2020 Toyota Prius

Routine

Owners filed 14 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the unknown or other. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Service Brakes3
303
Unknown or Other2
000
Tires › Sidewall2
000
Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal1
100
Power Train1
000
Fuel/Propulsion System1
101
Electronic Stability Control (esc)1
000
Electrical System1
000
Back Over Prevention › Warnings1
000
Air Bags1
102

What owners reported

Newest filings
Service BrakesCrash1 injured
Filed Sep 13, 2025FL

I TURNED LEFT INTO A PARKING SPACE IN MY 2020 PRIUS. I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE, AND MY CAR SHOT FORWARD. I COULDN'T STOP IT, AND IT HIT A CONCRETE POLE. IT ONLY TOOK 1 SECOND. IT SEEMS TOYOTA HYBRIDS ARE STILL HAVING THIS UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION DESPITE A MULTI BILLION DOLLAR LAW SUIT IN THE EARLY 2010'S. MY CAR WAS TOWED AND IS AWAITING INSPECTION BY MY INSURANCE COMPANY. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Air BagsCrash2 injured
Filed Aug 18, 2025CA

I was the victim of an accident on [XXX]. The person of the other vehicle that collided with my vehicle after crossing at high speed and without stopping in the red light. The sensors of the anti-collision vehicle of my vehicle did not work and the air bag also did not work. Due to speed the airbag of the other vehicle triggered. I have shoulder pain due to impact. At the moment the insurer of the party involved is making it difficult to pay the compensation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Unknown or Other
Filed Jul 19, 2024MA

About a year ago and again a few days ago, I was slowly moving my Prius forward when suddenly it accelerated at full speed. The first time I was pulling into a parking spot beyond which was a grassy area and then a stockade fence. When I felt the car lurch forward, I slammed on the brakes, but was still going quite fast. Fortunately, the collision avoidance brakes kicked in and stopped the car just before I hit the fence. In the second case, I was slowly pulling into a parking lot when again the car surged forward. This time I was able to stop the motion with the brakes myself . In both cases I was conscious of moving my foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal. In both cases it was a hot summer day, near 90.

Back Over Prevention › Warnings
Filed Feb 8, 2024CA

After heavy rains, the car says the park assist doesn't work, as well as the parking sensor system. There is a warning sign that says it doesn't work.

Fuel/Propulsion SystemCrash1 injured
Filed May 31, 2023CA

On May 16, 2023 I was slowly driving out of a market parking lot when the car suddenly accelerated, full throttle, and speeded across the street (Colusa Avenue, Berkeley, CA), crashing head on into a fence. Immediately after the crash, the dashboard displayed the following: "Check Engine (!) A malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission has been detected. Contact your Toyota dealer to have your vehicle inspected." The car was towed and is now at a body shop selected by my insurance company, AAA. I received whiplash, small bruises on my chest and left hand, and a scraped shin. I was taken to Alta Bates Emergency by ambulance.

Service BrakesCrash
Filed Nov 4, 2022NM

Attempted to park in my garage and overshot the turn. The brake then failed to stop and I dented my garage outer wall. I reversed my car and tried to reposition it to go inside the garage, putting it on drive. However, the brake pedal made the car accelerate and the car went on reverse. It then crashed into the neighbor's garage and crashed the door and car inside. Both the car inside the garage and the garage itself (along with the inside of the house) have been damaged.

Tires › Sidewall
Filed Jun 15, 2022VT

Ballooning on side wall of tire. When brought to dealer, they indicated that three other tires had same problem but not as obvious. Car had only 24k miles, with half these on these tires (rest on snow tires). Dealer reported that this was a serious danger.

Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator PedalCrash
Filed Sep 24, 202115,670 milesCA

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while, driving approximately 5 mph, making a right turn, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, and crashed into the bushes. The brake pedal was applied however, failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, police report or air bag deployment. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified however no further assistance was provided. The contact was concerned about driving the vehicle. The failure mileage was 15,670.

Tires › Sidewall
Filed Aug 6, 2021IL

I was making a left turn into my subdivision after a full stop. My speed was no more than 5 MPH. The Toyota dealer informed me that the sidewall had blown and was not repairable. They had no definitive cause as to why the tire blew. The tire was retained by the dealer. The tire size is P 195/65R15 and is a Toyo NanoEnergy A41 Tire. It was original equipment on the Toyota Prius as built in Japan. I have found that the tire has no manufacturer's warranty. I just returned from a vacation three days ago driving from Hilton Head Island, SC. Had this happened on the interstate system, the results to me, my wife, or other drivers could have been very different. To the best of my knowledge, the tire has not been inspected by any party. I was not given any tire DOT information on the new tire.

Unknown or Other
Filed Dec 26, 202029,084 milesCA

ORIGINAL TIRES FROM DEALERSHIP

Power Train
Filed Oct 2, 2020NY

2020 TOYOTA PRIUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO NEEDING TRANSMISSION REPAIR AFTER VEHICLE WAS TOWED. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE AXEL RODS, RIMS NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED/REPLACED, STEERING ISSUES,. REAR WHEEL ISSUES, AND BUMPER REPLACEMENT. *JS

Service BrakesCrash2 injured
Filed Aug 12, 2020700 milesMA

MY DAD WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. HE SAID THAT HE STEPPED ON THE BRAKES AND THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK. HE GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH THE ALL AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED AND THE CAR WAS TOTALED. THE CAR ONLY HAD 700 MILES. I BELIEVE THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THAT MY DAD DROVE THIS CAR ON THE HIGHWAY. MY MOM, WHO WAS A PASSENGER, SAID THAT THE CAR ACCELERATED VERY QUICKLY. PRIOR TO PURCHASING THIS CAR, MY DAD HAD DRIVEN A PRIUS (2010 - 2012?), SO HE WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE FEEL OF THE PRIUS. THE CLAIM # IS [XXX]. ATTACHED PLEASE FIND THE POLICE REPORT AS WELL AS A PICTURE OF THE TOTALED CAR. PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT ON BEHALF OF MY PARENTS.*DT CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED MANUFACTURE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'*JB

Electronic Stability Control (esc)
Filed May 29, 202012,850 milesVA

PROXIMITY SENSORS GENERATED AN ALERT THAT PARKING ASSISTANCE SENSORS NEEDED CLEANING DURING MODERATE RAIN CLEANING THE SENSORS DID NOT RESOLVE THE ISSUE. STOPPED AT DEALER TO HAVE IT CHECKED AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE SENSOR DO THAT IN INCLEMENT WEATHER AND I WOULD NEED TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT. IF IT WAS JUST THE PARKING SENSORS IT WOULD NOT BE AS SIGNIFICANT BUT I DID DETERMINE THE FRONT ACCIDENT ASSISTANCE DID NOT FUNCTION AS IT SHOULD HAVE - AS I APPROACHED A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WITH CRUISE CONTROL THE SPEED REDUCTION THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO OCCUR DID NOT HAPPEN. HAD I NOT BEEN CHECKING TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE PROXIMITY SENSORS WERE MALFUNCTIONING IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. I DID NOT ATTEMPT ANY OTHER ACTIONS WHICH RELY ON PROXIMITY SENSORS TO FUNCTION AS I DID NOT WANT TO CAUSE OR BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. I WAS DRIVING AT THE TIME AND I EXPECT THAT ALTHOUGH THE ALERT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED PARKING SENSORS, THE FACT THAT THE CAR DID NOT SLOW AS TOYOTA HAS INDICATED IT SHOULD LEADS BE TO BELIEVE THAT ANY AND ALL "DRIVER ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGIES" MAY FAIL WHEN THAT ALERT OCCURS RESULTING IN POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES THE VSC OFF INDICATOR WAS FLASHING AT THE TIME. *TR

Electrical System
Filed Mar 28, 20201,325 milesNJ

THE MULTI INFORMATION DISPLAY THAT SHOWS THE SPEED, FUEL, AND OTHER DRIVING METRICS STOPPED WORKING, I AM NOT ABLE TO SEE HOW FAST I AM GOING, HOW MUCH FUEL IS LEFT, ODOMETER OR OTHER ITEMS THAT IS DISPLAYED THERE.

14 of 14 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2010
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20265100Routine
202516200Routine
202424400Routine
202319401Fatalities reported
202224100Routine
20216000Routine
2020 — this page14000Routine
201930300Routine
201836100Routine
201791320Routine
2016154500Routine
2015165113Fatalities reported
2014207310Above average
2013409330Above average
2012422620Above average
2011518670Above average
20102,82210132Fatalities reported
2009502642Fatalities reported
20081,497467Fatalities reported
20072,003491Fatalities reported
20061,439651Fatalities reported
20051,051641Fatalities reported
2004610620Above average
200399100Routine
2002167245Fatalities reported
2001165330Routine
20004000Routine

Compare every Prius year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.