2009 Toyota Prius problems and complaints
Owners have filed 502 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota Prius. The most-reported areas: Service Brakes (199), Exterior Lighting (111), Hydraulic (91).
Key takeaways
- 502 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
- 64 involve a crash, 4 a fire, 27 reported injuries.
- Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 199 | 40% |
| Exterior Lighting | 111 | 22% |
| Hydraulic | 91 | 18% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 71 | 14% |
| Electrical System | 60 | 12% |
| Electric | 44 | 9% |
| Power Train | 22 | 4% |
| Unknown Or Other | 21 | 4% |
| Engine | 19 | 4% |
| Structure | 19 | 4% |
| Air Bags | 17 | 3% |
| Fuel System | 17 | 3% |
One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
| Version | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Toyota Prius 4-DR.w/SAB | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated | Not rated |
Latest complaints, as filed
Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.
Unknown Or Other,service Brakes,forward Collision Avoidance - filed 2026-06-17
Dashboard Warning Lights: ABS, VSC, Parking Brake Light, Triangle with Exclamation Point, Codes: C1256 & C1391, Intermittent Audible Cabin Buzzing indicating critical pressure loss on start-up for about 10 seconds...then stops, not loss so much as anti-braking quick bursts at about 5 mph of stopping v slowly and seamle...
Service Brakes - filed 2026-05-07
I own 2 2009 Toyota Prius. Both cars less than 175,000 miles and both have failed ABS modules. The ABS module in this vehicle is also the power brake booster. This failure can cause braking issues such as loss of braking or sudden brake application. Only known fix is replacement of the ABS brake module which requires t...
Service Brakes,forward Collision Avoidance - filed 2026-04-25
Brake actuator is broken. Toyota knew about this problem and they had a warranty for 10 years or 150k miles. Mine only has 80k miles. The repair is half of what the car is worth. I thought a Toyota with such low miles would be dependable. Toyota knew that people have died from this problem with their car. I need t...
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More for the 2009 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.