In-car Electronics
CD or DVD players, radio, speakers, GPS, communication system (e.g., OnStar), display screen freezes or goes blank, phone pairing (e.g. Bluetooth), voice control commands, steering wheel controls, portable music device interface (e.g., iPod/MP3 player), backup or other camera/sensors.
What Owners Say
"CD Player stopped working. The entire radio/GPS system/backup screen had to be replaced. The cost was $2450. Fortunately, it was covered by the extended warranty I purchased (with a $100 deductible)"
Anonymous, NE (2013 Toyota Prius 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Works intermittently. Does not always eject the CD and/or detects a CD when there is none. Basically we do not use it."
Anonymous, IL (2013 Toyota Prius Five 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"socal is so sunny that at times the display is hard to see however there is an inexpensive after market product you can attach that solves the problem"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The display screen is essentially unreliable when sunlight hits it. It's fine in the shadows"
Peter F., FL (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Weak screen that does not automatically adjust brightness and it is unintuitive how to switch between "day" and "night" mode"
Anonymous, OR (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in Plug-in Hybrid)"Options are not selectable. For example, we cannot pull up the navigation system"
Anonymous, CO (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The Entune system will occasionally restart, or while on USB just freeze. Turning it off/on doesn't fix it. I have to turn the whole car off then on to get it working again"
William M., NJ (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in 1.8-L 4 Cyl plug-in hybrid )"In dash audio froze and only worked intermittently. The whole unit had to be replaced"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Apparently a common problem; initially appears just when the car is cold, then happens with increased frequency over time until it fails completely"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in Plug-in Hybrid)"In connection with the display screen going blank, the display screen (GPS while running Pandora on long road trip) will freeze BEFORE going totally blank. I can't say it happens all the time, but the first unit that was replaced would freeze or part"
Anonymous, NJ (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"After a map update the screen freezes. The two are mutually exclusive since they are different software. Dealer said it was normal - NOT"
M E., PA (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"Display screen sometimes freezes during navigation"
Fred S., CA (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"GPS Screen freezes and won't show where one is going; screen also pixelates and shows nothing readable on occasion"
Anonymous, MD (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"Had problem with in dash system/display re-booting during navigation / phone calls. Was fixed earlier this year after 4 years of trying"
Anonymous, WA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The screen goes blank. Options like the Map function and navigation are unusable. Fortunately, the backup camera still functions"
Anonymous, CO (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"display screen gets ultra bright and is not usable"
Jerry M., FL (2013 Toyota Prius Five 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"I'm pretty sure it's an unknown electrical problem that causes multifunctions to malfunction. For example, the display screen went blank, disabling the backup camera and various functions associated with the display like radio and speaker control, engine visual displays, bluetooth controls for cell phone, contacts, mileage, and voice activated controls like siri. My mechanic stated that because this is an electrical problem, I needed to take it to an electrical shop or the dealer. The problem has not been fixed yet."
Anonymous, HI (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"On a long road trip, if I am running Entune with Pandora while using the GPS, I occasionally have the display screen go black, with both Pandora and the GPS not working. I have discovered that I can reboot the system by stopping the vehicle, shutting"
Anonymous, NJ (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"This happens about once per week"
Anonymous, DC (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"LCD failed and was replaced under warranty"
Anonymous, MN (2013 Toyota Prius Two Hybrid)"Display screen went randomly blank when listening to tunes or when navigating. Toyota dealer unwilling to fix"
Fred S., CA (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"would suddenly go dark"
Anonymous, FL (2013 Toyota Prius)"The navigation system & blue tooth phone capability sort of like turns off / re-boots while I am driving FREQUENTLY. I am a real estate agent so, for example it tells me to take a left, then it turns off & I have pull over while it re-boots to find"
Debbie S., WA (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"Menus for pairing a new phone will not display and the phones cannot be connected"
David W., MI (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Music player randomly freezes when playing from USB port, Bluetooth, or directly connected iPhone. The only way to unfreeze the player is to shut down the entire car and then restart,"
David W., NC (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The USB interface would often freeze, and eventually stopped working altogether"
William M., NJ (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in 1.8-L 4 Cyl plug-in hybrid )"Connection failure"
Jeannette W., NY (2013 Toyota Prius 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Its a crappy interface. It tries to pair by USB and BT, even while I'm listening to radio. The USB interface is really bad - can't jump forward or back using car buttons. Toyota isn't even trying to make this useful"
Mark W., WA (2013 Toyota Prius 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Center console display would go blank when audio was turned on. This made it hard to change or operate audio functions, and disabled most GPS functions. Problem was resolved by dealership replacing the unit. It tool two visits."
Anonymous, TX (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The biggest problem has been the electronics not being able to be accessed. We can't pair another smartphone to it or access any of the advanced audio features. Just haven't bothered to take it in, as it is out of warranty and it's not that important at this point."
Anonymous, MI (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Listening to podcasts from my iphone through Entunes worked fine for many months and then at some point the podcasts on Entunes were mis-named, in wrong folders, difficult to find, and would freeze up"
Anonymous, DC (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"The Meta Data no longer shows up on the screen"
Joe B., CA (2013 Toyota Prius Five Hybrid)"I still listen to discs and you are unable to store more than one. I want at least 4 slots. Love to trade this radio for one designed for folks over 17"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four Hybrid)"The Prius Bluetooth--when I used to connect--would always go to my Blackberry Z10 music folder; even after I deleted all of my music. The result was that my cell phone locked completely and I would have to reboot it. Now I can't drive hands free"
Anonymous, IL (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"Doesn't always pair with iPhone. Will sometimes work, then minutes later does not. Stereo also shuts down and restarts on a regular basis"
Anonymous, TX (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"screen locks then it re boots"
Anonymous, FL (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"Since I use my car for work it was a big inconvenience."
Jayson L., NY (2013 Toyota Prius Five 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"I was given an update for my system that disabled the GPS It took 3+ months to come up0 with a fix!"
John C., CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The worst nav system I have ever seen. ironically, My 6 yr. older odyssey has a wonderful nav system.I would have gladly paid more to upgrade the nav system on the Prius, but nothing available. I didn't have the correct streets in Wash. D.C. a city the I know that has been maped; A turn is coming, you can go left or right, but I'm not going to tell you which one. Opps, wrong guess, 10 miles before you can turn around. Happened twice in DC. Hard to put into words the dislike I have for that nav system."
Tom S., CT (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The navigation system does not announce all turns, rendering the prompts unreliable and forcing eyes off the road and onto the screen, especially when travelling unfamiliar roads"
David W., NC (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"It is terrible. too hard to see the difference between shortest, fastest or preferred on the display. Missing too many addresses"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"GPS sent us down wrong roads. Nothing was said about updating the maps by the dealer. We intend to have the updates installed on our next service"
Anonymous, KY (2013 Toyota Prius Five 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The module that controlled the navigation system went bad. every time I tried to use the navigation system, I received a message that it was not available."
Anonymous, VA (2013 Toyota Prius 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"It probably still works as intended, but we found it confusing and difficult to use, so we use our smartphones instead."
Anonymous, OR (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"GPS is out of date. An update would cost a lot. That is irksome."
Anonymous, MI (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in 1.8-L 4 Cyl plug-in hybrid)"The Apps button no longer works, thus no Bluetooth pairing and no in-dash navigation."
Anonymous, (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in 1.8-L 4 Cyl plug-in hybrid)"Very poor, Arrival estimates are useless, Ended up in gravel pits, chained of roads, gone more than 15 miles out of my way more themes that I can count. Now use a separate gps on important trips"
Charles B., NH (2013 Toyota Prius Four Hybrid)"Freezes. Had it changed. The GPS in this car is MUCH WORSE than the 2010"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"Purchased in June '13. Toyota & Dealer knew it had outdated maps from Oct '11, but did not inform me. I received a map update after dozens of phone calls and visits to both the sales and service desks. Now the screen freezes and goes blank"
M E., PA (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"Urban areas show up as deep purple which makes it idifficult to see street names. And at night the whole screen turns a very deep purple. I have had toyota techs no dealer techs look at this and they say thst they have never seen this before. I got"
Anonymous, MI (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"GPS worked about 95% of time. The unit screen would freeze up and display random pixels. Took pic of it multiple times, but dealer would tell us they checked and everything was fine. Eventually after complaint was logged with Toyota it was fixed"
Kevin H., FL (2013 Toyota Prius Four Hybrid)"The in dash navigation system was out of date by 2 years and Toyota refused to replace it. The screen is not visible for navigation or back up when the sun is out due to sun reflection on the screen. It is tilted forward rather than horizontal"
Anonymous, NC (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"GPS provides incorrect directions"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four Hybrid)"Control module had to be replaced. System didn't even know where I was, much less being able to direct me anywhere. It was completely non-functional"
Anonymous, TX (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"system re boots"
Anonymous, FL (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"Bluetooth pairing is hit and miss. May work 9 out of 10 times, and then the 1 time it does not will not pair automatically. Display will state that āNo Bluetooth Paired Devicesā or similar statement. Operator has no choice but to shut down vehicle and restart, which may re-initiate the software pairing synchronization, or stop vehicle and engage the software pairing process to recognize the Bluetooth. Only used with IOS, son not aware of challenges with any other device."
David G., FL (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The system would not recognize a new phone and the screen to pair phones won't come up."
David W., MI (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Intermittent"
Deborah H., TX (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"occasionally it seems confused on what should be paired and will play a song from my phone while I am trying to call someone"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"minor adjustment but not by local Toyota dealership"
Michael T., CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"On several occasions for 2-4 weeks each time, the Bluetooth would not pair or would lose pairing within a minute. I had to either take the car to the dealer for a software update or wait for weeks until it just started working"
Anonymous, TX (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"In the past 3 or so months the Bluetooth pairing has become unreliable. It used to be automatic when I started the car and Bluetooth was active on my phone. Now it either connects only for phone, only for media, or not at all. Sometimes will connect if I power down and restart the phone, but sometimes that does not work"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Phone stoped pairing. Error messages not helpful. Repeated attempts not successful. Thus Entune is useless."
Anonymous, MA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The Apps button no longer works, thus no Bluetooth pairing and no in-dash navigation."
Anonymous, (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in 1.8-L 4 Cyl plug-in hybrid)"About a year after I got my (the first year worked fine) Samsung Galaxy S5 phone said it paired with my car, but when I tried to make calls, the car said no bluetooth available. After about another year, it paired again and I can make calls, but audio from my Google Maps doesn't play through the car speakers anymore."
Anonymous, (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in 1.8-L 4 Cyl plug-in hybrid)"Connection is very choppy"
Anonymous, VT (2013 Toyota Prius Unsure 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Works fine with just one phone in the pairing list, but when there are multiple phones in the pairing list, it consistently fails to pair properly when switching from one phone to the other"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in Plug-in Hybrid)"bluetooth not recognizing different phones"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"Took a good bit of time to unfreeze an incoming call - to get it off the screen"
Anonymous, GA (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"On weak FM signals, the reception goes from clear to full static at random. They have attempted a repair but failed. I believe it's poorly designed. I work in radio broadcasting and weak signal reception is important to me"
Anonymous, IN (2013 Toyota Prius Five 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"It was related to the issues with the navigation system. The module that was replaced controlled both the navigation system and the radio."
Anonymous, VA (2013 Toyota Prius 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Radio failed entirely at the same time as the display issue. Resolved by replacing the unit at the dealership."
Anonymous, TX (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Didnāt experience any problems, took vehicle in due to recall notice"
Anonymous, HI (2013 Toyota Prius Three 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Recall for safety system for all Prius. Prevent loss of driver stearing/control during engine failure."
Anonymous, MA (2013 Toyota Prius 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Speakers cut in/out, left to right. Never a full sound"
Anonymous, MD (2013 Toyota Prius Three Hybrid)"It's too slow and rarely understands me. Grew up in NY state and speak perfect English"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"The voice command does not recognize simple commands 25% of the time"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"Voice recognition is weak."
Anonymous, MA (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)"It does not get any voice commands. Worse than 2010"
Anonymous, CA (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)"The head unit was changed because the voice control command was inoperative"
Richard M., IA (2013 Toyota Prius Two Hybrid)"Voice system does not accurately interpret what I say. Comes back with nonsense. Even after repeating commands slowly and deliberately, it misunderstands my commands"
Anonymous, TX (2013 Toyota Prius Hybrid)
"Similar to the audio problems, I suspect that the camera stopped working a couple of times, but seemed to begin operating again."
Anonymous, MI (2013 Toyota Prius Four 1.8-L 4 Cyl hybrid)