Toyota Prius: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Toyota Prius: 15 model years scored from 2,386 NHTSA owner complaints and 38 recall campaigns. Worst year 2012, best year 2017.
Toyota Prius: which years to avoid
Across 13 scored model years the Toyota Prius ranges from 37/100 in 2012 to 96/100 in 2020 — a 59-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Prius at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Service Brakes (341 of them).
Avoid: 2011, 2012 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The third-generation Prius (2010–2015) carries complaints about the inverter, the brake actuator, and, on the 2010–2011 cars, oil consumption and head-gasket failure on the 1.8-litre engine. Hybrid-battery degradation on high-mileage examples appears as complaints rather than recalls. The 2012–2015 years score above 75. The fourth generation from 2016 is quiet. MotorJury carries battery-warranty and replacement-cost figures for every Prius year.
Read the guide
Used Toyota Prius, Prius c and Prius v: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Prius changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 3 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2013
Mean score 44/100, about 38 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Service Brakes more than anything else (853 complaints). 4 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2014–2017
Mean score 78/100, about 16 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Service Brakes more than anything else (237 complaints). The record improves by 34 points against the years before it. 6 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2020–2025
Mean score 88/100, about 7 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Unknown Or Other more than anything else (23 complaints). 5 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2017 (score 86). Worst: 2012 (score 37, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81 | BUY | $1,934 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | 80 | BUY | $1,988 | 23 | 4 |
| 2023 | 85 | BUY | $2,030 | 19 | 4 |
| 2022 | 93 | BUY | $2,264 | 24 | 1 |
| 2021 | 94 | BUY | $2,312 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | 96 | BUY | $2,474 | 14 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,570 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | DATA PENDING | $2,710 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 86 | BUY | $3,042 | 91 | 3 |
| 2016 | 68 | CAUTION | $3,430 | 179 | 5 |
| 2015 | 84 | BUY | $3,565 | 165 | 1 |
| 2014 | 74 | BUY | $3,795 | 237 | 3 |
| 2013 | 53 | CAUTION | $4,158 | 409 | 3 |
| 2012 | 37 | AVOID | $4,580 | 685 | 6 |
| 2011 | 41 | AVOID | $4,446 | 518 | 6 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Prius, through the years →
Prius sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Prius on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Toyota Prius
Across every Prius model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Service Brakes1,101 complaints across all Prius years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Electrical System334 complaints across all Prius years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Engine221 complaints across all Prius years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Unknown Or Other211 complaints across all Prius years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Air Bags131 complaints across all Prius years · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement$600–$1,700
- Exterior Lighting101 complaints across all Prius years · typical job: Headlamp assembly or lighting-module replacement$360–$1,380
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Toyota Prius years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2011, 2012 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2012 is the weakest at 37/100, with its complaints concentrated in Service Brakes.
What are the best Toyota Prius years to buy?
2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024… all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2020 at 96/100, on 14 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Toyota Prius problem?
1,101 of the complaints filed against the Prius across all its model years sit in the Service Brakes group — more than any other component.
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04