2023 Toyota Prius: Recalls, Complaints & California Lemon Law

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact received a recall notification, NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V049000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages)however the parts were unavailable. The dealer was contacted, the contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced any failure regarding the unrepaired recall.

NHTSA #11739475

The contact owned a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 26V049000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages) and 24V274000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages); and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.

NHTSA #11728543

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V274000 (Electrical System, Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA #11607245

Immediately after servicing the vehicle, when I closed the rear hatch, I noticed a crack in the plastic trim under the window. It is still available for inspection as the dealership has not yet repaired it. The piece is not entirely cracked through or enitrely loose at this time, but could it fall off and cause a road obstacle? The dealership has confirmed it is a probable warranty issue and I was told that Toyota is aware. The crack and loose trim is on a nearly new vehicle and happened without cause on my behalf and I noticed it immediately after servicing at my dealership on October 30th, 2024 - UNKNOWN. In looking online, this seems to be a common problem with the 2023 Toyota Prius.

NHTSA #11625562

There are NO air vents or air flow to the rear seats. Passengers will overheat in the summer with no relief and I have no idea how this even made it on the market without vents to seats.

NHTSA #11596014

My car was less than 6 months old when a crack began to appear in the windshield. It started at the base of the windshield by the hood. There was no impact and no reason for this crack to appear, it was spontaneous. It hampers my vision and must be replaced at my expense according to the dealership. I am reporting this because I'm reading about other Prius owners who have had a similar problem.

NHTSA #11574034

The rear plastic where the handle to open the truck is easily damaged and can cause water or damage inside the vehicle.

NHTSA #11711400

What component failed: The rear plastic trim on my 2023 Toyota Prius cracked without any impact, accident, or external cause. The component is still on the vehicle and available for inspection upon request. Safety risk: While this is primarily a structural/cosmetic defect, cracking plastic trim that was not caused by the owner suggests a broader manufacturing quality issue. If this type of failure occurs in components closer to safety systems, it could pose a more serious risk. Confirmed by dealer: Yes. I brought the vehicle to a Toyota dealership and service center (Berkeley Toyota) for inspection. They confirmed the cracking. The vehicle was purchased at Livermore Toyota. Other inspections: The vehicle was inspected by the Berkeley Toyota dealership and service center. No other parties have inspected it at this time. Prior warning signs: None. There were no warning lights, sounds, or symptoms before the crack appeared. It was discovered suddenly with no preceding indicators.

NHTSA #11738763

Tires are failing on the year model at an alarming rate. We have just turned 30,000 miles and have had 7 failures. 2 were deemed unrepairable and had to be replaced, the others were patched or plugged. The concern is sidewall failures on this year model, seems as if it a poorly engineered wheel size for this car that will result in catastrophic failures. I’ve called Toyota and there are apparently no alternatives. Sidewall failures or regular flats. can place drivers in difficult/ dangerous driving conditions. Facebook Prius groups indicate this is a widespread issue not exclusively to me. I’ve been driving for 45 plus years and have never had such an experience as this. Keep in mind, Toyota sends these vehicles out without spares or tire changing equipment and the acceptable replacement tires are not readily available and have to be ordered. Again I’m making this issue known as these vehicles are creating dangerous conditions for inexperienced drivers and our motoring public that Toyota is not interested in correcting.

NHTSA #11671230

This car is the Limited edition with 19 inch wheels. It does not come with a spare tire. The tires originally equipped on the vehicle are Michelin 195/50R19 Primacy A/S and they are NOT available to Toyota dealerships or at Tire Stores. I have one tire picked up a screw first week I owned the car, Toyota would not repair the tire, they said screw too close to edge of tire and not safe to repair or drive. Tire is not available so they sent me home with screw and I had to do repair myself, since tire is NOT available I have been driving around with this "unsafe" repair now for 6 months, tire has not fallen apart yet. next issue in April found a different tire is defective with a sidewall leak, it is under warranty but no replacement tires are available, Toyota is not taking care of this problem and has left me to handle it. Tire has to be filled sometimes 2 times a day and with sidewall coming apart is unsafe to drive.

NHTSA #11588149

Body / Liftgate The rear hatch unexpectedly dropped and fell on my head while the vehicle was stationary. The right-side rear hatch gas strut separated from the body at the mounting point. The left-side rear hatch gas strut had also shown signs of imminent failure and subsequently broke near its mounting point. This resulted in loss of hatch support and uncontrolled closure, creating a risk of head and upper-body injury. The failure appears related to structural stress at the strut mounting locations, not misuse. Seat Belt – Rear Center Passenger The rear center passenger seat belt upper cover can be easily pulled off by passengers, which breaks the plastic retaining tab. When the tab breaks, plastic fragments fall into the seat belt mechanism, causing the belt to jam and fail to retract properly. This results in impaired seat belt function, which is a safety concern for rear passengers. The vehicle has not been modified, and the failure occurred during normal use. Vehicle mileage at time of incident was approximately 150,000 miles. The rear center passenger seat belt issue has been present since the vehicle was new. The rear center passenger seat belt mechanism was replaced twice by the dealer during the warranty period, with one replacement performed as a goodwill repair after Toyota Corporate declined coverage. Despite these repairs, the same issue reoccurred, indicating a persistent design-related vulnerability rather than isolated misuse. The issue results in seat belt jamming and failure to retract, which is a safety concern.

NHTSA #11711380

Front door locks defective. Remote control doesn’t open the doors, even after replacing battery in key fob. It started with the driver door and now the passenger door doesn’t lock or unlock.

NHTSA #11677148

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius equipped with Bridgestone Tires, Tire Line: Ecopia, Tire Size: 195/60/R17, DOT Number: 1ELUK0DDB. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 - 10 MPH in a parking lot, a piece of metal slashed the passenger’s side front tire. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was unable to use the tire puncture repair kit to repair the tire. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to repair the tire. The mechanic determined that the tire and wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided a refund. The tire was mailed to the manufacturer. The tire and vehicle failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA #11681786

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while sitting in traffic with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle started rolling backward even though the gear shifter was in drive(D). The contact stated that upon attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond and continued to roll backward. The contact stated that after turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle responded as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA #11606733

The 12 volt battery was low, apparently from opening and closing doors during a camping trip. After a few days of sitting unused, I attempted to drive the vehicle. I pushed the start button and the car indicated that it was "ready". When I went to shift the transmission into Drive, the transmission went into Neutral instead and stuck there. At the same time, "low battery" indicators began flashing and the displays started blanking out and flashing. I again attempted to shift into Drive so that I could initiate the gas engine and recharge the battery while driving. However, I could not shift out of neutral and then the car went out of "ready" mode but was still powering accessories. When I attempted to restart the car, it would not let me because it was in neutral. At this time, I tried to shift back into park (push-button) and got an error message that said, Parking Brake Unavailable. So here I am with a vehicle that I need to start to get the battery charged but it won't let me out of Neutral or into Park, which prevents it from starting. Repeated attempts to get the car into Park electronically were not successful and there is not a manual parking brake. The issue is that there was no way to exit the vehicle to get help without risk of it rolling away. And from a technical standpoint, while there was not enough power to shift into park or actuate the parking brake, the vehicle was still powering all non-critical functions like infotainment system, AC, convenience lights, windshield wipers, headlights, parking lights, etc. Some things could be powered down, others could not. It seems to me that, in the absence of a manual parking brake, powering the parking system electronically should have priority over all other systems. In short, I was stuck in the vehicle with my foot on the brake pedal to prevent a rollaway accident. Had I not realized this, I easily could have exited and been run over trying to pop my hood for a jump start. Or rolled over the people downhill.

NHTSA #11587370

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius equipped with Michelin Tires, Tire Line: Primacy Season, Tire Size: 195/50/R19, DOT Number: (NA). The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH on several occasions, the four tires experienced blowouts. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the driver's side rear tire needed to be replaced due to a sidewall failure. The tires were replaced with another brand. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Grieco Toyota (415 Taunton Ave., East Providence, RI 02914), who replaced the driver's side front and front passenger tires. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the rear passenger’s side tire. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 6,200. The tire failure mileage was approximately 6,200. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA #11587249

The car was being driven on US287 south from Wichita Falls, TX toward Fort Worth, Texas on an open road, in the middle of the afternoon, in clear sunshine, no clouds, no rain. On a stretch of the highway where the road dipped down into a gully, and had a normal rise afterwards, the automatic braking system activated, gave a warning of an impending collision and applied the brakes to stop the car HARD. Luckily, there was no traffic ahead or behind the vehicle at the time of the incident. The car came almost to a stop before it realized that there was no danger ahead of the vehicle and the automatic braking system released from the emergency situation at about 5 mph. If there had been cars on the highway following the vehicle, it is doubtful that they would have been able to slow down in time to prevent a rear end collision. The vehicle was slowed down in a maximum breaking action on an open highway, with an open road ahead of the vehicle. The system interpreted a hill ahead of the car as a danger to be avoided.

NHTSA #11540756

Driving at highway speed on Interstate 30. Warning lights came on the dashboard. The Prius began to stall. Could not steer vehicle to shoulder. Prius came to a stop in the outside lane of travel. Rear-ended by Tractor Trailer rig. Passenger died. Driver sustained serious injuries. Witnesses called 911 prior to the collision to report that a vehicle had stalled on the interstate with its flashers on.

Allegedly reported: 1 injury, 1 death (as reported to NHTSA). NHTSA #11526332