NHTSA lists 1 safety recall and 30 owner complaints for the 2020 Toyota Prius.
1Safety recalls
30Owner complaints
11Complaints citing a crash
0Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 27, 2026
Recalled components: stability control. Most-reported area: brakes (6 complaints, 20%). Includes the plug-in hybrid, sold as the Prius Prime until 2024. Excludes the smaller Prius c and the Prius v wagon.
1 safety recall for the 2020 Toyota Prius
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
Stability control
Jul 24, 2019
Fails federal standard 126 (electronic stability control)
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019 Lexus LS500, LC500, ES300h, UX250h, LS500h, Toyota Prius, RAV4 HV, 2019-2020 Toyota Prius Prime, and 2020 Corolla HV vehicles. The brake booster pump may fail causing a deactivation of the Vehicle Stability Control system and a loss of braking assist. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
Risk: Deactivation of the vehicle stability control system or a loss of braking assist increases the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake booster pump, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2019. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 and Lexus owners may contact Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1L/K0L. Lexus' numbers for this recall are K2F/KLF.
NHTSA listing: PRIUS PRIME. Components: Stability control; Brakes. Toyota campaign K1L/K0L, K2F/KLF.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
The areas named in the 30 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Prius. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Brakes6 · 20%
Electrical system5 · 17%
Visibility/wiper5 · 17%
Powertrain4 · 13%
Speed control4 · 13%
Tires4 · 13%
Air bags2 · 7%
Unknown or other5 · 17%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%.
Toyota Prius recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2020 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2016 Prius drew the most (93) and the 2020 drew 20.
Owner complaints
2020: 30 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Toyota Prius
Model year
Complaints
2016
154
2017
133
2018
52
2019
38
2020
30
2021
16
2022
32
2023
25
2024
38
2025
18
2026
10
Safety recalls
2020: 1 recallTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Toyota Prius
Model year
Recalls
2016
5
2017
3
2018
1
2019
3
2020
1
2021
0
2022
1
2023
4
2024
4
2025
2
2026
1
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
Toyota PRIUS 5 HB AWD
Rollover risk 10.7%
Toyota PRIUS 5 HB FWD
Rollover risk 10.7%
Toyota Prius Prime 5 HB FWD
Not rated
Not rated
Not rated
Not rated
Questions
What are the most common 2020 Prius problems?
The areas owners name most often in NHTSA complaints: brakes (6), electrical system (5), visibility/wiper (5). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can name several areas.
Is the 2020 Toyota Prius safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2020 Toyota Prius earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
How do I check if my Prius has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Toyota dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 27, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 26, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: PRIUS, PRIUS PRIME.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.