10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,516 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #16

Jul 112024

Prius

  • miles
Traveling approximately 15mph I collided with a full size truck the front end of my car totaled. I was wearing my seat belt and air bags did not deploy causing me to hit the steering wheel with enough force to fracture my sternum. This is the 2nd time a frontal impact occurred causing damage to the front bumper and air bags did not deploy.

- Lancaster, CA, USA

problem #15

Oct 202020

Prius

  • miles
Problem 1. Both curtain airbags on the passenger side deployed while no one was sitting in those seats, no injuries sustained to anyone. This happened one time as it happened in a car accident, nothing indicated that the air bags were on or active at the moment. Problem 2. ABS system failure has caused the brakes on the prius to lock and not work while driving, almost causing an incident. The car has not been driven since for the fear of that happening again. The vehicle has been seen by a mechanic to determine it is the abs system. The ABS light has been on as well, it appeared a couple of weeks before the brakes locked up back in March of this year.

- Carrollton, TX, USA

problem #14

Apr 122021

Prius

  • 160,650 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while having an inspection performed on the vehicle at maplewood Toyota (2873 maplewood dr, maplewood, mn 55109, (651) 419-5144) the technician informed the contact that the spiral cable for the driver's side air bag failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,650.

- Pine Spring, MN, USA

problem #13

Apr 012021

Prius

  • 3 miles
April 01,2021, our 2013 Toyota Prius was involved in a head on collision and the airbags did not deploy. The vehicle was stopped at a red light, when struck head on. The driver and passenger sustained injuries.

- Lexington, SC, USA

problem #12

Jul 082019

Prius 4-cyl

  • 64,800 miles
The contact owned a 2013 Toyota Prius. While accelerating from a stop, a Tacoma truck crashed into the driver's side of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled and towed. The contact sustained injuries to the head that required medical attention. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that their investigator did not have a reading of any failures for the vehicle. The dealer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 64,800. The manufacturer stated that the front and side air bags did not deploy because there was insufficient deceleration in the crash.

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

problem #11

Jun 032017

Prius

  • 80,000 miles
2013 Prius V had a collision with a mustang converible. Both vehicles are totaled. The mustang's airbags deployed. The Prius's airbags did not deploy and the driver has a severe concussion. Ems apparently told the hospital this was the sending one they had seen where airbags didn't deploy. The hospital told me I needed to look into airbags (3xs) based on what ems said. When I went to Toyota they asked if I was the one that had called a couple of days prior due to airbags failing. (no I had not called.) so, was ems referring to a second Toyota where airbags had not deployed in 2 days? please look at pictures. This was a serious accident. Police report states both vehicles doing 35mph. Again, Prius airbags didn't deploy.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #10

Oct 172016

Prius 4-cyl

  • 30,000 miles
I was driving straight on a city road with the flow of heavy traffic at about 40 miles per hour when the car in front of me came to a sudden stop. I immediately slammed on my brakes very hard. At the time I did this I had plenty of safe distance between us. But, the brakes never came on and I ended up running into the rear end of an SUV at apparently full speed without any noticeable slowdown. The brakes did not come on. They didn't grab, and they didn't make any screeching noise and there were no tire marks on the road. Also all of the airbags deployed and this was a frontal impact, which was very surprising and suffocating. A cloud of dust filled the cabin of the car and I could not breathe. I was literally suffocating until I was able to open the door and get out of the vehicle. I didn't even feel the seat belt tighten up before the crash. The brakes never felt like they came on at all.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #9

Mar 282016

Prius

  • miles
The contact owned a 2013 Toyota Prius. While driving 25 mph, the contact crashed into the rear of the preceding vehicle. All the air bags deployed except the steering wheel air bag, which had a delayed deployment. The contact's head struck the steering wheel and was injured, which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and was towed to a local dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage and VIN were not provided.

- Montclair, VA, USA

problem #8

Mar 242016

Prius

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 25 mph on a roadway, the brake pedal was applied and made an abnormal noise. Another vehicle crashed into the front passenger side of the contact's vehicle while the contact was making a turn. When the brake pedal was applied, the vehicle surged forward at a high rate of speed. The front and rear driver side and the rear passenger side curtain air bags did not deploy. The front and rear passenger side air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed to a yard and then towed to a repair shop for further inspection by the insurance company. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was waiting to determine if an investigator would be sent. A police report was filed. The driver sustained a head injury that required medical treatment and was having difficulty with visibility due to the impact of the crash and no air bag deployment. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #7

Apr 042014

Prius

  • 15,000 miles
I was stopped in traffic when a box truck drove into my car, pushing it into the car infront of me, over a curb, and then off the road. There was severe damage to each side of my car; including the crumpled backend. The divers seat gave out and fell backwards somehow causing the headrest to twist off leaving the leg of it bent towards by my head. There was no airbag deployment in the accident. The significant damage to the car deemed it totaled. How is it that there was seat, headrest, and airbag failure?

- Bedminster, NJ, USA

problem #6

Jan 032015

Prius 4-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
Front passenger's airbag sensor doesn't sense medium weight passenger. I've talked to the Toyota dealer and they told me that if someone over 70lbs in passenger seat, the light will come on "airbag on" and stay on. If there is something in the seat that is lightweight, the light will say "airbag off." If there is nothing in the seat, the light will remain off. My wife is about 110 lbs but the warning light "airbag off" is on most of the time. Sometimes I notice it and ask my wife to get out and then get back in to activate it. Seems like it works that way. Many times I did not pay attention to it until we came to our destinations. I did ask my wife to lift her body up for a few seconds and sit down but the warning light "airbag off" just stay on. Dealer says there is nothing they can do because the sensor is non-adjustable and there is no recall for it.

- Mill Creek, WA, USA

problem #5

Dec 012014

Prius 4-cyl

  • miles
2013 Toyota Prius. Consumer concerned about defective airbag inflators manufactured by takata Corp.

- Holbrook, NY, USA

problem #4

Nov 022014

Prius

  • 9,800 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, another vehicle crashed into the rear end of the contact's vehicle. As a result, the seat belt failed to retract and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a head injury that required medical attention. The front seat passenger sustained head and neck injuries that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,800. The VIN was unavailable.

- Boone, NC, USA

problem #3

Oct 282014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 4,500 miles
I would like to know why all Toyota vehicles have not been recalled due to the current air bag problem. It's not like the car is never driven out of the state and it does get humid and hot here! I drove to California and Arizona this past summer...and yes, I am concerned!!! I expect Toyota to take care of all of their cars!

- Portage, MI, USA

problem #2

May 232014

Prius

  • 10,500 miles
My daughter (age 17) weighs right around 100 pounds. When she sits in the front passenger seat, the light on the dashboard says the airbag is turned off.

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

problem #1

Apr 102014

Prius

  • 18,000 miles
Vehicle was stopped in a line of traffic on the highway. A vehicle traveling at approximately 45 mph hit it from behind propelling it into the vehicle in front of it. Damage to the Prius was in excess of $12,000. Part of the repair was to replace the air bag sensor. The air bag did not deploy during the accident.

- Gold Canyon, AZ, USA