Toyota Prius Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data

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- Windshield washer fluid reservoir level going low. It is available for inspection. - Safety concern: No liquid to wipe off windshield particles, dirt that may hinder driver visibility. - The issue was brought up to Jaymee of South Coast Toyota, Costa Mesa CA when Prius was taken for delivery May 16,2026. Request to top off made but not performed by dealer on same date. Per Jaymee, dealer top off liquid. - Personally filled reservoir 3 times only to see fluid level to go down. No liquid noticed underneath the Prius. - Further communicated issue with Jaymee and decided to make appointment with Tustin Toyota, Tustin CA., since Prius is under warranty. - May 30, 2026 Tustin Toyota: Prius brought in to dealership to check issue. Per report none found and did stress test. Had discussion with Bobby Ramirez-service manager. Per Bobby, they could not find anything wrong ??? - Toyota headquarters in Texas has been notified and spoke to Austin. He said a case has been opened and will get back to me this week of June 8th.

The 2026 Toyota Prius illuminates a road distance on an unlight, rural road of 110 feet on low beam. Parked at the beginning of one white dashed center line, the low beams illuminate two additional white dashed lines. Road lines are a standard 12 ft painted line with a 37 ft interval between lines for a total of 110ft of illuminated road. The average stopping distance of the Toyota Prius traveling at 55mph is ~260 feet. I am able to see less than half the stopping distance of the vehicle. I have hit a deer twice because of the lack of road illumination. Each deer strike was with with two separate 2026 Toyota Prius vehicles. Both vehicles had the same illumination pattern. Fortunately, it was a deer strike, however, imagine for a moment if it were a human walking along the the road or a disabled vehicle. This is a safety concern and does not meet the NHTSA regulation FMVSS N. 108, summarized below. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations under FMVSS No. 108 mandate that low-beam headlights provide sufficient, controlled illumination for night driving while preventing excessive glare, generally aiming to illuminate approximately 200–300 feet ahead. I did complain to Maplewood Toyota about the issue and the Service Team stated they can only adjust the headlight within the Manufacturer's suggested range. This vehicle was purchased as a new, I made an assumption that everything would be properly adjusted coming off the manufacturing floor. Maplewood Toyota did not complete an inspection of the vehicle to determine "as found" headlight aiming prior to the deer strike. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms related to this incident. Jeff Rabinort, Service Manager had a conversation with me following the incident. He did confirm there was a maximum adjustment that they could make to the headlight, but was unclear what that was. I encouraged Jeff to drive a 2026 Toyota Prius on an rural road for confirmation.

A 2026 Toyota Prius was delivered to me on or about February 5, 2026 while subject to an active federal safety recall involving a rear door electrical switch defect. The recall indicates that water intrusion into the rear door switch can cause an electrical short circuit which may allow a rear door to open while the vehicle is in motion. At the time of delivery, there was no remedy available for this recall. The recall had been announced on January 28, 2026 and was active in both the manufacturer’s system and NHTSA recall lookup at the time the vehicle was leased. Despite the active recall and lack of remedy, the vehicle was delivered for use. The safety risk is that a rear door could open unexpectedly while driving, potentially creating risk of passenger ejection or injury to other motorists. No failure has yet occurred, but the vehicle was delivered under active recall without repair. This complaint concerns delivery of a new vehicle while subject to an unrepaired federal safety recall.

The two outside rear view mirrors on the 2026 Prius have an adjustment problem. When attempting to adjust them they will freeze (won't move), move intermittently, and jerk. The Toyota dealer told me that it is a known problem and all 2026 Priuses have the same problem. He further informed me that Toyota is aware of the problem. He went to another new Prius on the dealership lot and found that its outside rear view mirrors do the very same thing. This is a serious safety issue and the manufacturer should address and remedy it. Toyota nor the dealership have a fix for this problem.

The contact owns a 2026 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at night, the headlights were activated, and the contact became aware of a blind spot on the roadway. The contact stated that there were dark spots coming from the driver’s side headlight. The contact stated that it was difficult to see the roadway while driving at night. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, but was unable to fix the vehicle. The dealer informed the contact that it was a new technology failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, filed a complaint, but no additional assistance was provided. The contact requested a vehicle buyback. The approximate failure mileage was 1,100.

I am submitting this complaint to report an unexpected transmission shift event that occurred while operating my 2025 Toyota Prius at highway speed which created an immediate and obvious safety risk. The event occurred on XXX. While driving my Prius at approximately 75mph on Interstate [XXX], I reached toward the center console area to retrieve my sunglasses. I did not intentionally move the shifter, but the transmission suddenly shifted from Drive to Neutral. After moving from Drive to Neutral, the accelerator no longer provided propulsion. At the time, my vehicle was traveling downhill and was being followed by an eighteen-wheel tractor trailer. The truck driver behind me had no way of knowing that my vehicle had unexpectedly lost the ability to accelerate. To avoid being struck from behind, I steered left into a paved median area, applied the brakes, and was able to shift back to Drive and merge into the traffic flow. Had a paved escape area not been available, it seems inevitable that our chances of being in a fatal collision with the vehicle behind us would be quite high. My concern is that a normal driver movement (reaching for an item near the center console while driving) may inadvertently have caused the transmission to enter Neutral at highway speed resulting in the possibility of serious harm or fatality. I believe this presents an unacceptable safety hazard and warrants investigation. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

These tires were purchased brand new and installed at Pep Boys on March 24th. By the 15th of this month—less than a month later—one of the tires had developed a bulge on its sidewall.bubbling on the tire sidewall . However, neither the manufacturer (Toyo) nor the retailer (Pep Boys) has been willing to take responsibility for the issue, refusing to process a return, issue a refund, or address the quality defect. I have clear photographic evidence demonstrating that this is undeniably a product quality issue!

The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver’s side front door became inoperable while using the controls. The door could be opened from the front passenger’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V049000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages). The failure mileage was 21,000.

The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear driver’s side door unexpectedly opened while a minor was seated inside the vehicle. The message that the rear door was unlocked was displayed. The dealer was notified of the failure, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V049000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 3,900.

Vehicle has an active safety recall where the rear hatch may open while driving. Manufacturer states there is no remedy until August 2026, making the vehicle unsafe to operate. I am still making loan and insurance payments on a vehicle that cannot safely be used due to the recall.”

Automanufactures are Phasing Out Spare Tires Toyota and other automakers no longer include spare tires in new vehicles. I recently experienced the serious consequences of their decision . While driving to work in my new 2025 Toyota Prius, I got a flat tire. I manage to get to work and parked in a parking garage. My husband came to help and went to install the spare. He opened the trunk and found Styrofoam under the liner with a tire inflation kit... no spare tire! We had a horrible experience for the next three days!!! So... Consumer Beware: • Tire kit is not a solution; it does not work for all leaks. • Tow trucks can not access cars in parking garages due to low height. • Driving out could damage tire rims. • Health risks from exposure to the tire inflation chemicals: headaches within an hour, lasting into the next day, skin irritation, and respiratory inflammation/congestion. Time, Labor, and Cost; (It's all on the consumer) After days and many hours of calling Toyota, the dealer, and tire shops, we had to: • drive back to remove the flat tire • order a new tire • deliver to the flat tire to the shop • pick up the new tire the next day • drive back to replace the flat ourselves. Solutions / Warnings: • Spare tire: Toyota does not make one, leaving consumers without options. • Consumers must rely on unreliable tire kits, roadside assistance towing to a dealership (which could not help because tow trucks can not fit in parking garage) or do it all yourself. • No adequate health warnings on the tire kit—contains natural rubber (latex), propylene, and ammonia. Toyota reps offered no empathy or real solutions, only demeaning statements that consumer should know that Toyota (and other automakers) no longer includes spare tires only ineffective tire kits, leaving Toyota and others removing spare tires to save money and appear to improve gas mileage creates serious risk for consumers.

Infotainment screen stuck on "Experience Drive Connect" screen which disables all the safety devices on the vehiucle. OEM needs to update the software to remove this screen. Screen is tied to Toyota subscription service. I believe all new Toyota products would have this vulnerability.

Design of rear window, side mirrors and large rear pillar greatly reduce the visibility and checking of blind spot if you are a taller person. Blind spot electronic detection can not be trusted as it's performance is intermittent. Solution would be for Toyota of retrofit electronic mirror feature like installed in the Limited version of this car. This feature has live rear view camera enabled on the rearview mirror at all times. Prius without this feature is very dangerous to drive.

2025 Toyota Prius XLE. The upgraded 12 inch infotainment flickers light then dark then back to light several times. Automatic braking is being turned off without knowledge. The Toyota cruise control and adaptive cruise control will say unavailable or see owners manual. Different safety features will turn off on their own. The 12 inch infotainment center will switch from Apple car play to regular radio (Sirius Xm) on its own.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.