Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2010 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started to hesitate. The ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that there was brake message displayed. During the failure the brake pedal had to be depressed twice before the vehicle responded. The vehicle was taken to the local Service Center who diagnosed that power brake booster and master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle did not qualify for the Extended Warranty related to the failure. The local dealer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 135,000.
On Thursday, January 28th my wife drove our 2010 Toyota Prius to work. The was a slight coating of snow on the ground. Less that one block from our house, driving at no more than 10-15 MPH she applied the brakes to stop at a stop sign. She reported that the brakes seemed to lock (not the normal ABS feel) and she lost control of the car, which then slid/skidded into a curb which punctured the front passenger tire. The car appeared to have only a punctured tire which was changed by a aaa service truck. After the tire was changed and the service truck left, I attempted to drive the vehicle to a nearby tire dealer. As I tried to drive the car, I heard and felt a loud scraping noise that sound and felt like the brakes were still engaged. Even though I was now on clear pavement if I at all tried to apply the brakes,the ABS went on, but in an aggressive manner. …
2010 Toyota Prius - driving on alabama state highway closer to nashville, tn we hit a deer. This was on oct 12, 2009 around 8:30 am in the morning. The road was very empty and clear visibility. The deer came in from the left side of the road from the oncoming traffic and jumped into our lane. I had clear visibility of the deer and applied sudden brakes...we hit the deer and had extensive damage on the car. We never thought it might be an issue with the car...but now with so much of scrutiny going on with this new Prius, we do want to bring to the attention of your organization that from day 1 of purchasing the car the brakes are really funky. We had an SUV before and compared to that this car is very very sensitive on the brakes. If we are going in at high speed and brake suddenly it does not come to an abrupt halt and we always thought that is way these cars were. …
Car would not drive, or reverse it shifts to neutral since first week I bought the car in aug 2010. I bought a Toyota Prius III 2010 (from the dealership Toyota of kearney mesa in san diego) in 2010. The car from the beginning would shift back to neutral when I set it to drive or reverse. I bought the car and am the only owner). After I encounter this, within the week I took it to the dealership where I bought it (san diego kearny mesa) and they told me that it was not a problem. Yes, it was a problem and they refused to fix it. This has happen to my car from week 1. Now 5 years later, today, the car would not engage in "d" or reverse. I tried at least for 10 minutes. I called a dealership now in seattle (since I take my car here for service) and I was told that they never heard about it. I searched online and I found that this problem/bug does happen. …
VIN # : ([redacted]) on February 26, 2019, I asked autonation tyota buena park ( auto nation) to update the software and replace the invert assembly as per the recall notice letter from autonation. Also, I explained that my car's inverter and engine coolant were replaced on November 19, 2015 with showing the invoice of dch Toyota of simi valley and I had same overheating problem as before in summer 2018. On February 27, 2019, autonation emailed me as per the attached copy here that the Toyota representative came to autonation and did not approve repair or replacement due to high mileage (218,542) of my car. On februry 28, I picked my car but I will drive after receipt of Toyota's confirmation that vehicle is safe I believe that the inverter assembly should be replaced regardless of mileage for motor vehicle safety if my car has experienced inverter failure. …
My ABS system started showing signs of problems, and I started getting codes for all sorts of brake-related issues. My brakes ended up locking up and not working, and my battery in my car died because it was the brake system was not able to recharge my battery. Even though I started having issues with it in February, apparently Toyota said that because I had a 2010 Prius, that since November 31, 2019 had passed, the recall/extended warranty "ran out" on it. Even though this is a problem that obviously wasn't fixed in the first place. So when I took it to the dealership to get a diagnostics ran on it, they said that they needed $3,200 to fix the vehicle. This included both the purchasing and installation of a new brake booster/master cylinder assem and an ABS pump motor assem. I obviously do not have the money for the repair and they are telling me to go kick rocks. …
Accident 12/22/10 turned left as I pulled into parking space nearest to handicapped spot. It was very sunny and there was a patch of what looked like ice. As the car went over that spot it started to accelerate. I applied the brake, only to find myself hitting the curb. After hitting the curb the car lurched over the curb and I continued applying the brake. In a fraction of a second my car was on the side walk, just before impact with the wall I took my foot off the brake because the car did not seem to be responding. I didn't know what else to do. It was over in seconds. Bricks dented in the building, smashed glass. I put the car in reverse and into the parking spot. Head spinning as to how this happened. I walked into the store and apologized. There was glass dust still hanging in the air. The woman inside said 'call the police'. I thought that was a good idea. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. While driving 65 MPH, the brake, air bag, and traction control warning indicators illuminated continuously. The contact mentioned that the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. When the contact depressed the brake pedal slowly, the vehicle engaged. The contact called roadside assistance and was informed that there was no failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact about a recall for the brakes. The contact called al hendrickson Toyota at [phone] and they stated that there was no recall for the brakes. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V235000 (service brakes). The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
My wife had a 'near-death' experience on 22-mar-18 while driving her Prius (2010) back home. She was driving on a high speed interstate freeway (I-10) in houston and suddenly her ABS brake system failed and she can she all warning lights in the dashboard (ABS warning light, brake system warning light, slip indicator) were lit. As soon as she saw these warning, she tried to slow down the vehicle safely by applying brakes, but brakes were barely responsive. At this time, she was driving at a speed around 65 MPH. She kept pressing the brake pedals and slowly moved towards the shoulder area. After traveling for some distance, the vehicle stopped eventually. She called tow truck and took the car to Toyota dealership nearby. We are waiting for the response from the Toyota service center about the fault.
The car I have 3 dash lights we pull the code through computer it was c13 91. That means the car have an actuator it's not working so the brake system is not working properly and the ABS light traction light the brake light are on all the time . Sometime they go off and sometimes they turn back on usually it's more on time than off time. I did research and find out very common with 2010-2015 Prius model went to Toyota dealership at riverdale west springfield massachusetts no help. It's a known problem they agree but my car is 10 years old or 150000 miles over so no warranty please help I am a poor uber driver 4 daughter and wife I am the only bird feeder [redacted] is my cell and [redacted].
Traction Control complaints in other Prius years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2010 Toyota Prius?
NHTSA has 92 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2010 Toyota Prius, 3% of the model year's 2,823 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2010 Toyota Prius traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2010 Toyota Prius, though it has 10 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2010 Toyota Prius traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 10,000 miles, and 58% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.