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EnginePart report

2006 Toyota Prius Engine Problems

Complaints
25about this part
Share
2%of 1,439 total for the year
Median mileage
131,000miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 25 complaints about the engine of the 2006 Toyota Prius, 2% of the 1,439 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 131,000 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“My car overheated suddenly, showed multiple warning lights, and was diagnosed as having a failure of the electric water pump --symptoms exactly identical to those described in !2v536000. My car did not stall but had the secondary conditions shown when Toyota engineers tested the likely results of failure of the faulty coil wire.”

NHTSA complaint #11241705, filed 2019-08, 95,000 miles

“According to the Toyota dealership where I have my car maintained, my 2006 Prius is in need of a new motherboard. Apparently there was a recall on this prior to so many miles on the vehicle but I have missed this deadline as my car did not show these symptoms prior to the cutoff.. My Prius when turned on does not turn on the dash board features so I have no idea how fast I am driving. Once I reach my destination I am unable to turn my car off. The power button does not respond, usually for several hours. …”

NHTSA complaint #11319423, filed 2020-03, 202,000 miles

“I was driving on a highway 95 south, almost to delaware, at night in the rain, after 4 hours on the road, everything stopped working. I couldn't accelerate, I had no brakes, and eventually even my lights went out. The entire electrical system was out. I was in heavy traffic, and don't even know how I got off the highway, and to a gas station. The tow truck driver couldn't even jump the battery enough to get the car in neutral, and had a difficult time getting it up on the flatbed to tow it home. I couldn't even lock the doors. …”

NHTSA complaint #11309040, filed 2020-02, 176,000 miles

“On the morning of may,04,2015 upon entering the car and starting it up the instrument panel fails to display. Not certain what the issue was I performed various check including the the accessory battery and attempted multiple times starting and stopping the car to no avail. I left the car where it was and a few hours later when I returned everything worked fine for a few more weeks then the issue occurred again. However, I have noticed that the issue is occurring now more frequently including when driving (stopped then go). …”

NHTSA complaint #10746364, filed 2015-08, 116,000 miles

“This complaint has not been qc'd. The contact submitted an email and requested that the official ivoq be written verbatim to the email. Kmj I have multiple situations with my Toyota Prius 2006 in the beginning of may 2014 I a loud beeping noise filled the car. The system had multiple lights displaying showing including the emergency brake light ( while I was driving), ABS,vsc, a red triangle with an exclamation point in the middle, etc. As, this was happening car immediately started slowing down and I was forced to pull it to the side of the street. …”

NHTSA complaint #10597905, filed 2014-06, 123,900 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202228%
2021233%
202017%
2019620%
201838%
20171213%
20161711%
201585%
2014178%
2013379%
2012317%
2011479%
20101405%
2009194%
2008493%
2007372%
2006252%
2005151%
200491%
200121%

Other parts of the 2006 Toyota Prius

Exterior lighting
941 complaints
Brakes
210 complaints
Electrical system
152 complaints
Vehicle speed control
84 complaints
Other or unknown
44 complaints
Air bags
30 complaints
Steering
22 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
22 complaints
Engine cooling
20 complaints
Fuel system
20 complaints
Equipment
18 complaints
Electronic stability control
15 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2006 Toyota Prius

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology