2013 Toyota Prius problems
Owners have filed 556 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Toyota Prius. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 44% of complaints. After that come electrical system (9%) and engine (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 556 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 44% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 60 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 35 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 47,000 miles 248 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 79 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 33 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 21 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 23 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 21 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 20 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 9 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 248 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 47,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 92,000 miles (56 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 60 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 35 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Toyota Prius with enough data (189 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
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 department extinguished the fire and informed the contact that the windshield washer fluid reservoir was melted in half with burned wires nearby.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, another vehicle crashed into the rear end of the contact's vehicle. As a result, the seat belt failed to retract and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a head injury that required medical attention. The front seat passenger sustained head and neck injuries that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a dealer.
Tl* the contact owns 2013 toyota prius 5. The contact stated that whenever she was driving in reverse, the vehicle would jerk violently. In addition, the interior dome light would illuminate sporadically. The contact stated that all of the lights on the instrument panel and radio console failed to illuminate after starting the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 3,000.
Unusual loud clicking and screeching sound as well as vibration feeling under the brake pedal while pressing the brake pedal and brakes don't feel powerful enough despite just getting new brake pads at the dealership and there is much longer distance needed for braking and bringing to a full stop. This has progressively increased since last noticed about 11-12 months ago when the odometer was arount 95000 miles. It started spontaneaously on its own. There was no accident or impact of any kind.