and vehicle became very unstable while out of town. The owner's manual indicated that the dealership should be contacted and car should be taken in immediately for service. Since no dealership was available at the immediate location, the car was driven home (60 miles) in very unstable conditions. Upon bringing it to the dealership I was told it was a miracle nothing bad had happened because the "computer skid assembly" needed to be replaced at a cost of $1570.97 for just the part!!! I found it very interesting that the part was readily available as if I were replacing an oil or air filter. After confirming the cost with other dealerships, I consented to the work to be performed. Is this just another "built in obsolescence" feature? …
I was stopped at a stop light in my car, a 2005 Toyota Prius. When the light turned green I took my foot off the brake. This is when my car quickly accelerated into the car in front of me while my foot was not on the gas or the brake. After the initial impact my car drove into the car in front of me again. While this was happening I applied the brake but nothing happened. The car stopped moving after the second impact and came to rest on the front car's bumper. The damage to the car I hit was $1000, the damage to my Prius was $7000. Toyota had contacted me in a form of a recall about floor mats being the cause of this problem. When I called Toyota of orange tell them what happened they looked up my VIN number and assured me my car was not a part of any recall. They said I could bring my vehicle in however nothing would be done if they could not recreate the problem. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. While washing the vehicle, the contact noticed 2-3 drops of water entering the front passenger side window. The window was closed at the time of the failure. Additionally, when the vehicle was started, the contact noticed that the instrument panel failed and would not illuminate. The contact engaged the push-to-start button with the brakes applied to shut off the vehicle, but to no avail. The contact then shifted into park and attempted to exit the vehicle when the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact was knocked to the ground by the driver side door and sustained minor injuries. As a result. The dealer stated that the instrument panel computer needed to be replaced. The dealer failed to perform a diagnostic to determine the cause of the electrical failure or the acceleration failure. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. While attempting to pull into his driveway to park the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal simultaneously the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The brakes would not engage and the vehicle crashed into the garage cement wall. The contact immediatley engaged the emergency brake in an attempt to stop the vehicle from proceeding any further. The passenger in the vehicle sustained minor injuries to her head and face area. The police arrived and a report was filed accordingly. The manufacturer was contacted and he was awaiting a reply, to date. Two months prior to the incident, he noticed his vehicle was under recall (NHTSA campaign id number: 09V388000: vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal) and took the vehicle in for repairs. The dealer advised him there was nothing wrong with the vehicle upon a visual inspection. …
Combination meter intermittently not functioning. When turning the car on, sometimes the dash meter works, sometimes it's just black and continues the entire time the car is running. Then when trying to turn the car off, it will not turn off, which is a major safety concern. When this occurs, there are no dash lights at all to indicate fuel amount, odometer reading, door open signal, check engine, maintenance required and so on. The speed being driven is not showing either which is another major safety issue. Cruise control also does not function, the center touchscreen does not display hybrid motor information or mpg. The beeping when backing up does not function. Also the rear hatch will not open while car is running which is also a major safety issue in addition to all of the other functions not available. …
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control › Accelerator pedal
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.
Remedy: Toyota filed an amended defect report on November 25, 2009, stating that dealers will modify the accelerator pedal and, on certain vehicles, alter the shape of the floor surface under the pedal.
Acceleration complaints in other Prius years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2005 Toyota Prius?
NHTSA has 109 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2005 Toyota Prius, 10% of the model year's 1,051 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Toyota Prius acceleration problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 09V-388 (accelerator pedal, Oct 5, 2009). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Toyota Prius acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 50,000 miles, and 28% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 33 crashes, 1 fire and 13 injuries and 1 death to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.