2018 Toyota PRIUS PRIME

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Excellent Reliability

Quick Summary

The 2018 Toyota PRIUS PRIME has 20 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 0.3x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is other problems (15% of all complaints), specifically: after starting from a stop after the traffic light turned green, the car in front of me pulled ahead as they accelerated faster than me. when the car in front of me was about 50 yards in front of me, and i had reached about 25 miles per hour the car's collision avoidance system engaged and slammed o.

3 crash reports 3 injuries

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

0.3x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

OTHER

3 complaints

15%

• AFTER STARTING FROM A STOP AFTER THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED GREEN, THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME PULLED AHEAD AS THEY ACCELERATED FASTER THAN ME. WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WAS ABOUT 50 YARDS IN FRONT OF ME, AND I HAD REACHED ABOUT 25 MILES PER HOUR THE CAR'S COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM ENGAGED AND SLAMMED O
• My 2018 Toyota Prius Supreme was parked too far away from the curb in front of a house where we were invited, in a residential area in Naperville IL. I entered the car to park it properly. I had my foot on the brakes and pressed the starting button for the engine to turn on. I then put the car o
• There has been at least 4 times that the vehicle was not responsive to acceleration (stalled for a few seconds) then picked back up. Problem has been intermittent. There is no dash indication of an issue. Because concern is intermittent I haven’t taken vehicle in. There is NO CHECK ENGINE light on.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“AFTER STARTING FROM A STOP AFTER THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED GREEN, THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME PULLED AHEAD AS THEY ACCELERATED FASTER THAN ME. WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WAS ABOUT 50 YARDS IN FRONT OF ME, AND I HAD REACHED ABOUT 25 MILES PER HOUR THE CAR'S COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM ENGAGED AND SLAMMED O”

— NHTSA complaint filing

DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS

3 complaints

15%

• From the first week of ownership sensors would alarm that they needed cleaning but they were clean. Parking assist sensors also malfunctioning. Also saw Intelligent Clearance Sonar error messages and warnings. Alarm tended to go off in wet weather. Brought to dealership many times and problem occurr
• From the first week of ownership sensors would alarm that they needed cleaning but they were clean. Parking assist sensors also malfunctioning. Also saw Intelligent Clearance Sonar error messages and warnings. Alarm tended to go off in wet weather. Brought to dealership many times and problem occurr
• From the first week of ownership sensors would alarm that they needed cleaning but they were clean. Parking assist sensors also malfunctioning. Also saw Intelligent Clearance Sonar error messages and warnings. Alarm tended to go off in wet weather. Brought to dealership many times and problem occurr

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“From the first week of ownership sensors would alarm that they needed cleaning but they were clean. Parking assist sensors also malfunctioning. Also saw Intelligent Clearance Sonar error messages and warnings. Alarm tended to go off in wet weather. Brought to dealership many times and problem occurr”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

2 complaints

10%

• 'HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE' APPEARED ON DASH DISPLAY DURING A LONG (120 MILE) DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEED ON SEPTEMBER 24. AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 40 MILES FURTHER, THE 'CHECK ENGINE LIGHT' CAME ON AND THE DISPLAY SAID TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY. AS I PULLED OFF THE FREEWAY, MESSAGES TOLD ME THE POWER STEERING AND
• SUPPLEMENT TO COMPLAINT # 11384074 THE VEHICLE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON JANUARY 11 AND 12, 2021 AT APPROXIMATELY 7 AM. SPEED WAS 76 MPH, AND THE FUEL DEPRIVATION OCCURRED FOR 8-10 SECONDS EACH TIME. THE VEHICLE HAS NEVER HAD THE PROBLEM GOING HOME AT 2 PM.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“'HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE' APPEARED ON DASH DISPLAY DURING A LONG (120 MILE) DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEED ON SEPTEMBER 24. AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 40 MILES FURTHER, THE 'CHECK ENGINE LIGHT' CAME ON AND THE DISPLAY SAID TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY. AS I PULLED OFF THE FREEWAY, MESSAGES TOLD ME THE POWER STEERING AND”

— NHTSA complaint filing

AIR BAGS

2 complaints

10%

• Air bag did not deploy during a head on collision at 25-30 mph. No warning lamps. Car is totaled according to tow truck driver. Currently at the body shop, waiting for adjusters approval for body shop to take car apart to assess the damage.
• Airbags deployed prematurely as I was parking my car in a doctor's office parking lot. The car was going less than 5 mph and I did not hit anything. The premature deployment of the airbag startled me and caused me to hit the accelerator instead of the brake and I ended up crashing my car into a n

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 2 crashes

“Air bag did not deploy during a head on collision at 25-30 mph. No warning lamps. Car is totaled according to tow truck driver. Currently at the body shop, waiting for adjusters approval for body shop to take car apart to assess the damage.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

2 complaints

10%

• Take foot of break, car accelerates under power. Sooner or later, this is going to result in killing a pedestrian. The question has been for the last year, is this a behavior that can be gotten used to. The answer is definitely NO! This resulted in a near collision with a pedestrian today. Toyota b
• On at least 4 occasions when the EV battery becomes depleted while driving at highway speeds and the car is switching to gas, the engine completely loses all power. This has lasted from 10-30 seconds. The dealership said a small battery needed to be replaced, and replaced that, but this recurred w

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“Take foot of break, car accelerates under power. Sooner or later, this is going to result in killing a pedestrian. The question has been for the last year, is this a behavior that can be gotten used to. The answer is definitely NO! This resulted in a near collision with a pedestrian today. Toyota b”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

AIR BAGS(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 20 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
OTHER: AFTER STARTING FROM A STOP AFTER THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED GREEN, THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME PULLED AHEAD AS THEY ACCELERATED FASTER THAN ME. WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WAS ABOUT 50 YARDS IN FRONT OF ME, AND I HAD REACHED ABOUT 25 MILES PER HOUR THE CAR'S COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM ENGAGED AND SLAMMED O
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
DRIVER ASSIST/CAMERAS: From the first week of ownership sensors would alarm that they needed cleaning but they were clean. Parking assist sensors also malfunctioning. Also saw Intelligent Clearance Sonar error messages and warnings. Alarm tended to go off in wet weather. Brought to dealership many times and problem occurr
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
FUEL SYSTEM: 'HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE' APPEARED ON DASH DISPLAY DURING A LONG (120 MILE) DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEED ON SEPTEMBER 24. AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 40 MILES FURTHER, THE 'CHECK ENGINE LIGHT' CAME ON AND THE DISPLAY SAID TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY. AS I PULLED OFF THE FREEWAY, MESSAGES TOLD ME THE POWER STEERING AND
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
AIR BAGS: Air bag did not deploy during a head on collision at 25-30 mph. No warning lamps. Car is totaled according to tow truck driver. Currently at the body shop, waiting for adjusters approval for body shop to take car apart to assess the damage.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)