Problems · NHTSA complaints

2005 Toyota Prius problems

Owners filed 1,051 complaints about the 2005 Toyota Prius with NHTSA between Jan 2005 and Feb 2026. The most-cited component is exterior lighting (346).

Complaints
1,051
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
102
Reported by owners
Fires
4
Reported by owners
Injuries
66
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Exterior lighting346
  2. Electrical system178
  3. Service brakes, hydraulic128
  4. Vehicle speed control109
  5. Service brakes82
  6. Service brakes, electric68
  7. Engine and engine cooling64
  8. Air bags44
  9. Power train41
  10. Steering39
  11. Traction control system19
  12. Electronic stability control (esc)18
  13. Engine15
  14. Fuel system, gasoline14

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 5, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
200572
200643
200720
200850
200980
2010322
201172
201248
201373
201459
201553
201633
201731
201839
201926
20205
20217
20223
20235
20244
20254
20262

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.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Exterior lighting

346 reports2 crashes
“The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while replacing the instrument cluster, the contact discovered that the turn signals were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 143,500.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 10, 2025Exterior lightingODI 11698502

Electrical system

178 reports4 crashes3 fires
“The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the left turn signal was activated, however, the left turn signal failed to function as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the four-way flashers failed to function as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a computer failure. The contact was informed that an unknown part needed to be replaced, or an unknown software update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 143,500.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 10, 2025Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 11698556

Service brakes, hydraulic

128 reports17 crashes
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE VEHICLE JERKED INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BRAKE PADS NEEDED TO BE REALIGNED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 133,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 23, 2015Service brakes, hydraulicODI 10721133

Vehicle speed control

109 reports33 crashes1 fire1 related recall
“COMBINATION METER INTERMITTENTLY NOT FUNCTIONING. WHEN TURNING THE CAR ON, SOMETIMES THE DASH METER WORKS, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST BLACK AND CONTINUES THE ENTIRE TIME THE CAR IS RUNNING. THEN WHEN TRYING TO TURN THE CAR OFF, IT WILL NOT TURN OFF, WHICH IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THERE ARE NO DASH LIGHTS AT ALL TO INDICATE FUEL AMOUNT, ODOMETER READING, DOOR OPEN SIGNAL, CHECK ENGINE, MAINTENANCE REQUIRED AND SO ON. THE SPEED BEING DRIVEN IS NOT SHOWING EITHER WHICH IS ANOTHER MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. CRUISE CONTROL ALSO DOES NOT FUNCTION, THE CENTER TOUCHSCREEN DOES NOT DISPLAY HYBRID MOTOR INFORMATION OR MPG. THE BEEPING WHEN BACKING UP DOES NOT FUNCTION. ALSO THE REAR HATCH WILL NOT OPEN WHILE CAR IS RUNNING WHICH IS ALSO A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE OTHER FUNCTIONS NOT AVAILABLE. THE ODOMETER IS NOT RECORDING MILEAGE DURING THESE TIMES WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DO PROPER MAINTENANCE THAT GOES BY MILEAGE, SUCH AS OIL CHANGES.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 11, 2018Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Vehicle speed controlODI 11160849

Service brakes

82 reports4 crashes
“i had brake warning lights pop up on my dash..my brake actuator fail on my 05 prius.. this is a known issue with toyota prius. the brake actuator is a very important part of the braking system and vehicle is deemed unsafe with a failed actuator/module.. the dealer quoted over 3000 in repairs.. they were covering them for a while and now they are not.. the cost of the repair exceeds the value of vehicle due to the brake actuator being very expensive.. this is something that should have been recalled..”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 18, 2025Service brakesODI 11648968

Service brakes, electric

68 reports10 crashes
“(1). I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES, BUT THERE WAS NO POWER BRAKES. THE 2005 PRIUS SLOWED, BUT DID NOT STOP UNTIL IT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. I WAS GOING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, AND I TRAVELED 3 CAR LENGTHS BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE OTHER VEHICLE. (2). LOSS OF POWER ASSIST HAD PREVIOUSLY OCCURRED WHILE BACKING UP, BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST FAILURE GOING FORWARD. (3). TOTAL LOSS(TOTALED,, $7,000 DAMAGE). THE 2005 PRIUS IS NOW AT AN AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING YARD. )4) I NOTIFIED TOYOTA. BUT I HAD TO CALL THEM BACK SEVERAL TIMES, AND AFTER 15 DAYS, SOMEONE FINALLY ANSWERED, INSTEAD OF ME GETTING THEIR VOICE MAIL. IF THE POWER BRAKES HAD FAILED AT AN INTERSECTION, IT COULD HAVE BEEN A FATAL CRASH. *KB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 19, 2011Service brakes, electricCrash reportedODI 10413508
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 5, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.