There are 50 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2010 Toyota Priusin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I own a 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid 4 door sedan. I am the second owner of the vehicle. I purchased it in 2018 from a used car dealer. The vehicle ran well up until 2022 where a “check hybrid warning would appear on the dashboard along with a yellow triangle and service engine light would come on and the vehicle accelerator would not respond and the car would have to glide to the side of the parkway. This problem would happen when the car speed is between 60-70mph. It is very dangerous to lose power on the highway because many times there is no where to pull over. In 2024 I changed the water pump because the fault code on the cars built in diagnostic code read error “P216B” which is the cars electrical water pump signal. I researched it on google and a lot of 2010 Prius owners are complaining of the same thing. Also the changed water pump from April 2024 died again in January 2025. It is very scary that the cars accelerator pedal goes unresponsive and all the fault lights come on. My vehicle has 155,000 miles runs great and my family loves the 40mpg it gets. However, this stalling problem is being ignored by Toyota and could lead to a fatal car accident if not recalled by the manufacturer. To conclude, I would like for your office to possibly conduct an investigation with the 2010 toyota Prius hybrid for this ongoing problem that the company is ignoring. This is a serious issue and can possibly lead to a fatal accident. THANK YOU FOR HEARING MY COMPLAINT AGAINST TOYOTA.
The Gas Engine had internal destruction Cylinder broke and car became unusable at 158K miles despite being a Hybrid with al Toyota maintenance at Al hendrickson toyota of Coconut Creek, FL. This is Unacceptable and Demonstrate Internal Combustion Engine Failure that fortunately occurred near my house and NOT in the hiway. Please notify Toyota Motor Company because I had to buy a new car and we are SENIORS with limited budget. It is a severe Safety Concern.
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and went into LIMP Mode. The coolant temperature and several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the message "Check Hybrid System" was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road, where he disconnected and reconnected the battery to reset the Hybrid system. The contact was able to drive to the residence; however, the failure recurred. The contact used an OBD reader to retrieve diagnostic test code: P261B. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V684000 (Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 148,469.
Excessive Oil consumption, particularly with highway driving. I have had this car for about a year. I only noticed that the oil was nearly empty when the engine was shaking while idling at an intersection. No warning lights for oil pressure or level ever came on, it would occasionally "ding" for oil pressure, but barley long enough for me to even read what the warning was. By excessive, I mean VERY excessive. First oil change after only 3k, almost empty. Road trip, mainly highway only about 600 miles, nearly empty. If I top it off, I check it constantly. City driving (more electric) it may burn a quart every 1-2k miles, highway more. I had the EGR, manifold and plugs serviced/replaced, it improved slightly. I'm having more work done now, but after reading SO MANY similar complaints online, I find it hard to believe this isn't a recall. An engine sputtering and nearly dying while idling is not safe, especially with no warning lights on! I contacted Toyota, they said they had not recalls or Consumer Confidence programs for complaints of oil consumption and/or piston ring seat problems in these vehicles (seems to be the primary cause). I did see a class action for many other Toyota 4cyl engines due to excess oil consumption.
Engine is taking in coolant problem
Last year on September 13, 2021 I purchase a used 2010 Toyota Prius ( Vehicle VIN[XXX]) with 122414 miles on the Odometer, I got my oil changed on October 29, 2021 so I can keep track of when my oil is due. My odometer reading on oil change was 123,268. I drove 2806 miles, when I woke up on December 08, 2021 with no oil in my engine. I thought that was very strange so after adding a quart of oil My husband got for me. I took the vehicle back to the shop ( Good Year Tire & Rubber Company 1585- A Island Lane Fleming Island, FL 32003) I originally had my oil changed at, to have them check if there was some sort of leak. The odometer reading at that day/ service was 126,074. After a full inspection of the engine exterior componence, no leak was to be found. Then I decided to do some research only to find out that back in 2016 Toyota had a lawsuit against them for having manufacturer defects in the productions of engine between the years of 2006 - 2011. The manufacturer defect was the engine piston would eventually start having oil leaks into the engine causing engine excessive oil consumption. That same day I took my vehicle to the nearest Toyota dealership ( Coggin Toyota At the Avenues 11340 Philips Hwy Jacksonville FL32256) for a engine oil consumption test to be serviced on my vehicle. This process takes place by filling oil to the full line marking it... confirming there is no leaks....sealing everything and I was to return after driving 1200 miles ( odometer reading at service was 126,094). upon returning the vehicle on December 30, 2021...My vehicle failed the engine oil consumption test because after driving 1221 miles my engine was low on oil by 1.5 quart. This kind of engine oil consumption not only causes my engine to deuterate in time, but also my vehicle diminishes in value. After it was established that my vehicle engine consumes oil / failed the engine oil consumption test. Toyota advised me to get a new engine that would cost me $6987.63 INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
1. This 2010 Prius has a faulty design of the piston rings, which is allowing it to burn more than 1.4 Qts of engine oil. 2. Such high consumption of engine oil causing an environmental pollution. 3. Furthermore, I took it to the local Toyota Dealer I.e. Maguire Toyota located in Ithaca, NY, they never chose to diagnose it or repair it. 4. I reached out to the Toyota and the Toyota still isn’t helpful w.r.t this high consumption of engine oil.
While driving at highway speed on Interstate 87 in New York, the 2010 Toyota Prius suddenly lost power while multiple warning lights on the dashboard illuminated, along with a "Check Hybrid System" notification. The engine would operate but at significantly reduced power. I drove it to an independent garage to identify the diagnostic trouble codes, which included P0A94 and P324E, an inverter problem with the hybrid battery and a problem with the intelligent power module. The currently is currently awaiting a confirm diagnosis at a Toyota dealership in New Jersey, but the problem is exactly what thousands of other 2010 - 2014 Prius owners have reported, yet Toyota has yet to issue a recall to replace the inverter.
BAD RINGS IN THE MOTOR. MY DEALER SAID HE IS SEEING A LOT OF PRIUS'S LIKE THIS. HE THINKS TOYOTA WILL HAVE A RECALL ON THE PRIUS SOON. CAMRY AND RAV-4 HAS ALREADY BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS REASON. MY PRIUS JUST STARTED USING A LOT OF OIL @130,000. (1QT PER 1200 MILES) PLEASE ENFORCE A RECALL FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION.
UPON TURNING THE VEHICLE ON AND STARTING TO DRIVE, THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE THEN STARTS AND EXPERIENCES ABOUT 20 SECONDS OF MISFIRING TO THE POINT THE CAR IS WITHOUT SMOOTH POWER. THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM. IF THE CAR WAS IN THE WRONG SITUATION WHEN IT HAPPENED IT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. THE SAME THING WILL OCCASIONALLY HAPPEN WHEN PARKED AFTER WAITING FOR THE ENGINE TO START.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING OUT OF A PARKING LOT, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AN ORANGE (MASTER WARNING) AND A P-SYMBOL WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO UMANSKY TOYOTA DEALER, (1357 RICHMOND RD, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22911) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIAN COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO PROVIDE A CAUSE FOR THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 51,788.
WHEN THE VEHICLE PASSED 100K MILES, IT START CONSUMING OIL EXCESSIVELY. NOW IT NEEDS A QUART EVERY 200 MILES. I FOUND OUT FROM THE NET THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA HAS NOT RESOLVED
WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHER SPEEDS THAN 40 MPH, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, AND CHECK MY HYBRID SYSTEM LIGHT IS TURNED ON. WHEN IT TURNED ON, I WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE, HOWEVER I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER, AND RESTART MY CAR. I HAVE RECENTLY COME IN TO GET A SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR THE FACTORY RECALL RELATED TO THE ISSUE. HOWEVER MY INVERTER HAS BEEN DAMAGED AS WELL. ON THIS WEBSITE IT STATES IF MY INVERTER IS DAMAGED RELATED TO THE RECALL, IT WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. HOWEVER THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP CHARGED ME FOR DIAGNOSTIC, AND REQUESTED PAYMENT FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF MY INVERTER. I ALSO HAVE GIVEN TOYOTA A CALL AS WELL, THEY HAVE STATED THAT THE RECALL ONLY WILL CONSIST OF A SOFTWARE UPDATE. I WAS UNABLE TO GET ANYONE FROM TOYOTA TO HELP ME WITH MY REPAIR OF MY INVERTER THUS FAR.
EXSESIVE OIL CONSUMPTION. NEED TO ADD OIL ( 2 QUARTS OR MORE) BETWEEN OIL CHANGES
LOUD RATTLE, SHAKING IN MOTOR AREA. WAS FOUND TO BE A HEAD GASKET LEAK. USING A LOT OF ANTIFREEZE AND WHITE SMOKE OUT THE TAIL PIPE. WHILE IDLE OR IN MOTION AND WHILE GAS ENGINE IS RUNNING. STARTED INTERMITTENTLY AT FIRST AND VERY SHORT, EG. FOR A SECOND OR TWO, THEN GOT LOUDER, MORE OFTEN AND LASTED LONGER. THIS CAR HAS 230,000 MILES. THIS SAME ISSUE IS HAPPENING ON MY 2011 PRIUS WITH 128,000 MILES. I RESEARCHED THIS AND IT IS A COMMON PLACE WITH GEN 3 PRIUS CARS. I CAN NO LONGER DRIVE EITHER ONE OF MY PRIUS CARS SAFELY.
DRIVING WITH CRUSE CONTROL SET AT 72 MPH, DRIVING ON 4 LANE INTERSTATE. MASTER WARNING LIGHT CAME ON ALONG WITH THE FOLLOWING WARNINGS "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" & "CHECK PCS SYSTEM", ALL DASH LIGHTS LIT UP. ENGINE STALLED UNEXPECTEDLY AND RESULTED IN NO POWER WHEN PUSHING GAS PEDAL. STEERING WAS NOT COMPROMISED. WAS ABLE TO CROSS 3 LANES ON THE INTERSTATE TO THE SHOULDER WITH NO POWER AND THE CAR DECELERATING RAPIDLY, AGAIN WITH NO PRIOR WARNING OF ANY ISSUES. TURNED CAR OFF AND RESTARTED, WAS ABLE TO DRIVE APPROX. 25 FEET BEFORE THE ENGINE SHUT OFF UNEXPECTEDLY AGAIN LEADING TO A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER. BREAKING AND STEERING WERE AFFECTED AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR.
HEAD GASKET WORN OUT AND LEAKS OIL WHEN UNDER PRESSURE (DRIVING) . *TR
TOOK PRIUS IN FOR COIL REPLACEMENT AND WAS TOLD THE COOLING FAN WAS FAILING AND THERE WAS A LEAK FROM THE WATER PUMP. COOLANT LEVEL WAS NOT TO THE LOW POINT AT ANYTIME AND WAS CHECKED AND REFILLED IF NOT FULL, THE TEMP WARNING HAS NOT COME ON. I AM NOW BEING TOLD THAT A HEAD GASKET IS BLOWN AND THAT I NEED A NEW ENGINE. THE CAR IS NOT EVEN AT 200K AND HAS HAD ALL ROUTINE MAINTENCE AND RECALLS COMPLETED.
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 220,000.
HAD TO REPLACE MY HEAD GASKET
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026