2010 Toyota Prius Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 84 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2010 Toyota Prius, 3% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 60,500 miles. The words owners use most often: “takata air bags” (10% of reports).
- 84air bags complaints
- 60,500median miles at failure
- 27mention a crash
- 17mention an injury
- 2related recalls
- 17%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Takata air bags: mentioned in 8 of 84 complaints (10%)
- Failed deploy: mentioned in 7 of 84 complaints (8%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 42 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 84 complaints, 27 mention a crash, 17 an injury.
Toyota Prius air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Prius | 1 | 17% | — |
| 2024 Prius | 3 | 11% | 3,000 |
| 2022 Prius | 3 | 13% | — |
| 2020 Prius | 1 | 7% | — |
| 2019 Prius | 4 | 13% | 16,443 |
| 2018 Prius | 3 | 8% | 70,000 |
| 2017 Prius | 3 | 3% | 20,500 |
| 2016 Prius | 7 | 5% | 6,250 |
| 2015 Prius | 6 | 4% | 17,750 |
| 2014 Prius | 14 | 7% | 16,255 |
| 2013 Prius | 18 | 4% | 18,000 |
| 2012 Prius | 28 | 7% | 28,500 |
| 2011 Prius | 46 | 9% | 65,145 |
| 2010 Prius | 84 | 3% | 60,500 |
| 2009 Prius | 17 | 3% | 52,000 |
| 2008 Prius | 41 | 3% | 64,500 |
| 2007 Prius | 50 | 2% | 82,500 |
| 2006 Prius | 30 | 2% | 70,500 |
| 2005 Prius | 44 | 4% | 65,000 |
| 2004 Prius | 18 | 3% | 73,500 |
| 2003 Prius | 1 | 1% | 160,000 |
| 2002 Prius | 3 | 2% | 11,000 |
| 2001 Prius | 1 | 1% | 84,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (2)
Air bags:side/window
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Toyota Prius, 2010 and 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and 2011-2012 Lexus CT200h vehicles. A weld in the curtain shield air bag inflator may crack causing one or both portions of the inflator to eject into the passenger cabin.
Risk: If either portion of the curtain shield air bag inflator ejects into the passenger cabin, there is an increased risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install retention brackets to the curtain shield air bags, free of charge. The recall began on October 17, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota Customer Service Department at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is Toyota G0U, and Lexus GLJ.
Seats; air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V487000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The…
I was hit in the back by an SUV (my speed=40 mph, the SUV's speed=70 mph). As a result of the impact, my prius flew off the road, hit the roadside railings, and then rolled over 4 times landing upside down. However, NONE of the airbags deployed. This includes the front, side, and curtain airbags…
The airbag sensors for my passenger seat do not work. Regardless of if there is someone sitting in the passenger seat, buckled it, the system indicates that there is no one sitting in the seat and that they are not buckled in. This is of course a safety issue since the airbags would likely not go…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2010 Toyota Priuss have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 84 owner complaints about air bags for the 2010 Toyota Prius (3% of the 2,823 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2010 Toyota Prius air bags?
Yes: 2 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 60,500 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2010 Toyota Prius?
The most frequent phrase is “takata air bags”, in 8 of 84 complaints, followed by “failed deploy” (7).
Other 2010 Toyota Prius problems
See all 2010 Toyota Prius problems or air bags problems across all Prius years.