2006 Toyota Prius problems and complaints

Owners have filed 1439 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Toyota Prius. The most-reported areas: Exterior Lighting (941), Service Brakes (214), Electrical System (152).

Key takeaways

  • 1439 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 82 involve a crash, 5 a fire, 48 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Exterior Lighting94165%
Service Brakes21415%
Electrical System15211%
Hydraulic947%
Vehicle Speed Control846%
Electric453%
Air Bags302%
Engine252%
Unknown Or Other252%
Equipment232%
Steering222%
Power Train222%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2006 Toyota Prius 4-DR.Not ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Service Brakes - filed 2026-05-07

I was involved in an auto accident on 4/20/2026 @ 6:23 PM. I was driving a 2006 Prius and the vehicle in front of me stopped to make a left turn. I applied my brakes, which grabbed slightly and then released. I then had to hit the brakes hard and they did the same thing again. I ended up rear-ending the vehicle in fron...

Service Brakes - filed 2026-03-13

I am looking to receive a little bit more assistance regarding my daughter's first car that she worked very hard for. It is a 2006 Toyota Prius. It was garage-kept and owned by an older couple who only put 85,000 miles on it. It is really a gem of a car. Soon after we registered the car, my daughter was out driving wi...

Air Bags - filed 2025-10-06

The contact owned a 2006 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while slowly driving into an intersection and turning left at less than 3 MPH, the owner of a Ford F-150 coming from the driver's side of the vehicle at 35 MPH crashed into their driver's side door. The crash caused the vehicle to slide to a complete stop....

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More for the 2006 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.