2012 Toyota Prius C Electrical Problems

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius C. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the message "Check Hybrid Status - Stop vehicle in Safe Place Immediately" was displayed. There were several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with an internal power module transmitter and MG control computer inside the inverter assembly failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called an independent mechanic, and DTC: P0A94 (DC/DC converter or inverter performance problem invertor assembly) was associated with the failure. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 98,015.

NHTSA ID

11722252

Incident

Feb 26, 2026

Mileage

98,015 mi

I am writing to express a complaint regarding the issues I have experienced with the brake system of my Toyota Prius C, 2012 model. For the past several months, I have noticed that the brakes exhibit strange noises, soft pedal sensation, reduced braking efficiency, were driving and the ABS, traction, brake, and that other light turned on and the brakes became slow these issues have been observed on multiple occasions and pose a safety risk to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians. I have taken the vehicle for inspection, but the problems persist or have not been definitively resolved. I believe these faults may be related to defects in the braking system, and therefore I request a thorough inspection and necessary repairs at no cost, considering that the manufacturer could be responsible for manufacturing defects.

NHTSA ID

11664280

Incident

May 3, 2025

While my daughter was driving brake pedal faded and rear brakes locked up causing her to lose initial control of car . Steering felt tight . Many warning lights , check hybrid system , brake lights , steering warning lights , along with abs lights came on . Took car to Toyota dealer to diagnose it needs brake booster and master cylinder module . Service consultant said known issue with TSB but it had expired . Many , many complaints of this same incident of Toyota and Prius forums .

NHTSA ID

11597788

Incident

Jun 21, 2024

I was driving on the expressway and experienced a sudden loss of power. The internal combustion engine suddenly stopped and did not deliver any power to the wheels. I immediately received a message on the system that said 'Check Hybrid System Stop Vehicle in a Safe Place'. The electric motor still continued to provide some power with the available battery charge. I was able to make it to the shoulder of the road but it was challenging to get to the shoulder with no power or warning and high speed traffic. My wife and I were in the vehicle. The vehicle had no engine or error codes until the failure on the expressway. The vehicle has the code P0A1A and P0A94. This is consistent with the error codes in the NHTSA 19V491000 recall and Toyota Safety Recalls E0E and F0R.

NHTSA ID

11490716

Incident

Oct 18, 2022

I was driving going 45mph when my car shut off and wouldn't start back up. It almost caused an accident from it stopping in the middle of the highway. The master warning light, brake system warning light, warning buzzer ABS warning light and the slip indicator light came on as also the message center reading to have the hybrid system checked immediately. I did have ot towed on for a diagnosis and it came back saying i needed a new inverter power module this will cost $2000 . i cant afford that. I read all over the internet how there is. Safety recalls. When i called toyota they said there are no recalls so now im stuck paying this. Not happy at all!!! If there are anymore 2012 prius with this problem please write a complaint so we can get this on recall and have the company cover the cost of repair.

NHTSA ID

11437830

Incident

Oct 8, 2021

I was driving with my 10 year old son on local city streets. I was approaching a busy intersection while going approximately 35 miles when my car just turned off with an error message about the hybrid system failing. I stopped the car and put it in park while trying to turn the car back on, but I kept getting the same hybrid system error message. While the stoplight was red, I got my son out of the car and over to the sidewalk because this was a dangerous situation where anyone not paying attention could've slammed into my stalled car (see picture of black Toyota Prius). I called AAA to get it towed. About 20 minutes later, a cop car pulled up to block my stalled car and then got it pushed to the side of the road (picture attached) because of how dangerous it was sitting there blocking traffic at a major intersection. My car was taken to Cabe Toyota dealership where they diagnosed it with a failed IPM card, which would cost around $4,000 to replace. I did a simple Google search and found that 80,000 Prius from 2012 - 2014 have been recalled for this EXACT reason. There have also been class action lawsuits surrounding this IPM failure due to its extreme safety risks to anyone inside a car that will just die in the middle of driving it, especially when their fail-safe system does not get triggered with this particular IPM failure. As of right now, the car is available for inspection because it's still at Cabe Toyota. The invoice shows that the IPM card needs to be replaced. There were NOT any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the car shutting off while driving it. It had been running just fine.

NHTSA ID

11432520

Incident

Sep 9, 2021

2012 PRIUS C SUDDEN INVERTER FAILURE CAUSED CAR TO STALL ON BUSY STREET, PUTTING DRIVER AT SERIOUS RISK. CAR IS WELL MAINTAINED NEWER MODEL WITH MODERATELY LOW MILEAGE AND NO PRIOR ISSUES. CAR IS NO LONGER OPERABLE UNTIL INVERTER IS REPLACED. TOYOTA HAS HAD PRIOR LAWSUITS, COMPLAINTS AND RECALLS DUE TO INVERTER FAILURE. MY SPECIFIC VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL, BUT SAME INCIDENT OCCURRED AS DESCRIBED IN RECALL BULLETINS POSTED BY TOYOTA AND COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA.GOV WEBSITE. TOYOTA REFUSES TO INCLUDE MY VIN UNDER RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11387227

Incident

Jan 6, 2021

Mileage

126,000 mi

TAKATA RECALL FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE, VEHICLE PERFORMED UNPREDICTABLY. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY FOUND THAT THE HYBRID BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WHEN I DRIVE 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE WILL STALL AND ALL INDICATOR ILLUMINATE ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, THE CAR WILL STALL. TOYOTA DOES NOT STAND BY THEIR PRODUCT. MY CAR GOES COMPLETELY DEAD. EVERY WARNING LIGHT TURNS ON AND ITS BLINKING.

NHTSA ID

11255179

Incident

Sep 12, 2019

Mileage

107,931 mi

I'VE HAD TO REPLACE THE LIGHT BULB ON MY PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT CONSTANTLY OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. I HEARD THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE WIRING HARNESS OF THE 2012 REGULAR PRIUS AND I'M WONDERING IF THE ISSUE HAS BEEN LOOKED AT IN THE PRIUS C MODELS.

NHTSA ID

11241674

Incident

Aug 1, 2019

Mileage

100,250 mi

FROM DATE OF PURCHASE, VEHICLE PERFORMED UNPREDICTABLY. TRANSITIONING FROM ELECTRIC TO MOTOR WAS ROUGH AND NOTICEABLE. AT 600 MILES, A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT WAS FELT DURING TRANSITION. DEALER FOUND NOTHING. BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOOR AND VEHICLE WENT THROUGH STOP SIGN AT LOW SPEED. ROUTE 44 TOYOTA INSISTED I NEEDED TO GET USED TO ELECTRONIC BRAKES. TOYOTA INSISTED BRAKES WORKED AS PRESCRIBED. RECENTLY, A AAA DRIVER DISCOVERED THE GROUND WIRE ON THE BATTERY WAS LOOSE. THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED AND THE VEHICLE NOW FUNCTIONS AS DESCRIBED, THE HILL HOLD FUNCTIONS AS DESCRIBED. NHTSA DID AN INSPECTION IN RESPONSE TO A DEFECT PETITION - VEHICLE DID NOT PERFORM AS DESCRIBED IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER. BRAKE PEDAL IS NOW HIGH, AS IT WAS INITIALLY. THIS VEHICLE WAS SENT FROM THE FACTORY WITH A LOOSE BATTERY GROUND AND IT WAS COVERED UP BY EVERYONE FROM TOYOTA, DEALERSHIPS TO NHTSA WHEN THE CORRECTION WAS SIMPLE. TOYOTA DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT.

NHTSA ID

11170640

Incident

May 23, 2012

Mileage

800 mi

THE CAR LOCK DOORS NO LONGER WORK AND MUST BE LOCKED AND UNLOCKED MANUALLY. WENT TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND REPLACED REMOTE BATTERY TO NO END. NOW ATTEMPTING TO ISOLATE THE PART THAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM WITH ALL FOUR DOORS. SAFETY IS AN ISSUE BECAUSE, IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE DUE TO DOOR LOCKING MALFUNTION.

NHTSA ID

11149973

Incident

Nov 14, 2017

Mileage

145,000 mi

THE PRIUS C IS MADE IN JAPAN. THEY ARE COATING THE WIRING AND SEAT FOAM WITH SOYBEAN OIL AND PEANUT OIL. MICE ARE NOW EATING THE WIRING AND SEAT FOAM AND ANY ELECTRICAL OR RUBBER PARTS IN THE PRIUS C

NHTSA ID

10884799

Incident

Jan 5, 2016

WHEN IN THE HIGH 80S+ OUTSIDE, MY 2012 PRIUS C, BOUGHT NEW, HAS NOT STARTED FROM IN A STOPPED POSITION, WITH ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD ACTIVATING &, MANY TIMES, THE HYBRID SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN WHILE I'M TRYING TO EXIT A DRIVEWAY OR GARAGE, CITY STREET OR PARKING THE VEHICLE, CREATING A SUDDEN STALL & LEAVING ME IN THE PATH OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP MANY TIMES & THEY INSIST MY CAR CAN'T BE DOING WHAT IT'S DOING BECAUSE THEY SEE NO CODES & IGNORE MY SCREENSHOTS, PICS & VIDEO. WHEN I ASK THEM WHY MY CAR HAS SAME "SYMPTOMS" AS OTHERS OF THE SAME MAKE, MODEL & YEAR, THEIR REPLY IS THAT MY SPECIFIC CAR HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED. THEY WILL NOT EVEN LOOK TO SEE IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE SENSOR, INVERTER OR SOFTWARE. MY CAR HAS ONLY 8700 MILES ON IT. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT CAUSE I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT'S GOING TO DO & THE DEALERSHIP IS UNCONCERNED. IT SEEMS NEITHER THE NHTSA NOR TOYOTA GIVES A [XXX] ABOUT SAFETY. I THINK THE ISSUE IS THE SOFTWARE IN THE ELECTRONIC CONTROLS OF THE CAR, WITH CURRENT SETTINGS THAT COULD CREATE HEAT IN SOME OF THE TRANSISTORS. 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: SOFTWARE, HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTER NHTSA CAMPAIGN #14V053000. SUMMARY: IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES, THE INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE (IPM) INSIDE THE INVERTER MODULE (A COMPONENT OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM) CONTAINS TRANSISTORS THAT MAY BECOME DAMAGED FROM HIGH OPERATING TEMPERATURES. IF THIS OCCURS, VARIOUS WARNING LAMPS WILL BE ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ...CONSEQUENCE:THE VEHICLE MAY ENTER A FAIL-SAFE/LIMP-HOME MODE THAT LIMITS THE DRIVABILITY OF THE VEHICLE. THE HYBRID SYSTEM COULD ALSO SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE STALL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. JUST CAUSE MY SPECIFIC CAR WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DOESN'T MEAN IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN WHEN IT IS DOING THE EXACT SAME THING THAT THE OTHER RECALLED CARS ARE DOING. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

10853183

Incident

May 1, 2013

Mileage

500 mi

MY 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS C FOUR MODEL (PURCHASED NEW IN AUGUST, 2012) WITH APPROXIMATELY 5,200 ORIGINAL MILES EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER AND TOTAL FAILURE (ENGINE STALLED RIGHT AFTER THE HYBRID MOTOR WARNING LIGHT APPEARED) OF THE 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS C HYBRID INVERTER ENGINE DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL PANEL DEFECT WHILE EXITING I 495 IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA ON THE LATE EVENING OF JULY 6, 2013. TOYOTA CORPORATE (1-800-331-4331) OPENED CASE FILE # 1307101143 AND OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN ALEXANDRIA, VA. WAS VERY HELPFUL AND PROACTIVE IN REPLACING THE ENTIRE HYBRID INVERTER MOTOR COMPONENT ON THE 2012 PRIUS C UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY AND AT NO CHARGE TO ME AS THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE VEHICLE. TOYOTA CORPORATE ALSO ADVISED ME THAT THEY ARE UNAWARE OF ANY RECALLS OR OTHER REPORTED PROBLEMS WITH THE 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS C HYBRID INVERTER MOTOR SO OUR SITUATION WAS, HOPEFULLY, AN ANOMALY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10524876

Incident

Jul 6, 2013

Mileage

5,240 mi