VehicleVerdict

2011 Toyota Prius airbags problems

The 2011 Toyota Prius has 46 airbags complaints filed with NHTSA — 7% of the year's total, and down from the prior model year.

46

Airbags complaints

7%

Share of year

18

Crash-involved

1

Related recalls

Airbags complaints by year

Prius airbags complaints by model year86 complaints2001: 1 complaints2002: 3 complaints2003: 1 complaints2004: 18 complaints2005: 45 complaints2006: 32 complaints2007: 54 complaints2008: 42 complaints2009: 17 complaints2010: 86 complaints2011: 46 complaints2012: 27 complaints2013: 18 complaints2014: 14 complaints2015: 6 complaints2016: 8 complaints2017: 3 complaints2018: 3 complaints2019: 4 complaints2020: 1 complaints2022: 2 complaints2024: 3 complaints
Prius airbags complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

Related recalls

16V487000AirbagsJune 30, 2016 · 482,002 units

Defect

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.

Consequence

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.

Remedy

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.

What owners report

“GOT HIT ON THE FRONT LEFT SIDE OF VEH. NOT AT FAULT AND I BELIEVE THE OTHER PARTY MIGHT HAVE PROVIDED FALSE PAPERS. BUT THE REASON FOR THE COMPLAINT IS MY AIRBAGS DIDNT DEPLOY??? FRONT BUMPER COVER BUMPER AND RADI. HAD DAMAGES. IN MY NONENEXPERT OPINION ENOUGH TO CAUSE IT TO EEPLOY”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Airbags · April 2, 2015 · crash

Common questions

How many airbags complaints does the 2011 Toyota Prius have?

NHTSA has 46 complaints about the 2011 Toyota Prius airbags — 7% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Are there recalls for the 2011 Toyota Prius airbags?

Yes — 1 NHTSA recall campaign for this model year is tied to the airbags: 16V487000.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.