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Electrical systemPart report

2010 Toyota Prius Electrical system Problems

Complaints
192about this part
Share
7%of 2,823 total for the year
Median mileage
65,000miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 192 complaints about the electrical system of the 2010 Toyota Prius, 7% of the 2,823 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 65,000 miles. 5 of these say a crash was involved and 6 a fire, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

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

“Air bag did not deployed at the time of accident. Damaged/rip apart front bumper...car is total loss as per insurance adjuster. Other collided honda cr-v had all its air bags deployed. None on my Prius. Accident happened at major intersection ,when green light turned on I paddle my car , other car honda cr-v came at a speed to make left turned and hit my front bumper.”

NHTSA complaint #11301005, filed 2020-01, 88,500 miles

“Our Prius has been losing power. It has 68k miles and we are the original owners. Driving at hwy speeds we noticed we have to push hard down on the gas just to get the car to maintain highway speeds. Hills are even worse. We are also still waiting on the parts to fix our headlights. Over the years I have changed the low beam bulbs at least 6 times! When are the parts coming?”

NHTSA complaint #11074952, filed 2018-02, 68,000 miles

“I was driving on the freeway at about 70 MPH when the check hybrid system light came on and the car lost all power and ability to accelerate. It completely began to descend in speed and within 2 minutes came to a complete shut down. I could have easily been rear ended had I not moved to the side of the freeway as quickly as I did.”

NHTSA complaint #11003313, filed 2017-07, 170,000 miles

“As I was driving 55-65 MPH on the highway, the check hybrid system alert came on, and all of a sudden I lost power. I was able to make it home but going up hill it would not go faster than 35 MPH, and 40-50 MPH on flat ground. This happened on a busy highway where the average speed is 55-65 MPH”

NHTSA complaint #11281909, filed 2019-11, 200,000 miles

“While driving on the highway, the instrument panel cluster on our 2010 Prius went out and we were without a functioning speedometer or gas gauge for the remainder of the drive. This problem has happened to many other 2010 Prius vehicles and Toyota refuses to warranty this extremely costly repair, which causes many drivers to use their vehicles without a speedometer for extended periods of time.”

NHTSA complaint #11080907, filed 2018-03, 114,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026233%
2025638%
2024415%
2023524%
2022625%
2021117%
2020214%
2019413%
201825%
20171112%
20162013%
20152716%
20143316%
20135213%
20125212%
20116813%
20101927%
20096012%
200823516%
200724812%
200615311%
200517817%
200417729%
20031313%
20021811%
20012716%

Other parts of the 2010 Toyota Prius

Brakes
1,945 complaintsVehicle speed control
287 complaintsExterior lighting
149 complaintsOther or unknown
148 complaintsEngine
140 complaintsAir bags
84 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
79 complaintsFuel system
71 complaintsElectronic stability control
58 complaintsBody and structure
35 complaintsEngine cooling
33 complaintsHybrid propulsion system
30 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2010 Toyota Prius

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 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