2001 TOYOTA PRIUS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 147 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (39 complaints · 26.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 10
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 5
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2000 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 39 of 147 owner complaints (26.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 39 complaints, 26.5% of reports STEERING 39 · 26.5% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 13.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 · 13.6% · 2 crash reports 3 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 18 complaints, 12.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 · 12.2% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 17 complaints, 11.6% of reports ENGINE 17 · 11.6% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 11 complaints, 7.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 7.5% · 1 crash reports TIRES: 10 complaints, 6.8% of reports TIRES 10 · 6.8% FUEL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 5.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 8 · 5.4% POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 3.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 3.4% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 5 complaints, 3.4% of reports SUSPENSION 5 · 3.4% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 61 complaints, 41.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 61 · 41.5% · 2 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 39 26.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 13.6% 2 crashes · 3 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 12.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 17 11.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 11 7.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 10 6.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 8 5.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 5 3.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 5 3.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 61 41.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2001; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2000. 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2010-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 2000 Jan 2023 Recall campaign 00V285000 ◆ Recall campaign 00V285000 Recall campaign 06V266000 ◆ Recall campaign 06V266000 Recall campaign 11V304000 ◆ Recall campaign 11V304000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 11V304000 was reported 3,413 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 3
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 4
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 10
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 4
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 15
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 6
2006-Q1 Owner reports 3
2006-Q2 Owner reports 3
2006-Q3 Owner reports 6
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 4
2007-Q3 Owner reports 5
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 4
2009-Q1 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 19
2010-Q2 Owner reports 2
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 2
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 00V285000
Recall campaign 1 06V266000
Recall campaign 1 11V304000
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 00V285000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    IF THIS OCCURS, THE POWER STEERING WARNING ICON WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THE CENTER PANEL, AND THE DRIVER COULD EXPERIENCE HIGHER THAN NORMAL STEERING EFFORT DEPENDING UPON VEHICLE SPEED.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE ELECTRIC STEERING GEAR BOX.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06V266000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    ENGINE OIL INSIDE THE SENSOR WIRING CONNECTOR COULD CAUSE EXPANSION DUE TO THE HEAT OF THE ENGINE AND COULD DEFORM THE SENSOR WIRING CONNECTOR. THE CONNECTOR MAY BECOME DISCONNECTED, WHICH COULD CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL WHILE DRIVING AND NOT BE ABLE TO BE RESTARTED INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 26, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 11V304000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    LOSS OF POWER STEERING, PARTICULARLY WHEN AN OPERATOR IS ACTIVELY INTENDING TO STEER THE VEHICLE, MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE NUTS IN THE STEERING LINKAGE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 8, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 147 complaints · page 1 of 6

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources