Problems · NHTSA complaints
2015 Toyota Prius C problems
Owners filed 132 complaints about the 2015 Toyota Prius C with NHTSA between Jan 2015 and Jul 2026. The most-cited component is service brakes (52).
Complaints
132
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
27
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
14
People reported injured
Deaths
3
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Service brakes52
- Electrical system27
- Power train13
- Engine9
- Exterior lighting8
- Air bags8
- Vehicle speed control7
- Structure7
- Fuel/propulsion system6
- Wheels4
- Visibility/wiper4
- Hybrid propulsion system3
- Steering3
- Suspension3
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 8, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
11
14
14
13
14
9
12
7
6
8
23
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 11 |
| 2016 | 14 |
| 2017 | 14 |
| 2018 | 13 |
| 2019 | 14 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 7 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 8 |
| 2025 | 23 |
| 2026 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Service brakes
52 reports10 crashes
“The ABS, BREAK, and Traction Control, suddenly turned on when I was traveling on the freeway in mild traffic. I was traveling at about 60-65 mph. I attempted to use the breaks and could feel a substantial difference in how much and how hard I had to push in order to stop. The problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or service center. The vehicle was inspected by my brother in law who works on cars frequently. There were no warning symptoms prior to the problem. The problem first occurred on Saturday November 1st at about 12:30. According to my brother in law, it was the break pump that failed; you can hear air escaping when you push on the break pedal.”
Electrical system
27 reports4 crashes1 fire
“While driving the hybrid battery light turned on. The car then began to reduce its speed and I had to pull over. I restarted the car and on one of the fuses to the computer to restart it. I began to drive the car back home and it did it again. I recently had a hybrid battery replaced in the vehicle. I was on the freeway both times and this caused me a lot of anxiety. There were two individuals in the vehicle, which both were at risk of being injured if there was a collision. We need it to pull over within less than 30 seconds. They appeared in the morning and a year prior. A year previously I replaced the battery. There was an odd buzzing sound in the back of the driver seat were the vent was.”
Power train
13 reports4 crashes
“My mom was involved in an accident in her 2015 Toyota Prius on April 19, 2022, which she advised lurched forward at a stop and when applying the brakes to stop the vehicle, she said was unresponsive, causing her to clip a vehicle and sending her vehicle into a ditch totaling her car and injuring her passenger and her. I would like to have this investigated and hold Toyota responsible. This could have been much worse and lives could have been lost. She is now without means of transportation, and she is now possibly responsible for damages to property and bodily injury because of this. Through my research I have discovered multiple class action lawsuits brought against Toyota for the same exact models. I asked the police officer to run a scan on the computer, but he advised it was only for serious accidents. There was no indication of the problem or messages.”
Engine
9 reports2 crashes
“While attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the Prius stalled. It would not accelerate although the engine revved. I restarted the car by powering completely off and back on. I tried to accelerate again multiple times until it slowly came up to speed the third attempt. The car was in drive and has never happened before. This is a safety concern for multiple reasons but the main being it can cause harm to those in the vehicle as well as other drivers on the road when the car stalls unexpectedly. There were no warning signals on the dash. Toyota dealer looked at it right away, ran diagnostics, and could not find an issue. Nothing was “fixed” or updated.”
Exterior lighting
8 reports1 crash
“The headlight bulbs keep going out. I have replaced the bulbs at least 2-3 times a year for the past few years. I have asked dealers about this and they tell me there is no recall or tsb. This is a hazard to night driving because of decreased illumination, especially in dark roads with not enough lighting. Please recall/fix this issue!!”
Air bags
8 reports8 crashes
“Airbags didn’t deploy in a front end collision that totaled the car. The driver hit their forehead on the steering wheel. Driver had bruising from the seatbelt. There were no warning lights or indications of any issues.”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 8, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.