Toyota Prius

Where it stands out against its peers

• Service brakes: more complaints than 98% of 2012 cars — 50% of its 685 complaints, where an ordinary 2012 car has 8%.

Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.

Before you buy one

Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.

• SERVICE BRAKES — 256 owners reported this, 8 involving a crash
• ENGINE — 40 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• EXTERIOR LIGHTING — 33 owners reported this
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 31 owners reported this, 2 involving a fire
• VISIBILITY/WIPER — 24 owners reported this
• AIR BAGS — 19 owners reported this, 14 involving a crash
• SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC — 14 owners reported this, 1 involving a crash
• POWER TRAIN — 13 owners reported this, 2 involving a crash
• STEERING — 13 owners reported this

Crash test

Crash-tested by NHTSA, the American road safety agency.

Specification

Recalls

Filed by the manufacturer with a regulator. A recall is repaired free of charge, whoever owns the car now.

77% of 2022 cars have more recall campaigns than this one, and an ordinary one has 3. More of them means more to check the service record for, not a worse car.

• 13V014000

  If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

  Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

• 13V123000

  An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.

  Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

• 14V053000

  The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. The hybrid system could also shut down completely resulting in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Toyota will notify owners and dealers will update the software for both the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU, free of charge. If an owner experiences a failure of the inverter before the vehicle receives updated software, the dealer will repair or replace the inverter assembly with a new one at no charge. The recall began on March 21, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

• 16V396000

  If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

  SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.

• 16V487000

  If either portion of the curtain shield air bag inflator ejects into the passenger cabin, there is an increased risk of injury to vehicle occupants.

  Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install retention brackets to the curtain shield air bags, free of charge. The recall began on October 17, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota Customer Service Department at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is Toyota G0U, and Lexus GLJ.

• 16V672000

  A front passenger air bag that unintentionally inflates can increase the risk of a crash or injury.

  Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began November 10, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0W.

• 16V741000

  If the parking brake cable disengages from the mechanism and the transmission is left in a gear other than 'Park' while the ignition is on and the driver leaves the vehicle, the vehicle may roll unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a clip at the parking brake cable end to prevent the cable from disengaging, free of charge. The recall began November 10, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is G01.

• 17V295000

  A spare tire that is not inflated to the proper value may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Gulf States will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the spare tires, adjusting their pressure as necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 15, 2017. Owners may contact Gulf States customer service at 1-800-444-1074. Toyota's number for this recall is 17R2.

9 more campaigns have been filed against this model. A dealer can check by VIN which apply to one car.

Regulator investigations

Opened by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation is a question the regulator asked about a possible defect, not a fault it found — most end without a recall.

• Brake Actuator Valve Wear

  Defect petition, opened November 2023, still open.

• Pedestrian alert sounds

  Defect petition, opened January 2023, closed August 2023.

• Brake Actuator Valve Wear

  Defect petition, opened September 2019, closed January 2021.

• Intermediate Steering Shaft Separation

  Defect petition, opened February 2013, closed April 2020.

• Braking Performance, Hybrid Vehicle

  Preliminary evaluation, opened February 2010, closed July 2010.

• Headlight failure

  Preliminary evaluation, opened April 2009, closed August 2009.

• Engine stalling

  Preliminary evaluation, opened May 2005, closed October 2005.

What the maker told its dealers

Service bulletins are the manufacturer's own repair guidance to dealers, filed with NHTSA. A bulletin is not a defect finding; the count rises with how many things a maker writes down, not only with how many go wrong.

Toyota filed one bulletin about the 2027 Prius.

• Other: 1

• This bulletin contains the PDS procedures that apply specifically to the 2027 model year Prius and Prius PHV vehicles · August 2026

Grouped by NHTSA's top-level system; a bulletin filed under a sub-heading counts toward its system.