2026 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid

Defect. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Prius Prime, 2023-2026 Prius, and 2025-2026 Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. Water may enter the rear door switch and cause a short circuit, allowing an unlocked rear door to open unexpectedly.

Risk. A door that unexpectedly opens while the vehicle is moving increases the risk of injury.

Remedy. Dealers will modify the rear door switch circuits, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed July 13, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 26TB03 and 26TA03. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall number 24V274. Vehicles repaired under the previous recall will need to have the new remedy performed.

A vehicle was sold and delivered while under an active stop‑sale safety recall (manufacturer recall 26TB03). The recall was not disclosed at the time of purchase. When questions were raised about whether any recalls were present, the issue was dismissed and no recall information was provided. According to the recall documentation, the potential defect involves the rear door system possibly opening while the vehicle is in motion. Because the stop‑sale indicates the vehicle should not have been sold, the safety risk is that the vehicle was driven with occupants in the rear seats without anyone being informed of the potential hazard. This created a risk to the people inside the vehicle and to others on the road. The problem was later confirmed through the manufacturer’s official recall database and the published recall information. The issue has not been inspected or repaired by the manufacturer or dealer because the remedy is not yet available. The defect is not something the owner can see or detect on their own.

Infotainment screen failed to boot when the vehicle was turned on. Due to this failure, the rear view camera was not available when the vehicle was shifted to reverse. After backing out of the parking spot, I chose to park and restart the vehicle. The infotainment screen then proceeded to boot up and behave normally. There were no warnings or any other alerts or messages. A disabled rear view camera can impact pedestrian and vehicle safety by limiting rear vision while operating the vehicle in reverse. During the drive home, approximately 15 minutes later, the infotainment system went to a black screen and rebooted. After 10-15 seconds, the system had restarted and was available again. This did not appear to impact vehicle control or associated safety systems. It was a mild distraction while driving. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer, this is scheduled a few days from now at their earliest availability.

The recall (Number 26V049) is a serious safety concern, however the dealer states there is no remedy available despite a clearly described available remedy ("Toyota dealers will modify the left and right rear door switch circuits FREE OF CHARGE, to prevent the switch from activating even if it is shorted.")

I was driving at a slow speed in a parking lot on October 10, 2025 at 4:20 p.m. when the car suddenly stopped. When I looked down I saw that it was in neutral. I had not done anything to the gear shift and there was nothing in the area that could have shifted the car from drive to neutral. The car is brand new - this happened at approximately 400 miles odometer.