10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
61,694 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Toyota Prius:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #25

Jun 112024

Prius

  • miles
Driving yesterday on residential street, I gently applied my brakes to stop for a red light. The brakes did not stop the car; pumping the brakes did not help. Dashboard illuminated skidding car diagram, and BRAKE light went on. I took my foot off the gas, rode somewhat on the shoulder, and slowly found a place to park the car. Had to have it towed. No prior warning that the brakes would fail. Dealership advised it was a leak in the brake booster pump or actuator. Later learned that there had been a class action lawsuit dealing with this issue. Also that Toyota had extended the warranty when this happened frequently. I never got a recall notice about this. My car is a 2011 Prius with 59,000 miles. The extended warranty only went to 10 years, and mine is 11 years old, but I haven't seen anyone else in the chat boxes who had such a low mileage as mine. Thankfully neither I nor anyone was injured. But this is definitely a major safety issue and a very expensive repair. Over $3,000. What recourse do I have?

- Santa Rosa , CA, USA

problem #24

Feb 292024

Prius

  • miles
ABS, Brakes, Traction control lights, and ! illuminated while driving car is under 150,000 miles. Took to an autoshop, Gerald's Tires and Brakes: was told Mastercylinder, booster, accumulator need to be replaced.

- North Charleston, SC, USA

problem #23

Dec 032023

Prius

  • miles
[xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Laurel, MD, USA

problem #22

May 102023

Prius

  • miles
My safety can be affected because Toyota neglected to screen all openings of the car, I now have mouse or rat poop and saw some urine stains.The manufacturing system has failed for this 81 year old.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #21

Jul 182022

Prius

  • miles
While driving at roughly 58mph, while going around a turn: multiple dashboard lights came on, Tire pressure, traction control, emergency brake, one other. My brakes became less responsive (roughly half braking strength). This is consistent with the pseudo recall offered by Toyota covering my vehicle for a limited time, for which no notice was given and no warnings were sent.this issue has caused over five dozen crashes and during the duration of the recall, vehicles were not eligible until the braking system had failed. There were no signs of the faulty part until after the extended warranty period had expired, but the issue is the warrantied part, and the failure is consistent with the failure caused by the manufacturing defect responsible for the extended warranty effective in 2017

- Pleasant Valley, NY, USA

problem #20

May 102020

Prius

  • miles
I loss the ability to see the speedometer and fuel guage on my instrument cluster. This is the same problem the 2005 to 2009 recall for non working speedometer. Spoke with Toyota and explained what are the odds that I am having the same problem they said I we get a recall we will notify you. To have this repaired it will cost around 900 out of my pocket. So I have to rely on my GPS as a speedometer

- Port Murray, NJ, USA

problem #19

Jan 312020

Prius

  • 343,000 miles
When I was about to exit while driving on freeway, myabs, brake, tcs light is suddenly on, the brake need power to push and regenerate charger not working when brake pedal push, and make mpg drop.

- Loma Linda, CA, USA

problem #18

Jul 132019

Prius

  • 115,000 miles
Automobile continued to accelerate and even speed up with foot on the brakes. While stopped, waiting to turn, car would still accelerate, even speed up, into on-going traffic. This has been happening since I purchased the auto, but is now happening more frequently and for longer periods. Never reported because it only happened for a brief moment. However, in the last week this happened twice and I couldn't control the auto. Waiting for call back from dealer.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #17

Nov 052018

Prius

  • miles
The following dashboard lights came on on our vehicle at the same time:traction mode, emergency brake, ABS, and brake system warning light. Since the lights have came on, I have noticed that I have to press down further down on the brake to stop the vehicle. My stopping distance is further now as well.

- North Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #16

Feb 052019

Prius

  • 92,500 miles
Although Toyota issued a recall notice in October of 2018 for our 2011 Prius, the affected part was not available and the letter stated we would be notified when the repair could be made. On Feb. 5 our check hybrid system warning came on and the car was difficult to drive with diminished acceleration/power--certainly a safety issue in our area's heavy traffic. The auto nation Toyota ft myers, fl dealership said the car should be driven in to the service dept. (but told my husband once it was there, it was no longer safe to operate) and it would be checked and then "graciously" said the inverter system would be replaced at no cost (approx. $3800) to us as Toyota opted to "extend the warranty". this should have been replaced in October when initially notified and before it failed and became a safety issue and before we were told to "drive it to the dealership". I am very disappointed in Toyota and I worry about other Prius drivers still on the road.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #15

Oct 072018

Prius

  • 115,000 miles
Toyota after 2 months has not resolved this issue/recall. Since that I have to stop to share my car on turo and I'll have a lost of income. I'm asking for a compensation

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #14

Nov 042018

Prius

  • 158,654 miles
Takata recall my 16 year old daughter has this car with a major safety recall and no apparent fix! not happy and not feeling safe with her driving it now. It has stalled out once so far on a backroad.

- Cookeville, TN, USA

problem #13

Jun 172018

Prius

  • miles
Horn stopped working. Only works when steering wheel is turned left or right. Forums have posted that it could be the spiral cable from other vehicle owners. This replacement is over $1,000.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #12

Jan 012015

Prius

  • 100,000 miles
I have a 2011 Prius, and it failed Toyota's oil consumption test twice, around 110,000 miles. It consumes oil way so quickly that I have to add oil 2-3 times between scheduled oil changes. Bob smith Toyota (la crescenta, ca) performed the test per Toyota's instructions and acknowledged the problem but did not take any measures to remedy the problem. There are hundreds of thousands of 2010-2012 Toyota Prius owners who purchased this vehicle on the premise of being a "eco friendly hybrid" Toyota is clearly negligent and after having an attorney draft letter to Toyota they still will not accept any responsbility.

- La Crescenta, CA, USA

problem #11

Aug 262018

Prius

  • miles
Horn does not work when wheels are straight. Horn works when wheels are turned completely left only. I believe it is the spiral cable assembly. Toyota wants $1,093 to repair this problem. Other Toyota vehicles have placed a recall on this issue. This issue should be recalled on this vehicle. Have researched this safety problem on other Prius vehicles and many others have had the same horn problems. Affected models: 2009-2010 corolla 2009-2010 corolla matrix 2008-2010 highlander 2009-2010 Tacoma 2006-2008 rav4 2006-2010 yaris

- Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #10

Aug 012015

Prius

  • 90,000 miles
I noticed around 90,000 miles that my car began consuming oil at any accelerated rate, so I didn't think too much about it. Then I noticed that I my oil gauge was turning on every 1,000-1,200 miles, my car was completely out of oil. I went online to Toyota Prius forums and started doing more research and this is a common problem for 2010-2011 Prius's. bob smith Toyota, in la crescenta, who sold me the car, ran an oil consumption study and concluded that there is a major issue and they contacted Toyota did not want to acknowledge there is an problem for the sake that this could result in a class action lawsuit based on negligence.

- La Crescenta, CA, USA

problem #9

Apr 052018

Prius

  • 160,000 miles
When hitting the interstate massively lost power while trying to accelerate.all cluster of lights came on and stayed on dash including check hybrid system.plz contact as soon as possible

- Eureka, SD, USA

problem #8

Dec 042016

Prius

  • 90,100 miles
On November 4, during a routine maintenance appointment, it was discovered that our Prius is completely invaded with mice, from where the wind sheild meets the dashboard, all the way through the entire car - between the visible interior and the metal frame - to the rear hatch door latch. We learned that Toyota is well aware of this problem, ​ due to how it is designed, which greatly allows for rodents to enter the car's cabin and trunk area via the heater box and cabin filter area. This is a particular health hazard....a significant one. To remedy the issue the service department ha​D​ to literally strip the entire interior of the car down to the metal, from windshield to trunk latch. Every thing ha​D​ to be taken out, several parts replaced (including the carpet which was damaged on the underside), or cleaned and reinstalled. This costs thousands of dollars and over a month of time. I have invoices and statements but do not know how to convey those to you, based on the instructions given.

- New Lebanon, NY, USA

problem #7

Apr 022015

Prius

  • 65,000 miles
Got hit on the front left side of veh. Not at fault and I believe the other party might have provided false papers. But the reason for the complaint is my airbags didnt deploy"?" front bumper cover bumper and radi. Had damages. In my nonenexpert opinion enough to cause it to eeploy

- South Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #6

Aug 012016

Prius

  • 44,000 miles
Driver side door lock failed and shortly thereafter the front passenger door lock also failed. We have owned a total of five Prius vehicles since 2007 and have never experienced this problem before this dual failure. Judging from the number of complaints on this site and info gathered during internet research it appears this is a widespread problem, most likely due to poor quality or defective door lock actuators. A google search (Toyota Prius "door lock" failure) resulted in a quarter million results.

- Aiken, SC, USA

Read the next 5 complaints »