NHTSA lists 3 safety recalls and 38 owner complaints for the 2019 Toyota Prius.
3Safety recalls
38Owner complaints
7Complaints citing a crash
0Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 27, 2026
Recalled components: electrical system, stability control, and equipment. Most-reported area: brakes (11 complaints, 29%). Includes the plug-in hybrid, sold as the Prius Prime until 2024. Excludes the smaller Prius c and the Prius v wagon.
3 safety recalls for the 2019 Toyota Prius
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
Electrical system
Dec 11, 2019
instrument cluster/panel
Fails federal standard 101 (controls and displays)
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.
The fix and full notice
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.
NHTSA listing: PRIUS. Toyota campaign 19TA21 / 19TB21.
Stability control
Jul 24, 2019
Fails federal standard 126 (electronic stability control)
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.
The fix and full notice
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.
NHTSA listings: PRIUS, PRIUS PRIME. Components: Stability control; Brakes. Toyota campaign K1L/K0L, K2F/KLF.
Equipment
Mar 27, 2019
labels
Fails federal standard 110 (tire and rim labeling)
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.
The fix and full notice
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.
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.
NHTSA listing: PRIUS. Toyota campaign 19R1.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
The areas named in the 38 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2019 Prius. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Brakes11 · 29%
Engine6 · 16%
Electrical system5 · 13%
Wheels5 · 13%
Air bags4 · 11%
Forward collision avoidance4 · 11%
Most named: automatic emergency braking (3)
Speed control4 · 11%
Unknown or other9 · 24%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%.
Toyota Prius recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2019 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2016 Prius drew the most (93) and the 2019 drew 16.
Owner complaints
2019: 38 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Toyota Prius
Model year
Complaints
2016
154
2017
133
2018
52
2019
38
2020
30
2021
16
2022
32
2023
25
2024
38
2025
18
2026
10
Safety recalls
2019: 3 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Toyota Prius
Model year
Recalls
2016
5
2017
3
2018
1
2019
3
2020
1
2021
0
2022
1
2023
4
2024
4
2025
2
2026
1
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
Toyota Prius 5 HB AWD
Rollover risk 10.7%
Toyota Prius 5 HB FWD
Rollover risk 10.7%
Toyota Prius PRIME 5 HB FWD
Not rated
Not rated
Not rated
Not rated
Questions
What are the most common 2019 Prius problems?
The areas owners name most often in NHTSA complaints: brakes (11), engine (6), electrical system (5). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can name several areas.
Is the 2019 Toyota Prius safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2019 Toyota Prius earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
How do I check if my Prius has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 27, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 26, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: PRIUS, PRIUS PRIME.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.