2017 Toyota Prius Prime Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle started. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact used a portable diagnostic machine to diagnosed the vehicle; however, no fault codes displayed. The contact stated that the failure had not reoccurred. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ID

11747144

Incident

Jun 26, 2026

Mileage

90,000 mi

In the 2017 Prius Prime when the car switches from Electric power to gas the car frequently fails to allow you to accelerate. It is like you are stuck in neutral on the freeway, taking your foot off of the acceleration pedal and pushing it down doesn't always fix the issue. The accelerator foot pedal can be completely down to the floorboard as you are losing speed. The safety issue is that you are losing speed, and on the freeway and the car doesn't recover losing some control. I have taken the car to the Toyota delearship and when taken in that say it is a software update, but this continues to happen. There is no real notification when this will occur as the battery milage switchover is often misreported by the car.

NHTSA ID

11724443

Incident

Mar 15, 2026

I have a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime advanced. It has the large infotaiment screen that is where I have to access many items. Often, seemingly randomly, the screen shuts down and reboots itself. During the time it is rebooting I do not have any access to the controls. It gives no warning when it is going to reboot. I have seen other Toyota recalls for a similar problem on the RAV4 vehicles and I wonder if it is related.

NHTSA ID

11705045

Incident

Dec 5, 2025

The dealer sold original Toyota Truestart H4, 12 Volt battery failed after 2 years and 9 months. The battery is warranted for 84 months/7 years.

NHTSA ID

11697127

Incident

Nov 3, 2025

Toyota has a very well known issue with head gasket failures right around 140k miles that they refuse to address. This is my second Prius and my second failure right at 140k miles. They refuse to acknowledge it, but the advisors in the service department say that's their "bread and butter." They repair bad head gaskets on priuses for $5k all day long. Toyota needs to do right by their clients.

NHTSA ID

11667467

Incident

Jun 13, 2025

Background Toyota has received reports of paint peeling on certain vehicles with the original factory-applied Blizzard Pearl or Super White paint colors. These reports indicate that vehicles with these specific paint colors, applied during the vehicle manufacturing process, may experience paint peeling on exterior metal body panels. Although the original factory paint is covered by Toyota’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first), we at Toyota care about the customers’ ownership experience. Toyota is providing coverage for repairs related to the condition described above. The following information is provided to inform you and your staff of the program notification schedule and your degree of involvement. Customer Support Program Coverage Details This Customer Support Program provides coverage for involved vehicles with the original factory Blizzard Pearl or Super White paint. The covered condition may occur when sunlight over time degrades the adhesion between the factory-applied paint primer coat layer and the base metal electrodeposition layer causing the paint to peel from the metal body panel. If the condition is verified, the specific panel affected will be repainted. · The Primary Coverage will be offered until December 11, 2022, regardless of mileage. · After the Primary Coverage, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 10 years from the date of first use, regardless of mileage. My vehicle is a 2017 Toyota Prius prime with Blizzard pearl 070 paint and I am experiencing terrible paint chipping. My hood, roof, and A Pilars are starting to rust. When I tried speaking to Toyota dealerships and corporate about this issue they refused to help and said there's nothing they can do because my vin doesn't match the recall. The fact that this same paint code is showing such wear despite my vehicle being newer that the recalled vehicles should automatically make me a candidate for a paint replacement on the damaged areas.

NHTSA ID

11661243

Incident

May 2, 2022

Jbl touchscreen 11.6 on Prius prime plugin 2017 has capacitive buttons like FM AM SPEAKER/Audio, and resistive buttons like Volume and Sufio not registering a finger touch or pressure. All other icons on touchscreen work and respond. Bluetooth works but no sound when a text message is read from my iPhone. Started when heat index was 107 on June 23. With climate change I am concerned that EV and PHEV touchscreens may need to be recalled to prevent this kind of failure. Mechanic said it WAS NOT FUSES OR BATTERY, and AICHATGBT proffered a software glitch or a neede update

NHTSA ID

11597791

Incident

Jun 23, 2024

The contact owned a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated after the vehicle was in the park position and exiting, the vehicle accelerated on its own in reverse. The contact mentioned when she parked, the front tires pointed towards a curb which allowed her to get inside the vehicle and to depress the brake pedal. The vehicle continued accelerating, crashed into two trees on the front driver's side and front passenger side, jumped the curve, and crashed into a fence where the vehicle came to a stop. The contact mentioned that she was a professional driver for a living and assured that the failure was not a user error. A police report was not filed due to the incident occurring on her property. No injuries were sustained. A Toyota representative inspected the vehicle at the contact's residence to diagnose the vehicle but the results were not available. The unknown local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was traded in at the dealer and the contact no longer owns the vehicle. The contact mentioned that after the failure incident, an unknown manufacturer recall was opened related to unintended acceleration. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11580732

Incident

May 15, 2021

Each time I use the USB port behind the cup holders, my vehicle's electrical system goes through a power-down cycle. This has happened several times over the years while I was driving. I no longer use that particular USB port for safety reasons. I reported this to my Toyota dealer, but they could not replicate the problem while I was there, so nothing was ever done. My younger son was driving the car and nearly had a wreck when the electrical system power-cycled while he was driving. He has been instructed to not use the USB ports.

NHTSA ID

11576608

Incident

Dec 15, 2023

My 2017 Toyota Prius Prime has experienced a second windshield crack perhaps hit by a small object, which I didn't notice at all. The crack is a "L" shape, about 15 in at each direction. The firs Windshield crack was happened about a year ago. Toyota dealer replaced it with an original Toyota Windshield. I believe this particular Windshield type isn't strong enough to withstand a small stone hitting it. As I didn't notice any loud popping sound during driving

NHTSA ID

11544919

Incident

Sep 12, 2023

Driver side electric Seat rail malfunction after I was hit from the rear end collision. The seat electric adjustment became inoperable. The seat rail has a small gear in the electric seat that got destroyed during the rear end collision. Is the seat designed for damping, if so why does the driver side electric seat become inoperable?

NHTSA ID

11530056

Incident

Apr 17, 2023

I had to avoid an oncoming driver who lost control in a flash storm and ended up colliding with a telephone pole head on going 60mph. No safety devices activated at all, and Toyota refuses to admit it’s a problem.

NHTSA ID

11529023

Incident

Mar 25, 2023

It was time to replace my original equipment tires after approximately 30,000 miles (41,622 car miles, remainder 11,622 on separate snow tires). The car rode smoothly. I purchased four YOKOHAMA AVID Ascend LX SIZE 195/65R15 tires. The tires were balanced professionally at VIP Tires in Watertown, MA. Since the original tires had a little bit of uneven wear, I also had the car aligned at the same time. I immediately noticed intense vibration in the car seat and floorboard (not in stearing) when driving over 47 mph. I brought the car back and they rebalanced the tires. The vibration remained. I took a video of both back tires (both same DOT code) using my GoPro (and wife driving) and found left rear seemed ok, but right rear had abnormal tread movements. I also noticed much more seat vibration at right rear compared to left rear seat. I brought car back to installer and they (Marco & Julio) confirmed the right rear tire is defective.

NHTSA ID

11517880

Incident

Apr 11, 2023

Loud popping, grinding, and clicking noises from the front left of the car while decelerating, sometimes during acceleration, and parking. The clicking has been happening since the vehicle was new and has progressively gotten worse. It is so bad now that other motorists and pedestrians become distracted by it. A pedestrian tripped and fell over last week trying to look behind them at what was causing this unusual racket. I can now feel the repetitive popping in the steering wheel and brake peddle. The car now feels unsafe to drive. I have taken this vehicle to several Toyota dealers in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 to expressed my concerns. Dealers insist the characteristic is normal, even when T-SB-0157-18 "Click Noise From LF Wheel Area During Deceleration" was in effect. The vehicle is still under powertrain warranty and no warranty repair has been offered each time. This characteristic was very similar to T-SB-0157-18, however it has gotten worse. It now always occurs during deceleration, frequently during normal driving and acceleration. It is extremely distracting and nerve racking, to the point of it being a safety issue for me, other motorists, and pedestrians. It is a very unusual sound no one expects and pays an unsafe amount of attention to. I strongly suspect the front CV axle(s) are grinding themselves into dust. Toyota knows this is a safety issue, cancelled the TSB in April 2019, and refuse to repair the car under power train warranty. My axle has been clicking since March 2018. It now feels unsafe in February 2022, especially after this most recent tripping incident.

NHTSA ID

11453676

Incident

Feb 16, 2022

I was driving in behind several cars on a city street about 30 mph. The cars ahead slowed quickly. The automatic braking system came on suddenly and completely and applied the brakes on its own with no warning red flash. It locked the brakes and the wheels skidded on the pavement I had no control over this at all I tried tapping lightly to stop the skid. I was about 10-12 feet away from the vehicle ahead of me when the car stopped. I did have some additional stopping room but had no control over the braking system at all if I had been on wet pavement the skidding and “hopping” would have been worse.

NHTSA ID

11442630

Incident

Nov 10, 2021

Approximately July 19th 2021 at 4 a.m. in the morning on 2021 going Southbound on 210 going towards San Bernardino we will see the flat tire at the very end since the flat tire the hybrid system says offline not available car stalled pulled over tire was blown out. This is the second time that the hybrid system has been reported offline or malfunction. Upon further review the records of the vehicle I have noticed that on January 18th 2021 the previous owner had a similar incident but the dealership in Hemet California failed attempt to repair it or document it correctly and falsified records

NHTSA ID

11430966

Incident

Jul 22, 2021

This vehicle rear ended another vehicle in peak hour stop and go traffic. The estimated speed at the time of impact was 10-15 MPH. There was exensive front end damage to the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. Unclear if the AEB engaged but the driver actively tried braking but not successful in avoiding the collision.

NHTSA ID

11429911

Incident

Aug 5, 2021

-The following systems malfunctioned all at the same time on 2021-07-23 at approximately 5:00pm CDT traveling at ~70mph on the interstate in normal conditions in HV system mode: -Low Braking Power -ABS Control System Malfunction -Lane Departure Alert Malfunction -Traction Control Malfunction -Pre-Collision System Malfunction -This is available for inspection upon request, if loaner vehicle is provided and covered. -My girlfriend and I were put at risk due to multiple safety systems malfunctioning, which drastically increased chances of an accident -The vehicle has been diagnosed by a certified Toyota repair shop, and the issue could not be replicated nor found by them. I am also unable to replicate the malfunction. See attached photos. -The vehicle has been inspected three times in the past 30 days by Carvana, Beneficial Automotive in Moore, OK, and Fowler Toyota in Norman, OK. None found this issue. -See attached for the instrument warnings. ICS warning, ABS, traction control, check engine, brake malfunction lights and Multi-Information Display errors all illuminated at the same time while traveling at highway speeds.

NHTSA ID

11426870

Incident

Jul 23, 2021

When driving on the interstate, the car lost power steering and power brakes, making the vehicle very difficult to maneuver. Fortunately, there were no cars immediately nearby, otherwise this could have been a very different description. The car was towed to a dealership. They reported that they believe this is due to a faulty cell in the vehicle's auxiliary (12V) battery. There was no warning or symptom of this prior to the loss of power steering and power brakes.

NHTSA ID

11426084

Incident

Jul 10, 2021

LARGE SCREEN SOMETIMES GOES BLANK AND REBOOTS, AS IF THE CAR WAS JUST RESTARTED. VEHICLE IS TRAVELING WHEN THIS OCCURS. TYPICALLY HAPPENS AT CRUISING SPEEDS.

NHTSA ID

11390944

Incident

Jan 23, 2021

I LOST POWER ON OVERPASS. HYBRID MALFUNCTION LIGHT, COLLISION LIGHT, ENGINE LIGHT ALL CAME ON. ALMOST MATCHING RECALL, BUT TOYOTA SERVICE TOLD ME IT'S A MODULE AND WOULD COST 1200$ TO FIX. I TOLD THEM NO. CHARGED ME 144$ AND I ERASED CODE, WITH NO PROBLEM SINCE? TOYOTA DOES NOT CARE AND I COMPLAINED?

NHTSA ID

11378328

Incident

Nov 19, 2020

Mileage

30 mi

JUST FIVE MINUTES AFTER I LEFT THE HOUSE, I WAS DRIVING AT 15 MILES MPH ON A CURVED ROAD AND THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY LOST POWER. THIS INCLUDES BOTH THE ELECTRIC MOTOR AND THE GAS MOTOR. BOTH THE STEERING SYSTEM AND BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING THE STEERING WHEEL TO BECOME TOO STIFF TO TURN AND THE BRAKES WERE NOT ABLE TO BE PRESSED DOWN NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED. THIS CAUSED THE CAR TO SWERVE OFF THE ROAD AND HIT A LIGHT POLE. NOT ONLY DID THE AUTOMATIC COLLISION PREVENTION SYSTEM FAILED TO WORK, THE AIRBAGS ALSO FAILED TO DEPLOY WITH THE AMOUNT OF IMPACT. THIS HAS CAUSED SEVERE DAMAGE TO MY CAR AND SEVERE INJURY TO MY BODY. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A POWER FAILURE. THE FIRST TIME I WAS IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON THE FREEWAY. THE CAR COMPLETELY SHUT OFF FOR 5 SECONDS AND TURNED BACKED ON AGAIN. LUCKILY THE VEHICLE WAS NOT MOVING DUE TO THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC. I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FAILED TO FIND ANY PROBLEM. THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS DRIVING ON A STRAIGHT ROAD AND THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN AND COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. NOTHING APPEARED ON THE MONITOR NOR THE DASHBOARD, JUST LIKE THE FIRST TIME. I COULD NOT GET THE VEHICLE TO START FOR 30 MINUTES. I EVEN CAPTURED THIS INCIDENT ON VIDEO THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I'VE PRESSED THE START BUTTON, I COULD NOT GET THE VEHICLE TO POWER UP AGAIN (ENGINE OR BATTERY MODE). JUST LIKE LAST TIME, I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP, BUT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT ONCE AGAIN FAILED TO FIND ANY PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE. AT ALL TIMES, I'VE DONE MY DUE DILIGENCE TO ENSURE THAT THE BATTERY WAS FULLY CHARGED BEFORE I BEGIN DRIVING FOR THE DAY AND WITH ADEQUATE FUEL FOR THE ENGINE MODE. TOYOTA'S NEGLIGENCE AND THE POOR QUALITY OF THE VEHICLE HAVE CAUSED ME AN ALMOST LIFE-THREATENING ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ID

11377239

Incident

Oct 20, 2020

Mileage

70,000 mi

CLICKING NOISE FROM LF WHEEL AREA UPON DECELERATION/BREAKING. DEALER HAS EXAMINED BREAKS MULTIPLE TIMES AND ISSUE IS NOT RESOLVED.

NHTSA ID

11373959

Incident

Jun 5, 2020

Mileage

20,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V579000 (STEERING) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER EDMARK TOYOTA (15933 N IDAHO CENTER BLVD., NAMPA, ID 83687) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

11361890

Incident

Sep 8, 2020

VEHICLE WAS ON THE HIGHWAY GOING 65 MPH, THE SPEED LIMIT, REAR LEFT TIRE EXPLODED LEAVING SHREDS ACROSS THE HIGHWAY AND DAMAGING THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF THE VEHICLE. TIRE WAS TOYO NANOENERGY A29 195/65R15

NHTSA ID

11280505

Incident

Nov 13, 2019

Mileage

17,931 mi