10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
57,615 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.

2010 Toyota Prius miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2010 Toyota Prius Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #56

Feb 152015

Prius

  • 100,000 miles

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

Car is using over a quart of oil every 1000 miles and I am being told by dealership that this is normal for these cars

- Baneberry, TN, USA

problem #55

May 252016

Prius

  • 148,000 miles
This car fire burned

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #54

Feb 012016

Prius

  • miles
Excessive oil consumption starting at 100,000 which worsened. I now have to put a quart of oil every 750-1000 miles in my 2010 Prius. No one at Toyota will admit this is a problem, albeit there are an extreme amount of these complaints online through different blogs and web sites. Really, we Toyota owners bought this car to decrease our carbon footprint...ironic, right?

- Chester Springs, PA, USA

problem #53

Nov 262016

Prius 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles

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

In the past year I have had 2 occurrences of unintended acceleration. The first in February of 2016. I was exiting a parking ramp up hill and stepping on the accelerator. I was driving straight then turning to the left (90 degree turn). When I took my foot off the accelerator, the car continued to accelerate and I was unable to get it slowed/stopped for about a block even though I was applying heavy brake pressure. The car was revving against the brake pressure. No damage or injuries occurred. I took the car to the dealership where I purchased it (purchase date 8/3/13). They checked the car over and found no apparent cause for the acceleration. I took the car home, and it drove normally until 11/26/16. On that date I was driving very slowly in a flat parking lot, and the car began accelerating without my pushing the gas pedal. I was driving straight and then turning to the right (90 degree. I got the car stopped in a few feet by pressing extremely hard on the brake. My car did not hit anything. Technicians from the dealership have not been able to find a cause and I have not been able to get past Toyota's customer service department to escalate the issue for more detailed diagnostics. I have attached the timeline of trying to get the car diagnosed and the issue escalated as well as why I don't think user error is a factor.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #52

Mar 012012

Prius

  • miles
2010 Prius excessive oil consumption. Using 5 quarts between oil changes is not normal!

- Jefferson City, MO, USA

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problem #51

Oct 032016

Prius

  • miles
Tire light keeps coming on. Third time. There is no problem with my tires. Started this summer and continues today. I am taking my vehicle into a Toyota dealer for the second time for this problem.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

problem #50

Feb 192016

Prius

  • 99,700 miles

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

On Feb 19, 2016 I was driving my 2010 Prius. The sunroof exploded, without being hit by anything. It exploded upward. I called Toyota, but they said it was not their fault. I had to replace the glass. I have photographs.

- Calverton, NY, USA

problem #49

Oct 032016

Prius

  • 99,500 miles
While driving in boston, I attempted to beep the horn to warn a car that was cutting in front of me, but the horn did not work. Toyota diagnosed this as a bad clock spring in the steering wheel. The inability to use the horn is a safety issue. An online search seems to reveal that this is a common problem with multiple Toyota models.

- Harrisville, NH, USA

problem #48

Jul 292016

Prius

  • 83,000 miles
In July, I was braking to a stop on a Suburban street but my brakes wouldn't allow me to come to a complete stop in time. It was raining. I finally came to a stop in the middle of the intersection, where I was hit on the drivers side by an oncoming car. Additionally, my side airbag (curtain) didn't deploy. I was traveling less than 15 mph at the time.

- South Orange, NJ, USA

problem #47

Jul 312016

Prius

  • 80,000 miles
Intermittent failure of for door locking/unlocking mechanism. Apparently a fairly common occurrence in this make and model. Safety risk : inability to exit the vehicle in an emergency e.g. accident, fire, if the locks fail unexpectedly.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #46

Sep 152016

Prius

  • miles

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

Driver's side window shattered without being hit by anything. The shock of this happening, almost caused an accident while driving.

- Paradise, CA, USA

problem #45

Aug 162016

Prius

  • 150,000 miles
In Feb 2015 after owning the car for a few months, the sunroof exploded on the freeway at a speed of 60 mph. The break was directed up to the outside (not down as if something struck the window). The side windows were cracked so it was not an issue of the heat/cold change or too much cabin pressure. Now Aug 2016, the exact same thing happened again. This time Toyota is refusing to acknowledge there is an issue with the sunroof. In both instances, the sound was loud like a shotgun and extremely startling. Glass could have rained down on me or I could have been startled causing an accident. I do not understand how the sunroof can break twice in the same manner within 1 1/2 yrs owning the car. This seems like a dangerous issue and am concerned that it will happen again. I have pictures but am unable to load them. I also have a video camera in my car to show that there were no other cars near me at the time this happened.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #44

Mar 082014

Prius

  • 30,000 miles
A recall issued for an electronic component of my vehicle in February 2014. After searching the recall database by my VIN, I learned of the recall and made an appointment (March 8, 2014) to have my car serviced by the same dealership where I purchased it (North hollywood Toyota, 4606 lankershim blvd, North hollywood, ca 91602). When I went to pick up the vehicle, I was told by dealership employees that the recall did not apply to my car, and therefore no fix was made. The recall website shows that the recall remains to this day, and is marked incomplete. It is unacceptable (and dangerous) that I brought my car, with a known recall, to a Toyota dealership, and when I inquired about the recall, I was apparently lied to.

- Venice, CA, USA

problem #43

Jan 142016

Prius

  • 60,000 miles
I along with an alarming amount of others have experienced the 2010 Prius begin to burn oil at an alarmingly high rate around 60-80K miles. This is accompanied with an emission into the cabin of noxious fumes during high oil burn rate (heavier acceleration) moments. We have all been told by the dealerships that this is "normal". this has led to burning over a quart of oil every 1000 miles, headaches from the fumes, and now I have found out there is substantial soot buildup in the engine resulting from the oil burning requiring very costly repairs. Toyota refuses to do anything to help or even acknowledge the costly issue.

- Latexo, TX, USA

problem #42

Dec 212015

Prius

  • 10 miles
Car would not drive, or reverse it shifts to neutral since first week I bought the car in Aug 2010. I bought a Toyota Prius III 2010 (from the dealership Toyota of kearney mesa in san diego) in 2010. The car from the beginning would shift back to neutral when I set it to drive or reverse. I bought the car and am the only owner). After I encounter this, within the week I took it to the dealership where I bought it (san diego kearny mesa) and they told me that it was not a problem. Yes, it was a problem and they refused to fix it. This has happen to my car from week 1. now 5 years later, today, the car would not engage in "D" or reverse. I tried at least for 10 minutes. I called a dealership now in seattle (since I take my car here for service) and I was told that they never heard about it. I searched online and I found that this problem/bug does happen. Today I could not set my car to drive or reverse for about 10-15 minutes. It's a safety issue. My steps: 1. depress power button (to turn on) 1.1. wait about 5-10 seconds 2. depress the break + engage in D (drive) or (R) reverse. 3. the car goes to "N" neutral and cannot be put in gear drive or reverse. 4. turn car off. Go back to step 1 until your car engages.

- Issaquah, WA, USA

problem #41

May 302015

Prius

  • 113,250 miles
On May 30, 2015, our home burned to the ground. The firefighters are certain the cause of the fire was my 2010 Prius - they know the fire started in the rear of the garage, the only other item in that area was a bicycle. Arson, faulty wiring and accidents were ruled out. Investigations continue, but they have identified an arc between the battery and the relay switch. My homeowners insurance carrier (erie) is trying to decide whether they should expend the additional $1,500 to open the relay switch box to see if they can determine if the arc was the cause of the fire, or a result. From the video footage, it is obvious that the water being poured onto the garage increased the intensity of the fire, which was due to the magnesium battery. Thestarpress.com has all the video: www.thestarpress.com/videos/news/2015/06/03/28436619/ we were trapped in an upstairs bedroom for 40 minutes - and given up for dead before the 911 operators heard my labored breathing over the still-open phone line. A heroic firefighter threw himself through the wall of our second-story bedroom to rescue us. My husband was not breathing when he was removed from home, but we have both recovered. We had been out to dinner earlier in the evening, but the car had been parked in our garage for several hours. I have heard of many other Prius fires, and wanted to alert you to our experience.

- Muncie, IN, USA

problem #40

Jul 042015

Prius

  • 88,000 miles
I live in williamsburg, va. It was very humid in williamsburg this summer. The inside of the dashboard has fungus and mold growing in it. I understand that this is a problem with many 2010 priuses. Fungus and mold growing in the dashboard of the car is a major health hazard. I have contacted Toyota about this issue and they are not willing to fix it. The fungus and mold are present at all times. The dealer is quoting $2,000 as the cost to fix this defect in the 2010 Prius.

- Williamsburg, VA, USA

problem #39

Feb 272015

Prius

  • 81,654 miles
On February 27, 2015, our house burned in the middle of the night while we were asleep. The fire started in the near vicinity of the right front headlight of the 2010 Toyota Prius. The car had been serviced just before the fire on February 25, 2015 at the local Toyota dealership. The car was off at the time and the key was not in the car at the time of the fire. While we were sleeping, the car evidently caught fire spontaneously at approximately 2 a.M. while it was parked in the garage. The garage door was closed. By the time we woke up, the garage was fully engulfed in flames. We were able to escape the fire. However, our house was too severely damaged (fire, smoke and water) after the fire to be livable, and it is currently being rebuilt. Our family of four (husband, wife and two children, 15 and almost 11 years old) is currently living in a rental house. We lost all three of our cars (the other cars were a Dodge durango and a Honda Accord) and a majority of our possessions. Damages are estimated to be likely in excess of $500,000 including house, cars, damage to landscaping, personal property, furniture, clothing, etc. Our homeowner's insurance is seeking a subrogation claim against Toyota for the expenses incurred regarding our claim. The Prius is scheduled to have a deconstructive exam soon with multiple parties present and is currently being held as evidence.

- Davis, CA, USA

problem #38

Aug 192015

Prius

  • 262,000 miles
The vehicle runs ok and a few minutes later the yellow triangle turns on, as well as the check engine light and the vehicle starts to lose power. After a few more minutes the red steering wheel light comes on along with the "check hybrid system" message and the rest of the lights and the vehicles loses all power and stops. It will normally turn back on but there was one occasion where it didn't and my husband had to push the car to a parking lot. I took the car in on the recall which should cover this but all they did was update the software and blame the issue on a car accident. I don't know if this is true as just purchased the vehicle but it sounds to me that they could have fixed the issue under the recall.

- Hightstown, NJ, USA

problem #37

Aug 132015

Prius

  • 92,000 miles
This happened twice. The first time I was driving 40mph, the check engine light came on and then the accelerator stopped working. Then the check hybrid system light came on and I guided the car over to the side of the road. The car would start but the accelerator would not function and the (digital) speedometer numbers disappeared. I brought the car to the dealership where they replaced a valve and told me it was fixed. Two days later (after driving the car without incident on several trips for at least 40 miles) the same exact thing happened, however this time I was travelling 50 mph while entering a very busy highway during rush hour.

- Brookline, MA, USA

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