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Toyota · NHTSA safety record

2020 Toyota Prius Prime

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

16

Complaints

5

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Toyota Prius Prime have filed 16 safety complaints with NHTSA between February 2020 and September 2025. The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers, named in 5 of them (31%). The typical failure was reported at 9,250 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

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)

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.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 16.

VISIBILITY/WIPER 5 31%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 19%
POWER TRAIN 3 19%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 19%
TIRES 2 13%
AIR BAGS 1 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 6%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 1 6%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 6%
STRUCTURE 1 6%
VISIBILITY 1 6%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2020 at 5.

2020 2025
2020 to 2025

In owners' own words

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

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

crash · towed · 6,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while coasting her vehicle into a parking spot at 2 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated forward with her foot lightly on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into two vehicles. The contact was uncertain if any warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel during the failure. The air bag did not deploy upon impact. Police were called to the scene; however, since no injuries or property damage were reported, they informed that contact that they would not be needed. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. A dealer was notified and

NHTSA complaint 11449750, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · towed · 14,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while driving slowly into a parking space the vehicle suddenly experience unintended acceleration and accelerated forward before crashing into a building. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged but the air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed from the scene. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 14,000. The contact stated that the car traveled approximately 29 feet when it accelerated forward. The car's front end was

NHTSA complaint 11496798, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · towed · 54,300 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking lot, traveling down the aisle, and driving around the end cap to the second aisle, pulling into the parking spot at 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The wheels squealed. The vehicle traveled through the spot and sideswiped another vehicle, and stopped. There were no reported injuries or fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was serviced a week prior. The local dealer was contacted, who referred to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 54,300.

NHTSA complaint 11690279. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

crash · 12,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE PURCHASED AND INSTALLED A DASHBOARD COVER IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE REVERSING, THE DASHBOARD COVER SHIFTED AND BLOCKED THE SENSOR FOR THE BACK OVER PREVENTION CAMERA, ALLOWING THE DISPLAY SCREEN TO GO DARK, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO CRASH INTO A PARKED VEHICLE AT APPROXIMATELY 2 MPH. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SENSOR WAS USED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME DRIVING AND WOULD DIM OR BRIGHTEN THE DISPLAY SCREEN AS NEEDED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THERE WAS NO INJURY SUSTAINED BY EITHER THE CONTACT OR THE OCCUPANT OF THE OTHER VEHICLE. ADDITIONALLY, THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA complaint 11366541, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

67,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed while making a left turn onto another road, but the vehicle failed to slow down. The contact stated that the brake pedal was vibrating, and the vehicle felt like it was skidding on ice. The contact stated the vehicle maintained the position in lane but was not slowing down as intended. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

NHTSA complaint 11645501. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
I purchased Goodyear Assurance MaxLife 195/65 R 15 from Sam's Club in Kingston on August 2023. On [XXX] my tire blew out on the inner sidewall of my tire. When I spoke with an employee from the automotive department in Sam's Club about my tire, the person said " Let me guess, was it an Assurance MaxLife?" I said "yes, how did you know?" The employee said " this is like the 19th one with the same problem. I'm shocked their not a recall on them." So I paid for a new tire and the next day decide to check to if their was any recalls on the tires. I didn't find any. So I decided to make this report for others. Hope this help! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

NHTSA complaint 11579669, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
The car had about 8000 miles on it. It was parked in Garage the night before. In the morning the outside temperature was 39F. During my 30 minutes driving, the front defrost was turned on. Afterwards it was parked on driveway and at that time the windshield was fine. 6 hours later, I noticed a spiderweb like crack under the camera section on the front windshield. The crack was about 11 inch long. It looks like the glass could not handle the temperature change.

NHTSA complaint 11564758. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
The right side outside mirror glass detached and fell off while driving down the road. There was no noticeable defect on the vehicle prior to this and no known reason for this to happen. The vehicle was operating normally and was not involved in any sort of unusual maneuvering or crash. Upon taking it to the Toyota dealership it was found that glass did in fact detach on its own and needed to replace the entire mirror mechanism. This is obviously a safety concern for the driver due to a required mirror missing and also a safety hazard that could impact another motorist by this glass flying and hitting another car.

NHTSA complaint 11538127. 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 11 4
2022 8 1
2021 10 0
2019 8 1
2018 15 0
2017 32 0

Other 2020 Toyota models

Every Toyota on this site — 272 vehicles, 370 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

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