Visibility/wiper. Review the 40 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Service Brakes. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports0 fire reports4 injury reports

Fuel/propulsion System complaints

5 reports

Clear category filter

Mileage unknown · Apr 21, 2026

Fuel/propulsion System

The car has a very strong gas smell, especially when full.

NHTSA ODI #11732860

Mileage unknown · Aug 4, 2025

Fuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

Found coolant leak from heat exchanger into exhaust pipe. Looks like, T-SB-0135-19.

NHTSA ODI #11678347

40,100 miles · Aug 18, 2020

EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

Read full complaint

CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE FROM A STOP WHEN PRESSING THE GAS PETAL WHILE CAR IS IN DRIVE. THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN ONLY IN THE SUMMER MONTHS. WHILE PULLING UP TO A RED LIGHT I SLOWED THE CAR TO A STOP. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN I LET MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, CAR MOTIONED FORWARD A BIT BUT WHEN I PRESSED MY FOOT ON THE GAS PETAL THE ENGINE WOULD REV BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE IN ANY WAY. I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE TO TRY AND GET OUT OF MAIN ROAD TRAFFIC BUT CAR CONTINUED TO HAVE NO POWER. I THEN PUT THE CAR INTO DRIVE, PUT MY FOOT ON THE GAS PETAL AND AGAIN, ENGINE WOULD REV BUT CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS THE CAR WILL ROLL FORWARD WHEN TAKING YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, SO YOU CAN ROLL INTO THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY BEFORE YOU REALIZE THERE IS NO ACCELERATION PUTTING DRIVERS AT GREAT RISK OF BEING T-BONED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TURN (ESPECIALLY LEFT TURNS). I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO TOYOTA TWICE AND SERVICE CAN NOT FIND ANY ISSUES AS NO CODES HAVE SHOWN UP. THE SOFTWARE WAS UPDATED AND ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN AFTER UPDATE.

NHTSA ODI #11350160

81,000 miles · Jun 25, 2020

Fuel/propulsion System

SOMETIMES WHEN IT IS HOT MY PRIUS DOES NOT ACCELERATE FROM A STOP WHEN THE ACCELERATOR IS PRESSED FOR 1 OR MORE SECONDS; THIS MAKES IT A DEATH-TRAP ON LEFT TURNS. TOYOTA DEALERS HAVE SERVICED IT 3 TIMES FOR THIS COMPLAINT WITH NO RESOLUTION. *TR

NHTSA ODI #11330881

27,108 miles · Nov 3, 2016

Fuel/propulsion SystemPower TrainVehicle Speed Control

Read full complaint

AS I LEFT WORK MY INDICATOR SHOWED A FULL BATTERY ALL BARS IN BLUE. AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE COAST I NOTICED THE BATTERY STARTED TO QUICKLY DEPLETE, IN APPROX 8.6 MILES MY INDICATOR SHOWED 1 BLUE BAR. AT THAT TIME I WAS MAKING A LEFT ONTO THE CANYON ROAD. I THOUGHT THIS WAS ODD. AS I TURNED LEFT NOTICED A DECREASE IN ACCELERATION POWER. DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT BUT ABOUT UNTIL ABOUT 2 MILES IN I NOTICED THE PRIUS STARTED LOSING ACCELERATION POWER THE MOTOR WAS RUNNING AND THE INDICATOR DID NOT SHOW THAT IT WAS IN EV MODE EVEN COASTING THROUGH THE CANYON AND BRAKING. I HAD TO ACCELERATE TO COME UP A SLOPE THROUGH A TUNNEL I HAD ALMOST NO ACCELERATION POWER. THE CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS HESITATING I THINK BY THE DOWN HILL COAST AND A FEW SPURTS OF POWER SURGES I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE TUNNEL BY THE 5TH MILE I HAD NO POWER TO ACCELERATE LUCKILY THERE WAS A ROAD WHERE I COULD MAKE A RIGHT. AS I COASTED TO THE INTERSECTION I TURNED RIGHT THEN ATTEMPTED TO PULL A UTURN ON A PATCH OF DIRT AS I WAS 3/4 OF THE THROUGH THE TURN THERE WAS ZERO POWER THE VEHICLE WAS ON BUT NO POWER ENGINE CUT OUT. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WHATSOEVER I GOT SUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 2 LANE HIGHWAY BLOCKING BOTH DIRECTIONS! I PUT ON MY HAZARDS AND ATTEMPTED TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL IT INDICATED IT WAS IN NEUTRAL, THEN I SHIFTED TO DRIVE BUT AGAIN NO POWER THE CAR WAS JUST MAKING A NOISE AND LIKE A VERY FAINT GRINDING NOISE. AT THIS POINT CARS WERE ON BOTH LANES TRYING TO HEAD EACH DIRECTION I HAD TO GET OUT AND PUSH THE CAR BACKWARDS TO GET 1 TIRE OFF THE SIDE GRADE THEN I WAS STILL SIDEWAYS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I CYCLE THE CAR 3 TIMES BY PUTTING IT IN PARK WITH PARKING BRAKE WITH NO LUCK, OR POWER. IT WASN'T UNTIL 4TH TRY IT GOT SOME POWER THE ENGINE KICKED ON AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL BACK IN THE RIGHT LANE AND I WAS STUCK AT THE CORNER WITH MY HAZARDS ON. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10923955

Official recalls

18V579000 · Electrical System:wiring

Sep 5, 2018

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Toyota Prius vehicles. A portion of the engine wire harness connected to the hybrid Power Control Unit (PCU), could contact the cover at this connection and wear, causing an electrical short circuit.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An electrical short can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine wire harness assembly and replace it if damage is found. A protective sleeve or protective tape will be included to prevent any future damage. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 30, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0T.

18V085000 · Air Bags:frontal; Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE ; Air Bags:side/window

Jan 31, 2018

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016 Toyota Prius and Lexus RX 350, RX 350 F Sport, RX 450h F Sport and RX 450h vehicles and 2015-2016 Lexus NX 200T, NX Turbo and NX 300h vehicles. The air bag pressure sensors and/or the acceleration sensors may fail causing the side/curtain shield air bags and/or the front air bags to not deploy in the event of a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sensors as necessary based on their serial numbers, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 12, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are JLA, J0F.

Additional source detail variants (3)

Air Bags:side/window

Consequence: If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sensors as necessary based on their serial numbers, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 12, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are JLA, J0F.

Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

Consequence: If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

Air Bags:frontal

Consequence: If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

17V658000 · Hybrid Propulsion System: Inverter

Oct 18, 2017

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016 Prius vehicles. A capacitor within the hybrid system may not have been properly bolted to the inverter housing.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the capacitor was not properly secured, vibrations from driving the vehicle may damage the capacitor, shutting down the hybrid system, causing a loss of motive power and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inverter, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by early December 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is H0U.

16V741000 · Parking Brake

Oct 14, 2016

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Prius vehicles manufactured August 6, 2015, to October 3, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with a foot-operated parking brake system that has a parking brake cable that may disengage.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

16V672000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Sep 16, 2016

Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota Prius vehicles manufactured November 30, 2015, to June 14, 2016. An air bag inflator manufacturing error may result in the inadvertent partial inflation of the front passenger air bag.

Consequence & remedy

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

Remedy: 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.

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

DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.