Toyota Prius: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Toyota Prius model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 684 | 6 | 70 | 4 | 111.1 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2013 | 399 | 3 | 37 | 3 | 85.7 Medium | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2014 | 234 | 3 | 30 | 1 | 118.8 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2015 | 160 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 228.8 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2016 | 179 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 64.8 Medium | VISIBILITY/WIPER |
| 2017 | 101 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 114.9 High | VISIBILITY/WIPER |
| 2018 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 102.9 High | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 2019 | 29 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 151.7 High | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2020 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 514.3 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2022 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 200.0 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2023 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 288.9 High | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 72.7 Medium | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2025 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 80.0 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
Across 13 model years, the 2020 Toyota Prius carries the highest severity index (514.3, driven by unknown or other), while the 2016 is the cleanest at 64.8.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.