Volkswagen NEW Beetle vs Toyota Prius V

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	Volkswagen NEW Beetle	Toyota Prius V
Complaints on file	262	649
Model years covered	1998–2006	2011–2018
Worst model year	2001	2012
Best model year	2004	2015
Crashes reported	16	67
Fires reported	6	16
Injuries reported	16	33
Deaths reported	3	6
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	15.6%	18.8%

Volkswagen NEW Beetle by year

37 40 45 56 35 30 18 1

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 06

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

What breaks

Electrical System 46 17.6%

Engine & Cooling 31 11.8%

Lights 29 11.1%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 27 10.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 23 8.8%

Airbags 19 7.3%

Brakes 17 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 12 4.6%

Toyota Prius V by year

1 289 165 122 31 24 14 3

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

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

What breaks

Brakes 257 39.6%

Engine & Cooling 71 10.9%

Electrical System 61 9.4%

Other & Unspecified 44 6.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 37 5.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 36 5.5%

Transmission & Drivetrain 22 3.4%

Airbags 20 3.1%