10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,812 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2005 Toyota Prius seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Toyota Prius:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2005 Toyota Prius Owner Comments

problem #8

Jun 252011

Prius 4-cyl

  • 133,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Daughter and son-in-law were driving my 2005 Toyota Prius. A Jeep Grand Cherokee hit them head on going 32-35 mph. My S-N-L was driving slowing down to a stop sign and saw the Jeep coming at them on their side of the road so he was braking hoping the Jeep would either stop or swerve around them. The driver of the Jeep didn't even brake. Hit them head on more on the passenger side pushing them back about 10-15 ft. The Jeep airbags deployed. The airbags on my Prius didn't. the damage to the Jeep was a screwed up bumper and a bent license plate. The damage to my Toyota Prius was totaled. Engine flattened and pushed in over a foot almost under the dashboard of car. Passenger door couldn't open until firefighters pried it open. Called Toyota, filed a claim on defective airbag. My response was they weren't going fast enough(only over 30 mph) for the airbags to deploy, they weren't hit hard enough and the dashboard must not have loosened from the car or else airbags would have deployed. My daughter took the blunt of it. Body flew forward (she had a seatbelt on) hand hit dashboard, knees hit glove compartment so hard that it popped open. How bad does an accident have to be for airbags to go off. We pay for safety. The driver that caused this was drunk, wife drunk and they had a 3 yr old in the car at 10:45 in the morning. They had no injuries, their air bags deployed. Forgot to mention daughters sister-in-law in seat behind her, whiplash, bruises on legs and back is tweaked, but they weren't hit hard enough. Toyota use to be great on safety and now they are really bad and won't fess up to errors. Search Toyota airbag defects and see all the others that have had problems. Someone will have to die probably hundreds before something is done.

- Terrebonne, OR, USA

problem #7

Jan 132010

Prius

  • 57,000 miles
I would like to file an official report of my accident that involved my 2005 Toyota Prius on January 13 of this year. It was in the morning after I had dropped off my children to their school. I was driving down the hill and driving the normal 25- 30mph down the hill to go home. Upon coming to the stoplight, I noticed the cars in front of me stopped at the stoplight so I went to hit my brakes and did not feel any power from my brakes so I quickly stood on my brakes with both feet and realized I had absolutely no brake power. I subsequently crashed quite hard into the car in front of me and experienced severe pain to the right side of my neck. After initial shock, I was able to maneuver my car out of traffic to a parking lot and noticed it funny that my brakes were working at that point. After exchanging information with the man that I hit, my car was towed to an autobody shop. After going to kaiser to look into my injury (which was whiplash) I was told at the autobody shop that my car was totaled and could not be fixed. He also told me that my airbag did not deploy because I had hit a larger american car which was higher than my bumper. It never hit the airbag sensor on my car that was lower than the impact point. After the accident, I asked my insurance company, the interinsurance exchange of the automobile, to please look into the brake situation and they stated that they did not find anything wrong. I am not satisfied with this answer because I have read that the Toyota problems are not easy to diagnose. I have been driving for 27 years and have never been in an auto crash that was my fault. I also have never experienced such a scary feeling as having absolutely no control over my car.

- Redondo Beach, CA, USA

problem #6

Jan 272010

Prius

  • 61,000 miles
My daughter was driving our 2005 Prius at about 30 miles an hour at approximately 3pm when she saw a truck stop approximately 300 feet ahead of her. She applied the brakes but the Prius did not stop and collided with the truck causing a total loss of the Prius. The road surface was wet from snow and the temperature was approximately 34 degrees. Although the car was heavily damaged the air bags did not deploy. This crash could have resulted from a brake problem or unintended acceleration.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

problem #5

Oct 142009

Prius

  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driver's airbag did not deploy in 2005 Prius that rear ended an SUV at approximately 35 mph.

- Mercer Island, WA, USA

problem #4

Nov 072008

Prius

  • 51,000 miles
I was in the passenger seat of my car, my friend was driving. It was a 4 lane street with a turning lane in the center. I think we were going between 35 and 40 mph when we hit (police report estimated 45 mph) a F250 diesel supercharge turned infront of us without warning. We T-boned it, impact was on the front right tire of his truck, ours was head on. My Prius's bumper was pushed back to the engine and the engine was pushed back so much that it pushed back the dash inside the car. I couldn't get my door open. We had seatbelts on, but no airbags went off. On site emergency crews said they should've gone off. I've seen 2 doctors since, both side my whiplash and neck pain would have been less severe if an airbag was deployed. My car is totaled.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #3

Jul 012008

Prius

  • 15,500 miles
I was involved in a off-set frontal collision in a 2005 Toyota Prius equipped with dual front air bags and side curtain air bags on July 1, 2008. None of the four air bag systems in this vehicle deployed upon impact. I was traveling approximately 35 mph and the other vehicle was going ~ 30-35 mph. The other driver involved was not injured, but I was taken by ambulance to the local er trauma center where I underwent over 11 hours in a neck collar and numerous ct scans, mris and several X-rays. Thankfully I was not seriously injured but still have neck, back, and abdominal pain from the crash. Prior to this accident, I had surgery on June 24, 2008 and was still recovering from the surgery. The auto accident has significantly affected the speed of my recovery.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #2

Feb 142008

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 75,000 miles
I was headed South on 22nd street crossing 7th avenue South intersection. Woman ran a redlight. I struck her car. I have a 2005 Prius. The front end went down as it was design, but the airbags did not deploy.

- Thorsby, AL, USA

problem #1

Oct 272006

Prius

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
: the contact stated while driving 20 mph in the rain with leaves on the road, the vehicle slid off the road and impacted a 20 inch tree, on the front right side. The headlight and bumper, toward the center of the front end, sustained the impact. As the contact was not wearing a seatbelt, and the frontal airbags failed to deploy, the 38 year old driver received a small laceration to the top of the head, where impact was made with the windshield and a small cut to the right cheek. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop. The service dealer and manufacturer were contacted and informed the contact to get an estimate, and then call back. The manufacturer informed the contact that because the insurer removed the bumper, a technician would no longer be sent to investigate.

- Avon, IN, USA

Not what you are looking for?