NHTSA Safety Recalls
2004 Toyota Prius Recalls
The 2004 Toyota Prius has 6 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on November 14, 2012.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2004 Toyota Prius. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 6
- Owner complaints
- 610
- Crashes reported
- 38
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
2 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2004 Toyota Prius, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
6 recalls on the 2004 Toyota Prius
Engine and engine cooling
- Campaign
- 12V536000
- Reported
- November 14, 2012
- Vehicles affected
- up to 350,662
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2009 Prius
Steering
- Campaign
- 12V537000
- Reported
- November 14, 2012
- Vehicles affected
- up to 669,705
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2009 Prius
Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
- Campaign
- 09V388000
- Reported
- October 5, 2009
- Vehicles affected
- up to 4,445,056
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2009 Prius, 6 other models
Steering: electric power assist system
- Campaign
- 06V188000
- Reported
- May 31, 2006
- Vehicles affected
- up to 170,856
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2006 Prius
Air bags
- Campaign
- 06V096000
- Reported
- April 3, 2006
- Vehicles affected
- up to 133
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2005–2006 Prius, 5 other models
Exterior lighting: brake lights: switch
- Campaign
- 04V558000
- Reported
- November 22, 2004
- Vehicles affected
- up to 183,090
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 1 other model
2004 Toyota Prius complaints by year
NHTSA has received 610 owner complaints about the 2004 Toyota Prius, the newest on September 24, 2025. Of these, 38 describe a crash (6%) and 2 a fire; owners reported 29 injuries.
In complaints about the 2004 Toyota Prius, the component group named most often is the exterior lighting (30%), followed by the electrical system (29%) and the engine and engine cooling (15%).
1 of the 2004 Toyota Prius's 6 recalls also concerns the exterior lighting.
Where 2004 Toyota Prius owners gave the mileage (503 complaints), the median was 72,436 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Exterior Lighting184
- Electrical System177
- Engine And Engine Cooling89
- Vehicle Speed Control52
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic39
- Power Train34
Complaints received, by year
| 2003 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 13 | |
| 2005 | 172 | |
| 2006 | 20 | |
| 2007 | 18 | |
| 2008 | 26 | |
| 2009 | 67 | |
| 2010 | 106 | |
| 2011 | 28 | |
| 2012 | 37 | |
| 2013 | 21 | |
| 2014 | 14 | |
| 2015 | 22 | |
| 2016 | 9 | |
| 2017 | 12 | |
| 2018 | 18 | |
| 2019 | 10 | |
| 2020 | 6 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 5 | |
| 2025 | 2 |
Complaints about the 2004 Toyota Prius peaked in 2005, when NHTSA received 172. 37% arrived between 2003 and 2007, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2004 vehicles, the 2004 Toyota Prius drew 3.0× the complaints of the median Toyota Prius year in the same window: 6th highest of the 21 ranked years.
That makes 2004 one of the Toyota Prius years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 4/5
The 610 complaints about the 2004 Toyota Prius are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Toyota Prius by model year
Other 2004 Toyota models
Newest record on this page: September 24, 2025. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted