2001 Toyota Prius problems
Owners have filed 215 complaints about the 2001 Toyota Prius with NHTSA. Steering accounts for 22.8% of them — the clear leader, ahead of tires at 13%.
Complaints215
Crashes23
Fires3
Injuries10
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Steering 22.8% · 49
Tires 13.0% · 28
Electrical system 13.0% · 28
Vehicle speed control 11.6% · 25
Engine and engine cooling 8.4% · 18
Suspension 4.2% · 9
Fuel system, gasoline 4.2% · 9
Service brakes, hydraulic 3.7% · 8
Severity
Of those complaints, 23 describe a crash, 3 describe a fire and 10 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 17 model years of the Toyota Prius in this data, 2001 sits 12th by complaint volume. 2010 draws the most.
Filing volume has held steady, 10 in the last three years against 11 in the three before.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 60,824 miles.
In owners' own words
Steering wheel, uncontrollable shudder, will literally rip itself out of your hand or grip. Usually happens during the first of the day when it's relatively cold. While slowly moving the vehicle, the steering wheel will start to vibrate violently, in an un controllable manner. Sometimes the power steering will just error out while driving down the street during the day, loosing all power steering as well. Steering · reported at 148,000 miles
The steering wheel on my 2001 Toyota Prius suddenly starts shaking violently when I start up the car. It seems to occur during cold weather. I have to stop the car when it happens because steering is no longer possible when the shaking happens. This shaking has occurred at least 5 times. If I let the car warm up for a few minutes before driving it seems to reduce the occurrence of the shaking. Steering · reported at 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Toyota Prius. She stated the vehicle would shudder and the steering wheel would vibrate when shifted into reverse. The power steering warning light illuminated. There is a safety recall for power steering gear rack and pinion (nhtsa campaign #00v285000). The current mileage was 92,000 and the failure mileage was 91,000. Updated 01-15-08. *Kb updated Steering · reported at 91,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…