2002 TOYOTA PRIUS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 159 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (74 complaints · 46.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 12
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 11
  • Deaths 5
Compare with 2001 →
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 74 of 159 owner complaints (46.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 74 complaints, 46.5% of reports STEERING 74 · 46.5% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 16 complaints, 10.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 16 · 10.1% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 8.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 8.8% · 2 fire reports TIRES: 9 complaints, 5.7% of reports TIRES 9 · 5.7% ENGINE: 8 complaints, 5.0% of reports ENGINE 8 · 5.0% POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 5.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 5.0% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 7 complaints, 4.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 · 4.4% · 5 crash reports SUSPENSION: 6 complaints, 3.8% of reports SUSPENSION 6 · 3.8% FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 2.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 2.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 58 complaints, 36.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 58 · 36.5% · 4 crash reports 2 fire 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 74 46.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 16 10.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 8.8% 0 crashes · 2 fires
TIRES 9 5.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 8 5.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 5.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 4.4% 5 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 6 3.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 58 36.5% 4 crashes · 2 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 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 2006. 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2010-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2002 Jul 2023 Recall campaign 06V266000 ◆ Recall campaign 06V266000 Recall campaign 11V304000 ◆ Recall campaign 11V304000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 11V304000 was reported 3,199 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q2 Owner reports 4
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 7
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 3
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 6
2009-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 19
2010-Q2 Owner reports 4
2010-Q3 Owner reports 4
2010-Q4 Owner reports 6
2011-Q1 Owner reports 3
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q4 Owner reports 2
2013-Q1 Owner reports 6
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 3
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 3
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
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 (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. 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 →

  2. 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 159 complaints · page 1 of 7

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