2024 Toyota Prius

Description of Safety Defect: I am reporting an uncorrected factory design defect in the 5th-generation Toyota Prius (2024 model) that constitutes an immediate and ongoing daytime driving hazard. Under standard operation, whenever the vehicle's headlights are activated during daytime hours—conditions legally mandated by Massachusetts state law, such as during rain, heavy fog, snow, dusk, or dawn—the driver's 7-inch Multi-Information Display (MID) speedometer cluster and the central multimedia touchscreen plunge into an aggressive, low-brightness night profile. When this occurs in daylight ambient environments, heavy glare can completely wash out both digital screens, rendering the speedometer, safety alerts, warning lights, and navigation maps illegible to the driver. Manufacturer Response: The vehicle's digital 'Day Mode' software toggles and the lower-dash manual instrument panel adjustment buttons completely fail to override or un-dim this behavior when headlights are active. System reboots and ambient sensor inspections do not change the state. I have formally presented this vehicle to an authorized Toyota dealership and directly escalated the issue to Toyota Motor Sales Corporate. Both parties have officially stated that the vehicle is 'operating as designed' and refused to issue a technical remedy or calibration update. Safety Risk: By hard-coding an un-overrideable night-dimming profile to the headlight circuit, Toyota has built an active safety hazard. Drivers are forced into an unacceptable compromise: either drive illegally with headlights OFF during a daylight rainstorm to be able to read their speedometer, or turn headlights ON to comply with the law and drive blind to their actual traveling speed, warning lights, and driving telemetry. This extreme driver distraction severely increases the probability of an accident.

NHTSA ID

11768903

Incident

Oct 5, 2026

12V battery failed when vehicle was only 9 months old, stranding me on a cold day in January. No warning of dying battery prior to failure. Required a tow to dealer, where battery failure was confirmed. Replaced under warranty. This standard Toyota battery is under powered to sustain electronic functions of car.

NHTSA ID

11766593

Incident

Dec 17, 2025

My safety and the safety of 6,031 passengers/riders were put at risk when Lyft's Flex Drive rented this vehicle to me as a rideshare driver for one year. They admitted yesterday upon confronting them in person that they were aware of the recall and decided to not inform me. The company deflected responsibility onto me in several ways and even laughed in the back of the building. There was nothing funny about putting my life at risk and the lives of other people. It is a breach of agreement for me to drive an unsafe vehicle. I trusted that I rented a vehicle that was safe. Lyft is a rideshare company that owns FlexDrive. Flex Drive rents cars to Rideshare drivers in [XXX]. There are nearly 4 thousand vehicles rented to Lyft drivers in [XXX] right now. The vehicle just stopped working on XXX due to a Hybrid Malfunction and is located at Toyota Camelback currently. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11766292

Incident

Sep 21, 2026

Since owning this car, there is a mildew odor coming from all 4 doors in the window slot. Clearly, water is collecting in the door insulation and growing mildew presenting a health issue. The dealer cleaned one of 4 doors and returned the car. Whenever the car is washed or in the rain, this issue happens. In checking on line, this is not an isolated incident. Prius models from 2024-2026 are experiencing the same issue. Again, this is not merely an inconvenience, it seems to becoming a health related issue

NHTSA ID

11762995

Incident

Jul 13, 2024

premature/uneven tire wear, have had 3 blown tires and replaced 7 tires in 55K. i purchased the 2024 Prius awd new. all 4 tires wear on inner edge of tire even with 5k tire rotation. had a wheel alignment done at 50k nothing was out of balance.

NHTSA ID

11759935

Incident

Jul 25, 2025

I am writing to report a serious safety incident involving the rear seatbelt in my 2024 Toyota Prius, and to request that Toyota investigate this condition as a potential safety defect affecting other vehicles. On XXX at approximately 7:08pm , my daughter, age [XXX], was seated in the rear right seat of the vehicle. We were traveling at approximately 35 on city street in FAIRFIELD CA. She was belted in using the vehicle’s factory lap‑shoulder belt. Upon arrival, she adjusted the shoulder strap to gather her belongings and the seatbelt wrapped around her waist and cinched down to the point that it became dangerously tight and she was in severe pain. The belt continued to retract and would not loosen. Attempts to unbuckle the latch and to create slack by feeding the belt back into the retractor were unsuccessful. The belt remained locked tightly around her waist and could not be released. Because of the extreme tension and the location of the belt, we were unable to free her and ultimately had to cut the seatbelt to prevent further injury. This incident left visible marks/redness around her waist, and it presented a real risk of abdominal injury and impaired breathing. I have attached photographs taken immediately before the belt was cut that show how the belt path, seat back, and retractor configuration allowed the belt to wrap around and entrap my child. I am concerned that this may reflect a design defect in the rear seatbelt system and that other children could be similarly trapped and injured. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11744085

Incident

Jun 10, 2026

After the car dealership completed the first tire rotations, at 30,000 miles I rotated the tires to find severe inner tread wear on the tires where the inside of the tire was wore to the sidewall while outside portion was intact. I took the vehicle to an independent shop and the right rear suspension/tire was out of specifications on camber causing said tire wear. Toyota did not manufacture the car so that camber could be adjusted. An aftermarket kit was purchased to be able to compensate for the lack of adjustment. This is a safety concern as if a person does not rotate every 5,000 miles it will lead to tire failure at highway speeds. This is a common problem while researching forums. I have contacted the manufacturer and was given a generic response. There are reports with documentation with tire failure as early as 11,000 miles. Toyota needs to be held accountable and make a remedy for this instead of offering consumers a run around and blame hitting pot holes or on tire manufacturers, when it is clearly a suspension limitation. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11734746

Incident

Apr 24, 2026

I was driving my 2024 Toyota Prius and was involved in a front-end collision. The impact was strong enough to cause significant front-end damage, but the front airbag did NOT deploy. I was wearing my seatbelt at the time. This is a serious safety concern because the airbag should have deployed in this type of frontal impact. If the crash had been worse, I could have been seriously injured. I believe this may be a safety defect in the airbag system.

NHTSA ID

11725998

Incident

Mar 18, 2026

Flash reprogramming allows the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) software to be updated without replacing the ECU. Flash calibration updates for specific vehicle models/ECUs are released as field-fix procedures described in individual Service Bulletins. This bulletin details the Global Techstream+ (GTS+) ECU flash reprogramming procedures and outlines use of the Technical Information System (TIS) and the Calibration Update Wizard+ (CUW+). To ensure the correct ECU software is installed, ECUs will require a Security Signature before the ECU will initialize the flash reprogramming sequence. This bulletin also details the process for acquiring a Security Signature from TIS during the GTS+ ECU flash reprogramming process.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIAL SERVICE CAMPAIGN 26TC01 POWER DISTRIBUTION BOX CERTAIN 2024 – 2025 MODEL YEAR PRIUS 2024 MODEL YEAR PRIUS PHV

An electrical connection for the rear window defogger may not have been installed correctly during vehicle assembly. Overtime, this can cause the rear window defogger to become inoperable, which could reduce visibility through the rear window when moisture or condensation is present

OBSOLETE NOTICE February 27, 2026: This bulletin is no longer applicable and is now obsolete.

Some 2005 – 2026 Toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. Follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. The purpose of this Service Bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures for odor remediation. This Service Bulletin provides a guide on how to prepare and treat the interior of the vehicle for odor remediation. Refer to the applicable model and model year Repair Manual and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) website for the most up-to-date safety and precautionary guidelines.

Some ECUs can set a DTC that is common with other ECUs. This can lead to accidental use of the wrong repair manual when diagnosing these type of DTCs.