Toyota Prius Complaints (2017)

133 consumer complaints on file.

#11548042October 3, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH and pulling out of a parking lot, the vehicle lost motive power and made abnormal sounds. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart, and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, causing damage to the engine. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the same assessment was made. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544919September 16, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
My 2017 Toyota Prius Prime has experienced a second windshield crack perhaps hit by a small object, which I didn't notice at all. The crack is a "L" shape, about 15 in at each direction. The firs Windshield crack was happened about a year ago. Toyota dealer replaced it with an original Toyota Windshield. I believe this particular Windshield type isn't strong enough to withstand a small stone hitting it. As I didn't notice any loud popping sound during driving
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543518September 8, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While filling my Prius with gas, as soon as I started pumping, it spewed gas all over my arms and shirt, as the gas would not go down the pipe into the gas tank. My mechanic explained that gasline exhaust valve was stuck causing the gas to spirt back out the intake opening. This part had to be replaced. Firestone replaced it for a total of $337.08, however, the dealer would have charged more. It was not covered as a defect issue. The experienced mechanic said that he had seen this problem on several Toyotas. This is hazardous and Toyota should repair those that exhibit this problem; also they should change their design so that the exhaust valve does not fail causing gasoline to spill on the person pumping gas and all down the side of the car onto the cement pavement.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541457August 29, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
The rear quarter panel is peeling off
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530056July 3, 2023
SEATS
Driver side electric Seat rail malfunction after I was hit from the rear end collision. The seat electric adjustment became inoperable. The seat rail has a small gear in the electric seat that got destroyed during the rear end collision. Is the seat designed for damping, if so why does the driver side electric seat become inoperable?
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11529023June 26, 2023
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
I had to avoid an oncoming driver who lost control in a flash storm and ended up colliding with a telephone pole head on going 60mph. No safety devices activated at all, and Toyota refuses to admit it’s a problem.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11517880April 19, 2023
TIRES, TIRES:TREAD/BELT
It was time to replace my original equipment tires after approximately 30,000 miles (41,622 car miles, remainder 11,622 on separate snow tires). The car rode smoothly. I purchased four YOKOHAMA AVID Ascend LX SIZE 195/65R15 tires. The tires were balanced professionally at VIP Tires in Watertown, MA. Since the original tires had a little bit of uneven wear, I also had the car aligned at the same time. I immediately noticed intense vibration in the car seat and floorboard (not in stearing) when driving over 47 mph. I brought the car back and they rebalanced the tires. The vibration remained. I took a video of both back tires (both same DOT code) using my GoPro (and wife driving) and found left rear seemed ok, but right rear had abnormal tread movements. I also noticed much more seat vibration at right rear compared to left rear seat. I brought car back to installer and they (Marco & Julio) confirmed the right rear tire is defective.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11507194February 14, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
When filling gas, a near-empty Prius overflowed almost immediately, splashing fuel over the car, the ground, tires, and my feet! Gas is flammable and not good to get on one's skin. Firestone experienced/certified repairman said that he's repaired many Toyotas with the same problem. No advanced warning was presented. Last time I filled it before this incident it worked fine. Technician said that the air-exhaust that permits air to escape while gas is being delivered to the tank had failed to work properly, causing the fuel to spew back up the gas line and on to the car/ground. He had to order a part from Toyota and replace it. This cost me $337 for part and labor. I believe this is a malfunction that Toyota should cover. This part should not fail as it could start a fire and contaminate the car, ground and put petroleum on people.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491012October 26, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
For the past year or so we have had issues with the vehicle not starting properly. If we leave the radio, wipers, heater, or air conditioner in the ON position when we shut the car off, or a window down a little on a hot day, a sensor triggers a Low Battery error code. We have had the battery checked and it is NOT low. When this happens to start the car we need to get a jumpstart from someone. This limits where we feel safe driving to as in a remote place where not many other people and cars are it would be more difficult to find someone to give us a jumpstart. On occasion, we have had to call a towing service to come to help us, which requires sometimes a long wait. The car starts right up once the connection to the other vehicle's battery is made. We should not need a checklist to make sure everything is turned off before we leave the car to avoid this non-starting issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488767October 11, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
On 9/14/22 I was almost a hundred miles from my home in Sherrill, NY on Rte 81 south, approaching the bridge in Binghamton, NY when I heard a loud ringing noise. At first I thought it was my phone; then I thought it was a police vehicle; then a construction noise. I finally faced the fact if was coming from my 2017 Prius which had just reached 20,000 miles. I was in heavy traffic but managed to pull over and walk around the car as the noise seemed to be coming from the rear. I saw nothing amiss. I managed to drive another twenty minutes to Great Bend, PA and just before I pulled into the parking lot at McDonalds the noise stopped. I called Nye Automotive in Oneida, NY which had sold me the car and talked to a mechanic who said he had no experience with a ringing noise. Proceeding cautiously I drove 135 miles to Quakertown, Pa where my son diagnosed the problem as the brake pad on the drivers side rear wheel that had tilted and was banging against the rotor. My son replaced the brake pad and next day we drove to Long Beach Island, NJ, stopping to check for heat coming from that wheel. It was fine. When I got back home to Sherrill I could found the email of Mark Templin, CEO of Toyota who gave me the number of [XXX], a Toyota executive. I have been driving for sixty years and had never encountered a tilted brake pad. I am so easy on brakes that mechanics marvel that I can get to over 50,000 miles before work needs to be done. I am concerned that the ringing-clanging noise alone could cause an accident. Having had a bee and a mouse in the car previously I remained in control but could have reacted badly. I told [XXX] that I thought perhaps Toyota would like to see who had made the brake pads. I had heard of airbags and other components purchased by many car makers having caused problems in the past. Mr. Wilson didn't seem interested. Also, since my car was beyond the 3-year warranty he felt Nye wanting to charge me to look at the car was appropriate. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11467403June 3, 2022
SEATS
The driver's side car seat automatic seat adjustment (backwards/forwards) failed all of a sudden with no warning. It was working when I parked the car to go into an office for an appointment. When I came back out to the car, it wouldn't work and was making strange noises. I called the dealer and they said to bring in the car to be looked at. This is a safety issue because it was hard to reach the pedal to drive the car without pillows pushing me forward in the car seat. The car was taken to the dealer twice and I was finally told that the track the car goes forward and backward on was worn out and the motor would need to be replaced. I was quoted $3K for the repair because the warranty had expired and the car seat needed to be removed to make the repairs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460605April 12, 2022
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I had just changed from the right-hand lane to the center lane of a six-lane expressway when my vehicle lost power and i was able to move over to the right hand shoulder of the road. The accelerator pedal did not work and I just coasted to the side of the road. I noticed that a red warning saying something about RADAR flashed on the instrument panel when this happened. I turned off the vehicle and tried to restart it, but nothing happened. I then texted the person who was expecting me and explained the problem. Since I had just taken the car to the dealer for its regular 40,000 mile service four days earlier, I intended to call my dealer to ask them what to do. All of this took about 10 minutes with the engine turned off. Before doing this, I again tried to restart it. It started and I inched it forward on the shoulder of the road. Since I did not feel safe parked on the shoulder, I merged into traffic and took it to another Toyota dealer. They said that they could not look at my vehicle to diagnose what might be wrong because all their technicians were going home at 4 pm. I drove to my son's house and he suggested that I report this to you. Something similar happened to him when he was driving this same vehicle about six month ago. He was driving on a city street, did not notice any dashboard warning, and took it to this same dealer. They were not able find anything wrong. I felt I should report this since this is the second time this vehicle suddenly lost power. My incident happened when I was driving at expressway speed and could have caused a serious accident had I not been able to coast to the shoulder of the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11453676February 23, 2022
POWER TRAIN
Loud popping, grinding, and clicking noises from the front left of the car while decelerating, sometimes during acceleration, and parking. The clicking has been happening since the vehicle was new and has progressively gotten worse. It is so bad now that other motorists and pedestrians become distracted by it. A pedestrian tripped and fell over last week trying to look behind them at what was causing this unusual racket. I can now feel the repetitive popping in the steering wheel and brake peddle. The car now feels unsafe to drive. I have taken this vehicle to several Toyota dealers in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 to expressed my concerns. Dealers insist the characteristic is normal, even when T-SB-0157-18 "Click Noise From LF Wheel Area During Deceleration" was in effect. The vehicle is still under powertrain warranty and no warranty repair has been offered each time. This characteristic was very similar to T-SB-0157-18, however it has gotten worse. It now always occurs during deceleration, frequently during normal driving and acceleration. It is extremely distracting and nerve racking, to the point of it being a safety issue for me, other motorists, and pedestrians. It is a very unusual sound no one expects and pays an unsafe amount of attention to. I strongly suspect the front CV axle(s) are grinding themselves into dust. Toyota knows this is a safety issue, cancelled the TSB in April 2019, and refuse to repair the car under power train warranty. My axle has been clicking since March 2018. It now feels unsafe in February 2022, especially after this most recent tripping incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442630December 4, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving in behind several cars on a city street about 30 mph. The cars ahead slowed quickly. The automatic braking system came on suddenly and completely and applied the brakes on its own with no warning red flash. It locked the brakes and the wheels skidded on the pavement I had no control over this at all I tried tapping lightly to stop the skid. I was about 10-12 feet away from the vehicle ahead of me when the car stopped. I did have some additional stopping room but had no control over the braking system at all if I had been on wet pavement the skidding and “hopping” would have been worse.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11430966August 30, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Approximately July 19th 2021 at 4 a.m. in the morning on 2021 going Southbound on 210 going towards San Bernardino we will see the flat tire at the very end since the flat tire the hybrid system says offline not available car stalled pulled over tire was blown out. This is the second time that the hybrid system has been reported offline or malfunction. Upon further review the records of the vehicle I have noticed that on January 18th 2021 the previous owner had a similar incident but the dealership in Hemet California failed attempt to repair it or document it correctly and falsified records
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11429911August 20, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
This vehicle rear ended another vehicle in peak hour stop and go traffic. The estimated speed at the time of impact was 10-15 MPH. There was exensive front end damage to the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. Unclear if the AEB engaged but the driver actively tried braking but not successful in avoiding the collision.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11426870July 28, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
-The following systems malfunctioned all at the same time on 2021-07-23 at approximately 5:00pm CDT traveling at ~70mph on the interstate in normal conditions in HV system mode: -Low Braking Power -ABS Control System Malfunction -Lane Departure Alert Malfunction -Traction Control Malfunction -Pre-Collision System Malfunction -This is available for inspection upon request, if loaner vehicle is provided and covered. -My girlfriend and I were put at risk due to multiple safety systems malfunctioning, which drastically increased chances of an accident -The vehicle has been diagnosed by a certified Toyota repair shop, and the issue could not be replicated nor found by them. I am also unable to replicate the malfunction. See attached photos. -The vehicle has been inspected three times in the past 30 days by Carvana, Beneficial Automotive in Moore, OK, and Fowler Toyota in Norman, OK. None found this issue. -See attached for the instrument warnings. ICS warning, ABS, traction control, check engine, brake malfunction lights and Multi-Information Display errors all illuminated at the same time while traveling at highway speeds.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11426084July 23, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
When driving on the interstate, the car lost power steering and power brakes, making the vehicle very difficult to maneuver. Fortunately, there were no cars immediately nearby, otherwise this could have been a very different description. The car was towed to a dealership. They reported that they believe this is due to a faulty cell in the vehicle's auxiliary (12V) battery. There was no warning or symptom of this prior to the loss of power steering and power brakes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11423594July 6, 2021
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield cracked from bottom to top and across while sitting and there was no evidence of a rock or chip that would cause that. Air temp was about 95 degrees. No rain, no impact, car was sitting parked and not running.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11421482June 19, 2021
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
For the second time (first in 2019) I was seconds and maybe two feet from stopping the car to park when, with my foot on the brake, the car suddenly and without warning lunged forward at what seemed like full throttle. The first "crash" was in my driveway. The force was shocking and took off the front of the car. I insisted Toyota investigate and they ultimately denied any liability. After the car was allegedly repaired, I started noticing another phenomenon: every time I would slow down to brake--approaching an intersection or stop sign, etc.--the car would briefly lunge forward before the brakes engaged to stop the car. I reported this to the dealer 2-3 times and each time I was assured that this was "normal" for a hybrid transitioning from gas to electric at a lower speed. Two weeks ago, with a friend in the car, I was pulling into a parking space, foot on the brake and about to stop, when the same thing occurred: without warning, the car lunged forward, at what seemed like full throttle, and crashed into a low concrete wall. Had it been seconds later, we would have had our seatbelts off and gone into the windshield. There were injuries. FYI, I have a pretty much perfect driving record and log thousands of miles each year. I had ZERO problems with the Prius I owned prior to this one. I will never drive this car again.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0

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