2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid Owner Complaints

1. The ABS system failed upon inspection at a dealership. Specifically the ABS accumulator and booster. 2. The ABS system put us at risk by failing prematurely, and traction control and ABS functions seemingly stopped working while driving on the road. 3. Yes, dealership confirmed the issue with a full diagnostic, and the part has a customer support program bulletin/TSB out for this specific issue. 4. inspected by manufacturer dealership service center. 5. Lights such as the parking brake, ABS, and (!) lit up while driving and the failure occurred at the same time.

NHTSA ID

11610069

Incident

Aug 19, 2024

Today 05/25/2024 noticed a slight camber on the right rear wheel. Jacked up the car and removed the right rear to take a closer look and realized the rear axle/subframe was splitting in half along the weld point. If I hadn't caught this today and my daughter was driving it I'm confident she or others would have been killed or severely injured since most of her driving is highway related. The part that is blowing my mind is the vehicle was at the dealership twice in the last month and no one noticed when on a lift. The car is now permanently on jack stands till it can be repaired. I'm not sure it will even hold together to get onto a tow truck. I will not attempt driving do to safety specially others. I witnessed a tire go through a vehicle resulting in the death of someone.

NHTSA ID

11590779

Incident

May 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving down a winding road, the brake warning light and brake message suddenly activated and while depressing the brake pedal, the pedal extended to the floorboard and the vehicle would not immediately stop. The vehicle was later taken to the local service center who diagnosed that the brake booster, brake master cylinder, and brake booster pump assembly were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle did not qualify for the manufacturers extended coverage regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA ID

11581169

Incident

Oct 5, 2023

Mileage

130,000 mi

I was driving less than 55mph on freeway on February 5, 2024 when my vehicle went into an out of control spin, Brakes did not seem to work and unable to control vehicle until hit center divider on freeway, Spun 180 degrees and kept going back with no braking until hit center divider.

NHTSA ID

11572415

Incident

Feb 5, 2024

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the stabili-trak, ABS, and a several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated there were also audible alarms being sounded. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the brake pedal failed to respond. The contact stated that she was able to coast the vehicle off the highway and shifted into park(P) and turned off the vehicle. The contact turned off and turned on the vehicle and attempted to depress the brake pedal; however, the brake pedal was abnormally firm. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake booster pump assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

NHTSA ID

11548466

Incident

Oct 2, 2023

Mileage

130,000 mi

2012 level 5 plug-in I was driving on the freeway with radar cruise control and the vehicle dash lit up with check pcs system ever warning light came on the brake petal was not there as normal it would go about half way down to engage very scary I took it to the dealership service said I need new brake booster installed not covered under warranty 130k miles

NHTSA ID

11545308

Incident

Sep 7, 2023

Brakes failed while I was slowing down for a speed trap; if I had been stopping for traffic I would have been in somebody's back seat. There was already a class action lawsuit about this that Toyota settled out of court. We were supposed to receive notice about the extended warranty related to this but did not; additionally the dealership lied to us on two different occasions about our brakes being fine after they started behaving differently. If the dealership hadn't lied in both 2020, and 2022, my life wouldn't have been in jeopardy, and we wouldn't be paying thousands of dollars to fix a defective part. Why are you putting so many people's lives at risk by not forcing Toyota to issue a recall? All their hybrid braking systems over a decade of models have this issue. The hybrid specialist mechanic we ended up with said he sees several cars a week with this issue.

NHTSA ID

11520412

Incident

Apr 19, 2023

The brake booster pump started pressuurizing frequently last year around 140,000 miles. Error lights and less responsive breaks this year so I called Toyota service they said bring it in. They said repair is over $3000. The mileage was just over 150000 and just over 10 year extended warranty I didn't know about for this problem coded c1391

NHTSA ID

11501936

Incident

Oct 15, 2022

The brake pressure pump comes on every 2 seconds. The warning lights on the dash are on for brakes and abs. The car still stops but it reacts slower to pedal pressure. Dealer says it needs master cylinder and actuator pump for 3000$ at least. It is available for inspection, has 155,000 miles now, but pump has been hyperactive for about 12 mo. May be a hazard now, may fail completely ,I don't know. But too expensive to me to fix. Has only been inspected by autonation Toyota, not police etc. Pump was overactive for a year but right after anautomatic car wash the lights came on an the brake pedal got mushy. Then I called dealer. Apparently a common problem that was a recall for 2010 and silent recall after for later model gen 3s.

NHTSA ID

11492460

Incident

Sep 30, 2022

I bought a first generation Toyota Prius PHEV in 2012. Apparently a Customer Support Program notice was sent out two years ago which I never received. For the last year or so my Prius has made a hissing sound when I stepped on the brakes unless I push extra hard on the pedal. Didn’t think anything of it until last month several lights went off. I took it to Big O Tires and they added brake fluid and the lights went away. Next month it went off again, I took it back and they suggested taking it to a dealer. I take it to Tustin Toyota they diagnose it as a Brake Booster and Pump problem. My issue is that I never received a mailer or email like I did for previous recalls. I did transfer ownership to my wife a while back, so I don’t know if that DMV administrative change impacted the mailer. It is a safety concern as my wife drives our two kids and the brake had signs but we did not take it in to the dealer until the failure lights lit up 11 months after the expiration. Is there a chance that a Customer Support Program becomes a Recall if NHTSA receives enough complaints?

NHTSA ID

11481174

Incident

Jul 1, 2021

MY 2012 PLUG-IN PRIUS CAME UP WITH A C1391 CODE. THE ABS, BRAKE AND BRAKE SKID LIGHTS CAME ON. I HAVE NO RE-GEN BRAKING AND WHEN I ACTUALLY BRAKE IT SEEMS VERY SLUGGISH.

NHTSA ID

11387560

Incident

Jan 4, 2021

Mileage

135,000 mi

WHILE STOPPED IN A PARKING LOT, FOOT BRAKE PRESSED,TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE, WHEN OPENING DRIVERS DOOR AND FOOT BRAKE RELEASED CAR STILL MOVES FORWARD. IT SHOULD GO INTO PARK AUTOMATIC BUT DOES NOT.

NHTSA ID

11319211

Incident

Jan 17, 2017

Mileage

90,000 mi

HEADLIGHTS KEEP BURNING OUT. BOTH SIDES. ABOUT EVERY FOUR MONTHS. THIS IS DANGEROUS!!! AND UNNECESSARILY EXPENSIVE!!!

NHTSA ID

11296797

Incident

Jan 3, 2019

Mileage

10,500 mi

AUTO STOPPED. ENGINE RUNNING. BRAKE PEDAL PRESSED. TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE. WHEN OPENING DRIVER DOOR AND RELEASING BRAKE PEDAL, CAR MOVES FORWARD. VIN INCLUDED IN ATTACHED FILE.

NHTSA ID

11235273

Incident

Jul 9, 2019

Mileage

125,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ECO MODE SHOWED LESS FUEL PER MILE. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO NALLEY TOYOTA OF ROSWELL (404-994-5422, LOCATED AT 11130 ALPHARETTA HWY, ROSWELL, GA 30076) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE BEGAN AFTER IT WAS REPAIRED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V718000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1812050132. THE CONTACT WAS REFERRED TO NHTSA. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 105,000.

NHTSA ID

11181343

Incident

Sep 20, 2018

Mileage

105,000 mi

I'M DRIVING AROUND 60MPH AND SUDDENLY THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL LIGHT WENT ON AND THE ALL WHEELS SUDDENLY BRAKED. IT'S JUST SO DANGEROUS, GOOD THING NO BODY BEHIND ME AT THAT MOMENT. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. THE CAR COULD BRAKE SUDDENLY BY ITSELF WITHOUT WARNING EVEN WHEN IT'S HIGH SPEED OR LOW SPEED. THERE'S A CLICKING NOISE UNDER THE DASHBOARD. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION OF ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL IN THE PRIUS. IT COULD CAUSE THE CAR BRAKE BY ITSELF WITHOUT WARNING AND COULD CAUSE BIG ACCIDENT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FREEWAY.

NHTSA ID

11165382

Incident

Jan 4, 2019

Mileage

168,000 mi

NOTHING HAPPENED YET, BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THE INVERTER FAILING AND CAUSING SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS STILL HAPPENING DESPITE AFFECTED CARS HAVING RECEIVED A SOFTWARE UPDATE TO "PREVENT" THE ISSUE. DURING AN EMERGENCY, REGENERATIVE SYSTEMS PREVENT THESE CARS FROM SWIFTLY COASTING OUT OF THE TRAVEL LANE AS OTHER CARS WOULD DO. INSTEAD, THE CAR WILL ACT LIKE THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN SLAMMED ON, CAUSING A SERIOUS HAZARD. I READ ABOUT THIS HERE HTTPS://TOYOTATALK.COM/TOYOTA-PRIUS-HYBRID-INVERTER/

NHTSA ID

11114443

Incident

Jul 29, 2018

Mileage

54,000 mi

ENGINE OIL GETTING TO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. AND FILLING UP WITH OIL. THROTTLE BODY GETS REALLY DIRTY WITH OIL. IN TURN THE ENGINE BURNS OIL. WHICH CLOGS UP THE EGR SYSTEM. THE ENGINE WOULD OVER HEAT WHICH COULD CAUSE THE HEAD GASKET TO BLOW. DURING WINTER MONTHS. ENGINE RESTARTS WOULD BE HARSH BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE CONDESAION ON THE CYCLINDER THIS COULD CAUSE THE ENGINE TO BLOW. BROKEN CONNECTING RODS. BLOWN HEAD GASKET ALL SORT OF THINGS COULD HAPPEN FROM HAVING OIL GET TO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. STARTING FROM 2010 THESE PRIUS SUFFER FROM THIS AND TOYOTA HASNT DONE ANYTHING OTHER THEN SUPPSODELLY REDESIGNING THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. WHICH IS THE SAME. TOYOTA JUST DONT WANT TO DEAL WITH IT.

NHTSA ID

11104266

Incident

Jan 3, 2018

Mileage

90,000 mi

THE ACTUATORS FOR THE LOCKS ON 3 OF THE DOORS HAVE FAILED OVER TIME. I HAVE REPLACED THE FRONT-DRIVER SIDE ACTUATOR ONCE PREVIOUSLY AND IT STARTED TO FAIL FIRST. WHEN I LOCK THE CAR, I ONLY HAVE ONE DOOR THAT UNLOCKS WHICH IS THE REAR-PASSENGER DOOR. IF IT FAILS, I WILL BE LOCKED OUT OF THE CAR. IT SEEMS WRONG THAT I CANNOT UNLOCK MY CAR WELL. IT SEEMS WRONG THIS HAS FAILED MULTIPLE TIMES ON A 6YR OLD CAR. IT IS DEFECTIVE AND POTENTIALLY UNSAFE.

NHTSA ID

11098126

Incident

Dec 15, 2017

Mileage

68,000 mi

I RECENTLY HAD A REPAIR SERVICE DONE ON MY PRIUS PLUG-IN, BUT CAN'T IN GOOD CONSCIOUS UNDERSTAND WHY I HAD TO PAY $756 TO GET INTO MY CAR. I PURCHASED MY 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN IN JULY, 2012. THREE AND A HALF YEARS LATER, I HAD TO HAVE THE DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR REPLACED @ 51K MILES. LESS THAN TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER, THE SAME DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR HAD TO BE REPLACED @ APPROXIMATELY 80K MILES ' IN ADDITION TO ALL THREE OTHER DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS. ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS AGO, THE RIGHT, REAR DOOR LOCK STOPPED WORKING. THEN THE LEFT REAR STOPPED WORKING. THEN THE DRIVER'S DOOR (WHICH WAS NOTICED ON MY LAST SERVICE VISIT). AND FINALLY THE PASSENGER DOOR LOCK. THIS CAR DOES NOT HAVE A KEY TO UNLOCK THE DRIVER'S DOOR, ONLY AN ELECTRONIC FOB. AS A RESULT, I HAVE BEEN CLIMBING THOUGH MY REAR HATCH TO REACH THE RIGHT REAR DOOR LOCK, TO UNLOCK THAT DOOR, TO THEN REACH IN TO THE RIGHT FRONT DOOR LOCK; AT WHICH POINT I CAN OPEN THE RIGHT FRONT DOOR AND REACH OVER TO UNLOCK THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR. NOT ONLY IS THIS RIDICULOUS AND EMBARRASSING, AS I'VE HAD TO DO THIS IN FRONT OF CO-WORKERS, AND CONSULTANTS I'VE HAD TO DRIVE TO MEETINGS WITH AT MY COMPANY, BUT IT'S INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. I WON'T HAVE MY DAUGHTER OR WIFE DRIVE THE CAR, SINCE THEY CAN'T SAFELY UNLOCK OR ENTER THE CAR. SO HERE I AM, HAVING SPENT $756 TO BE ABLE TO ENTER MY CAR, SINCE THERE IS NO KEY OPTION, AND IN FACT IT'S THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN 30K MILES TO REPLACE THE DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR.

NHTSA ID

11090142

Incident

Apr 21, 2018

Mileage

81,000 mi

WHEN THE DRIVER DOOR IS OPEN, FULL POWER IS ON, BRAKE PEDDLE RELEASED THE CAR WILL STILL MOVE FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. THEN STARTED IN MOTION I STARTED TO GET OUT OF CAR BUT STOPPED IT

NHTSA ID

11065786

Incident

Jan 28, 2018

Mileage

88,000 mi

WHEN OPERATING THE VEHICLE ON A SNOW COVERED ROAD, I ATTEMPTED TO STOP WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 35 MPH. WHEN I PRESSED MY BRAKE PEDAL DOWN AS I WAS APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION, THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES DID NOT FUNCTION. THE PEDAL PRESS WAS FIRM, BUT THERE WAS NOISE THAT IS TYPICALLY EXPERIENCED WHEN ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ARE IN USE, AND IT FELT LIKE THERE WAS INITIAL BRAKING WITH MY APPLICATION OF THE BRAKES, BUT WHEN THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES SHOULD HAVE KICKED IN, IT FELT LIKE THE CAR SURGED AHEAD AND THE BRAKING MOSTLY STOPPED, EVEN THOUGH I WAS PRESSING DOWN AS HARD AS I COULD. I TRAVELED ABOUT 1/8 MILE DECELERATING FROM 35 TO 0 MPH. THE NEXT DAY I DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCED WITH MY SPOUSE, AND IN OUR LONG SNOW COVERED DRIVEWAY, I ATTEMPTED A STOP USING THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM AND IT FUNCTIONED CORRECTLY STOPPING QUICKLY. WITH THIS BEING THE FOLLOWING DAY, STARTING THE CAR UP THE NEXT DAY MAY HAVE RESET THE BRAKE SYSTEM, BUT I HAVE NOW WAY OF KNOWING. THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES GENERATED.

NHTSA ID

11055000

Incident

Dec 13, 2017

Mileage

59,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE AND DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT WAS UNCERTAIN IF THE VEHICLE WOULD BE REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

NHTSA ID

10957492

Incident

Jun 1, 2015

Mileage

60,000 mi

I HAVE HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE & PCS SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE ON MY CAR I HAVE TAKEN IT TO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP IN DALLAS TX AREA ANY NONE OF THEM HAS FIX IT TRY TO DO RESEARCH ON MY OWN TO FIGURE OUT AND FOUND THAT TOYOTA HAS THIS IN RECALL MY DEALERSHIP IS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE CAR. SO I REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ..TRYING TO GET HELP SO THIS ISSUES R FIXED AND IT SAFE FOR ME TO DRIVE THIS CAR I DRIVE ABOUT 30000 MILE EVERY YEAR AND JUST DON'T FELL SAFE DRIVING THIS CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10947277

Incident

Oct 22, 2016

Mileage

200 mi

CAR WAS PARKED AND THE CHARGE CORD CONNECTED. IT HAD ABOUT 2.9 MILES LEFT ON BATTERY POWER, BY THAT CALCULATION IT SHOULD BEEN CHARGED BY 1100P. AT 1230P CAR WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FIRE. FIRE DEPT IS INVESTIGATING FOR ARSON, BUT MY NEIGHBORS CAMERA CAUGHT IT ALL (I HAVEN'T SEEN IT) IT SEEMS THE CAR JUST START ON FIRE BY ITSELF, INSURANCE IS STILL INVESTIGATING, BUT I'M ALMOST POSITIVE THAT THIS FIRE STARTED ON ITS ON. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU GUYS COULD FOLLOW UP. MY HOUSE ALSO CAUGHT ON FIRE. HAD I NOT BEEN JOLTED UP AND TRIED TO SAVE MY HOUSE WITH A HOSE, WE WOULD HAVE LOST THE HOUSE ALSO. CAR WAS 100 PERCENT DESTROYED

NHTSA ID

10937368

Incident

Dec 21, 2016