2015 Toyota Prius UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Clear coat and paint is peeling, especially on the roof. Toyota is not acknowledging that this happening with the 2015 Prius seaglass pearl paint.
My small battery died and it is located on passenger side, inside, underneath tail light. There us no key entry. One must crawl to back if car and dismantle many pieces to access release. I had heavy 5 gallon jugs of water in back. There is no trunk release and no key entry. The only way to jump car is at fuse box under hood. Car needs a button inside, ideally up front.
VPC
The clear coat on the roof of my 2015 Prius began to peel little by little starting around 2021. What started out as small patches has now become large patches on various parts of the roof. The clearcoat is also beginning to peel right below the windows on the passenger side, close to where the door panel and the window meet. It's unsightly and I have not had this happen to any of my other vehicles in the past. I've done nothing different in the handling/washing/parking of the vehicle compared to my previous cars.
The Incident was body and light
I RECEIVED A LONG TECHNICAL LETTER FROM TOYOTA WITH MY VIN NUMBER WARNING ME OF A POSSIBLE FAILURE OF THE INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE IN MY 2015 PRIUS. IT SAYS THIS IS NOT A RECALL, BUT RATHER AN ADVISEMENT OF A VOLUNTARY CUSTOMER PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN INITIATED FOR MY VEHICLE. IT SAYS THAT IF I HAVE THE INCLUDED SYMPTOMS, TO BRING IT IN FOR EVALUATION, AND A REPAIR WILL BE ATTEMPTED, BUT IF THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE IPM, I WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE INVESTIGATION. THIS SOUNDS MOST UNFAIR. I DO NOT HAVE THE SKILLS TO MAKE THE NECESSARY DETERMINATION. I CALLED MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE SOMEONE CALL ME BACK, BUT NO ONE HAS CALLED!
On August 10, 2021 my 2015 Prius was parked in a Strip Mall parking lot. When I turned on the Prius and shifted into reverse, after traveling only a foot or so, the shift selector popped into Neutral. When I shifted into Drive, it happened again. After several tries with the same results, I called Findlay Toyota Service. I was advised to have the car towed, at my expense, to Findlay Toyota Service. Note: the tow truck driver reported to me and the Findlay Service Representative that he could keep the shift selector in gear by holding it in place with his hand while driving it to the tow truck. The Prius was left at Findlay Toyota for 2 days. The Service Rep reported that 3 different mechanics plus himself could not duplicate the problem; the Prius stayed in gear for them. I researched online and found other Prius owners reported this problem ocurring intermittantly. The only solution seems to be replacing the Shift Selector Switch at a cost of $838.35 + tax. Even though this is clearly a safety hazard, there is no recall.
THE LOUDNESS OF THE HORN IS VERY UNSAFE. TOYOTA OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF INSTALLING SUCH A "WHIPPY SOUNDING HORN SYSTEM ON ITS HYBRID. WHEN I WAS CUT-OFF IN CITY TRAFFIC, THE HORN LOUDNESS WOULDN'T ATTRACT IMMEDIATE ATTENTION TO MOST OTHER DRIVERS.
WHILE DRIVING IN A PARKING LOT, THE BRAKES WERE PRESSED TO SLOW DOWN THE CAR TO TURN INTO A PARKING LANE. HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF BRAKING THE CAR ACCELERATED. THE BRAKES WERE PRESSED AGAIN, AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. THE CAR FINALLY STOPPED, APPROXIMATELY MIDWAY DOWN THE PARKING LANE. AS A RESULT, MY MOTHER AND I WERE INVOLVED IN A MINOR CAR ACCIDENT.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2015 Toyota Prius has 9 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.