Of the 9 Prius model years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the most about the 2010 (11.98) and the fewest about the 2015 (0.28), per 1,000 sold in the first three years.
Median across these years: 0.44 per 1,000 sold in the first three years. A model year well above its own nameplate’s median is the signal worth acting on.
Each model year with a verified denominator. Follow a year for what owners reported about it.
| Model year | Per 1,000 | Complaints | Most-reported part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 11.98 | 1681 | Service Brakes 57% |
| 2008 | 4.11 | 653 | Exterior Lighting 31% |
| 2009 | 1.65 | 246 | Service Brakes 31% |
| 2017 | 0.87 | 82 | Visibility/Wiper 14% |
| 2016 | 0.84 | 92 | Visibility/Wiper 18% |
| 2012 | 0.65 | 104 | Service Brakes 37% |
| 2022 | 0.44 | 21 | Electrical System 17% |
| 2013 | 0.43 | 68 | Service Brakes 44% |
| 2020 | 0.41 | 18 | Service Brakes 14% |
| 2014 | 0.35 | 52 | Service Brakes 36% |
| 2023 | 0.35 | 13 | Electrical System 22% |
| 2018 | 0.29 | 24 | Unknown Or Other 13% |
| 2015 | 0.28 | 35 | Service Brakes 43% |
2010 (11.98), 2008 (4.11), 2009 (1.65). Figures are complaints per 1,000 sold.
2015 (0.28), 2014 (0.35), 2013 (0.43). A year with too few complaints to rank is left out: few reports is not the same as a good year.
Safety complaints owners filed with NHTSA in each model year’s first three years on the road, divided by how many were sold, so a year that sold twice as many cars is not penalised for it.
Too few owners filed complaints about them to rank them. Few reports is not the same as a good year, so those years are left out of best and worst.