AI DamageToyota Prius V: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Toyota Prius V across 3 model years: 13 owner complaints and 195 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Exterior lighting 31% of all complaints
- 2 Structure 15% of all complaints
- 3 Vehicle speed control 15% of all complaints
- 4 Equipment 8% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 8% of all complaints
- 6 Service brakes 8% of all complaints
- 7 Tires 8% of all complaints
- 8 Electronic stability control 8% of all complaints
- Exterior lighting: 4 complaints (31% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Structure: 2 complaints (15% of all); manufacturer bulletins for this component: 117.
- Vehicle speed control: 2 complaints (15% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner; manufacturer bulletins for this component: 5.
- Equipment: 1 complaints (8% of all); manufacturer bulletins for this component: 172.
- Air bags: 1 complaints (8% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner; manufacturer bulletins for this component: 15.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 1.8 L · hybrid · 4 cyl 2012–2017
- CVT 2012–2017
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 13 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior lighting | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 2 | 0 | 117 |
| Vehicle speed control | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 172 |
| Air bags | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Electronic stability control | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Visibility | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Electrical system | 0 | 0 | 108 |
| Engine and cooling | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Backover prevention | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Engine | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Seats | 0 | 0 | 6 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
On [XXX] at [XXX] I was backing out of a driveway when my 2016 Prius V5 accelerated on its own. When I applied the brakes, nothing happened. I hit a curb, which flattened the front passenger tire. In order to get the car to stop, I took it out of gear and put it in neutral. The car finally came to a stop.
Since we had purchase our car prius v four with drl (day running lights)(vertical led unit in bumper) they never worked properly-hence not visible in our accident..
I was slowly ( < 5mph) approaching a stoplight at a busy intersection in a 25 mph zone on a [address] there were 2 vehicles ahead of me. Everything seemed fine until my vehicle suddenly accelerated rapidly and I was unable to stop it.
My 2017 prius v was involved in 2 recent crashes in which the air bags did not deploy: front end/bumper impact on 6/1/18 and front & rear end impact which totaled car on 7/3/18. Both times air bags did not deploy. Impact on 6/1/18 caused other car's (2008 honda accord) air bags to deploy, but not mine.
While driving I heard noises, like “flap,flap,flap”. Pulled over to look at the tire and saw that the tire was peeling. Changed to the donut spare tire and went to “Firestone” 5 days later to have a new tire put on because the original service shop, “Mr King auto services center”, would not take any responsibility for…
The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Exterior lighting. Headlamps, leveling, sensors and mounts after a frontal hit.
- Structure. Rails, pillars, panel gaps, signs of pulling or welding.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Manufacturer service bulletins
Bulletin titles as filed with NHTSA.
- This bulletin includes basic procedures for performing a rescue charge on Ni-MH high voltage (HV) batteries
- OBSOLETE NOTICE February 13, 2026
- Some 2005 – 2026 Toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a…
- Some customers may experience echoing on the line calling the vehicle when using Bluetooth Hands Free
- The air conditioning dye injection tool kit has been developed to aid in identifying the location of air…
- The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix…
- To prevent brake rotor rust from forming during transportation and storage, wheel film will be used…
- Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical…
- Toyota vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal…
- Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad…
- Some 2005 – 2024 Toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a…
- The condition known as acid rain is caused by airborne chemicals or particles in the atmosphere, which mix…
Repair videos
We do not copy videos: these are YouTube links credited to their authors. Amounts are as stated by the author and not verified by us.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-04.