Home›Toyota›Prius c›2018

Toyota · Compact car

2018 Toyota Prius c

Hybrid

Compact Cars
1 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11

Safety Signal

89 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns2

Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA6

Crash ratingNHTSA overall4★

Fuel economybest combined, EPA46 mpg

2019 2018 2017 2016

The 2018 Toyota Prius c is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid compact car. The most efficient version, the Prius c, is EPA-rated at 46 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 6 complaints, most often about the visibility/wiper. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
Prius c	Hybrid	FWD	1.5L 4-cyl + 144V Ni-MH	48	43	46	$1,350

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 39037.

Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.

Recalls (2)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Hybrid Propulsion System

K0K

464 vehicles

ProblemToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Prius C vehicles. The DC-DC converter may fail resulting in the auxiliary battery no longer receiving power from the converter, which may cause a loss of drive.RiskA loss of drive increases the risk of crash.FixToyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the DC-DC converter with a new one, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is K0K.

NHTSA campaign 19V491000reported Jun 26, 2019Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

○minor

Equipment

J0L

19 vehicles

ProblemToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2018 Toyota Prius C vehicles sold in Puerto Rico. The front passenger air bag and recommended child occupant seating positions label may not have been attached during assembly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."RiskIf the label is missing, occupants may not follow the proper restraint usage guidelines, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.FixToyota will notify owners and will mail the removable labels to all known owners of the subject vehicles, free of charge. The recall began on April 11, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0L.

NHTSA campaign 18V176000reported Mar 15, 2018Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

6complaints filed

1 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 3 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2018: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2023: 1

Most-cited components

Unspecified3

Visibility/Wiper1

Steering1

Electrical System1

Engine1

Power Train1

What owners describe

“I entered a large, strip mall parking area and was driving at the vastly reduced speed one would use in such a situation. My intention was to park my car to enter a store in the mall. I turned a corner to park on the side of the building (parking options were limited). As I entered a parking space (moving at the speed …”Jul 4, 2023 · Engine · NHTSA owner report

“Certain 2018+ and all later Toyota Prius C modes have a 12V battery for which there is currently no OEM or aftermarket replacement. The battery has a form factor (shape and size) that is exclusive to these vehicles and not used in any other car sold in North America. Vehicles with failed batteries (like mine) cannot be…”Dec 1, 2021 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
5 HB FWD	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	12%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning.

Other Prius c model years

2019 Toyota Prius c

1 recalls · 0 complaints

2017 Toyota Prius c

1 recalls · 2 complaints

2016 Toyota Prius c

0 recalls · 12 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

JSON for this page · API