RoadVitals

2021 Toyota Prius Prime Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
10
Latest Mar 9, 2026
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
4
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
3
Reports on file since May 12, 2021

What this page shows

Our database holds 10 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2021 Toyota Prius Prime. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–10 of 10

Electrical
Filed Mar 9, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID
11723068
Incident
Mar 6, 2026
Mileage
274,000 mi
BrakesElectricalFuel system
Filed Oct 29, 2025
Crash reported2 injuries reported

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.

NHTSA ID
11696251
Incident
Oct 22, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 22, 2025

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.

NHTSA ID
11688961
Incident
Jul 15, 2025
Mileage
27,696 mi
ElectricalFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Mar 30, 2025

Rodents accessed and damaged the car because there essentials components are not protected.

NHTSA ID
11651621
Incident
Mar 3, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Oct 20, 2024
Crash reported

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.

NHTSA ID
11620914
Incident
Oct 20, 2024
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Jul 25, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID
11604557
Incident
Jun 17, 2024
Mileage
34,000 mi
ElectricalPowertrain (other)
Filed Sep 20, 2023

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.

NHTSA ID
11545583
Incident
Sep 10, 2023
Mileage
80,000 mi
AirbagsBrakesEngine
Filed Nov 6, 2022
Crash reported

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.

NHTSA ID
11492523
Incident
Nov 3, 2022
Filed Apr 3, 2022
Crash reported

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.

NHTSA ID
11459435
Incident
Mar 15, 2022
Visibility
Filed May 12, 2021

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

NHTSA ID
11416289
Incident
May 6, 2021
Mileage
518 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .