I purchased a 2014 Toyota Prius V in 2013, and it currently has 120,000 miles on it. Last month, the engine light came on, so I took it to a dealership. They diagnosed the issue and provided the codes P0302 and P0304. After consulting multiple shops, all confirmed that coolant is leaking into the engine, which means I either need to repair the head gasket or replace the engine entirely. The quotes I've received for this repair range from $5,000 to $15,000, while the current value of the car is only about $5,000. I want to file a complaint regarding Toyota's responsibility for these engine issues. We buy cars because we trust the brand, and in this case, Toyota has broken that trust. Despite maintaining the car according to Toyota's recommended schedule, I have encountered this serious problem.
NHTSA complaint #11747383 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving down the highway, the engine suddenly threw a rod, causing a terrible jolt, after which the engine burst into flames. There had been no warning lights.
NHTSA complaint #11747076 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car began to jerk, made knocking noises, miss fires on cylinder 1, 2 and 4, coolant leakages, oil leakages, compression issues and the check engine light keeps turning on and off. My safety has been put into play because, the car would jerk many of times as it would want to stop as I was driving. I would then have to pull over and call for assistance. Per the Toyota service advisor he recommended that I needed a new rebuilt engine kit. The extended warranty company stated that I was negligent with my car and denied my claim and refused to pay for the 10 grand motor and I had to tow my car to another shop. However, the car at this time is still experiencing the same malfunctions. The warning lamps are still showing at this present time and prior to the failure of problem. This car meets the "Lemon law guidelines, However, I have been informed otherwise that I don't meet the criteria for lemon law due it being expired sometime last year in Oct of 2024. As stated this is a lemon car.
NHTSA complaint #11635974 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Head Gasket failed on my vehicle, and began to burn coolant and overheat my engine. Upon description of the issue, a dealership mechanic was able to diagnose the issue. The sudden failure of my vehicle due to overheating while driving was extremely risky, and I had no indication that the issue was a head gasket until a dealership mechanic was able to look at my vehicle after being towed. I had taken my vehicle to a third-party mechanic, and they could not tell me why my vehicle was burning coolant, but provided a temporary Stop-Leak fix that did not hold. The first appearance of the Check Engine light was about 9 months ago, was assumed to be the spark plugs, which I had replaced, but then my coolant light started coming on with the check engine light for about a week before the engine overheat incident. The vehicle has been inspected by a Toyota Hybird Mechanic. No other inspections have been done. My safety and other's safety was put at-risk as my steering, speed control, and speed monitoring systems immediately shut off once the system detected an overheat, making it difficult to pull over safely and slowly to address the issue/call a tow truck. I required physical assistance from another motorist to move my vehicle off the road to allow others to pass.
NHTSA complaint #11633406 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at speeds under 65 MPH, the vehicle intermittently lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and DTC codes: P0300, P0302, P0303, and P0304 were retrieved. The contact was informed that several undisclosed parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 162,000.
NHTSA complaint #11623185 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle overheated. Many other people have had this issue. So much so that mechanics tell me that this is normal for this engine to overheat after 110-130k miles.
NHTSA complaint #11617559 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle then stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
NHTSA complaint #11583145 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Had blown gasket repair last year (which was fixed by my local Toyota Dealership and all cost paid for by myself). Dealership acknowledged that there were known issues with failures due to clogged EGR's and out-dated manifolds. Was never recalled and did not know about the issue until after the incident. Wanted to report issues since it appears countless other have been in the same situation with gen 3 Prius. Toyota needs to be offering EGR cleanings and updated manifolds at no cost and reimbursing customer's for previous repairs.
NHTSA complaint #11557495 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
the car was serviced regularly and for unknown reason the engine started running rough. I took it the mechanic and after completing a diagnostic test he said i have a blown had gasket in the engine. After reading online about the issue i discovered this year and model of toyota are notorious for having a blown head gasket issue. My mechanic recommended the engine be replaced. This is an expensive repair and toyota is denying any accountability about the issue
NHTSA complaint #11516166 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In September 2022, my car, a 2012 Toyota Prius V with 79, 056 miles, began making noises in the engine area and the brakes became loose, meaning it took more pressure on the brake pedal to engage the brakes. In November 2022 the following warning lamps on the dashboard came on: Master Warning Light, Brake System Warning Light and Warning Buzzer, Brake System Warning Light, ABS Warning Light and SLIP Indicator. I took it to the Toyota Dealership near me: Lipton Toyota in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and they diagnosed car with the trouble code of C1391-Abnormal Leak of Accumulator, Internal ABS Actuator Failure. To fix this problem, Lipton Toyota will charge $3124.29 for the repair. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. issued a customer support program notification that would cover this repair if the malfunctions happened before coverage ended. Primary Coverage was applicable until December 31, 2021 with no year/mileage limitation. Secondary Coverage was applicable for 10 years from the vehicle's date of first use or 150,000 whichever occurs first. Date of first use on my Prius V was 03/01/2012 and my mileage is 79K. So as you can see, I am just out of the coverage window. My private mechanic and myself have appealed our case to Toyota that this problem should be a recall with no limits on coverage. (Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. - case reference # 230206000678) I believe that if I had driven my car more, (which was not done because of the Pandemic 2020-2021) this issue would have come up before the cut off date for repair coverage. I also believe that this problem with the Brake Booster and Brake Booster Pump Assemblies on certain 2012-2014 model year Prius V vehicles should be a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11505805 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact veered to the side of the road and intentionally struck the curb to stop the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that the vehicle later restarted and was driven to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the ABS actuator had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because an unknown Toyota Courtesy Program issued for the failure had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
NHTSA complaint #11501111 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My car stalled while I was driving it on 2 separate occasions. It is a 2014 w less than 70K miles: 1/2022 Within seconds of 2 or more warning lights going on, the engine stalled. I was able to steer, brake and drive on the electric motor towards home. The electric motor drove another .5 mile before it also died, leaving me with no power steering or brakes. I was on a slight incline and coasted most of the way off road. The car was towed to our local dealer, which said the intake manifold had failed. Dealer replaced IM and related hoses and gaskets. 6/2022 I was driving on a busy interstate at high speed in the passing lane. The car started to lose power and decelerate. I maneuvered to the side of the road and UP! the on ramp. Made it to roadside business on remaining battery power.
NHTSA complaint #11469843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Prius V. The contact’s grandson stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate while the pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the head gasket replaced however, the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 163,335.
NHTSA complaint #11440917 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hi my name is [XXX]. Toyota headquarter case # [XXX] Incident day July 6, 2018 I had a big technical problem with my 2014 Toyota Prius V where it caught on fire because one of the valve lifters fell into the engine head and broke the engine block while driving. When that happened, the oil began to leak into the muffler and the engine and hybrid wiring immediately caught on fire. Many of my colleagues who also bought the same vehicle for Taxi business use in San Francisco all have a similar issue as mine. A few of theirs caught on fire, and a few others mentioned to me that the head gasket for their same Toyota vehicle blew out and each of them had to replace it at around 120,000 miles. I believe that’s why they don’t manufacture these same vehicles anymore because of the defectiveness in the engine. I opened a case with Toyota Manufacturer back in July 2018 and they sent a specialist to inspect the vehicle after the fire. He found the piece that fell inside the engine and that damaged the engine. The Toyota specialist admit to me that the engine of my 2014 Toyota vehicle is very defective and must be covered under warranty. My mechanic replaced the engine for me with a used one with 28,000 miles. This entire case was documented under my name with Toyota Motors Manufacture. I contacted the highway safety and I tried to file a claim against Toyota at the time, but I never got a follow up on my case after I left various messages. All they said was that they will investigate but never gave me any information regarding the engine fire situation or honor any warranty. I hope this incident will be investigated by your department and have this vehicle under recall. Thank you. PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #11431442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
MY TOYOTA PRIUS V ONLY HAS 121,153 MILES ON IT AND DURING A SHORT DRIVE TO WORK WHERE WE NEVER REACHED SPEEDS OVER 50MPHS OUR PRIUS V OVERHEATED CAUSING A BLOWN HEAD GASKET AND ALL SORTS OF COMBUSTION ISSUES. THE REPAIRS WERE $3000. THIS IS A 2ND FAMILY CAR WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN MAINTAINED BY EXPERT, LICENSE AUTO MECHANICS. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN ON A CAR WITH SUCH LOW MILAGE! I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUES WITH THIS TOYOTA PRIUS MODEL AND TOYOTA SHOULD FILE A RECALL AND FIX THE OVERHEATING ISSUES.
NHTSA complaint #11407218 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
LOSS OF POWER, ENGINE RATTLE AT START. TOYOTA DEALER INSPECTED AND SAID THE HEAD GASKET IS COMPROMISED. WE HAVE ALWAYS TAKE CARE AND REGULAR MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLE. I FOUND OUT THAT TOYOTA HAS A FAULT EGR SYSTEM THAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE COMPROMISE. TOYOTA NEVER NOTIFIED US.
NHTSA complaint #11403166 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE -ENGINE HAVE BROKEN HEAD GASKET. COOLANT RESERVOIR STARTED TO DRAIN. COOLANT SLOWLY LEAKS IN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE DUE TO BROKEN HEAD GASKET. CAUSING SHAKING ENGINE BECAUSE COOLANT CANNOT COMBUST INSIDE THE ENGINE. -ALSO EGR COOLER WAS FULLY CLOGGED BY CARBON THAT CAUSED FAILURE OF CARBON AIR CIRCULATION. BRAKE SLOWLY FAILING BRAKE ACTUATOR IN THE PROCESS. WHEN PRESSING BRAKES, WHINING SOUND IS PRESENT AND BRAKES SLOWLY FAILS TO HOLD PRESSURE IN THE SYSTEM WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED. -BRAKE SYSTEM WAS FULLY INSPECTED AND NO LEAKS WERE FOUND AND BRAKE FLUID HOLDS IN FULL LEVEL.
NHTSA complaint #11402958 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY THE OTHER DAY AND MY 2013 PRIUS AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I FELT A POP AND I HAD NO GAS BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND NOT GET KILLED I CALLED FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE I DID HAVE POWER I DID HAVE STEERING BUT THERE WAS NO GAS UPON CHECKING AT MY TOYOTA DEALER THEY SAID THE PISTON HAD GONE STRAIGHT THROUGH THE ENGINE AND I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE AND THAT IT WAS PROBABLY DUE TO ABUSE OF OIL AND LACK OF OIL CHANGES I GOOGLED AND SAW THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM AND I'M ACTUALLY A DOCTOR AND HAVE SEVEN CHILDREN AND I DID CHANGE MY OIL AND I HAD NO WARNING LIGHT
NHTSA complaint #11397581 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.