Owners have filed 119 complaints on the Toyota Prius Prime, covering 2000–2024. The system named most often is Electrical System (20 reports). Worst years by volume: 2017, 2020, 2018; cleanest: 2010, 2011, 2012. 24 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Toyota Prius Prime
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 119 Prius Prime complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 20 Read
Prior to making a turn into a residential driveway, the vehicle throttled up and there was no response from the vehicle when the brakes were applied. The vehicle would not stop in motion. Based on my experience of this event, it is my firm belief that the vehicle shut down completely as a result to correct the…
I was slowly entering a handicapped parking place right in front of a business. The distance from the front of the parking space to the building wall was about 15 feet, one car length. I approached the place to stop in the parking spot when in a split second the car violently surged forward and would have crashed into…
Pulling out of a parking stall, when put vehicle in drive, the engine revved up and accelerated - vehicle crashed, the brakes did not work- there was skid marks. Floor mats are factory OEM were installed properly. I did not hit the accelerator and I am in good health and mind. I have driving for over 30 years, never…
Service Brakes 17 Read
On June 28, 2022 at around 20:10 PM, while on vacation at a resort in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, Canada, I went down to charge the car at the only charging station at the resort. It was being used, so I returned to our cabin in the D building. As I approached the building, I pulled up to clear a car so that I…
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH and in heavy traffic, the contact depressed the brake pedal for traffic but the brakes failed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact crashed into the rear end of a truck. The damage was very light due…
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated while driving 45–50 MPH and approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The driver continued to pump the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond and depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle accelerated,…
Visibility/wiper 13 Read
The contact owns a 2020 toyota prius prime. The contact stated that he purchased and installed a dashboard cover in the vehicle. The contact stated that while reversing, the dashboard cover shifted and blocked the sensor for the back over prevention camera, allowing the display screen to go dark, causing the vehicle…
Top of side mirrors melt and warped in hot weather. It popped off while driving at freeway speeds into traffic
Can't see vehicle display screen during bright sunny days, which I find dangerous contacted toyota about issue, they don't care about people safety
Power Train 12 Read
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while coasting her vehicle into a parking spot at 2 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated forward with her foot lightly on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into two vehicles. The contact was uncertain if any warning…
Just five minutes after I left the house, I was driving at 15 miles mph on a curved road and the vehicle completely lost power. This includes both the electric motor and the gas motor. Both the steering system and brakes malfunctioned, causing the steering wheel to become too stiff to turn and the brakes were not able…
The contact owned a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated after the vehicle was in the park position and exiting, the vehicle accelerated on its own in reverse. The contact mentioned when she parked, the front tires pointed towards a curb which allowed her to get inside the vehicle and to depress the brake…
Tires 7 Read
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Prius Prime equipped with Bridgestone Tires, Tire Line: Ecopia, Tire Size: 195/60/R17, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the contact noticed that the rear passenger's side tire had deflated. Upon inspecting the tire, the contact noticed…
This is a 2024 Toyota Prius prime lease in February 2024. I went to our trusted local car shop for our annual inspection, and was told that we need to replace all four tires and we’re just passed 24,000 miles on our odometer. We are two seniors living in New York State and we only drive on paved roads. We believe this…
The outer side of my r front passenger tire blew out in two places,(not near the tread area) while driving on a good highway road surface approx 50 mph. 3400 miles total on the odometer. No bump when I heard the tire pop
Steering 6 Read
The contact owned a 2024 Toyota Prius Prime PHEV. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle that was traveling towards the contact's vehicle at approximately 50 MPH. The contact stated that during the impact, the steering wheel detached and…
I don't feel safe to drive my vehicle on the highway because the steering wheel ( the front end) very weak so when I drive the car it pull me to the left and to the right i went to the dealership where I purchased the car to check the vehicle, the technician told me that the steering wheel very sensitive and they…
When I drive the vehicle on the freeway, it feels unstable. It goes left and right. The vehicle is brand new. We just bought it last week. Tire pressure is good and the dealership said there is no recall on the car
Vehicle Speed Control 5 Read
I was going to park my car in parking lot of my apartment. I pushed the baker, the car didn't decrease the speed or stop, but accelerated. It was just out of control and crashed to the wall. The sensor system didn't do any job, not even a warning
The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking lot, traveling down the aisle, and driving around the end cap to the second aisle, pulling into the parking spot at 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The wheels squealed. The vehicle traveled through the spot and…
When adaptive cruise control is engaged and a car cuts in front of you the car will accelerate rapidly at first nearly hitting the car before it slows
Exterior Lighting 5 Read
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH with the headlights activated, the low-beam headlights were not providing adequate illumination to light the sides of the roadway properly. The contact stated that shadows were projected to the side of the road from the headlights. The…
While driving on rural roads with no street lights, the automatic high beam system malfunctions when passing oncoming traffic who do not dim their headlights or who have those headlights that should be illegal (like ford). Normal low-beam headlights do not cause the system to malfunction. I believe this malfunction to…
The headlights in my 2006 prius intermittently go off, and turn on again when the headlight switched is turned off and then on again. It happens very frequently when driving - the lights do not stay on for more than a couple minutes at a time. This vehicle was repaired for the same issue in january 2008, was repaired…
Prius Prime years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2023 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2022 | Electrical System, Fuel/Propulsion System | 3 | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags, Service Brakes, Engine | 4 | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | 4 | — | |
| 2019 | Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages | — | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags, Seat Belts | 5 | — | |
| 2015 | Electrical System, Engine | 2 | — | |
| 2014 | Electrical System, Unknown Or Other, Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2013 | Service Brakes | 1 | — | |
| 2012 | Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2011 | Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2010 | Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2000 | Exterior Lighting | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 68 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.8 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 1.8 hides a worst series at 6. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,126 of them, covering 1,983 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Prius Prime?
By complaint volume, 2017, 2020, 2018 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Prius Prime years are the cleanest?
2010, 2011, 2012 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Toyota Prius Prime have?
119 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2024. Of those, 24 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.