2014 Toyota PRIUS V: complaints, problems and recalls

AFTER ABOUT 6 MONTHS A/C AND CABIN FAN SYSTEM SMELLED MOLDY, MILDEWY AND VERY MUSTY. TOYOTA SERVICE DEPT SAID ALL NEW MODELS HAVE THE PROBLEM (!) AND TOLD ME TO JUST TRY TO RUN THE FAN WITHOUT A/C. PROBLEM DID NOT GO AWAY! AT MY 12 MONTH CHECK, I REPORTED AIR QUALITY MOLDLY/MILDEW PERSISTS, AND SERVICE REP REPORTED THAT ALL NEW 2014 MODELS DO HAVE THE MOLDY/MILDEW CABIN AIR QUALITY PROBLEM AND TOLD ME TO ALWAYS RUN THE A/C AND FAN SYSTEM WITH "OUTSIDE AIR" COMING IN TOTRY TO CLEAN IT OUT. PROBLEM DID NOT GO AWAY. I LOOKED ONLINE AT "TOYOTAN…

Owner-reported narrative. 5,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10691271 at NHTSA ↗

WE WERE IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY FOR JUST OVER A HALF HOUR WITH MY TWO YOUNG CHILDREN IN THE CAR. SPEEDS BELOW 10 MILES PER HOUR. AT THE TIME OF INCIDENT, WE WERE TRAVELING BETWEEN 5-7 MPH. TRIED COMING TO A STOP WITH ABOUT 10 FEET BETWEEN OUR CAR AND A BIG RIG IN FRONT. THE BRAKES WOULDN'T EGANGE. REPEATEDLY STOMPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BETWEEN 5 TO 10 TIMES. CAR BREAK WOULD NOT ENGAGE AND WE ROLLED INTO BIG RIG BUMPER. THIS GAVE US A CHANCE TO POWER DOWN THE CAR WITH THE PUSH/START BUTTON.

Owner-reported narrative. 17,933 miles reported. Look up ODI 10717229 at NHTSA ↗

AFTER PARKED FOR 20 MINUTES, THE CAR IS DEAD, HAD TO JUMP START. BATTERY WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER, BUT THE ISSUE WAS NOT TAKING CARE OF. AT LEAST 3 MORE TIMES SINCE THE BATTERY REPLACEMENT, I FOUND MY CAR WAS AGAIN DED AFTER PARKING, CAN NOT EVEN OPEN THE DOOR WITH REMOTE. BUT ALL 3 TIMES THE CAR WAS ABLE TO POWER ON AFTER A FEW MINUTES ON IT'S OWN WHILE WAITING FOR TOW... ABOVE THAT, THE CLOCK, TRIP ODOMETER AND TEMP SETTINGS WERE RESETTING ON RANDOM TIMES SINCE 650 MILES, AS WELL AS THE RADIO WHICH WILL TURN ON AND OFF AT RANDOM. DEALER REP…

Owner-reported narrative. 1,429 miles reported. Look up ODI 10736030 at NHTSA ↗

WAS DRIVING AT APPROX 20MPH ON A SIDE ROAD WHEN THE CAR COMPLETELY LOST POWER AND WENT DEAD. ALL THE DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHTS LIT UP AT THE SAME TIME. LOST STEERING CONTROL (THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY HEAVY AND WAS UNABLE TO STEER). MANAGED TO COAST TO A STOP A 100 FEET AWAY (SINCE THE CAR HAD ABSOLUTELY NO POWER). TURNED OFF THE POWER BUTTON, TURNED IT BACK ON AND THE CAR STARTED RUNNING AGAIN. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS, FOUND CODES (LISTED BELOW) WHICH SUGGESTED THAT THE SMART KEY LOST COMMUNICATION WITH…

Owner-reported narrative. 7,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10777968 at NHTSA ↗

I EXPERIENCED SUDDEN BUT MOMENTARY BRAKING WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEED (> 50 MPH) WHILE EITHER ENTERING RO EXITING HWY. THIS OCCURRED TWICE IN LAST TWO MONS. I DROVE MY CAR TO CLOSEST DEALERSHIP THE 2ND TIME THIS HAPPENED (NOV. 21, 2105; WALDORF MD TOYOTA), WHO TOLD ME THEY RECEIVED AN EMAIL (BUT NO RECALL) FROM TOYOTA CORPORATE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DETECT THE PROBLEM OR REPRODUCE IT SO, AS INSTRUCTED BY DEALERSHIP, I CALLED TOYOTA CORPORATE NOV. 23, 2015 TO GET CASE NUMBER ASSIGNED. AT ONE POINT, TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE DEMA…

Owner-reported narrative. 7,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10809177 at NHTSA ↗

VERMIN ATTRACTED TO ECO-FRIENDLY HIGH-VOLTAGE WIRING SHEATH LOCATED IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. VERMIN CHEWED THROUGH SHEATHING AND EXPOSED BARE HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL CABLE. VEHICLE PARKED AND SECURED WHEN EVENT OCCURRED.

Owner-reported narrative. 13,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10836483 at NHTSA ↗

PRIVUSV DIMMING REAR VIEW MIRROR. THE MIRROR DOES NOT DIM PROPERLY. THE SENSORS SEEM TO BE IN A LOCATION THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME DOES NOT PICK UP THE LIGHTING FROM THE CAR BEHIND. THIS IS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER. I HAD THE MIRROR REPLACED BOT IT HAD NO EFFECT ON FIXING THE PROBLEM.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10864371 at NHTSA ↗

WHEN DRIVING AT 30 MPH, CAR HAS VIBRATION..TOOK BACK TO DEALERSHIP. BRAND NEW CAR, HAD TO PUT 4 BRAND NEW TIRES ON IT. COULD NOT GET IT TO BALANCE..AFTER TWO NEW TIRES..AFTER ALL NEW TIRES BALANCES..ALIGNMENT OK. COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT, BECAUSE IT STILL HAD THE VIBRATION. TALKED TO HIGHER MECHANICS @ TOYOTA VIA PHONE SAID "NATURE OF THE CAR".BEFORE AND AFTER THE 30 MPH IT SMOOTHS OUT AND NO VIBRATION.

Owner-reported narrative. 1,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10875843 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2015-01-16 (January 16, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Toyota Prius V vehicles manufactured November 7, 2013, to January 7, 2015. The occupant classification system (OCS) that activates or deactivates the passenger seat air bag system may be improperly calibrated. As a result, the passenger air bag may not deploy in a vehicle crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence: If the air bag does not deploy as intended, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will re-calibrate of the OCS system, free of charge. The recall began February 12, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.

Reported: 2015-07-15 (July 15, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Prius V vehicles manufactured August 22, 2011, to June 30, 2014. A component within the hybrid inverter assembly may overheat, causing the hybrid system to reduce output power allowing the vehicle to only drive a short distance. In some circumstances, the hybrid system may shut down causing the vehicle to stop while being driven.

Consequence: The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. The hybrid system could also shut down completely resulting in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unti (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU, free of charge. The recall began on July 30, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.

Reported: 2018-10-04 (October 4, 2018)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Toyota Prius and 2012-2014 Toyota Prius V vehicles. Excessive voltage in the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) within the inverter may cause the hybrid system to shut down, causing the vehicle to stall while being driven.

Consequence: If the hybrid system shuts down unexpectedly, it can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0V. Note: The software updates in this recall are needed even if the vehicle had the software previously updated under recalls 14V-053 or 15V-449.

Reported: 2020-06-24 (June 24, 2020)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Prius and 2014-2017 Prius V vehicles not included in recall 18V-684. Excessive voltage in the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) within the inverter may cause the hybrid system to shut down, causing the vehicle to stall while being driven.

Consequence: An unexpected hybrid power system shut down may increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will perform a software update for the hybrid system. If the vehicle has experienced an inverter failure with certain hybrid system faults related to this condition, the inverter assembly will be repaired or replaced, prior to software update. All repairs will be performed free of charge. This recall began July 24, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TB10 / 20TA10.