2019 Toyota Prius problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (6) · Vehicle Speed Control (3) · Air Bags (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Toyota Prius model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2019-12-11 · campaign 19V876000 · 3,751 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019 Prius vehicles. An electrical short circuit in the combination meter could occur, causing the speedometer, the odometer, and the fuel gauge to go blank. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Risk: A blank main display will not show important information like vehicle speed or fuel level. Driving with an inoperative display can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the flash memory chip (ROM) production date, and if necessary, replace it along with the combination meter circuit board, free of charge. The recall began February 7, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 19TA21 and 19TB21.
Service Brakes 2019-07-24 · campaign 19V544000 · 6,925 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019 Lexus LS500, LC500, ES300h, UX250h, LS500h, Toyota Prius, RAV4 HV, 2019-2020 Toyota Prius Prime, and 2020 Corolla HV vehicles. The brake booster pump may fail causing a deactivation of the Vehicle Stability Control system and a loss of braking assist. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
Risk: Deactivation of the vehicle stability control system or a loss of braking assist increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake booster pump, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2019. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 and Lexus owners may contact Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1L/K0L. Lexus' numbers for this recall are K2F/KLF.
Equipment:other:labels 2019-03-27 · campaign 19V244000 · 3,634 vehicles
Defect: Gulf States Toyota (GST) is recalling certain 2019 C-HR, 4Runner, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Tacoma, Sienna, Tundra and Yaris vehicles. The text on the load capacity label may become illegible. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: If the driver cannot read the label, they may unknowingly overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GST will notify owners, and dealers will provide corrected load carrying capacity modification labels, free of charge. The recall began May 24, 2019. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 19R1.
Service bulletins (140)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2026-08-20 · T-SB-0110-20 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
obsolete notice august 20, 2026: this bulletin is now obsolete. please see t-sb-0051-26.
Engine 2026-08-20 · T-SB-0051-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin includes basic procedures for performing a rescue charge at battery on high voltage (hv) ni-mh and li-ion batteries.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-07 · T-SB-0055-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2005 – 2026 toyota vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. the purpose of this service bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures
Electrical System 2025-08-20 · T-TT-0790-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some customers may experience echoing on the line calling the vehicle when using bluetooth hands free. this is caused by the phone hands free volume being too low.
Engine 2025-06-17 · T-TT-0784-25 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some ecus can set a dtc that is common with other ecus. this can lead to accidental use of the wrong repair manual when diagnosing these type of dtcs.
Engine 2025-06-13 · T-TT-0784-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some ecus can set a dtc that is common with other ecus. this can lead to accidental use of the wrong repair manual when diagnosing these type of dtcs.
Showing the 6 most recent of 140 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-26 · Engine“coolant is leaking into the catalytic converter. this seems to be a common issue. toyota issued a technical service bulletin on xxx covering this exactly. some 2016–2019 prius and 2017–2019 prius prime vehicles may exhibit low coolant level, mil on with dtc p148f00, and/or poor heater performance due to coolant leakage at the front exhaust pipe…”
2026-07-13 · Unknown Or Other“frequency when i start car makes a very loud , painful high pitch noise for anywhere from 5-15 seconds …”
2026-01-06 · Unknown Or Other“body of car has rust perforation starting from the inside working out. this is on the roof, so water incursion will effect airbags and electrical system. first noticed rust bubbles a few years ago, but did not think much of it. now two body shops have said roof panel needs to be replaced. this is big stuff!…”
2025-10-11 · Service Brakes“since october 2023, my 2019 toyota prius has developed severe and unpredictable driving behavior after a regular brake service, which may have triggered or coincided with a software or ecu update. the car, which had been driving smoothly since i bought it in 2021, suddenly began showing false braking, steering interference, and lane instability — a…”
2025-08-06 · Unknown Or Other“coolant system failed because coolant was leaking into catalytic converter. two mechanics in two different states (one a toyota dealer) claimed this is defect with 2019 prius and results in repair costing more than $2000.00 because of this design flaw. warning light did not come on until coolant was gone.…”
2025-06-17 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 95,000 mi“the contact owns a 2019 toyota prius. the contact stated there was a coolant leak and the coolant level was low. there was no indication of coolant on the ground. the check engine and engine hot warning lights were illuminated. the contact stated that the failure was related to tsb: 0135-19. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was di…”
2025-05-28 · Power Train“exhaust heat-exchanger coolant pipe (part of the hybrid cooling loop) on my 2019 toyota prius is the system that failed. safety risk: complete loss of coolant can cause sudden engine overheating and possible power reduction or shutdown while the vehicle is moving. i transport two young children daily; an unexpected stall on a highway or during an i…”
2024-10-16 · Vehicle Speed Control · 💥 crash“* i was pulling into a parking space at a slow speed. when i applied the brake the car accelerated causing the car to scrape the car next to the space. the car then stopped. * the acceleration was out of my control and the brakes did not stop it. fortunately there was no person in front of me. * the tow truck operator who came to get the car exper…”
2024-10-05 · Seat Belts“the issue is with the back middle seat belt. when the back right passenger seat, which is a 2/3 seat is placed down in order to accommodate long pieces of lumber, it remains stuck there as the seatbelt for the middle seat will not release. the seatbelt mechanism for the middle seat is located in the 2/3 seat which is stuck in the down position. the…”
2024-04-24 · Service Brakes · 💥 crash“i was idling at a parking space and went to turn off my car. the vehicle surged forward and the brake sign came on. i pushed my brake to the floor and nothing happened. i was moving toward a brick wall so i put in in reverse and the car surged backwards. the brake sign came on and i pushed the brake to the floor and again nothing happened and i en…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.