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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2015 Toyota Prius V

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 24 safety complaints about the 2015 Toyota Prius V with the US government. Of those, 3 describe a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the hybrid propulsion system and the air bags.

The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 12 complaints, 50% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 59,100 miles, the median across the 15 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers August 2015 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

24 complaints on file

24

Complaints

3

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
SERVICE BRAKES 12 · 50%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 · 17%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 · 17%
POWER TRAIN 3 · 13%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 13%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 8%
ENGINE 2 · 8%
AIR BAGS 1 · 4%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 4%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 24.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2020 at 4.

8 6 4 2
15 16 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2015 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2015 Toyota PRIUS V, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SW FWD
Overall Not rated
Frontal crash Not rated
Frontal, driver Not rated
Frontal, passenger Not rated
Side crash Not rated
Side barrier Not rated
Side pole Not rated
Rollover
Chance of rollover 13.6%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTER

20V369000 · June 24, 2020

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Prius and 2014-2017 Prius V vehicles not included in recall 18V-684. Excessive voltage in the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) within the inverter may cause the hybrid system to shut down, causing the vehicle to stall while being driven.
The risk
An unexpected hybrid power system shut down may increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will perform a software update for the hybrid system. If the vehicle has experienced an inverter failure with certain hybrid system faults related to this condition, the inverter assembly will be repaired or replaced, prior to software update. All repairs will be performed free of charge. This recall began July 24, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TB10 / 20TA10.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 266,638 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS

15V013000 · January 16, 2015

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Toyota Prius V vehicles manufactured November 7, 2013, to January 7, 2015. The occupant classification system (OCS) that activates or deactivates the passenger seat air bag system may be improperly calibrated. As a result, the passenger air bag may not deploy in a vehicle crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
If the air bag does not deploy as intended, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will re-calibrate of the OCS system, free of charge. The recall began February 12, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 4,971 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SERVICE BRAKES

1 injured · crash · towed · 59,100 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2015 TOYOTA PRIUS V HYBRID. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE CONTACT SHIFTED INTO REVERSE AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED RAPIDLY BETWEEN 5-10 MPH. THE SPEED INCREASED TO 20 MPH AND THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A FENCE. THE CONTACT APPLIED SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL DURING THE FAILURE, BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR SORENESS FROM THE IMPACT OF THE CRASH, WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP AND DEEMED DESTROYED. STEVE LANDERS TOYOTA (10825 COLONEL GLENN ROAD, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72204) WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS

NHTSA complaint 11139230, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 76,000 miles

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a vehicle hit the front driver's side causing damages to the front driver's side door and undercarriage. The contact stated none of the air bags deployed. The contact stated ambulance did arrive at the scene where they took the contact to the hospital. The contact sustained injuries to their head due to the front side window shattering causing a laceration on the left eyelid and small facial fracture as well bruising and swelling of the left eye. The contact stated the other driver in the accident and passenger was taken to the hospital as well but the contact did not know if they were injured.

NHTSA complaint 11419361, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · 34,500 miles

TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, I HAD JUST TURNED INTO A DIAGONAL PARKING SPACE IN A CUL-DE-SAC AT ABOUT 10AM AND THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED FORWARD AND HIT A YELLOW IRON POST BEYOND THE FRONT OF THE PARKING SPACE. IT HAPPENED IN A MATTER OF 2-3 SECONDS AND I COULDN'T STOP THE CAR BY BRAKING. THE POST STOPPED THE CAR AND CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE CAR. IT WAS EXTREMELY PERPLEXING AND I STILL DON'T THINK IT WAS CAUSED BY MY ACTIONS DUE TO THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION. I NO LONGER HAVE PHOTOS OF THE DAMAGE. I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE CARRIER AND MY RATES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BUT I STILL FEEL STRONGLY THAT I DID NOT CAUSE THE ACCIDENT. I HAD BEEN DRIVING AT 20MPH THROUGH

NHTSA complaint 11397425, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
The brake booster assembly failed, as many of these models had before. A bunch of codes went off as I was driving and the brakes did not function properly. Toyota had an extended warranty for this which they discontinued last year and they would extend no good will towards the $4,000 repair

NHTSA complaint 11761665. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Emergency Brake, Traction and ABS warning came on and stayed on in addition to a five-second interval cycling on of a motor sound under the hood. O'Reilly Auto Parts and then Toyota dealership confirmed the same code that indicated brake booster assembly needs replacing (C1391) **This is a "known issue" but not yet a recall. Toyota did extend the part warranty to 10 years or 150,000 miles - my vehicle has only gone 85,500 and unfortunately is eight months into the 10th year and Toyota is refusing to cover any portion of the repair. I would like to be part of the effort to have this formally declared a recall because I got the quote today to replace the brake booster assembly and it's going

NHTSA complaint 11696236, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Brake light + ABS + traction light came on and the brake became harder to control. I was driving in the rain and briefly lost control. Fortunately, no accident.

NHTSA complaint 11671770. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
brake failure during operation due to bad brake booster pump and accumulator.

NHTSA complaint 11663280. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Brakes failing while driving in the rain. I was unable to use my brakes in the rain and headlights turned off while driving too. Took it to the dealer and they won't do anything unless lights are on on dashboard to read the code.

NHTSA complaint 11642078. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

162,000 miles

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at speeds under 65 MPH, the vehicle intermittently lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and DTC codes: P0300, P0302, P0303, and P0304 were retrieved. The contact was informed that several undisclosed parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 162,000.

NHTSA complaint 11623185. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota Prius V

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2017 12 1 —
2016 16 1 —
2014 82 4 —
2013 124 2 —
2012 218 3 3

Other 2015 Toyota models

RAV4 304 Camry 271 Sienna 232 Corolla 220 Highlander 192 Prius 165 Tacoma 101 4Runner 86

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Toyota on this site — 281 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst