2013 Toyota Prius problems and complaints
Owners have filed 412 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Toyota Prius. The most-reported areas: Service Brakes (241), Electrical System (52), Unknown Or Other (49).
Key takeaways
- 412 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
- 39 involve a crash, 4 a fire, 24 reported injuries.
- Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 241 | 58% |
| Electrical System | 52 | 13% |
| Unknown Or Other | 49 | 12% |
| Engine | 37 | 9% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 22 | 5% |
| Air Bags | 18 | 4% |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 16 | 4% |
| Power Train | 14 | 3% |
| Structure | 13 | 3% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 12 | 3% |
| Exterior Lighting | 12 | 3% |
| Wheels | 9 | 2% |
One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
| Version | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Toyota Prius 5 HB FWD | 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Latest complaints, as filed
Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.
Service Brakes - filed 2026-10-12
While driving our 2013 Toyota Prius, the vehicle experienced a sudden and severe loss of braking effectiveness while the vehicle was in motion. This created an immediate safety risk because the vehicle did not respond to braking as expected. After the incident, the vehicle displayed the red BRAKE warning light, ABS wa...
Service Brakes - filed 2026-10-06
While driving, my brake pedal would randomly lose power assist. The pedal would get hard and I couldn't press it down normally, and I had to push as hard as I could just to get the car to slow down. This happened more than once while driving and I almost crashed because I couldn't stop the car in time. A scan later sho...
Electrical System,tires - filed 2026-09-28
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving and pulling into a parking lot, there was a burning odor coming from the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle but saw no fault with the vehicle. The contact was then notified by another person that the vehicle had caught on fire. The fire de...
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More for the 2013 Toyota Prius
Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.