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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,856 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.

2009 Toyota Prius seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2009 Toyota Prius Owner Comments

problem #14

Oct 042019

Prius

  • 103,000 miles

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

I was turning left and was hit by an oncoming car. Most damage done to the front right. The car was totaled. I was going about 5-10mph though the oncoming car was going approximately 40mph. The firemen, police and insurance adjuster were all very concerned that the airbags did not deploy. My babies were safe in the backseat thanks to their car seats. I had to go to the hospital and suffered a concussion. We just had our car tuned up at our local Toyota dealership not even 6 mos ago. They did not say anything about a concern with the airbags.

- Torrington, CT, USA

problem #13

Sep 172019

Prius

  • 113,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. While driving 30 mph, the contact crashed into another vehicle that ran a red light. The air bags did not deploy. Police report number: 190815712 was filed. The contact sustained minor injuries to the knee and his head was injured due to striking the upper windshield and rearview mirror. Medical attention was not received. The contact suffered a headache for a few days following the crash. The contact's vehicle was towed to his house. The vehicle was not destroyed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 113,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #12

Nov 152018

Prius

  • 128,000 miles
Maybe related to takata recall: We did not receive a recall, however our car skid into a tree and had significant front end damage, however no airbags deployed. Was going 25 mph on a Suburban residential St during a mixed snow/sleet storm. Slight curve and slightly downhill. The brakes were not applied as they could have made it worse. Car sped up into the skid totalling the car with $11,000 damage. We have been given several opinions that the velocity necessary to cause the damage should have triggered the airbag sensors. Car hit the middle of the bumper and perhaps missed the sensors? no report was filed by the police as accident was caused by the road conditions/weather not driver error. I have photos I can send in a few days

- Columbia, MD, USA

problem #11

Sep 252018

Prius

  • miles

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

Takata recall. I have never been contacted by Toyota to inform me of a recall of takata inflators. I purchased my 2009 Toyota Prius in 2012. I checked my VIN against the NHTSA database and it says no recalls for my VIN. How do I resolve the danger I and my family may be subjected to?

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #10

Jan 252017

Prius 4-cyl

  • 186,000 miles
The car was involved in a moving collision that totaled the drivers front end and caused the driver to be injured because the air bags failed to deploy. I suspect that the cars steering failed while going around a sharp curve. The car has lost steering one time before and was taken to the dealer who could not duplicate the problem.

- Penfield, NY, USA

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problem #9

Jul 172013

Prius

  • miles
The airbag light has been on for the last some years and I have asked to dealer to check on it for 1 hour (cuz of cost of labor) and they can not find the problem. What should I do... I do not see a recall letter on this"?"

- Ooltewah, TN, USA

problem #8

Feb 112015

Prius

  • miles

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

2009 Toyota Prius. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle acceleration issues. The consumer stated the vehicle was inspected on May 10, 2010. On February 11, 2010, the consumers wife was approaching a small business in a parking lot. She was almost at a dead stop, when the vehicle suddenly went a rapid acceleration mode, jumped a curbed and sidewalk, and hit a brick wall of a business building. There was severe damage to the vehicle as well as to the brick wall of the building. The air bag did not deploy.

- Eagle, ID, USA

problem #7

Aug 112010

Prius

  • 18,252 miles
I was struck by a speeding auto so hard that the force of the impact obliterated the entire front end of my vehicle. I suffered serious left knee and left shoulder injuries. Not one takata airbag deployed. Had the airbags functioned properly I might have avoided the injuries to my body. My car was considered a total loss.

- Mc Veytown, PA, USA

problem #6

Sep 182014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 96,000 miles
After reading the New York times article (11 Sep 2014) on takata air bags, I found out that our 2009 Toyota Prius was not (yet) subject to recall for the defective takata airbags, even though, according to the nyt many millions of Toyota had these air bags. I contacted Toyota usa customer support to inquire if our Prius had air bags manufactured by takata. I was informed by Toyota usa that they considered this information as "proprietary" and would not inform me as to whether or not our vehicle had air bags manufactured by takata and therefore likely to have defective canisters should there ever be an incident that caused the air bags to deploy (or explode, as they case may be). Toyota should be required to inform customers if Toyota has used takata air bags in their vehicles, even if the NHTSA & dot has not yet gotten around to mandating a recall. To me, this seems similar to the GM starter issue for which there was plenty of blame on NHTSA-dot as well as GM. Thank you.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #5

Aug 112010

Prius 4-cyl

  • 18,232 miles
I was turning left into the gas station located on us 22 and E. john St. A speeding car struck me on the passenger side near the door and front fender. The speeding car continued so hard that the driver's side lower frame rail was ripped from the car. No air bags deployed. I suffered left knee and left shoulder injuries necessitating several surgeries. The car was equipped with driver's side and front right air bags. Also, dr and fr side and curtain air bags. No air bags deployed. The car was totaled by the insurance company.

- Mcveytown, PA, USA

problem #4

Mar 042013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 81,000 miles

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

In an attempt to avoid oncoming calves on a county dirt road driver inadvertantly pulled steering wheel to the right and hit a tree at road side. Tree is twelve inched from road surface. Before seat belt restrained driver, driver's forward momentum broke the steering wheel. Driver was not injured. Went to local hospital er. Sheriff investigated. With the extensive damage to the front end of the vehicle the air bag should have deployed. It did not. Photos taken. Your organization is being notified as we feel the air bag should have deployed. We will also contact Toyota. Thank you. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Clarksville, AR, USA

problem #3

Nov 242010

Prius

  • miles
Good day, I am a 19 year police veteran for a medium size police department in Alaska. I wanted to pass along on observation that myself and other officers are seeing in the field. Specifically, we have noted that with the increase in icy conditions and increased vehicle collisions, that many of the smaller vehicles such as Subaru's and Toyota Prius are not having their airbags activated. We have seen about a half dozen wrecks where the collision has caused the car to slam into a vehicle in front of it at a stop light or similar and the bumper doesn't touch the rear of the standing vehicle causing the airbag to deploy, however, the hood/engine compartment is crumpled. Additionally, side curtain airbags are also not deploying on angled impacts. I do not know if you have had other observations of this but wanted awareness in case there is a trend in design or sensors.

- Juneau, AK, USA

problem #2

Sep 172010

Prius

  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the vehicle was at a complete stop when it suddenly accelerated. The vehicle crashed into the brick wall although the driver was attempting to apply the brakes. The driver experienced severe whiplash, swelling in her chest, bruising on her ribs and shoulder. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. There was no mention of the vehicle being destroyed. A few months prior to the failure the dealer performed an complete vehicle inspection and dealer stated that there was nothing wrong it. The manufacturer was not notified. The current and failure mileages were approximately 8,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 232009

Prius

  • 2,500 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota pruis. While driving between 30-40 mph on normal road conditons, the contact rear-ended the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy and there were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. There were no injuries, but the vehicle sustained severe damage. The police department was called to the scene and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle is currently under investigation and the cause of the failure has not yet been determined. The insurance company was notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 2,500.

- Severna Park, MD, USA

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