2013 Toyota Prius C Brakes Problems

Brake master cylinder failure.

NHTSA ID

11713042

Incident

Jan 22, 2026

Car suddenly needed a jump start and again after a day or two of non-use. On the third day Brakes, ABS and traction control warnings were lighted up and remains. Brakes are mostly ineffective. My own scan returns the code C1252 and C1256 that says brake booster system failing. Took it to the dealer who charged $290 again to scan and came up with failed brake booster and pump assembly. The dealers is quoting total $4000 to fix. Toyota Customer Support Program Bulletin dated 8/2018 and revised on 8/2019 extends the warranty on for this issue (for Toyota Prius C 2013) for 10 years or 150000 miles. I was never informed by Toyota or the seller (Stevens Creek Toyota, San Jose CA) about this defect under warranty that I could have gotten repaired well before the dead line of 10 years. Now Both Toyota or the dealer's service department refuse to bear the repair cost.

NHTSA ID

11708254

Incident

Dec 17, 2025

Warning lamps for ABS and others and the chiming dings came on while pulling away from the bank drive through and parking for a second. I shut the engine off and turned back on with no success. I was barely able to park in a spot because of difficulties braking. My car had been making an electric noise every 15 seconds or so previously, at different times when parked, but I thought it was the hybrid engine. Now I think it was the brake pump trying to build up pressure due to a faulty, leaking brake actuator.

NHTSA ID

11706251

Incident

Dec 20, 2025

Recently the dash board lights started intermittently coming on. When they are on, the brakes do not work until pressed all the way to the floor and even then the car takes a long time to stop. The lights will randomly turn off and suddenly the car brakes work normally again. It is happening intermittently with no rhyme or reason as to when it will happen. It's scary to drive because I dont know if the brakes will work or not and I almost ran into another car when trying to stop at a stop light. I took the car to be inspected at the Toyota service center for $190 and after inspection they said the brake booster and master cylinder assembly need to be replaced and it will cost $2300.

NHTSA ID

11670556

Incident

Jul 1, 2025

Require replacement of brake booster pump, decreased braking ability

NHTSA ID

11668019

Incident

Jun 19, 2025

the vehicle exhibits several warning lights on the dash including ABS, VSC brake and handbrake. Diagnosed code as C1391 which toyota had released a bulletin to admit this issue, but they don’t make a recall instead of only repair it when occurred within their limited time line. now my vehicle falls in their bulletin scope but out of their “warranty “ scope. and quoted for thousands of repair. as a matter of fact, this put me at a great risk in driving it. and toyota didn’t make a public recall to solve this problem.

NHTSA ID

11632163

Incident

Nov 1, 2024

Driving on the highway at 70mph my warning lights for my ABS, traction control, and other brake related warning lights came on. My brakes became soft and hard to stop the car. Immediately brought to dealer who said that my booster accumulator was leaking and needed to replace both the accumulator and pump for over $3,500. This is a know. Issue with Toyota because they have a service bulletin that they wouldn’t honor because my car is more than 10 years old. This is a serious issue and someone is going to get badly hurt.

NHTSA ID

11614590

Incident

Sep 12, 2024

Immobilized failure due to combination of brake hose failure preventing hybrid control/shift actuator. Hybrid steering lock became disengaged and could not communicate with the certification ecu due constant power being disabled due to complete main body failure. Hybrid system cannot go back into park however ecm side did. Ecm was not receiving power as dealer coded main body as a plug in hybrid effectively disabling fuel systems (including emissions/fuel safety) causing full misclassification in the smart key certification process. Car starts, goes into ready and disables LIN comms alongside cutting main relay due to tailgate and fuel constant powers being cut while driving.

NHTSA ID

11614548

Incident

Mar 1, 2016

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius C. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH and pulling out of the driveway, while attempting to depress the brake pedal, excessive amount of force was needed to depress the brake pedal. The contact stated that the braking distance was extended, and the vehicle was jerking while stopping. The contact stated that the ABS, Brakes, and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the hydraulic brake booster pump actuator and accumulator had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer confirmed related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program under NHTSA ID Number: 10181735 (Equipment Adaptive/Mobility, Equipment, Service Brakes) however the vehicle was no longer covered for the repair. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the Customer Service Program. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report. The failure mileage was 133,000.

NHTSA ID

11607942

Incident

Aug 8, 2024

Mileage

133,000 mi

I purchased this car July 14th 2023 from a dealership that wasn't Toyota for my daughter to go back and forth to school and as soon as we drove off the lot all kinds of lights came on I called the dealership asked what they were he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about so I've had it at a couple different shops finally Toyota looked at it the service manager let me know that there used to be a recall on the brake booster with master cylinder assembly and that that recall the extended warranty on it had expired I'm not sure how anything thats to do with safety expires when it's regarding your braking

NHTSA ID

11572127

Incident

Jul 14, 2023

The break master cylinder is lighted up on the dashboard and the ABS system is not working which makes me sliding when I'm trying to use brakes. Too much noise coming when starting the engine for like a minute then it cool down The front chairs are not good for diver and passenger nick as it is one piece chairs with build in head stand and now I'm reviewing chiropractor for my nick frequently since I used this car

NHTSA ID

11490471

Incident

Oct 23, 2022

I bought my car as used, 3 months after that i hear a weird noise when i use the break, then I replace the break pads but it doesn’t solve the problem after that I got alert C1391, I went to mechanic shop he told me it needs to replace the break booster pump part number 4707052020, I did that but doesn’t solve the problem and still the alert come and go. I want to know if this is general safety issue for this model and should be fixed by the dealer or i should fix it on my own

NHTSA ID

11463143

Incident

Apr 1, 2022

Brake Master Cylinder assembly failure. Brakes starting to fail. Not covered under warranty past 150k miles.

NHTSA ID

11461282

Incident

Mar 29, 2022

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TOYOTA PRIUS C. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND AN ABNORMAL HISSING SOUND WAS HEARD. THE VEHICLE STOPPED HOWEVER, THE SECONDARY BRAKES FAILED. TRIANGLE TOYOTA DE SAN JUAN (223 MARGINAL, JOHN F. KENNEDY BECHARA, SAN JUAN, 00920, PUERTO RICO, +1 787-304-1633) WAS CONTACTED AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE ACCUMULATOR PRESSURE SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.

NHTSA ID

11373206

Incident

Jan 1, 2019

Mileage

35,000 mi

CAR DIED LAST NIGHT (10/27) AAA NOT ABLE TO JUMP BATTERY. BAD FUSE. TOWED TO SF TOYOTA ON GEARY BL. TAKEN CAR TO SHOP THREE TIMES SINCE PURCHASE 7/22/20 FOR PROBLEMS. ALSO TOLD NOTHING IS WRONG. THIS APPEARS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE. ALSO I WAS TOLD CAR WAS DAMAGED, NOT IN MAJOR ACCIDENT. HAS SIGNS OF HEAVY DAMAGE FROM 3 ACCIDENTS. IT ONLY HAS 54,XXX MILES ON A 2013 PRIUS C.

NHTSA ID

11366860

Incident

Oct 27, 2020

BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON AFTER BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED WHEN CAR IS IN PARK AND WHEN IT IS IN MOTION. THE BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON EVEN AFTER THE KEY IS REMOVED FROM IGNITION AND CAR LOCKED. TOYOTA HAS REPAIRED THIS PROBLEM TWICE AND NOW IT IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11074712

Incident

Feb 24, 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TOYOTA PRIUS C. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND FAILED TO RESPOND. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A TREE AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED BACK AND KNEE INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN IMPOUND YARD. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000.

NHTSA ID

10653254

Incident

Nov 6, 2014

Mileage

8,000 mi