Recall Register

2011 Toyota Prius: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for the 2011 Toyota Prius. The newest campaign is 18V684000. NHTSA received the report on 4 Oct 2018. The NHTSA record gives the component Hybrid Propulsion System. NHTSA has 520 complaints on file for this model year. 3 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 18V684000, in the NHTSA record

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0V. Note: The software updates in this recall are needed even if the vehicle had the software previously updated under recalls 14V-053 or 15V-449.
NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

6 campaigns, newest first. 2,002,005 units in total.

  • 18V684000Hybrid Propulsion System
  • 16V487000Air Bags / Side/Window
  • 16V396000Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler
  • 14V743000Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler
  • 14V053000Hybrid Propulsion System / Inverter
  • 13V014000Seats

  1. 18V684000Received . 807,329 units.

    Hybrid Propulsion System

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Toyota Prius and 2012-2014 Toyota Prius V vehicles. Excessive voltage in the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) within the inverter may cause the hybrid system to shut down, causing the vehicle to stall while being driven.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If the hybrid system shuts down unexpectedly, it can increase the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0V. Note: The software updates in this recall are needed even if the vehicle had the software previously updated under recalls 14V-053 or 15V-449.

    Report filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing. Manufacturer campaign number J0V. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 16V487000Received . 482,002 units.

    Air Bags / Side/Window

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Toyota Prius, 2010 and 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and 2011-2012 Lexus CT200h vehicles. A weld in the curtain shield air bag inflator may crack causing one or both portions of the inflator to eject into the passenger cabin.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If either portion of the curtain shield air bag inflator ejects into the passenger cabin, there is an increased risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install retention brackets to the curtain shield air bags, free of charge. The recall began on October 17, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota Customer Service Department at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is Toyota G0U, and Lexus GLJ.

    Report filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing. Manufacturer campaign number Toyota G0U Lexus GLJ. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  3. 16V396000Received . 7,749 units.

    Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.

    Report filed by Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC. Manufacturer campaign number SET16B. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 14V743000Received . 3,233 units.

    Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.

    Report filed by Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  5. 14V053000Received . 698,457 units.

    Hybrid Propulsion System / Inverter

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2010 through 2014 Prius vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module (a component of the hybrid system) contains transistors that may become damaged from high operating temperatures. If this occurs, various warning lamps will be illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle will have reduced power allowing it to only drive a short distance.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. The hybrid system could also shut down completely resulting in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Toyota will notify owners and dealers will update the software for both the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU, free of charge. If an owner experiences a failure of the inverter before the vehicle receives updated software, the dealer will repair or replace the inverter assembly with a new one at no charge. The recall began on March 21, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

    Report filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  6. 13V014000Received . 3,235 units.

    Seats

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

    Report filed by Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

520 complaints, 667 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

  • 2011 Toyota Prius
  • All 2011 vehicles
2011 Toyota Prius: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component2011 PriusAll 2011 vehiclesPrius, all yearsMentions
Service Brakes394.348.1130.2263
Electrical System101.9129103.168
Exterior Lighting7231.7225.848
Engine70.5125.830.647
Air Bags69111.22846
Unknown or Other4263.935.928
Vehicle Speed Control423967.228
Power Train2788.626.918
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)2422.814.916
Service Brakes, Hydraulic1810106.612

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 29.

Complaints that report a crash
37
Complaints that report a fire
7
Injuries in the complaints
17
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
30 Sep 2026

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2011 Toyota Prius, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2016, with 56 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2011 Toyota Prius
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
DP23005Defect petitionBrake Actuator Valve WearService Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components22 Nov 2023Open
DP22005Defect petitionPedestrian alert soundsElectrical System / Propulsion System27 Jan 20237 Aug 202322V063000
DP19004Defect petitionBrake Actuator Valve WearService Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist30 Sep 201921 Jan 2021

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 20000
  2. 20013
  3. 20022
  4. 20031
  5. 20046
  6. 20056
  7. 20066
  8. 20074
  9. 20084
  10. 20096
  11. 201010
  12. 20116
  13. 20126
  14. 20133
  15. 20143
  16. 20151
  17. 20165
  18. 20173
  19. 20181
  20. 20193
  21. 20200
  22. 20210
  23. 20221
  24. 20234
  25. 20244
  26. 20252
  27. 20261

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2011 Toyota Prius: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/toyota/prius/2011/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2011 Toyota Prius?
2,002,005 units in 6 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Toyota Prius have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 35 recall campaigns for the Toyota Prius, model years 2000 to 2026. 6 of them name the 2011 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2011 Toyota Prius name most often?
Service Brakes: 263 of 667 component mentions, or 394.3 per 1,000. For all 2011 vehicles the figure is 48.1 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2011 Toyota Prius open?
1 investigation has no closing date in the NHTSA file, of 3 that name this model year.