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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2019 Toyota Prius Prime

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

Owners have filed 8 safety complaints about the 2019 Toyota Prius Prime with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering electronic stability control.

The most complained-about system is the wheels, named in 4 complaints, 50% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 9,014 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers April 2019 to February 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

8 complaints on file

8

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

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
WHEELS 4 · 50%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 13%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 13%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 · 13%
SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 13%
STEERING 1 · 13%
TIRES 1 · 13%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 · 13%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 8.

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 2019 at 4.

8 6 4 2
19 20 21 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2019 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 has not crash tested the 2019 Toyota Prius Prime. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

19V544000 · July 24, 2019

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019 Lexus LS500, LC500, ES300h, UX250h, LS500h, Toyota Prius, RAV4 HV, 2019-2020 Toyota Prius Prime, and 2020 Corolla HV vehicles. The brake booster pump may fail causing a deactivation of the Vehicle Stability Control system and a loss of braking assist. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
The risk
Deactivation of the vehicle stability control system or a loss of braking assist increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake booster pump, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2019. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 and Lexus owners may contact Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1L/K0L. Lexus' numbers for this recall are K2F/KLF.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 6,925 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations

1 on file

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

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.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was parked. I put my car in reverse. I heard the beeping sound confirming it was in reverse. I put my foot on the accelerator and the car went forward instead of reverse. This happened twice. I immediately shut off the car and turned it back on. Then it worked fine, and continued to work fine for the rest of the day as I drove to 7-8 more stops where I shut off the car. This was witnessed by a friend who confirmed that he heard the beeping sound for reverse, yet the car moved forward when I pushed on the gas. It definitely was not any kind of user error.

NHTSA complaint 11716267. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
I've have to take my 2019 Prius Prime (with 20,000 miles total) in twice for brake issues in 6 weeks. Each time the dealer had to deal with a rotor heat issue. The first service was on 3/29/2021, the initial reason for appt was hearing squealing from the front. Upon inspection dealer found major heat marks and deep scratches/grooves as well as the rear rotors had deep scratches as well . All 4 rotors were resurfaced and the brake pads were “scuffed” during the service. At that time all brakes were inspected with the front brakes having 9mm and rears having 8mm of pads. I started hearing grinding a grinding sound about 2 week later. I took my car in for service on 5/11/2021 where the dealer

NHTSA complaint 11417512, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS

17,000 miles

PASSENGER SIDE BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT'S TIRE BLEW OUT. STARTED TO DRIVE AND CAR WAS MOVING SLOWER AND EVENTUALLY HAD TO PULL OVER BECAUSE CAR FELT UNSTABLE. WAS NOT GIVEN AN ALARM THAT THE TIRE WAS BLOWN AND FLAT. WAS DRIVING LESS THAN 30MPH, IN A STRAIGHT, FLAT STREET.

NHTSA complaint 11366556. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS

6,430 miles

10/19-LEFT REAR TIRE KEPT LOOSING PRESSURE, I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC, THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING, I AGAIN TOOK IT AFTER 2 WEEKS, THEY CHANGED THE TIRE. MILES 7014. ON 9/26/20-MILES 16430, THE SAME TIRE LEFT PASSENGER BLEW OUT ON THE FREEWAY. NO INDICATOR OF TIRE PRESSURE BEING LOW CAME ON. THE TIRE WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN OUT. I LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR, THANKFULLY IT STOPPED ON LEFT SIDE. IT WAS VERY SCARY. NO WAS HURT, BUT I COULD HAVE DIED. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 70MPH.

NHTSA complaint 11361309. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS

11,597 miles

2 TOYOTA COMPLAINTS: 1) MY 2019 PRIUS PRIME 11,597 MILES: ON HWY 85 SOUTH 11/27 10:30PM GOT FLAT TIRE & DROVE TO SIDE LANE ON HWY. CALLED TOYOTA TOW SERVICE @ 10:37PM WHICH IS IN GEORGIA NOT CALIF. TOW NOT SHOW UNTIL 1:16AM 11/27 AND TOWED CAR TO DEALER. IT TOOK 20 MIN. FOR CALL CENTER IN GEORGIA TO INITIATE TOW 2) THE PRIUS PRIME DOES NOT COME WITH A SPARE TIRE BUT HAS A TIRE PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT. MY TIRE BEYOND PUNCTURE REPAIR. A CAR WITH NO SPARE TIRE OF ANY KIND IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR ANYONE. 2019 PRIUS PRIMES DON'T COME WITH SPARE TIRE. THIS HAZARD FEATURE NEEDS TO CHANGE. I HAVE EXPENDED WARRANTY AND SERVICE CONTRACT AND TIRE WAS NOT COVERED SO BESIDES THE UNSAFE

NHTSA complaint 11282714, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

250 miles

WHEN I DRIVE THE VEHICLE ON THE FREEWAY, IT FEELS UNSTABLE. IT GOES LEFT AND RIGHT. THE VEHICLE IS BRAND NEW. WE JUST BOUGHT IT LAST WEEK. TIRE PRESSURE IS GOOD AND THE DEALERSHIP SAID THERE IS NO RECALL ON THE CAR.

NHTSA complaint 11252625. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Toyota Prius Prime

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 12 4 —
2022 8 1 —
2021 10 0 —
2020 16 1 —
2018 16 0 —
2017 42 0 —

Other 2019 Toyota models

RAV4 879 Highlander 486 Camry 395 Tacoma 218 Corolla 203 C-HR 111 Tundra 74 Avalon 70

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