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What 14 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Toyota Prius Prime

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (14)Crash / fire / injury (4)Airbags (2)Fuel system (2)Transmission & drivetrain (2)Backup camera & sensors (1)Body & structure (1)Brakes (1)Driver assistance (1)Electrical system (1)Engine (1)Lights (1)

1 of 14 complaints match · Electrical system · clear filters

Nov 11, 2020Electrical systemFuel 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 POWER BRAKES WERE SHUTTING OFF AND LEFT ME IN FEAR THE CAR WOULD DIE ON THE FREEWAY RAMP BEFORE I COULD PULL OVER. TOWED CAR TO DEALER WHO FIXED A LOOSE CABLE. THIS WEEK (11/10) THE DISPLAY SHOWED THE SAME MESSAGE. THIS IS NOW A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL.

NHTSA ODI 11374200

Working with the data? Download all 14 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 15, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Toyota Prius Prime verdict →