2017 Toyota Prius Engine Problems

The catalytic converter heat exchanger failed internally, causing coolant to leak into the exhaust system. Symptoms included white smoke from exhaust and coolant loss with no visible ground leak. This is a documented factory defect per Toyota Technical Service Bulletin T-SB-0135-19 affecting 2016-2019 Prius models. Toyota has denied warranty coverage despite the vehicle was originally bought & spent its entire prior operational life registered in New York, a state covered under Toyota's full 15-year/150,000-mile emissions warranty. Defect was confirmed by an authorized Toyota dealership, in PA. Vehicle had approximately 83,104 miles at time of diagnosis. Manufacturer denied coverage and is forcing the customer (me) to pay a huge amount for this very well known & defective case. MOST IMPORTANTLY ITS dangerous and unsafe for all the cars our there too, since it is very well known that at a certain point this will happen, but despite TOYOTA never sent a RECALL. Due to this, engine light goes on & off, refrigerant is flammable and leaks in the exhaust pipe happens with this specific case, which ultimately could catch on fire, while the vehicle is moving or stalling. Lots of white smoke comes out of the car that directly impact the environmental aspects, and above all, people owning such vehicle, will be running into this issue, which will 100% put the safety of owner and anyone close in proximity to their vehicle at RISK. PLEASE ADD RECALL WITHOUT CAP for ALL SUCH TOYATA PRIUS due to flammable refrigerant leak inside the car engine components, and proven via strong white smoke coming out of exhaust that has the potentially to put the entire car on fire, specifically.

NHTSA ID

11738755

Incident

May 19, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25-30 MPH, the vents were blowing out cold air. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was adding coolant to the coolant reservoir every three to four days. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the coolant was leaking into the exhaust pipe. The dealer recommended that the exhaust system front pipe be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted, opened a case, and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 81,700.

NHTSA ID

11645348

Incident

Feb 21, 2025

Mileage

81,700 mi

Dear NHTSA, I am seeking assistance and compensation for ongoing warranty and repair issues with my Toyota Prius. Key Incident Timeline: •March 21, 2024: Dashboard message “Grille Shutter Inoperable” •March 25, 2024: Toyota of Glendale visit •Charged $220 for diagnostics •Refused to honor service bulletin •Vehicle mileage: 149,217 Customer Service Interactions: •April 9, 2024: •Contacted Toyota customer service •Confirmed CA emissions coverage to 150,000 miles •Discovered extended warranty unexpectedly canceled Brand Engagement Claim: •April 9, 2024: Filed claim with Toyota’s Brand Engagement line •June 26, 2024: Claim denied, dealership’s decision upheld Repair Challenges: •July 5, 2024: Wondries Toyota diagnostic visit •Charged $200 for diagnostics •Confirmed active service bulletins would have covered repairs Repair Management: •Northeast Mechanic has handled all subsequent repairs due to Toyota’s failures Financial Losses Breakdown: •Initial diagnostic fee (Toyota of Glendale): $220.00 •Diagnostic fee (Wondries Toyota): $200.00 •Car rental (July 6, 2024 - Hertz): $1,356.17 •Car parts: $1,706.55 •Labor on vehicle: $754.22 •Water pump: $167.78 •Head Gasket, Spark Plugs, Engine Water Pump: $2,161.00 •Total financial loss: $6,565.72 I request a comprehensive investigation into these warranty and repair issues, seeking full compensation for the financial burden caused by Toyota’s repeated failures. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11626715

Incident

Mar 21, 2024

Coolant leaking into exhaust And engine also vehicle suddenly stops for no reason now engine is completely broken due to the coolant going into the motor oil

NHTSA ID

11603676

Incident

Jan 3, 2024

Dashboard pop up came up saying that the grille shutter is inoperable to visit a dealer. Went online and noticed there were recalls for my Prius year and because emissions is affected I contacted Toyota financial customer service who said to go to a dealer and that they would fix no charge. Went three times to the dealer and they did not want to honor the recall. Charged me $200 to run diagnostics on the vehicle and confirmed that the code that was being recalled matched. They made excuses and in the end did not fix. The pop up appeared March 2024 and since then I now have another pop up appear about the hybrid system overheating due to them not fixing. I went to a local mechanic who said it was the dealers responsibility since there are service bulletins but they do not want to help. The car has stalled out on the freeway almost leaving me to get hit and my fuel has gotten worse.

NHTSA ID

11598469

Incident

Mar 23, 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH and pulling out of a parking lot, the vehicle lost motive power and made abnormal sounds. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart, and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, causing damage to the engine. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the same assessment was made. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11548042

Incident

Jan 28, 2023

Mileage

80,000 mi

I had just changed from the right-hand lane to the center lane of a six-lane expressway when my vehicle lost power and i was able to move over to the right hand shoulder of the road. The accelerator pedal did not work and I just coasted to the side of the road. I noticed that a red warning saying something about RADAR flashed on the instrument panel when this happened. I turned off the vehicle and tried to restart it, but nothing happened. I then texted the person who was expecting me and explained the problem. Since I had just taken the car to the dealer for its regular 40,000 mile service four days earlier, I intended to call my dealer to ask them what to do. All of this took about 10 minutes with the engine turned off. Before doing this, I again tried to restart it. It started and I inched it forward on the shoulder of the road. Since I did not feel safe parked on the shoulder, I merged into traffic and took it to another Toyota dealer. They said that they could not look at my vehicle to diagnose what might be wrong because all their technicians were going home at 4 pm. I drove to my son's house and he suggested that I report this to you. Something similar happened to him when he was driving this same vehicle about six month ago. He was driving on a city street, did not notice any dashboard warning, and took it to this same dealer. They were not able find anything wrong. I felt I should report this since this is the second time this vehicle suddenly lost power. My incident happened when I was driving at expressway speed and could have caused a serious accident had I not been able to coast to the shoulder of the road.

NHTSA ID

11460605

Incident

Apr 12, 2022

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LONGO TOYOTA (3534 N PECK RD, EL MONTE, CA 91731, (855) 415-6497), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,825. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

11287988

Incident

Aug 1, 2019

Mileage

25,825 mi

THIS IS FOR 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME, BUT THERE IS NO OPTION. WHILE TAKING MY KID TO ENROLL IN SWIMMING CLASS, WHILE TAKING TURN INTO THE FACILITY THE BRAKES STOPPED WORKING AND THE CAR WOULDN'T STOP, SOME HOW I DROVE INTO PARKING LOT (I AM NOT SURE HOW I DID IT IN THAT TENSE SITUATION) NONE OF THE BUTTONS WERE WORKING, THE CAR WAS BEEPING SHOWING EVERY THING FAILED AND BY GODS GRACE THE HAND BRAKE WORKED AND FINALLY THE CAR STOPPED. NOW I AM SCARED AS THIS HAPPENED WITH MY KID IN THE CAR. I NEED HELP AND I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE THIS CAR AGAIN AND I TOWED IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER. AFTER EXITING I CALMED DOWN A LITTLE BIT CALLED MY HUSBAND AND HE RECORDED THE ERRORS AND THE SOUNDS. I THOUGHT THE CAR WAS GOING TO BLOW UP.

NHTSA ID

11234809

Incident

Jul 24, 2019

Mileage

15,140 mi

WHILE I AM SLOWING TO A STOP, A WARNING LIGHT COMES ON INDICATING THAT I AM PRESSING THE BRAKE AND THE ACCELERATOR AT THE SAME TIME. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE. THE CAR DOES TRY TO MOVE FORWARD BUT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE OVERCOMES THAT ISSUE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES (NOT EVERY TIME) BUT FORTUNATELY NO ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED. THIS HAS ALSO NEVER HAPPENED WHEN I AM DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND NEED TO BRAKE.

NHTSA ID

11192168

Incident

Mar 27, 2019

Mileage

19,700 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V579000 (ENGINE). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. TOYOTA CERTIFIED AT CAPITAL PLAZA (6100 ANNAPOLIS RD, LANDOVER, MD 20784, (301) 772-6900) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PART WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ID

11186987

Incident

Mar 15, 2019

THE INVOLVED VEHICLES WERE DESIGNED TO ENTER A FAILSAFE DRIVING MODE IN RESPONSE TO CERTAIN HYBRID SYSTEM FAULTS. TOYOTA HAS FOUND THAT IN RARE SITUATIONS, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT ENTER A FAILSAFE DRIVING MODE AS INTENDED. IF THIS OCCURS, THE VEHICLE COULD LOSE POWER AND STALL. WHILE POWER STEERING AND BRAKING WOULD REMAIN OPERATIONAL, A VEHICLE STALL WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHER SPEEDS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

NHTSA ID

11173877

Incident

Oct 4, 2018

CAR STARTED BY ITSELF WHEN IT WAS PARKED IN A DRIVEWAY IN HOT WEATHER IN THE SUN. MY KEY FOB DOES NOT HAVE A REMOTE STARTING MECHANISM - ONLY DOOR UNLOCK AND LOCK CAPABILITY.

NHTSA ID

11111877

Incident

Jul 14, 2018

Mileage

5,000 mi