"How reliable is the 2001 Toyota Prius?"

"Based on 215 NHTSA complaints, the 2001 Toyota Prius has a median complaint mileage of 60824 miles. The most common issue is STEERING."

"What are common problems with the 2001 Toyota Prius?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2001 Toyota Prius is STEERING, accounting for a significant portion of the 215 total complaints filed."

2001 Toyota Prius: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 215 complaints

215

Total Complaints

60,824mi

Median Mileage

STEERING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

37,700 25th Percentile

60,824 Median Mileage

111,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING

TIRES

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

STEERING:RACK AND PINION

SUSPENSION:FRONT

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ALL THE LIGHTS CAME ON NOT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WHEN I STARTED IT. IT HAS BEEN AT THE TOYOTA DEALER EVER SINCE, OVER A MONTH AGO. *AK"

"ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT BRIDGESTONE 13INCH TIRES FOR THE 2001, TOYOTA, TIRES HAD TO BE REPLACED 3 TIMES IN A FIVE MONTH PERIOD FOR FRONT PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDES OF VEHICLE.*AK TIRES CONTINUALLY WEAR ON THE INSIDE TREAD OF THE TIRE, CONSUMER STATES THIS HAPPENS ALMOST EVERY 3000 MILES, WEAR IS PRIMAR..."

"CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO A SHOP FOR A ROUTINE CHECK UP AND MECHANIC INSPECTED FRONT TIRES, AND NOTICED THAT ON BOTH TIRES TREAD BEGAN TO SEPARATE. THEY WERE BRIDGE STONE/ FIRESTONE TIRES. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STEERING 26 complaints

25th: 59,000 mi Median: 109,000 mi 75th: 143,000 mi

TIRES 23 complaints

25th: 23,000 mi Median: 32,000 mi 75th: 34,980 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 complaints

25th: 30,250 mi Median: 44,100 mi 75th: 100,000 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18 complaints

25th: 56,391 mi Median: 72,000 mi 75th: 143,200 mi

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 12 complaints

25th: 26,393 mi Median: 38,150 mi 75th: 86,177 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 62 WA: 12 FL: 11 TX: 10 MA: 9 IL: 7 NC: 7 MD: 7 UT: 7 OH: 6

Who Files Complaints?

36.7%

Original Owners

63.3%

Second+ Owners

Toyota Prius — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2002	201	65,395	STEERING	16
2003	123	75,000	STEERING	5
2004	737	72,436	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	50
2005	1297	78,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	133
2006	1687	50,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	109
2007	2448	52,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	191
2008	1892	55,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	214
2009	635	31,500	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	90
2010	3476	7,195	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC	255
2011	651	75,000	SERVICE BRAKES	56
2012	531	40,063	SERVICE BRAKES	75
2013	516	44,000	SERVICE BRAKES	54
2014	265	27,000	SERVICE BRAKES	45
2015	195	24,500	SERVICE BRAKES	50
2016	211	17,658	VISIBILITY/WIPER	10
2017	125	14,000	VISIBILITY/WIPER	20
2018	44	8,600	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	8
2019	51	4,500	SERVICE BRAKES	16
2020	23	14,260	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	13
2022	27	29,800	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	5
2023	20	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	2
2024	29	3,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	10
2025	22	-	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	3

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28