What breaks most · 2000 to 2018 model years
Toyota Prius problems by year
Owners have filed 10,416 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Toyota Prius across model years 2000 to 2018. Three years stand out: 2010 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 2007 for exterior lighting complaints and 2006 for exterior lighting complaints. The quietest years are 2000, 2015 and 2014.
- Years to check closely: 2010, 2007, 2006
- Fewest complaints: 2000, 2015, 2014
- Complaints on file
- 104162000 to 2018, all trims
- Worst year
- 20102396 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 85756 fires · 439 injuries · 20 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 45kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 76Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 0 | Exterior lighting (3) | |
| 163 | 12 | 3 | Steering (43) | |
| 159 | 11 | 2 | Steering (75) | |
| 94 | 5 | 1 | Steering (36) | |
| 591 | 36 | 6 | Exterior lighting (180) | |
| 1001 | 100 | 6 | Exterior lighting (340) | |
| 1385 | 76 | 6 | Exterior lighting (928) | |
| 1894 | 117 | 4 | Exterior lighting (1036) | |
| 1349 | 143 | 4 | Exterior lighting (556) | |
| 437 | 60 | 6 | Exterior lighting (104) | |
| 2396 | 165 | 10 | Brakes (hydraulic) (832) | |
| 304 | 28 | 6 | Brakes (109) | |
| 213 | 41 | 6 | Brakes (47) | |
| 138 | 24 | 3 | Brakes (31) | |
| 85 | 18 | 3 | Brakes (18) | |
| 46 | 15 | 1 | Electrical system (11) | |
| 95 | 2 | 5 | Wipers and visibility (34) | |
| 52 | 4 | 3 | Wipers and visibility (13) | |
| 10 | 0 | 1 | Unknown or other (4) |
What fails on the 2010 Toyota Prius
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 35% |
832 | 56 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| Brakes (electric)Brake sensors and controls | 21% |
502 | 20 | Shop brakes (electric) parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 13% |
301 | 33 | Shop brakes parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 11% |
272 | 33 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 6% |
142 | 4 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 6% |
136 | 3 | Shop exterior lighting parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 4% |
106 | 3 | Shop engine parts for the 2010 Toyota Prius |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 3% |
71 | 8 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
I was entering a parking space, i approached the space about 5 mph. The vehicle suddenly accelerated, the steering locked and the brakes went to the floor. The vehicle jumped the curbing and hit the truck in the next righthand space. It connected with the trucks left front fender. That stopped the vehicle.
-
Sporadically, the lights on the dashboard will not light up. When this happen the backup camera will not display as well. This doesn't happen often, but when it happens, it is a while before the they will display.
-
The operation of my hid lights are malfunctioning and the current right head light will occasionally turn off on it's own. After turning them on and off a few times, they then work again. Obviously dangerous for night time driving or resulting in potential tickets.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Toyota Prius years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2010, 2007, 2006 carry the most filings on the Toyota Prius. The 2010 alone has 2396 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Toyota Prius problem?
On the 2010 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 832 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Toyota Prius problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Toyota Prius complaints that include mileage is about 45,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.