Table 1 shows one common structure related problems of the 2018 Toyota Prius.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Body problems |
On Dec 2, 2020 while driving on the freeway at about 45-50 mph our sunroof exploded causing us to get to the side of the road. The shade was closed which saved us from exploding glass. There were no road hazards, no issues other than a spontaneous exploding of our sunroof. The orlando police dept was summoned and the roadrangers stopped to assist us. I took the car directly to the Toyota dealership in clermont, FL and they repaired the glass at no charge but told me had the car not been under manufacturer warranty I would have been responsible for the cost of replacement. If the shade had not been closed the entire passengers within the cabin would have been splattered with shattered glass.
I was driving up to my garage on the side of my house on a clear day, early afternoon. I was traveling about 3 mph and tried to stop to park in front of the garage door. I depressed the brake pedal and it did not engage, but lurched forward into the garage, crashing into the garage and causing damage to both the garage and the auto.
The heat shield on the underside of the car, by the storage battery came lose while driving and was damaged. It is held in place by only four plastic pins. The car is so low to the ground that it is hard to clear normal speed bumps let alone older larger ones. We were traveling a housing addition less than 20 mph and just went over an older high speed-bump and puddle when it occurred. We drove the last 100 or so feet home and wired it up out of the way so the car could be driven at low speed too the dealership. The dealership told us this was damage due to our driving negligence "we hit something". When this shield comes off it falls straight into the vehicle exhaust pipe and ground, there is no simple way to remove the piece until a full repair can be completed. It must be wired up off the ground or part of the wheel and exhaust must be disconnected. It took the dealership three tries and over a month to get the correct shield in and perform the repair. The part number in the Toyota parts specification and the repair parts warehouse or not the same.
The caught on fire in the middle of the night while parked. Nothing was turned on and nothing was plugged in. The car was totaled. Toyota is refusing to admit this car has a problem and randomly catches fire. Toyota just issued a recall on another model of the Prius for this same issue.