"How reliable is the 2011 Toyota Prius?"

"Based on 651 NHTSA complaints, the 2011 Toyota Prius has a median complaint mileage of 75000 miles. The most common issue is SERVICE BRAKES."

"What are common problems with the 2011 Toyota Prius?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2011 Toyota Prius is SERVICE BRAKES, accounting for a significant portion of the 651 total complaints filed."

2011 Toyota Prius: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 651 complaints

651

Total Complaints

75,000mi

Median Mileage

SERVICE BRAKES

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

29,075 25th Percentile

75,000 Median Mileage

120,625 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES

251

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

ENGINE

AIR BAGS

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"REAR VISIBILITY SERIOUSLY HAMPERED BECAUSE NO CAMERA INSTALLED IN VEHICLE. TOYOTA MOTOR CAR COMPANY KNOWS FROM EXPERIENCE THE SERIOUS SAFETY & FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ADDRESSING A SAFETY ISSUE & A CAMERA PROVIDING THE DRIVER REAR VISIBILITY COULD DRAMATICALLY SAVE THE LIFE OF PERSON(CHILD) AT..."

"NEW 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS SHOOK VIOLENTLY UPON STARTUP. SEVERE ENGINE NOISE FOR 10 SECONDS UNTIL SMOOTHING OUT AFTER 40 SECONDS. DASHBOARD AND BODY PANELS VISIBLY RATTLING. ONLY 970 MILES ON ODOMETER. CHECKED INTERNET, AND FOUND MANY OTHERS WITH SAME PROBLEM. WORRIED ABOUT DRIVETRAIN DAMAGE. *TR"

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.

SERVICE BRAKES 251 complaints

25th: 30,500 mi Median: 80,000 mi 75th: 123,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 61 complaints

25th: 46,000 mi Median: 80,464 mi 75th: 128,000 mi

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 48 complaints

25th: 41,250 mi Median: 68,000 mi 75th: 85,750 mi

ENGINE 46 complaints

25th: 76,250 mi Median: 114,740 mi 75th: 150,000 mi

AIR BAGS 45 complaints

25th: 25,000 mi Median: 65,000 mi 75th: 99,600 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 152 FL: 67 TX: 44 VA: 33 NY: 32 MD: 25 GA: 21 NJ: 18 PA: 17 NC: 17

Who Files Complaints?

1.1%

Original Owners

98.9%

Second+ Owners

Toyota Prius — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2001	215	60,824	STEERING	23
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
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