FaultScore

Toyota Prius vs Ford Escape

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure Toyota Prius Ford Escape
Complaints on file 15,583 36,256
Model years covered 2000–2026 2000–2026
Worst model year 2010 2013
Best model year 2025 2025
Crashes reported 1,469 1,132
Fires reported 101 754
Injuries reported 602 752
Deaths reported 18 25
Most complained-about part Brakes Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm 14.1% 7.3%

Toyota Prius by year

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Brakes 4,567 29.3%
Lights 3,536 22.7%
Electrical System 1,607 10.3%
Engine & Cooling 784 5.0%
Airbags 436 2.8%
Body & Structure 430 2.8%

Ford Escape by year

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 9,458 26.1%
Steering 3,952 10.9%
Fuel & Propulsion 2,562 7.1%
Electrical System 2,524 7.0%
Body & Structure 2,318 6.4%
Other & Unspecified 2,079 5.7%