NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of the purchase, the vehicle mileage was 73,000. It was later discovered upon checking the vehicle history report with a Local dealer, the contact was informed that the mileage was 274,000.
I was slowly entering a handicapped parking place right in front of a business. The distance from the front of the parking space to the building wall was about 15 feet, one car length. I approached the place to stop in the parking spot when in a split second the car violently surged forward and would have crashed into the cinderblock wall had there not been a supporting post on the building and a metal frame with equipment which stopped the forward movement. The surge was explosive, almost like the acceleration of an airplane taking off. The whole incident took a second or two. There was no opportunity for any driver response to the surge. Had we not been using seatbelts, the front seat passenger & myself would have gone into the windshield and perhaps been killed or very seriously injured. Had I not been driving toward the building when the violent episode occurred, I likely would have hit someone in the parking area and killed or seriously injured people or crashed into park cars. Our injuries were relatively minor due to the seatbelts. The passenger will need therapy on her neck and back. A week later we are still emotionally stressed. There were no indications there was anything wrong with the car prior to this incident. It had only 27,000 miles with new tires and no apparent service issues. This hybrid car, which goes about 22 miles on a charge, was about at the point when it would have transitioned from electric to use of the gasoline engine. The badly damaged car was towed to a lot and later picked up and taken to the insurance facility for evaluation. I have not yet heard back. A NYS trooper investigated. He told me twice to have the Insurance Company look at possible vehicle defects when they examined the vehicle for insurance purposes. I passed on that information, but it appears the insurance company only evaluates the car for damaged. I have not yet gotten a report back yet, but it appears the car is totaled.
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while shifted into reverse(R), the rearview camera intermittently went black. No warning light was illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rearview camera intermittently went black. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to an unknown NHTSA Campaign; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,696.
Rodents accessed and damaged the car because there essentials components are not protected.
My vehicle is equipped with Toyota Safety Sense, which includes Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC) and a Pre-Collision System. Today, while driving with DRCC engaged, my vehicle followed a leading car and appropriately slowed down to 2 mph as we approached a signalized intersection. However, when the leading vehicle changed lanes, a gap was created between me and a new lead vehicle, which was fully stopped. Despite this, the DRCC system accelerated to 5mph and collided with the stopped vehicle.
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated while driving 45–50 MPH and approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The driver continued to pump the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond and depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle accelerated, veered across the road, jumped the curb, and stopped. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and an engineer determined that the brakes were working properly. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that after the vehicle was shifted into park, the key was removed and the contact stepped away from the vehicle, when the vehicle inadvertently started to roll away. As a result, the vehicle rolled into the neighbor’s driveway and grazed another vehicle then stopped. Additionally, the contact stated that while the vehicle was on the charger port, the vehicle failed to start. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to take the vehicle in to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Brakes of my Toyota Pirius Prime did not work after I was hit on my right side. Brakes completlety was out. Also I was not able to run the car. The cars brakes should work even I got an accident to precent some further damage to other cars.
A sticky accelerator caused my 2021 Prius to lurch forward into a wall. I was pulling into a parking place when this happened. The front airbag deployed. This is the second time this has happened to me with a Prius. In my previous Prius it happened to me two years ago. Both times the vehicle suddenly lurched forward. It was terrifying.
CAN'T SEE VEHICLE DISPLAY SCREEN DURING BRIGHT SUNNY DAYS, WHICH I FIND DANGEROUS CONTACTED TOYOTA ABOUT ISSUE, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE SAFETY
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026