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2010 Toyota Prius

For every car sold, owners filed 27.4 times as many complaints about the 2010 Prius as about the typical Prius year. Among the 9 Prius years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2015 (0.28 per 1,000 sold) and the most about this one, the 2010 (11.98).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

11.98 per 1,000

27.4 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 1,681 complaints filed in the first three years, of 2,828 ever. 95% lower bound 11.41.

Every Prius model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years
This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.44

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model yearPer 1,000Complaints
20084.11653
20091.65246
201011.981681
20120.65104
20130.4368
20140.3552
20150.2835
20160.8492
20170.8782
20180.2924
20200.4118
20220.4421
20230.3513

Issues owners of the 2010 Prius report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Service Brakes 1941 complaints

bump37719%
pothole29015%
surface20611%
rough1689%
uneven1679%
bumpy1407%

Vehicle Speed Control 288 complaints

braking9734%
bump5419%
pothole3713%
uneven279%
accelerates279%
bumps269%

Electrical System 193 complaints

low3217%
inverter2312%
low beam2211%
beam2211%
check system2111%
braking2010%

When it breaks

67% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 6,450 miles, from 2265 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

4 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign. Owners had filed 108 complaints about this component over roughly 2 months before an investigation opened.

Brake Actuator Valve Wear

Questions buyers ask about the 2010 Toyota Prius

Is 2010 a good year or a bad year for the Prius?

For every car sold, owners filed 27.4 times as many complaints about the 2010 Prius as about the typical Prius year. Among the 9 Prius years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2015 (0.28 per 1,000 sold) and the most about this one, the 2010 (11.98). The typical year is the median across its model years.

What problems does the 2010 Prius have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Service Brakes (1,941), Vehicle Speed Control (288), Electrical System (193). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2010 Prius reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Prius years: for every car sold, owners filed 27.4 times as many complaints about the 2010 Prius as about the typical Prius year.

Which Prius year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2015, at 0.28 per 1,000 sold. Every Prius year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Prius.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is taken year by year from published US sales figures, each one quoted from a named source.