2025 Toyota Prius Owner Complaints

2023+ Toyota Prius models display an advertisement on the touchscreen head unit and there is no way to remove it besides subscribing to Toyota's optional "Drive Connect" feature. Displaying an advertisement to the driver of a car that cannot be turned off without paying is a safety hazard.

3/13/2025

Design of rear window, side mirrors and large rear pillar greatly reduce the visibility and checking of blind spot if you are a taller person. Blind spot electronic detection can not be trusted as it's performance is intermittent. Solution would be for Toyota of retrofit electronic mirror feature like installed in the Limited version of this car. This feature has live rear view camera enabled on the rearview mirror at all times. Prius without this feature is very dangerous to drive.

11/2/2025

As I was pulling my car into a parking space with the brake applied lightly, the car suddenly lost braking and lurched forward when the front wheels touched the curb. This caused the front of the car to jump the curb and hit a tree a foot or two away. My foot was on the brake during this and the car did not brake automatically, or engage any other sort of safety measure. This was terrifying and I could have easily hit a pedestrian or injured myself and the passengers of my vehicle on impact. I completely lost control of the vehicle's braking due to this issue. Since the incident happened today, my vehicle has not yet been inspected. No warning lamps of any kind had been activated. The car was nearly brand new. Upon further investigation, there are numerous reports of similar events happening to Toyota hybrids over the years. A simple google search for this turns up many reports. These reports center around sudden loss of braking from the regenerative braking system and a "lag" before conventional braking is applied that causes the forward lurch due to the momentum of the car. Many others on online forums seem to also suggest running into this issue specifically when the wheels hit a bump. This sounds exactly like what happened to my car, causing it to lose control despite my having the brake applied. It is insane that such a problem has existed for years in the braking system without being fixed by Toyota.

4/2/2025

I started hearing a scratching/rubbing noise from the brake, and feeling the scratching/rubbing through the brake pedal, making it difficult to push down. I almost crashed in the ally into my garage, but the emergency braking took over and stopped the car very suddenly, snapping my neck a bit, and it is still sore as of me writing this report. Since then brake pedal makes scratching/dry rubbing noise with heavy rubbing and grabbing feel through pedal. It only happens at 20mph or below during quick stops (not smooth stop, press pedal quickly), at 15-25% pedal position. When holding pedal at that position while moving, rubbing/grabbing through the pedal feels rhythmic like it's related to wheel rotation. If car is creeping in Neutral or Drive (no gas pedal pressed), and you lightly press the pedal, you can hear and feel like something is grabbing/releasing/grabbing/releasing. Sometimes it the brake pedal resists and there is a very loud rubbing or grinding noise, and I have to press the pedal very hard. This can also be replicated when the car in in Park. Lightly pressing on the brake pedal causes the braking pump to make a whirring sound to build pressure (this is normal), but at the end there is a scratching sound and grinding feeling in the pedal. I took it to the dealer 3 days after purchasing it on June 25th, 2025 and the assistant service manager reproduced the issue in front of me, and thought it was the brake actuator going bad or something with ABS. However, the master tech at the dealer just drove it around, DID NOT CHECK ANY COMPONENTS except the thickness of the brake pads, and declared everything fine. I fear for my safety in this car. If I am involved in an accident, it will be because the braking system failed in this car and the dealer refused to fix it.

7/4/2025

As I was pulling my car into a parking space with the brake applied lightly, the car suddenly lost braking and lurched forward when the front wheels touched the curb. This caused the front of the car to jump the curb and hit a tree a foot or two away. My foot was on the brake during this and the car did not brake automatically, or engage any other sort of safety measure. This was terrifying and I could have easily hit a pedestrian or injured myself and the passengers of my vehicle on impact. I completely lost control of the vehicle's braking due to this issue. Since the incident happened today, my vehicle has not yet been inspected. No warning lamps of any kind had been activated. The car was nearly brand new. Upon further investigation, there are numerous reports of similar events happening to Toyota hybrids over the years. A simple google search for this turns up many reports. These reports center around sudden loss of braking from the regenerative braking system and a "lag" before conventional braking is applied that causes the forward lurch due to the momentum of the car. Many others on online forums seem to also suggest running into this issue specifically when the wheels hit a bump. This sounds exactly like what happened to my car, causing it to lose control despite my having the brake applied. It is insane that such a problem has existed for years in the braking system without being fixed by Toyota.

4/2/2025

2025 Toyota Prius XLE. The upgraded 12 inch infotainment flickers light then dark then back to light several times. Automatic braking is being turned off without knowledge. The Toyota cruise control and adaptive cruise control will say unavailable or see owners manual. Different safety features will turn off on their own. The 12 inch infotainment center will switch from Apple car play to regular radio (Sirius Xm) on its own.

9/17/2025

The wireless charging in my vehicle and others have reported the same problem. The phone gets so hot to the touch while charging that it is causing cell phones to shutdown and possibly damage them. There needs to be a update to provide cooling air to the charging area to avoid customers phone damage or worse a possible fire due to the extreme temperature the phones are obtaining.

6/23/2025

Randomly, the car have a delay of approximately 2 seconds when I hit the gas pedal. It happened multiple times, 2-3 times per day. The gas pedal can pe pressed to the floor, it won’t react. After 2 seconds or so it will react and drive normally. I noticed this is happening when the car is in EV mode ( I’m either stopped at red light, or I’m slowing down a bit/taking a turn. This is a hazardous situation and very dangerous.

9/4/2025

2025 Toyota Prius XLE. The upgraded 12 inch infotainment flickers light then dark then back to light several times. Automatic braking is being turned off without knowledge. The Toyota cruise control and adaptive cruise control will say unavailable or see owners manual. Different safety features will turn off on their own. The 12 inch infotainment center will switch from Apple car play to regular radio (Sirius Xm) on its own.

9/17/2025

Infotainment screen stuck on "Experience Drive Connect" screen which disables all the safety devices on the vehiucle. OEM needs to update the software to remove this screen. Screen is tied to Toyota subscription service. I believe all new Toyota products would have this vulnerability.

11/2/2025

The headlights at night are too low. They only illuminate 1 car's length away and Toyota doesn't want to touch it to raise it more. I asked my local dealer SF Toyota Service Center, where I said "It feels dangerous", and they just kinda shrugged their shoulders. This is not a defect, it seems to be as intended (or at least as rolled off the factory floor) because other 2023 Prius owners agree it is aimed too low. Someone believes they were "optimized" for the Radar Cruise Control camera, and not the driver. Some also report that an internal component of the headlight is casting a shadow within the light beam, indicating a second issue related to the headlight visibility. My ask: I want Toyota to fix both issues on my vehicle. I feel limited to day driving which is a problem, especially when I want to do outdoor recreational activities like hiking in the mountains or seeing a sunset at the top of a mountain. The beam cutoff is too low when the road isn't flat. This is especially a problem when there are zero reflectors on the road, which is an issue in areas like the highway into Santa Cruz.

3/17/2025

As I was pulling my car into a parking space with the brake applied lightly, the car suddenly lost braking and lurched forward when the front wheels touched the curb. This caused the front of the car to jump the curb and hit a tree a foot or two away. My foot was on the brake during this and the car did not brake automatically, or engage any other sort of safety measure. This was terrifying and I could have easily hit a pedestrian or injured myself and the passengers of my vehicle on impact. I completely lost control of the vehicle's braking due to this issue. Since the incident happened today, my vehicle has not yet been inspected. No warning lamps of any kind had been activated. The car was nearly brand new. Upon further investigation, there are numerous reports of similar events happening to Toyota hybrids over the years. A simple google search for this turns up many reports. These reports center around sudden loss of braking from the regenerative braking system and a "lag" before conventional braking is applied that causes the forward lurch due to the momentum of the car. Many others on online forums seem to also suggest running into this issue specifically when the wheels hit a bump. This sounds exactly like what happened to my car, causing it to lose control despite my having the brake applied. It is insane that such a problem has existed for years in the braking system without being fixed by Toyota.

4/2/2025

Randomly, the car have a delay of approximately 2 seconds when I hit the gas pedal. It happened multiple times, 2-3 times per day. The gas pedal can pe pressed to the floor, it won’t react. After 2 seconds or so it will react and drive normally. I noticed this is happening when the car is in EV mode ( I’m either stopped at red light, or I’m slowing down a bit/taking a turn. This is a hazardous situation and very dangerous.

9/4/2025

Randomly, the car have a delay of approximately 2 seconds when I hit the gas pedal. It happened multiple times, 2-3 times per day. The gas pedal can pe pressed to the floor, it won’t react. After 2 seconds or so it will react and drive normally. I noticed this is happening when the car is in EV mode ( I’m either stopped at red light, or I’m slowing down a bit/taking a turn. This is a hazardous situation and very dangerous.

9/4/2025

2025 Toyota Prius XLE. The upgraded 12 inch infotainment flickers light then dark then back to light several times. Automatic braking is being turned off without knowledge. The Toyota cruise control and adaptive cruise control will say unavailable or see owners manual. Different safety features will turn off on their own. The 12 inch infotainment center will switch from Apple car play to regular radio (Sirius Xm) on its own.

9/17/2025

Infotainment screen stuck on "Experience Drive Connect" screen which disables all the safety devices on the vehiucle. OEM needs to update the software to remove this screen. Screen is tied to Toyota subscription service. I believe all new Toyota products would have this vulnerability.

11/2/2025

Infotainment screen stuck on "Experience Drive Connect" screen which disables all the safety devices on the vehiucle. OEM needs to update the software to remove this screen. Screen is tied to Toyota subscription service. I believe all new Toyota products would have this vulnerability.

11/2/2025

Design of rear window, side mirrors and large rear pillar greatly reduce the visibility and checking of blind spot if you are a taller person. Blind spot electronic detection can not be trusted as it's performance is intermittent. Solution would be for Toyota of retrofit electronic mirror feature like installed in the Limited version of this car. This feature has live rear view camera enabled on the rearview mirror at all times. Prius without this feature is very dangerous to drive.

11/2/2025

Automanufactures are Phasing Out Spare Tires Toyota and other automakers no longer include spare tires in new vehicles. I recently experienced the serious consequences of their decision . While driving to work in my new 2025 Toyota Prius, I got a flat tire. I manage to get to work and parked in a parking garage. My husband came to help and went to install the spare. He opened the trunk and found Styrofoam under the liner with a tire inflation kit... no spare tire! We had a horrible experience for the next three days!!! So... Consumer Beware: • Tire kit is not a solution; it does not work for all leaks. • Tow trucks can not access cars in parking garages due to low height. • Driving out could damage tire rims. • Health risks from exposure to the tire inflation chemicals: headaches within an hour, lasting into the next day, skin irritation, and respiratory inflammation/congestion. Time, Labor, and Cost; (It's all on the consumer) After days and many hours of calling Toyota, the dealer, and tire shops, we had to: • drive back to remove the flat tire • order a new tire • deliver to the flat tire to the shop • pick up the new tire the next day • drive back to replace the flat ourselves. Solutions / Warnings: • Spare tire: Toyota does not make one, leaving consumers without options. • Consumers must rely on unreliable tire kits, roadside assistance towing to a dealership (which could not help because tow trucks can not fit in parking garage) or do it all yourself. • No adequate health warnings on the tire kit—contains natural rubber (latex), propylene, and ammonia. Toyota reps offered no empathy or real solutions, only demeaning statements that consumer should know that Toyota (and other automakers) no longer includes spare tires only ineffective tire kits, leaving Toyota and others removing spare tires to save money and appear to improve gas mileage creates serious risk for consumers.

11/20/2025