Problems · NHTSA complaints
2007 Toyota Prius problems
Owners filed 2,004 complaints about the 2007 Toyota Prius with NHTSA between Dec 2006 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is exterior lighting (1,060).
Complaints
2,004
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
124
Reported by owners
Fires
9
Reported by owners
Injuries
70
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
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 4, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
1
27
96
385
517
138
98
133
150
116
83
61
72
48
29
15
10
11
10
2
2
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2007 | 27 |
| 2008 | 96 |
| 2009 | 385 |
| 2010 | 517 |
| 2011 | 138 |
| 2012 | 98 |
| 2013 | 133 |
| 2014 | 150 |
| 2015 | 116 |
| 2016 | 83 |
| 2017 | 61 |
| 2018 | 72 |
| 2019 | 48 |
| 2020 | 29 |
| 2021 | 15 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 | 2 |
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
Exterior lighting
1,060 reports5 crashes
“I CANT SEE THE ROAD. Who is in charge of allowing these new bright LED headlights? They make it very hard to see where I’m driving when they’re eye level with my car!! So all I see is a bunch of LED lights coming straight at me, which is very unacceptable because now I can’t see the road. Making it a very obvious safety concern which is weird when I thought the government is supposed to be preventing stuff like this from happening. What the heck”
Electrical system
248 reports5 crashes
“Combination meter often does not turn on when turning the car on. This means you cannot see a speedometer, any warning lights, fuel tank levels, or mileage. Also the trunk gets locked and is unable to open. Sometimes the car will not turn off. This has been happening on and off for over a year but has gotten increasingly worse. There are no warning signs. This can happen any time you turn on the car but might not always happen. It can also prevent you from turning off the car. When searching online, it seems this is a common problem with high mileage Priuses between 2005-2009 and so Toyota extended a warranty on it but did not tell all of the owners, most likely to get out of a recall.”
Structure
184 reports6 crashes4 fires
“catalytic converter is easily accessible and there should be a recall to have a safety operation and stop all these cars from being sold in the market because there is a rise in many thefts of the catalytic converter due to it being very easily accusable without any guard in place to prevent thieves from getting to it to remove and sell for parts. Spray paint can be cleaned off and vin numbers can be sanded down. simply trying that will not work. i was unaware that it was stolen off of the vehicle until i drove it a little ways to where the vehicle was then burning and i could smell it catching on fire”
Service brakes, hydraulic
145 reports25 crashes
“The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving the speed was unknown due to the instrument cluster being inoperable. On another occasion while driving approximately 45 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to operate properly; however, on that occasion the instrument cluster was operating as designed. The vehicle stability control, ABS, and brake light warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with an actuator and brake booster failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 203,202.”
Service brakes
127 reports20 crashes1 fire
“The brake actuator failed. When the car was diagnosed by the Toyota dealership, they identified the problem as an internal leak within the brake actuator. Luckily, nobody has been hurt attempting to drive the car, but it is still being driven to get it from home to the repair shop so anything is possible. The first symptom I could link to this was in 2023, when the car would not accelerate via the gas pedal after the brakes were pressed during cruise control. Turning off the car and turning it back on fixed the problem. Afterwards, the red brake symbol was turned on. From that point on, the brake light would only shine sometimes. leading me to believe there must not have been something wrong with the car, since nothing else happened after that. 2024 is when the red brake light and ABS symbol both lit up. The only information that I could find in the manual was to take the Prius to the Toyota dealership. I could not find details on the problem. I continued to drive the car regardless because there seemed to be no problem. After letting the car sit for a few months in 2025, I began driving it again, and it was fine. A month later, I turned on my car and was met…”
Vehicle speed control
124 reports40 crashes1 fire1 related recall
“Instrument panel cluster failure. Panel goes black while driving and lose power. Vehicle won’t start or shut off. My vehicle was getting serviced at the dealership and they couldn’t start the vehicle. I was told the instrument panel cluster was the problem. I contacted Toyota Customer Service, and was told they were aware of the issue. They had issued an extended warranty and sent out a letter to all owners this warranty has expired in 2016. If you purchased your vehicle after 2016 you would not have received any notice regarding this. While driving you can’t see you speed, your gear selection, fuel level, lights and no warning lights. The warning is that your vehicle won’t start or shut off.”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 4, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.