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2013 Toyota Prius V

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Prius V years

Owner complaints for the 2013 Toyota Prius V are substantially higher than the model-year median of 20.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

67 reports with mileage · 57 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Service Brakes. Review the 64 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports1 fire reports6 injury reports

What owners actually said

124 reports
Mileage unknown · Sep 22, 2023
Power TrainService BrakesSuspension

Driving 2013 Prius V multiple lights suddenly came up on dash Brake System, ABS, Master Warning, SLIP indicator Safety put at severe risk while driving. These defective parts installed were never disclosed, or notified, by Toyota and put in severe risk for consumers to drive as a National Recall was NEVER issued. Toyota was call…

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Driving 2013 Prius V multiple lights suddenly came up on dash Brake System, ABS, Master Warning, SLIP indicator Safety put at severe risk while driving. These defective parts installed were never disclosed, or notified, by Toyota and put in severe risk for consumers to drive as a National Recall was NEVER issued. Toyota was called since this and refused to fix. Toyota acknowledges parts are defective yet refutes liability despite acknowledgment of defective parts. Defective parts never disclosed to me by any entity of Toyota including Dealerships/Corporate despite willful knowledge of national defective parts in model 2013 Prius V. This is a liable safety situation that can cause irreparable human life damage.

NHTSA ODI #11546021

Mileage unknown · Jul 15, 2023
Service Brakes

When braking to slow down in a roundabout, I had to push my brakes down further than usual to stop. After this various warning, signals came on my dashboard: brakes, slip indicator, brake system warning light, PCS, ABS. I took it in to Toyota dealer they said I needed to replace my master cylinder kit and brake booster pump. My…

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When braking to slow down in a roundabout, I had to push my brakes down further than usual to stop. After this various warning, signals came on my dashboard: brakes, slip indicator, brake system warning light, PCS, ABS. I took it in to Toyota dealer they said I needed to replace my master cylinder kit and brake booster pump. My concern is that when I went online, I discovered this has been an on going problem with no recall. It has caused accidents!

NHTSA ODI #11532454

143,000 miles · May 4, 2023
Service Brakes, HydraulicCrashInjury

The contact owned a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact then stated that the brake pedal was applied but failed to respond, causing the vehicle to swerve and the contact to crash into a retaining wall. The contact sustained whiplash.…

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The contact owned a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact then stated that the brake pedal was applied but failed to respond, causing the vehicle to swerve and the contact to crash into a retaining wall. The contact sustained whiplash. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where failure codes were retrieved for the brake booster and ABS. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the brake booster needed to be replaced; however, the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired and was auctioned. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000.

NHTSA ODI #11520461

131,000 miles · Feb 7, 2023
Service Brakes

The brake booster begins to show signs of failure and Toyota refuses to address it citing expired warranty. The faulty brake booster in Toyota Prius is a known issue to Toyota since there are numerous accidents happened because of it and a class action lawsuit brought against Toyota.

NHTSA ODI #11506037

133,000 miles · Feb 5, 2023
Service BrakesInjury

As my wife was driving my children to school All the lights on my 2013 Prius V dash came on as I was driving on December 2, 2022. All braking power became stiff and it was hard for me to stop. I pulled over turned off my car called AAA. When the AAA driver came to check out the vehicle she was surprised he told me “oh ya this i…

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As my wife was driving my children to school All the lights on my 2013 Prius V dash came on as I was driving on December 2, 2022. All braking power became stiff and it was hard for me to stop. I pulled over turned off my car called AAA. When the AAA driver came to check out the vehicle she was surprised he told me “oh ya this is a common problem. He told me is most likely was the ABS master cylinder and brake boosters needing to be replaced. I would take it to Lithia Toyota of Missoula. A representative from BOSCH came to look at the vehicle made a special appointment for this person to meet me and my wife at my local Toyota dealership. They checked the car and told me there wasn’t a problem with my brakes. The Bosch representative said the car was fine. My wife and I would then leave and exactly one week my wife called me at work to say all the lights on the dash would came on again as she was driving. We would then take it back to Lithia Toyota for them to tell me it was the ABS braking system and I would need to spend $5000 to get the car repaired. Parts and labor. Her car is only worth 11500. They wanted me to spend more then half of what the car was worth. I would research and learn so many people are having this issue. There was a “customer support program that ended at the end of August 2022. This would be there way of weaseling themselves out of the issue. I am reporting this to help me and other drivers. Please don’t ignore. There are TOO MANY COMPLAINTS FOR YOU TO IGNORE. People have HAD MAJOR ACCIDENTS my wife and Children’s lives were at jeopardy due to your incompetence of over looking this issue.

NHTSA ODI #11505671

Mileage unknown · Jul 19, 2022
Service Brakes

All brake and traction lights illuminated. Brake pedal developed variable pressure. Brake Booster diagnosed. This particular issue is now appearing across many Toyota Prius V of the same vintage. A TSB and Recall should be announced, extremely unsafe to drive as is.

NHTSA ODI #11474740

Mileage unknown · Apr 5, 2022
Service Brakes

Completely unexpected, I started my Prius V and the ABS warning light, Traction control and parking brake lights were on. I had been hearing a high pitched thumping sound when stopped at street light or other times when brakes were engaged, but my mechanic was unable to locate the source. After the warning lights came on, Th…

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Completely unexpected, I started my Prius V and the ABS warning light, Traction control and parking brake lights were on. I had been hearing a high pitched thumping sound when stopped at street light or other times when brakes were engaged, but my mechanic was unable to locate the source. After the warning lights came on, The brakes still worked in a limited fashion requiring several seconds to engage. Had I not been an experienced driver using longer distance between myself and other drivers, I am sure I would have wrecked. Took the car to my mechanic. He ran the codes and found C 1391. After researching the chat groups, I found this to be a long term known defect. Disappointed that consumers reports did not mention. Called dealership and they required their machines run diagnostic codes. I decided to call Toyota customer service and talked to several levels of associates and I am stone walled. By the way: I feel for those people in their jobs. The supervisor I talked with kept mentioning the distressing lights. My concern is the wrecks I, and other drivers, could cause. I do see people stating in chat groups that thry have wrecked. And someone mentioned that if the dealership runs the code, the receipt will say “ do not drive” and “Toyota is not liable” if car is driven and a wreck occurs. ( my summary may not be exact.) I now have a fabulous non-functioning car.

NHTSA ODI #11459757

Mileage unknown · Sep 4, 2021
Exterior Lighting

We bought this car new and since then we have replaced the right low beam headlight at least four times. At least twice it has failed while driving at night.

NHTSA ODI #11431758

125,000 miles · Aug 9, 2021
Service Brakes

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving with the brake pedal applied, the vehicle hesitated and was slow to respond. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake module needed to be replaced. The vehicle …

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The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving with the brake pedal applied, the vehicle hesitated and was slow to respond. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

NHTSA ODI #11428419

102,000 miles · May 12, 2021
Service Brakes

PRIUS DISPLAYED ALL BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS WHEN CAR WAS RUNNING. TOYOTA DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THAT BRAKE BOOSTER AND PUMP ASSEMBLY NEED TO BE REPLACED, BUT WOULD NOT REPLACE THEM UNDER CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM 20TE07 BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT PULL THE SPECIFIED DIAGNOSTIC CODE. DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE BATTERY DYING TWO WEEKS PRIO…

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PRIUS DISPLAYED ALL BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS WHEN CAR WAS RUNNING. TOYOTA DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THAT BRAKE BOOSTER AND PUMP ASSEMBLY NEED TO BE REPLACED, BUT WOULD NOT REPLACE THEM UNDER CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM 20TE07 BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT PULL THE SPECIFIED DIAGNOSTIC CODE. DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE BATTERY DYING TWO WEEKS PRIOR COULD HAVE ERASED THE NECESSARY CODES, BUT STILL REFUSED TO FIX THE CAR. AFTER CALLING THE CORPORATE CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE AND SPEAKING TO SOMEONE FOR 30 MINUTES, THEY STATED THAT TOYOTA COULD FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT MADE A BUSINESS DECISION NOT TO.

NHTSA ODI #11416253

Official recalls

2

18V684000 · Hybrid Propulsion System

Oct 4, 2018

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Toyota Prius and 2012-2014 Toyota Prius V vehicles. Excessive voltage in the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) within the inverter may cause the hybrid system to shut down, causing the vehicle to stall while being driven.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the hybrid system shuts down unexpectedly, it can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0V. Note: The software updates in this recall are needed even if the vehicle had the software previously updated under recalls 14V-053 or 15V-449.

15V449000 · Hybrid Propulsion System: Inverter

Jul 15, 2015

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Prius V vehicles manufactured August 22, 2011, to June 30, 2014. A component within the hybrid inverter assembly may overheat, causing the hybrid system to reduce output power allowing the vehicle to only drive a short distance. In some circumstances, the hybrid system may shut down causing the vehicle to stop while being driven.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unti (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU, free of charge. The recall began on July 30, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.