2020 Toyota Prius Owner Complaints

I TURNED LEFT INTO A PARKING SPACE IN MY 2020 PRIUS. I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE, AND MY CAR SHOT FORWARD. I COULDN'T STOP IT, AND IT HIT A CONCRETE POLE. IT ONLY TOOK 1 SECOND. IT SEEMS TOYOTA HYBRIDS ARE STILL HAVING THIS UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION DESPITE A MULTI BILLION DOLLAR LAW SUIT IN THE EARLY 2010'S. MY CAR WAS TOWED AND IS AWAITING INSPECTION BY MY INSURANCE COMPANY. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11687071

Incident

Sep 12, 2025

I was the victim of an accident on [XXX]. The person of the other vehicle that collided with my vehicle after crossing at high speed and without stopping in the red light. The sensors of the anti-collision vehicle of my vehicle did not work and the air bag also did not work. Due to speed the airbag of the other vehicle triggered. I have shoulder pain due to impact. At the moment the insurer of the party involved is making it difficult to pay the compensation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11681232

Incident

Aug 2, 2025

About a year ago and again a few days ago, I was slowly moving my Prius forward when suddenly it accelerated at full speed. The first time I was pulling into a parking spot beyond which was a grassy area and then a stockade fence. When I felt the car lurch forward, I slammed on the brakes, but was still going quite fast. Fortunately, the collision avoidance brakes kicked in and stopped the car just before I hit the fence. In the second case, I was slowly pulling into a parking lot when again the car surged forward. This time I was able to stop the motion with the brakes myself . In both cases I was conscious of moving my foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal. In both cases it was a hot summer day, near 90.

NHTSA ID

11603436

Incident

Jul 16, 2024

After heavy rains, the car says the park assist doesn't work, as well as the parking sensor system. There is a warning sign that says it doesn't work.

NHTSA ID

11570887

Incident

Feb 7, 2024

On May 16, 2023 I was slowly driving out of a market parking lot when the car suddenly accelerated, full throttle, and speeded across the street (Colusa Avenue, Berkeley, CA), crashing head on into a fence. Immediately after the crash, the dashboard displayed the following: "Check Engine (!) A malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission has been detected. Contact your Toyota dealer to have your vehicle inspected." The car was towed and is now at a body shop selected by my insurance company, AAA. I received whiplash, small bruises on my chest and left hand, and a scraped shin. I was taken to Alta Bates Emergency by ambulance.

NHTSA ID

11524726

Incident

May 16, 2023

Attempted to park in my garage and overshot the turn. The brake then failed to stop and I dented my garage outer wall. I reversed my car and tried to reposition it to go inside the garage, putting it on drive. However, the brake pedal made the car accelerate and the car went on reverse. It then crashed into the neighbor's garage and crashed the door and car inside. Both the car inside the garage and the garage itself (along with the inside of the house) have been damaged.

NHTSA ID

11492215

Incident

Nov 3, 2022

Ballooning on side wall of tire. When brought to dealer, they indicated that three other tires had same problem but not as obvious. Car had only 24k miles, with half these on these tires (rest on snow tires). Dealer reported that this was a serious danger.

NHTSA ID

11469447

Incident

Jun 10, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while, driving approximately 5 mph, making a right turn, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, and crashed into the bushes. The brake pedal was applied however, failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, police report or air bag deployment. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified however no further assistance was provided. The contact was concerned about driving the vehicle. The failure mileage was 15,670.

NHTSA ID

11434231

Incident

Sep 20, 2021

Mileage

15,670 mi

I was making a left turn into my subdivision after a full stop. My speed was no more than 5 MPH. The Toyota dealer informed me that the sidewall had blown and was not repairable. They had no definitive cause as to why the tire blew. The tire was retained by the dealer. The tire size is P 195/65R15 and is a Toyo NanoEnergy A41 Tire. It was original equipment on the Toyota Prius as built in Japan. I have found that the tire has no manufacturer's warranty. I just returned from a vacation three days ago driving from Hilton Head Island, SC. Had this happened on the interstate system, the results to me, my wife, or other drivers could have been very different. To the best of my knowledge, the tire has not been inspected by any party. I was not given any tire DOT information on the new tire.

NHTSA ID

11428132

Incident

Aug 6, 2021

ORIGINAL TIRES FROM DEALERSHIP

NHTSA ID

11385018

Incident

Dec 14, 2020

Mileage

29,084 mi

2020 TOYOTA PRIUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO NEEDING TRANSMISSION REPAIR AFTER VEHICLE WAS TOWED. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE AXEL RODS, RIMS NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED/REPLACED, STEERING ISSUES,. REAR WHEEL ISSUES, AND BUMPER REPLACEMENT. *JS

NHTSA ID

11361838

Incident

Jun 6, 2020

MY DAD WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. HE SAID THAT HE STEPPED ON THE BRAKES AND THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK. HE GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH THE ALL AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED AND THE CAR WAS TOTALED. THE CAR ONLY HAD 700 MILES. I BELIEVE THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THAT MY DAD DROVE THIS CAR ON THE HIGHWAY. MY MOM, WHO WAS A PASSENGER, SAID THAT THE CAR ACCELERATED VERY QUICKLY. PRIOR TO PURCHASING THIS CAR, MY DAD HAD DRIVEN A PRIUS (2010 - 2012?), SO HE WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE FEEL OF THE PRIUS. THE CLAIM # IS [XXX]. ATTACHED PLEASE FIND THE POLICE REPORT AS WELL AS A PICTURE OF THE TOTALED CAR. PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT ON BEHALF OF MY PARENTS.*DT CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED MANUFACTURE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'*JB

NHTSA ID

11348886

Incident

Aug 10, 2020

Mileage

700 mi

PROXIMITY SENSORS GENERATED AN ALERT THAT PARKING ASSISTANCE SENSORS NEEDED CLEANING DURING MODERATE RAIN CLEANING THE SENSORS DID NOT RESOLVE THE ISSUE. STOPPED AT DEALER TO HAVE IT CHECKED AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE SENSOR DO THAT IN INCLEMENT WEATHER AND I WOULD NEED TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT. IF IT WAS JUST THE PARKING SENSORS IT WOULD NOT BE AS SIGNIFICANT BUT I DID DETERMINE THE FRONT ACCIDENT ASSISTANCE DID NOT FUNCTION AS IT SHOULD HAVE - AS I APPROACHED A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WITH CRUISE CONTROL THE SPEED REDUCTION THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO OCCUR DID NOT HAPPEN. HAD I NOT BEEN CHECKING TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE PROXIMITY SENSORS WERE MALFUNCTIONING IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. I DID NOT ATTEMPT ANY OTHER ACTIONS WHICH RELY ON PROXIMITY SENSORS TO FUNCTION AS I DID NOT WANT TO CAUSE OR BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. I WAS DRIVING AT THE TIME AND I EXPECT THAT ALTHOUGH THE ALERT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED PARKING SENSORS, THE FACT THAT THE CAR DID NOT SLOW AS TOYOTA HAS INDICATED IT SHOULD LEADS BE TO BELIEVE THAT ANY AND ALL "DRIVER ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGIES" MAY FAIL WHEN THAT ALERT OCCURS RESULTING IN POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES THE VSC OFF INDICATOR WAS FLASHING AT THE TIME. *TR

NHTSA ID

11326556

Incident

May 21, 2020

Mileage

12,850 mi

THE MULTI INFORMATION DISPLAY THAT SHOWS THE SPEED, FUEL, AND OTHER DRIVING METRICS STOPPED WORKING, I AM NOT ABLE TO SEE HOW FAST I AM GOING, HOW MUCH FUEL IS LEFT, ODOMETER OR OTHER ITEMS THAT IS DISPLAYED THERE.

NHTSA ID

11319576

Incident

Mar 27, 2020

Mileage

1,325 mi