Owners have filed 15 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, automatic emergency braking, and transmission. The 8 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2021Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/8 checked
2021 Toyota Prius: inspection sheet
Engine off, key in hand0/2
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/2
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
These years share the 2021's design and most of its parts, so their problems are the ones to look for on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2021 checks
Worth adding to your 2021 checks
Worth adding to your 2021 checks
EPA figures for each version of the 2021 Toyota Prius. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1.8L 4-cylHybrid | FWD, 4WD | 49–56 mpg |
| 1.8L 4-cylPlug-in hybrid | FWD | 640 mi range |
NHTSA complaints for the 2021 Toyota Prius, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Unintended acceleration is the reported failure. The car surges forward with no pedal input, usually at very low speed while pulling into a parking space. Drivers describe the surge as violent and over in a second or two, with no time to react. One report also says the brake did not respond, and control returned only after about 10 seconds. Both complaints involve crashes, with 2 people injured. The reports give no mileage.
Radar cruise control can misjudge a stopped car ahead. One crash report says that after the lead car changed lanes, the system sped up instead of braking and hit a stopped vehicle at low speed. A separate complaint involves lane keeping in radar cruise mode. The car hugs the far edge of the lane or veers out of it on some drives, and only a full restart clears the fault. The dealer could not reproduce the problem. The reports give no mileage.
A parked car rolling away is the most serious report. On a Prius Prime, the car was shifted into park and the key removed, then the car rolled into a neighbor's driveway and grazed another vehicle. The same owner reports that the car would not start while connected to the charger. The dealer did not diagnose or repair it. A separate complaint describes rodents getting in and damaging components the owner says are left unprotected. The reports give no mileage pattern.
Excerpts from complaints Prius owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
The car accelerated without my foot on the accelerator, brake did not respond, and I had to drive through grass and a rock-filled ditch until after about 10 seconds the car returned to my control.
Filed with NHTSA, June 2023
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2021 ranks seventh for owner complaints among 8 Prius years, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.
The 2021 is the sixth model year of the Prius's fourth generation (2016–2021).
It includes the 2018 update.
What changed for 2018
Cars shoppers compare with the Toyota Prius, with their own 2021 checklists.
2021 owner complaints, side by side
