2019 Toyota Prius Prime Owner Complaints

I was parked. I put my car in reverse. I heard the beeping sound confirming it was in reverse. I put my foot on the accelerator and the car went forward instead of reverse. This happened twice. I immediately shut off the car and turned it back on. Then it worked fine, and continued to work fine for the rest of the day as I drove to 7-8 more stops where I shut off the car. This was witnessed by a friend who confirmed that he heard the beeping sound for reverse, yet the car moved forward when I pushed on the gas. It definitely was not any kind of user error.

NHTSA ID

11716267

Incident

Feb 5, 2026

I've have to take my 2019 Prius Prime (with 20,000 miles total) in twice for brake issues in 6 weeks. Each time the dealer had to deal with a rotor heat issue. The first service was on 3/29/2021, the initial reason for appt was hearing squealing from the front. Upon inspection dealer found major heat marks and deep scratches/grooves as well as the rear rotors had deep scratches as well . All 4 rotors were resurfaced and the brake pads were “scuffed” during the service. At that time all brakes were inspected with the front brakes having 9mm and rears having 8mm of pads. I started hearing grinding a grinding sound about 2 week later. I took my car in for service on 5/11/2021 where the dealer found a “rusty” color on the rotors as well as a cracked and chipped front brake pad. They started a TAS case after which they resurfaced the rotors again and replaced the front brake pads. I am concerned about this issue with my car only having 20,000 miles on it and the rotors being resurfaced twice in less than 2,000 miles between services. The rotors and pads are supposed to be designed to have a longer life than standard gas non-hybrid vehicles. Rotors are only able to be resurfaced a limited number of times, which can cause future repair costs to soar. I am in need of Toyota’s assistance in making any fixes so this does not continue to occur. As well as looking into if there is a larger brake issue within my vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11417512

Incident

Mar 29, 2021

PASSENGER SIDE BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT'S TIRE BLEW OUT. STARTED TO DRIVE AND CAR WAS MOVING SLOWER AND EVENTUALLY HAD TO PULL OVER BECAUSE CAR FELT UNSTABLE. WAS NOT GIVEN AN ALARM THAT THE TIRE WAS BLOWN AND FLAT. WAS DRIVING LESS THAN 30MPH, IN A STRAIGHT, FLAT STREET.

NHTSA ID

11366556

Incident

Jul 24, 2020

Mileage

17,000 mi

10/19-LEFT REAR TIRE KEPT LOOSING PRESSURE, I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC, THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING, I AGAIN TOOK IT AFTER 2 WEEKS, THEY CHANGED THE TIRE. MILES 7014. ON 9/26/20-MILES 16430, THE SAME TIRE LEFT PASSENGER BLEW OUT ON THE FREEWAY. NO INDICATOR OF TIRE PRESSURE BEING LOW CAME ON. THE TIRE WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN OUT. I LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR, THANKFULLY IT STOPPED ON LEFT SIDE. IT WAS VERY SCARY. NO WAS HURT, BUT I COULD HAVE DIED. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 70MPH.

NHTSA ID

11361309

Incident

Sep 26, 2020

Mileage

6,430 mi

2 TOYOTA COMPLAINTS: 1) MY 2019 PRIUS PRIME 11,597 MILES: ON HWY 85 SOUTH 11/27 10:30PM GOT FLAT TIRE & DROVE TO SIDE LANE ON HWY. CALLED TOYOTA TOW SERVICE @ 10:37PM WHICH IS IN GEORGIA NOT CALIF. TOW NOT SHOW UNTIL 1:16AM 11/27 AND TOWED CAR TO DEALER. IT TOOK 20 MIN. FOR CALL CENTER IN GEORGIA TO INITIATE TOW 2) THE PRIUS PRIME DOES NOT COME WITH A SPARE TIRE BUT HAS A TIRE PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT. MY TIRE BEYOND PUNCTURE REPAIR. A CAR WITH NO SPARE TIRE OF ANY KIND IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR ANYONE. 2019 PRIUS PRIMES DON'T COME WITH SPARE TIRE. THIS HAZARD FEATURE NEEDS TO CHANGE. I HAVE EXPENDED WARRANTY AND SERVICE CONTRACT AND TIRE WAS NOT COVERED SO BESIDES THE UNSAFE CONDITION MY HUSBAND ENDURED WE ALSO GOT A BILL FOR $168.19 TO REPLACE AND INSTALL THE DAMAGED TIRE. I WILL WRITE TO TOYOTA ROADSIDE ASSIST. REGARDING GEORGIA CENTER DISPATCHING TOWS IN CALIF.? & TOYOTA TO COMPLAIN ABOUT NO SPARE TIRE AND A DESIGN INSTEAD OF LIFT BACK MAYBE SIDE OPENING LIKE JEEP SO SPARE TIRE CAN GO ON BACK LIKE JEEP SPARE. I HAVE READ ON YELP ABOUT OTHER TOYOTA OWNERS COMPLAINING ABOUT NO SPARE TIRE.

NHTSA ID

11282714

Incident

Nov 26, 2019

Mileage

11,597 mi

WHEN I DRIVE THE VEHICLE ON THE FREEWAY, IT FEELS UNSTABLE. IT GOES LEFT AND RIGHT. THE VEHICLE IS BRAND NEW. WE JUST BOUGHT IT LAST WEEK. TIRE PRESSURE IS GOOD AND THE DEALERSHIP SAID THERE IS NO RECALL ON THE CAR.

NHTSA ID

11252625

Incident

Aug 25, 2019

Mileage

250 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME. WHILE CHARGING THE VEHICLE'S BATTERY, THE DOORS ABRUPTLY LOCKED ON THEIR OWN. THE CONTACT CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO HAVE THE DOORS UNLOCKED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,080. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

NHTSA ID

11245916

Incident

Aug 22, 2019

Mileage

1,080 mi

CAR HAD 27540 MILES ON FACTORY ORIGINAL TOYO NANOENERGY TIRES WHEN THE REAR PASSENGER TIRE BLEW OUT. I WAS 22 MILES INTO MY DRIVE HOME . NO TPS WARNING AND I HAD VISUALLY LOOKED AT MY TIRES BEFORE HEADING HOME. THE ENTIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE SIDEWALLS. THE SIDEWALLS STAYED WITH THE RIM AND I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY STOP THE CAR ON THE GRASS MEDIAN. THIS TYPE OF SIDEWALL BLOWOUT HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN ALL MY YEARS OF DRIVING. I WAS ON US-321 NORTH BOUND JUST AFTER THE HARDIN RD EXIT GOING 70 MPH AT TIME OF BLOWOUT. NOT IN A TURN BUT NEARLY STRAIGHT LINE DRIVING. WEATHER WAS MOSTLY SUNNY AND 65 DEGREES.

NHTSA ID

11202835

Incident

Apr 16, 2019

Mileage

27,452 mi