2006 Toyota Prius Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 22about this part
- Share
- 2%of 1,440 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 75,844miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 22 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2006 Toyota Prius, 2% of the 1,440 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 75,844 miles. 4 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.
“From the time I purchased it new in 2006, while in park/stationary, it's normal for a Prius to shut off their gas engine while in idle.. However, when the gas engine comes back on to help charge the battery while in idle, it causes the car to jerk forward 1-2 inches. One time this bumped a person crossing the street that walked near my idling car. It happens every time. So the date below should have an option for everyday.”
NHTSA complaint #10892237, filed 2016-08, 500 miles“Combination meter failed, there was no dash display, no speed display, and vehicle would not shut down. Fortunately we were not out of town so we drove the vehicle to our regular Toyota dealer,ourisman fairfax Toyota, fairfax, va, and left it there.”
NHTSA complaint #10434430, filed 2011-11, 52,000 miles“Gear pops back to neutral from driving or reversing as I started my Toyota Prius 2006 car from my driveway, I put it in reverse and it came halfway to the road and then stopped. I noticed that the gear shift lever had, on its own, shifted back to neutral. I then put the car in drive and tried to accelerate back into the driveway of my home. The car's gear shift lever again moved to neutral. The only way I could move the car back to the driveway was by holding the lever in the drive position manually. …”
NHTSA complaint #10535780, filed 2013-08, 88,767 miles“My 2006 Toyota Prius was parked in a driveway. I powered it on then tried to put it in drive. The shift kept bouncing out of drive without my moving it, into n, r and finally back into drive at which point I released the hand brake, then eased my foot off the brake pedal. I did not pushed the accelerator pedal in order to turn onto the road slowly. But the car suddenly accelerated really fast. As it did so the red triangle 'problem - check engine' symbol came up on the dashboard. …”
NHTSA complaint #10376939, filed 2011-01, 54,689 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 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10164330Jul 1, 2019TSB: REVISION NOTICE July 01, 2019 Rev2: ? Applicability has been updated to 2019 ? 2020 model year Toyota vehicles. ? The Techstream Preparation and Process Overview sections…
- 10134454Aug 24, 2015TechTip: Condition - The vehicle may be difficult to start or have an abnormally low or rough idle after the battery has been disconnected or power to the Engine ECM has been…
- 10109403Oct 16, 2014TSB: World Standard (WS) Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) was introduced to reduce maintenance costs and increase the mileage between scheduled maintenance checks. Here are…
- 10133836Feb 20, 2013This bulletin contains general vehicle pulling diagnosis and repair procedures along with specific information to help correct pulling complaints.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 13% |
| 2024 | 1 | 4% |
| 2023 | 3 | 14% |
| 2022 | 1 | 4% |
| 2020 | 1 | 7% |
| 2019 | 2 | 7% |
| 2018 | 2 | 5% |
| 2017 | 4 | 4% |
| 2016 | 15 | 10% |
| 2015 | 13 | 8% |
| 2014 | 6 | 3% |
| 2013 | 14 | 3% |
| 2012 | 21 | 5% |
| 2011 | 18 | 3% |
| 2010 | 79 | 3% |
| 2009 | 22 | 4% |
| 2008 | 54 | 4% |
| 2007 | 41 | 2% |
| 2006 | 22 | 2% |
| 2005 | 41 | 4% |
| 2004 | 34 | 6% |
| 2003 | 5 | 5% |
| 2002 | 9 | 5% |
| 2001 | 5 | 3% |
Other parts of the 2006 Toyota Prius
941 complaintsBrakes
210 complaintsElectrical system
153 complaintsVehicle speed control
84 complaintsOther or unknown
44 complaintsAir bags
30 complaintsEngine
25 complaintsSteering
22 complaintsEngine cooling
20 complaintsFuel system
20 complaintsEquipment
18 complaintsElectronic 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 31, 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