10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,426 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.

2011 Toyota Prius engine problems

engine problem

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2011 Toyota Prius Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #23

Apr 042021

Prius

  • 217,000 miles

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

Break actuator is failing in my 2011 Toyota Prius. The car now has a unpredictable ABS breaking system. Sometimes the breaks work and sometimes they quickly fail and a error light comes on. The light than goes out as if nothing happened and all is fine. This is a very dangerous problem that will lead to many accidents because the vehicle tells you its good to go, mean while the ABS system is failing to stop the vehicle intermittently. I am scared because I dont know if the car will do this on a turn then lose control injuring myself and others.

- Newtown, PA, USA

problem #22

Mar 112021

Prius

  • 3 miles
A check hybrid system alert came on and included lit break, check engine, steering, ABS, skid and yellow triangle with an ! mark inside. The car stopped and I could not move it. Good thing I was on a side street with light traffic. This happened again after the inverter was replace; and it happened again after the 12 V battery was replaced.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #21

Nov 212020

Prius

  • 90,500 miles
Brake light, ABS, slip indicator, brake system warnig light system all came on while driving at high velocity [75M/H] in the rain and lost 75% of the braking power plus the car started to slide. Needless to say this was a catastrophic failure of the entire brake system on a car that has a customer support program notification from Toyota[zjb] that was sent to me with a warning of such occurrence. This is down right irresponsible to a major car manufacturer to allow these vehicles on the road without testing the entire system on each of these affected vehicles and with for a catastrophic failure to occur and cause public harm or even death. I had just taken the vehicle for service a few weeks prior where I explained the service advisor of an issue with brake pulsation. However, the entire brake system was not throughly checked and was just told that its the front rotors that are uneven, thank god I did not fully loose control of the vehicle and cause a catastrophic accident as it would have resulted in bodily harm to my family. I expect this federal government Agency to use it's authority to prevent such occurrence to the tax paying citizens of this nation.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #20

Mar 052019

Prius

  • miles

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

When breaking and still moving, the car will accelerate momentarily resulting in going faster for a second or two. This happened randomly over the years and may in some instances be related to hitting an irregularity in the road, but I cannot be sure. It has not caused an accident, but is strong enough that it could. I'm a pretty safe driver so tend not to ride on the tail of the car in front of me. I have not kept track of when it happens.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

problem #19

Oct 182018

Prius

  • 113,000 miles
In motion while accelerating past a slower car. Heard and felt a pronounced thump and lost engine power on busy local thoroughfare. Moved to a turn lane and stopped. Multiple dashboard lights and "check hybrid system" on led display. Power off car, and back on twice and got the same error on display. Found that car could move on ev power and I got it into a safer location at an adjacent parking lot. Had vehicle towed to repair facility. As a driver this was disconcerting as I could not clearly determine if the car was at all driveable. If a driver were to stop immediately in the same situation they would be on the roadway. If I had not pressed on the accelerator pedal after powering on the car again I would not have known I could move the car to a safer location. Display should read "hybrid system failure" then "limited ev power available" then "move to safe area if necessary" cause: Hybrid inverter failure. Repaired by Toyota under 2014 eoe and new 10/2018 recall J0A

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #18

Aug 172017

Prius

  • 154,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle accelerated even when the accelerator pedal was not depressed. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle still accelerated and sounded as if it were in neutral. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred approximately twenty times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #17

Apr 062017

Prius

  • 89,000 miles

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

This is the second complaint for the same vehicle and the same complaint. The first occurred 11/11/2016. I was making a right hand turn into a parking spot in the same parking lot. As I turned into the spot and released my foot from the accelerator my car accelerated. This time I was able to stop the vehicle before striking another car or the handicapped ramp.

- Bowie, MD, USA

problem #16

Nov 112016

Prius

  • 87,000 miles
Making right turn into a parking spot and the car accelerated striking a parked car to my right and my car was stopped by a cement handicap ramp. There was extensive front end damage to my car, as well as the front passenger door. The car on my had the right front bumper removed and the wrought iron railing on the ramp severely dented.

- Bowie, MD, USA

problem #15

Apr 292016

Prius

  • 75,000 miles
Every once in a while - it can be months between events - our Prius momentarily slams on the brakes when driving at highway speeds while nothing else is going on. We know it's not operator error. It's happened to my wife several times and me once. When it happened to me I was driving straight ahead on a dry, lightly traveled divided highway during the day. Everything on the dashboard lights up, alarms go off, the car decelerates like I suddenly stomped on the brake pedal though my foot never moved off of the gas, it lasts for maybe a second and then the car is back to normal. It's the same each time it's happened. Luckily each time this has happened we haven't had anyone tailgating us. We've taken it to the dealer multiple times. The first couple of times they looked at us like we were loony. They checked it out and we got it back with a message that said the technician checked the computer and test drove it for 20 miles and the car was operating as designed. Except it happened again. We finally convinced them that this was maybe a legitimate issue and they said they brought in a Toyota field specialist who checked the car out and they said that the issue was the pcs wave radar sensor that was slightly out of alignment due to body damage (my wife had hit a small deer about a year prior to that - damage was minor and repaired at a local body shop). After they realigned the sensor, the car behaved itself for about five months. Until yesterday when it happened again.

- Woodstock, MD, USA

problem #14

Sep 142015

Prius

  • 21,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. While attempting to park, the driver depressed the brake pedal and suddenly the vehicle accelerated forward and crashed into a pole. During the crash, the front end sustained significant damage. The air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported and a police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 21,000.

- Walnut Creek, CA, USA

problem #13

Apr 182015

Prius

  • 19,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. While attempting to park the vehicle into a space at approximately 3 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. The vehicle traveled into a semi circle and struck a parked vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was driven to the dealer, but no diagnostic was performed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 19,000.

- Kerrville, TX, USA

problem #12

Oct 012014

Prius

  • 93,081 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. While driving at 5 mph, a 90 degree left turn was made and the vehicle accelerated at high speed and jumped the curb. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,081.

- Clintonville, WI, USA

problem #11

Aug 082014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 34,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while attempting to park at 3 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into a parking bumper. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 34,000. Updated 11/17/2014 updated 4/29/2015

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #10

Jan 042012

Prius 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph approaching a stop sign, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 5 and the current mileage was 15,000. Updated 8/11/14

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #9

Apr 222011

Prius 4-cyl

  • 2,156 miles
First incident: Was traveling approx. 68 mph on 405 freeway in los angeles (downhill into the san fernando valley). Dry conditions. Attempted to stop as cars ahead of me began to slow/halt and car lurched forward, carrying me to almost hit the car ahead of me, stopping only inches behind. Dealership could not replicate and dismissed my concerns. Multiple similar incidents all in good weather have occurred. Most recently on surface road with uneven pavement, traveling at less than 15 mph. Braking for stopped vehicles ahead, resulted in car lurching ahead.

- Diamond Bar, CA, USA

problem #8

Jan 142012

Prius 4-cyl

  • 100 miles
Periodically, after going over a bump at fairly low speeds, the car will accelerate. In light of the other unintended acceleration issue reported under ODI 10499911, I wonder if these two events are related -- possibly something to do with going from the motor to the battery?

- Falls Church, VA, USA

problem #7

Jan 242013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 8,200 miles
First incident: Was traveling approx. 15 mph on side street. Icy conditions. Attempted to stop at stop sign and car lurched forward, carrying me through intersection. Dealership could not replicate and thought mat might not have been fully seated. Toyota case # [xxx] 2nd and third incidences one month later (both on 2/23/2013) in fine weather conditions. 25 mph. Attempted to stop at stop sign and car lurched forward. Toyota case # [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)..... updated 03/08/13

- Falls Church, VA, USA

problem #6

Jan 062013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
2011 Prius, usa equipment package five. 20000 miles driven -- recommended service done every 5000, including the 20000 service done less than 1000 miles ago. Eastbound on I-78, a few exits West of allentown pa. Speed limit 65, radar cruise set to 68 and default three-bars [max distance]. all was good for 30 or so miles of rolling hills and light traffic. Then, with no change in traffic density or average traffic speed, the Prius started slowing down -- as would be quite appropriate if the driver ahead of me had eased up on the gas. 60, 55, 50, 45. Not quickly -- no where near as quickly as if I were to turn off the cruise. It was as though there was traffic slowing down ahead and the radar was just responding to it. But the traffic ahead was not slowing down. No beeps, no brake assist -- the Prius just gently slowed down -- in fact, the 'car ahead' icon was still displayed on the cruise indicator -- but in reality, the car ahead was far beyond where 'car ahead' should have been displayed. He was still doing 65 while I was down to 45. I was watching ahead and behind me -- still wondering if the radar had seen something I was missing -- and didn't really resume active control till cars behind started to get close [I really was concerned the Prius saw something I didn't!]. as the cars behind got closer, I just pushed down on the gas -- never de-activated the cruise -- and when back at 60 or so, the cruise again started to act 'normally'. there were no codes recorded, so I don't expect the dealer to even want to look at it. Toyota has not responded on this issue so far [other than to send spam advertising email].

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

problem #5

Jun 102012

Prius 4-cyl

  • 15,100 miles
We've been having a problem with the drcc (dynamic radar cruse control) on our 2011 Prius. The drcc locks up (freezes) -locking onto a phantom vehicle ahead and activating the beeper/applying the brakes -' even when there is no vehicle is ahead! this creates a safety hazard as the car suddenly decelerates at interstate speeds with no warning to vehicles behind. We have had 7 occurrences of this problem. A search of the htsa database yields two similar reports (10448415 & 10421208). In all cases this has occurred on clear sunny days as the car was passing a semi tractor-trailer on an interstate highway when our car was passing the semi's cab. In most cases, there was no vehicle in front (car in constant speed mode) - it just suddenly acted like there was one! whenever this occurs, the car keeps braking and the only immediate solution is to turn disengage the cruse control. When the temperature is high (above 90 degrees) when we re-engage the drcc, the unit is still locked up! what cleared the locked up condition was turning off the car. On one occasion, when the ambient temperature had dropped below 90 degrees the drcc cleared itself. I have a log of all 7 occurrences of this problem. I have contacted Toyota about this problem (case #S [xxx] & [xxx]) and they had me take the car to my local Toyota dealer who used their techscan tool to download any system generated error codes - they found none. (of course, if the software design of the system does not recognize that malfunction has occurred, no error code will be generated.) the dealer also took the car out on a couple of (short) test drives, but the system performed normally. *note: A possible problem here is that, when hot, the radar unit is picking up signals from the truck's satellite position reporting system. There are several electronic manufacturing faults that could lead to this. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fairport, NY, USA

problem #4

Mar 082011

Prius

  • 28,600 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly after the brakes and start button were depressed intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 28,600.

- Palm Dale, CA, USA

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