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What 14 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Toyota Prius Phev

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 (6)Brakes (4)Electrical system (2)Tires (2)Airbags (1)Backup camera & sensors (1)Body & structure (1)Driver assistance (1)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (1)Engine (1)Fuel system (1)

1 of 14 complaints match · Fuel system · clear filters

May 31, 2023Electrical systemEngineFuel systemCrash1 injury

On May 16, 2023 I was slowly driving out of a market parking lot when the car suddenly accelerated, full throttle, and speeded across the street (Colusa Avenue, Berkeley, CA), crashing head on into a fence. Immediately after the crash, the dashboard displayed the following: "Check Engine (!) A malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission has been detected. Contact your Toyota dealer to have your vehicle inspected." The car was towed and is now at a body shop selected by my insurance company, AAA. I received whiplash, small bruises on my chest and left hand, and a scraped shin. I was taken to Alta Bates Emergency by ambulance.

NHTSA ODI 11524726

Working with the data? Download all 14 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 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 2020 Toyota Prius Phev verdict →