10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
57,397 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.

2013 Toyota Prius engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Toyota Prius Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Sep 262018

Prius

  • 118,000 miles

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

While driving on a side road on 9/26/2018 I received an alert message that said "check hybrid system. Stop the vehicle in a safe place." I pulled the vehicle over and shut it down. The vehicle would not start for a minute but then started again. I called the Toyota dealership where I get my car serviced and I asked them if it is okay for me to drive it home since I was 110 miles away. They told me it was okay to drive and I took the car to them to get it checked out upon getting back in town. They confirmed that the warning had come on, however could not find anything to fix it. So they reset the error message and returned the car to me. I am afraid to drive the car on the road without a fix since it could stop at a high speed and cause me to be in a crash. I am surprised how does Toyota have a protocol to let users drive a faulty car on the road?

- Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

problem #12

Sep 062018

Prius

  • 118,000 miles
Car was being driven about 15-20 mph when it just stopped with a jolt as if it had been hit from behind. Car would not move. Towed to shop where it was diagnosed as bad inverter.

- Belvedere, CA, USA

problem #11

Jun 212017

Prius

  • 80,000 miles
Currently using approximately 1 quart of oil per 2,000 miles. That comes out to 5 quarts per 10,000 mile oil change--which is more than the 4.4 quarts that the car holds. No drips under the car. No clouds of smoke out of the exhaust. The oil usage slowed down, when I tried using castril full synthetic oil--at the suggestion of a neighbor of mine, instead of the Toyota dealer oil and mobil 1. it is a concern, that the exhaust system might be plugging up--due to this oil use issue. I have an extended warranty to 200,000. The warranty company told me today, that, they will only cover internal engine part breakage, or whatever my factory warranty was. They will not cover the cause of the oil use, and they will not cover damage caused by lack of oil. So, I was told, to make sure I keep it full of oil. Toyota should consider how this will affect their future business. A big sales point to the Prius is, that, it should last a really long time. It may last a long time, yet. I'll keep adding oil and we shall see. In the mean time, I plan to get a road side assistance package that includes towing....

- Hudson, FL, USA

problem #10

Apr 142018

Prius

  • miles

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

Excessive motor oil burning at a rate of 2 quarts every 5000 miles. Dealer claims is normal wear and tear. Dealer confirms that there is no leakage.

- Fort Washinton, PA, USA

problem #9

Apr 042017

Prius

  • 74,000 miles
My daughter was driving the car this morning and the engine cutoff and lost all power along with a maintenance required light came on. She tried to accelerate but it would not. She pulled off the road. My wife was in another vehicle in front of her.my wife turned off the car and turned it back on it drive fine for 25 miles. This is a big safety issue and sounds like another recall like this. kfor.com/2014/02/12/drive-A-Toyota-recalled-for-power-loss-issue-could-bring-car-to-sudden-stop-on-road/

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #8

Sep 192016

Prius

  • 46,000 miles
Drove over object. Pulled over right away. Object dislodged. Didnt see any fluid kept on driving. After 15 miles engine overheating light came on and pulled over immeditiately and turned off engine. Had car towed to nearest Toyota dealer.now I M told that object tore a hole in radiator which caused all the fluid to leak out and caused engine to overheat. To the point of no longer working. What is the point of having a warning light that comes on when its too late to remedy the situation?

- Lenox, MA, USA

problem #7

Apr 022016

Prius

  • 42,000 miles

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

Car stalled on freeway 163 bound North (no warning lights were seen) at 10 pm passengers (3) were exposed to sever danger. Toyota dealer could not find a problem. Police assisted and car was towed away (road assistance) to owner resident. Dealer claimed that recall was serviced. Symptoms appear to be exact to what it was reported for Prius 2010 to 2013. Dealer is in denial

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #6

Nov 042014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 36,866 miles
2013 Toyota Prius. Consumer would like reimbursement for repairs and parts for the defected oil filter housing part. The consumer stated the vehicle was equipped with a cheap, plastic oil filter housing. Over time, the heat generated by the engine caused the oil filter housing to fail to maintain its required shape. Consequently, when she took the vehicle for a routing oil change, it was impossible for the mechanic to separate the oil from the oil filter housing.

- Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA

problem #5

Jul 272014

Prius 4-cyl

  • 588 miles
The rented 2013 Toyota Prius with one passenger and the driver, pulled into a diagonal parking space in front of a strip mall store. Traveling at maybe 5 mph to park, the car's brake pedal gave way and hit the floor flat, providing no braking at all. The car kept rolling toward the corner of the brick building. The car then suddenly surged ahead, smashing into the corner of the entry to the brick building at such a sudden force that the doors to the building were wedged shut. After emergency vehicle took the driver and passenger to the hospital, the policeman on the job, as well as the wrecker service that came to extract the vehicle, could not move the car because there were no brakes, as stated in the police report. The wrecker driver could not load the vehicle to tow using the car's power because there were no brakes. No airbags deployed, but the condition of the corner shows damage that a vehicle moving faster than 5 mph would incur. The policeman came to the hospital to inform the driver that there indeed were no brakes on the car and the driver was not at fault - the vehicle's braking and acceleration systems had failed.

- Edgewater, FL, USA

problem #4

Apr 072012

Prius 4-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
The dates I am not sure of it wouldn't let me continue with out putting in a date and the same for mileage and speed, I had my car updated by Toyota they said it was a voluntary recall, exactly after the update I now get10-15 miles less a gallon and my vehicle hesitates on acceleration 1-3 seconds, I have brought the car back 2 times and was told that they haven't heard of any complaints about problems after the update I left my car with them both times on a Friday and picked up on a Monday they said they recalibrated the computer the first time and it had better mileage until I filled up and reset the odometer and back to the less mileage again, 2nd time they said I needed a fuel system clean and another thing, I did them both and nothing again no change (they said it might improve my miles some ). I have been on social network site Prius chat etc. And others are experiencing the same thing and more I feel like im gettinga run around with them (Toyota) it has cost me almost $500 to get no where, and the loss of miles is costly also I own a hybrid and feels like in driving a standard 4 cylinder, the acceleration delay started about a month ago im gonna bring it back for both problems and I expect to be told I need something else (tune up etc)that wont resolve my issue thank you

- Tamarac, FL, USA

problem #3

Jul 162013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 2,350 miles

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

While driving on the freeway the car's dash lit up and the car's engine died and then restarted. The fuel quantity displayed, decreased by three bars before returning to it's normal--accurate--level. The car then drove normally and allowed me to get it into the driveway.

- Shalimar, FL, USA

problem #2

Jul 122013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 2,300 miles
While slowing down for a red light the car's electronics made a beeping noise, all the dash lights came on, the gas gauge displayed a rapidly dropping quantity, then went back up to half full. A red triangle was displayed on the dash during this time. During this time, the car was completely disabled and unable to move and was sitting in the intersection. I tried multiple times to restart the car, the dash lights would come on, but the car wasn't actually running or responding to pedal inputs. After 7 minutes the car finally started back up and I was able to drive to the dealership. I left the car's engine running (ev mode while parked) and they hooked it up to the computer. They said everything was fine and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. This has happened before, and it happened again, two days after the dealership gave me my car back (they kept it that weekend).

- Shalimar, FL, USA

problem #1

Jun 192013

Prius 4-cyl

  • 2,000 miles
While driving the car--on numerous occasions--the dash lights all illuminate at once, followed by unresponsive controls for a few seconds. Then the dash lights go out (return to normal) and normal controls and acceleration return.

- Shalimar, FL, USA

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