Toyota Prius Complaints

92 consumer complaints on file.

#11687677September 16, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
My 2022 Toyota Prius (approx. 12,500 miles) suddenly displayed multiple warning lights while driving, made abnormal noises, and lost the ability to move. The vehicle remained powered on but could not drive and had to be towed to a Toyota dealership. The dealer diagnosed a failed brake booster with master cylinder assembly and quoted ~$4,230 for repair. This is a safety-critical component that should not fail at such low mileage. Toyota has previously acknowledged premature brake booster failures in earlier Prius models (2010–2015) and issued Customer Support Program POL18-03, extending coverage to 10 years/150,000 miles for the same component. I believe my 2022 Prius experienced the same type of defect, but Toyota refuses assistance. A sudden failure of the brake booster system while driving poses a serious crash and injury risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685015September 4, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Randomly, the car have a delay of approximately 2 seconds when I hit the gas pedal. It happened multiple times, 2-3 times per day. The gas pedal can pe pressed to the floor, it won’t react. After 2 seconds or so it will react and drive normally. I noticed this is happening when the car is in EV mode ( I’m either stopped at red light, or I’m slowing down a bit/taking a turn. This is a hazardous situation and very dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681786August 20, 2025
TIRES, WHEELS
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius equipped with Bridgestone Tires, Tire Line: Ecopia, Tire Size: 195/60/R17, DOT Number: 1ELUK0DDB. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 - 10 MPH in a parking lot, a piece of metal slashed the passenger’s side front tire. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was unable to use the tire puncture repair kit to repair the tire. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to repair the tire. The mechanic determined that the tire and wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided a refund. The tire was mailed to the manufacturer. The tire and vehicle failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11678882August 6, 2025
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2022 Prius LE hood latch does not work. It does not click and hood stays locked. They told me at Walmart that the hood latch is probably corroded somewhere or defective. It takes two people to open the hood. My vehicle has 54,490mi. This has happened twice now in 2 months. I have not purchased an extended warranty and this is something that should not be happening until over 100,000 miles. I've had this happen on another vehicle that was a Honda but that was because it had a lot of mileage on it. This is just a poorly manufactured defective part that Toyota decided to go cheap on and not make sure it functions past 50,000 mi. I contacted Toyota customer experience and they said that my warranty was expired and they will not be covering it. I told them that they need to make an exception because if I need to change my oil I need access to the engine. I should not be having to deal with this at such a young age of a vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11677945August 2, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving, one spot on the left side of my steering wheel suddenly got very hot. There are now two small circular indentations where the steering wheel covering has melted. This has happened at least 3 times in the last week or so. I have scheduled service on 8/4/25 at my local Toyota dealership (Vineland, NJ) to check it. I am not parking it next to my house in case it decides to catch fire. My vehicle was involved in a collision back in May 2024 and was fixed by Caliber Collision Vineland-XD 3181 S DELSEA DR VINELAND, NJ. Both driver's side and passenger's side front fenders had some damage, and the hood was pushed a bit from the passenger's side to the driver's side. Was not moving fast, maybe 5 MPH, when hit by someone driving at an unsafe speed. Maybe that and loosened a wire, maybe not. Reporting due to fire possibility.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11677148July 30, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Front door locks defective. Remote control doesn’t open the doors, even after replacing battery in key fob. It started with the driver door and now the passenger door doesn’t lock or unlock.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11671286July 4, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
I started hearing a scratching/rubbing noise from the brake, and feeling the scratching/rubbing through the brake pedal, making it difficult to push down. I almost crashed in the ally into my garage, but the emergency braking took over and stopped the car very suddenly, snapping my neck a bit, and it is still sore as of me writing this report. Since then brake pedal makes scratching/dry rubbing noise with heavy rubbing and grabbing feel through pedal. It only happens at 20mph or below during quick stops (not smooth stop, press pedal quickly), at 15-25% pedal position. When holding pedal at that position while moving, rubbing/grabbing through the pedal feels rhythmic like it's related to wheel rotation. If car is creeping in Neutral or Drive (no gas pedal pressed), and you lightly press the pedal, you can hear and feel like something is grabbing/releasing/grabbing/releasing. Sometimes it the brake pedal resists and there is a very loud rubbing or grinding noise, and I have to press the pedal very hard. This can also be replicated when the car in in Park. Lightly pressing on the brake pedal causes the braking pump to make a whirring sound to build pressure (this is normal), but at the end there is a scratching sound and grinding feeling in the pedal. I took it to the dealer 3 days after purchasing it on June 25th, 2025 and the assistant service manager reproduced the issue in front of me, and thought it was the brake actuator going bad or something with ABS. However, the master tech at the dealer just drove it around, DID NOT CHECK ANY COMPONENTS except the thickness of the brake pads, and declared everything fine. I fear for my safety in this car. If I am involved in an accident, it will be because the braking system failed in this car and the dealer refused to fix it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11671230July 4, 2025
WHEELS
Tires are failing on the year model at an alarming rate. We have just turned 30,000 miles and have had 7 failures. 2 were deemed unrepairable and had to be replaced, the others were patched or plugged. The concern is sidewall failures on this year model, seems as if it a poorly engineered wheel size for this car that will result in catastrophic failures. I’ve called Toyota and there are apparently no alternatives. Sidewall failures or regular flats. can place drivers in difficult/ dangerous driving conditions. Facebook Prius groups indicate this is a widespread issue not exclusively to me. I’ve been driving for 45 plus years and have never had such an experience as this. Keep in mind, Toyota sends these vehicles out without spares or tire changing equipment and the acceptable replacement tires are not readily available and have to be ordered. Again I’m making this issue known as these vehicles are creating dangerous conditions for inexperienced drivers and our motoring public that Toyota is not interested in correcting.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668775June 23, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The wireless charging in my vehicle and others have reported the same problem. The phone gets so hot to the touch while charging that it is causing cell phones to shutdown and possibly damage them. There needs to be a update to provide cooling air to the charging area to avoid customers phone damage or worse a possible fire due to the extreme temperature the phones are obtaining.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11652443April 2, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
As I was pulling my car into a parking space with the brake applied lightly, the car suddenly lost braking and lurched forward when the front wheels touched the curb. This caused the front of the car to jump the curb and hit a tree a foot or two away. My foot was on the brake during this and the car did not brake automatically, or engage any other sort of safety measure. This was terrifying and I could have easily hit a pedestrian or injured myself and the passengers of my vehicle on impact. I completely lost control of the vehicle's braking due to this issue. Since the incident happened today, my vehicle has not yet been inspected. No warning lamps of any kind had been activated. The car was nearly brand new. Upon further investigation, there are numerous reports of similar events happening to Toyota hybrids over the years. A simple google search for this turns up many reports. These reports center around sudden loss of braking from the regenerative braking system and a "lag" before conventional braking is applied that causes the forward lurch due to the momentum of the car. Many others on online forums seem to also suggest running into this issue specifically when the wheels hit a bump. This sounds exactly like what happened to my car, causing it to lose control despite my having the brake applied. It is insane that such a problem has existed for years in the braking system without being fixed by Toyota.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648631March 17, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The headlights at night are too low. They only illuminate 1 car's length away and Toyota doesn't want to touch it to raise it more. I asked my local dealer SF Toyota Service Center, where I said "It feels dangerous", and they just kinda shrugged their shoulders. This is not a defect, it seems to be as intended (or at least as rolled off the factory floor) because other 2023 Prius owners agree it is aimed too low. Someone believes they were "optimized" for the Radar Cruise Control camera, and not the driver. Some also report that an internal component of the headlight is casting a shadow within the light beam, indicating a second issue related to the headlight visibility. My ask: I want Toyota to fix both issues on my vehicle. I feel limited to day driving which is a problem, especially when I want to do outdoor recreational activities like hiking in the mountains or seeing a sunset at the top of a mountain. The beam cutoff is too low when the road isn't flat. This is especially a problem when there are zero reflectors on the road, which is an issue in areas like the highway into Santa Cruz.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648206March 13, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2023+ Toyota Prius models display an advertisement on the touchscreen head unit and there is no way to remove it besides subscribing to Toyota's optional "Drive Connect" feature. Displaying an advertisement to the driver of a car that cannot be turned off without paying is a safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637566January 22, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owned a 2022 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while idled forward into a parking space at the local car wash, the brake pedal was depressed to stop but the vehicle erroneously accelerated forward and crashed into a brick wall where it came to a stop. During the crash, the air bags did deploy and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed and later towed to an undisclosed location. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 25,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11628451December 2, 2024
AIR BAGS
I was driving car on [XXX] from santa cruz towards sanjose. Suddenly airbags deployed. There was minimal to no damage to the car. My auto insurance giving me hard time. They are not responding anything that how i can fix my car plus they haven’t gave me any rental car. My claim number is [XXX]. I am too scared to drive that car again Because it just got rubbed with the curve with the minimal impact but the air bags deployed. My other car usually got rubbed with curve so many times but the airbags never deploy. My car is currently at quick lube and smog shop address is 691 W Tennyson Rd, Hayward, CA 94544. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11625562November 15, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Immediately after servicing the vehicle, when I closed the rear hatch, I noticed a crack in the plastic trim under the window. It is still available for inspection as the dealership has not yet repaired it. The piece is not entirely cracked through or enitrely loose at this time, but could it fall off and cause a road obstacle? The dealership has confirmed it is a probable warranty issue and I was told that Toyota is aware. The crack and loose trim is on a nearly new vehicle and happened without cause on my behalf and I noticed it immediately after servicing at my dealership on October 30th, 2024 - UNKNOWN. In looking online, this seems to be a common problem with the 2023 Toyota Prius.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11622305October 28, 2024
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, VISIBILITY/WIPER
Background: Nothing failed or malfunctioned. There is no incident. This reports describes a design defect that puts the driver at risk. The dealer has acknowledged that the cars performs this way and says it cannot be fixed. Toyota customer service says this is how the car operates and short of a recall will do nothing about it. Problem: When the headlights are turned on, the dash and screen become so dim that they are only visible at night. If it is necessary to turn the lights on during the day, the screen and dash are too dim to read. There needs to be some way to set the brightness such that it overrides the nighttime setting. Driving with the lights on all the time is considered safer (and it is the law if it is raining out). This defect means the driver has to choose between having the lights on and being able to consistently see the dash and screen.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615986September 23, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We are writing about 2 separate issues we had with our 2024 Prius. 1. Acceleration caused accident on Sept. 8, 2024. Driver was parallel parking. He backed into the space and was then going to straighten out the car. The car accelerated unexpectedly and caused the vehicle to go up on someone’s lawn. The vehicle was stopped by the stoop of the house. The airbag was deployed. Thank God the driver was unharmed. He was parking and going under 5 miles an hour in reverse and then in drive to finish parking. The car just flew out of control. 2. Sudden braking when backing out of driveway or parking space. This happened a total of 4 times, twice to both drivers. Driver was backing out of the garage looking at the screen to make sure nothing was there. She was inching out when the car braked suddenly and forcefully by itself. It was so strong a brake that it felt like something was hit, but nothing was there. This happened again when backing slowly out of a parking space in a lot. Coincidentally, we had an appointment with Toyota to bring the car in for a recall 2 days after the above accident. The recall was for a door problem. We had planned to tell them about the brake issue at that time, but obviously, we never got to bring the car in. Both these issues with the Toyota 2024 Prius are frightening and dangerous. This time no one was hurt. We have informed Toyota about these problems and hope that you and them address these issues in order to prevent this from happening to others. Our insurance company is repairing the vehicle. We have to say that when it is returned to us, we will be frightened to drive it unless these problems are taken care of.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615271September 18, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 - 45 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to stop the vehicle immediately. The contact swerved around the vehicle in front and ended up on the opposite side of the roadway. The contact attempted to avoid oncoming traffic and swerving around all the other vehicles and ended up in a ravine. The contact's husband depressed the START/STOP button from the passenger’s side to turn off the vehicle, enabling the vehicle to come to a stop. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued to drive the vehicle to the dealer at slow speeds. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the dealer. The failure mileage was 56,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11613797September 10, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL, SERVICE BRAKES, AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while parallel parking and straightening the vehicle, he tapped the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle suddenly accelerated aggressively and crashed into a stoop. While reversing previously on three occasions, the vehicle braked suddenly without application with no object in the surrounding area. There were no reported injuries. The air bag deployed. There was smoke detected from the engine. There was no reported fire. A police report was filed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607245August 8, 2024
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V274000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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