2009 Toyota Prius Owner Complaints

Dashboard Warning Lights: ABS, VSC, Parking Brake Light, Triangle with Exclamation Point, Codes: C1256 & C1391, Intermittent Audible Cabin Buzzing indicating critical pressure loss on start-up for about 10 seconds...then stops, not loss so much as anti-braking quick bursts at about 5 mph of stopping v slowly and seamlessly coming to a stop. I contacted Toyota Corporate Case Management; they refused to escalate or remediate the issue due to vehicle mileage, despite being notified of the active brake pressure leak codes and the audible safety alarm.

NHTSA ID

11744740

Incident

Dec 10, 2025

I own 2 2009 Toyota Prius. Both cars less than 175,000 miles and both have failed ABS modules. The ABS module in this vehicle is also the power brake booster. This failure can cause braking issues such as loss of braking or sudden brake application. Only known fix is replacement of the ABS brake module which requires the Toyota Techstream service computer.

NHTSA ID

11736356

Incident

Apr 25, 2026

Brake actuator is broken. Toyota knew about this problem and they had a warranty for 10 years or 150k miles. Mine only has 80k miles. The repair is half of what the car is worth. I thought a Toyota with such low miles would be dependable. Toyota knew that people have died from this problem with their car. I need this car to get to work and get my kids to school. It’s older than 10 years so I am just screwed on something they knew was broken. Of course the sales person at the Toyota dealership did not tell us about it when he sold us the car

NHTSA ID

11733751

Incident

Mar 24, 2026

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the extended warranty had expired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the extended warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 174,000.

NHTSA ID

11729947

Incident

Mar 26, 2026

Mileage

174,000 mi

Cooling system

NHTSA ID

11686488

Incident

Aug 14, 2025

The brake actuator is failing. It’s making unusual noises when stepping on the brakes. A new additional noise started in the last month which is the pump connected to the brake actuator. The technician told me the brakes are about to fail. Toyota used to cover this issue but stopped a few years ago. It’s a $3,000.00 job at the dealer.

NHTSA ID

11679902

Incident

Feb 1, 2025

Breaking system failure do to ASB Actuator, breaks are locking and vehicle is engine braking.

NHTSA ID

11652330

Incident

Feb 11, 2025

When I am coming to a stop or need to put on my brakes my car will accelerate at a jump ahead pace As if to take off instead of slowing down and stopping. Regardless whether I’m turning a corner or I’m continuing straight when I have to Put on the brakes it speeds up instead.

NHTSA ID

11647997

Incident

Feb 5, 2025

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, extra effort was needed to stop the vehicle while depressing the brake pedal. In addition, the contact stated that the instrument panel intermittently went blank and failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the ABS and the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 157,000.

NHTSA ID

11642706

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

Mileage

157,000 mi

In the 2009 Toyota Series II vehicle there are two parts for the brake actuator pump assembly which has been cycling about every 20 seconds for the past six months or more. There is an intermittent tone when depressing the brake pedal before starting the car (engine off). The Brake dash warning light is on continuously. Occasional loss of brake power in reverse causing the driver to re-apply the brakes to stop unwanted motion of the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11629033

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

My dashboard brake, tire pressure, vsc and AB’s light came on while driving

NHTSA ID

11622566

Incident

Oct 21, 2024

Failed brake actuator. Toyota knows about the issue and refuses to honor any reasonable repair. Braking at any speed the car ferociously pulls to the left, throwing you into another lane or on coming traffic.

NHTSA ID

11620717

Incident

Oct 18, 2024

The engine light went on while driving on the highway. We immediately pulled over and had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership. The dealership informed us that both the Brake Actuator (Toyota part TO44500-47141) and water pump (Toyota par TOG9020-47031) had failed. The car was no longer save to drive.

NHTSA ID

11618991

Incident

Sep 21, 2024

Car Mechanics say I need a new ABS actuator/pump costing about $4,400 at dealership and over $2500 at garages. Most quoting about $3500.00. It is a known fact that this is common on Pruises, which I am now learning. I feel Toyota should be reimbursing their consumer for this unexpected charge. My car has only about 60000 miles on the car. RIght now I have to park the car until I come up with the money. So have no invoice to attach until I do the repair.

NHTSA ID

11610198

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the instrument cluster was intermittently inoperable. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would fail to start or to turn off intermittently while pressing the Push to Start button. The contact stated that the vehicle would respond as needed after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel combination meter had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic related the failure to Toyota Campaign Number: ZTV and referred the contact to the dealer for the repair. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under Toyota Campaign Number: ZTV. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 167,532.

NHTSA ID

11590307

Incident

May 23, 2022

Mileage

167,532 mi

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact depressed the brake pedal however, the brakes did not function as needed. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, the contact was informed that the failure was like an unknown recall; however, the recall notification had expired. The contact was advised to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.

NHTSA ID

11586420

Incident

Apr 24, 2024

Mileage

116,000 mi

Losing all breaking from abs dealership says $3000 to replace abs brake actuator module. I have been hearing from other second generation owners this is a common problem and it vecomes unsafe when you lose brake functioning in traffic additionally it was an extended warranty twice with no milage limitations but wondering why itvwasntvrecalled. Now I fear driving because u safe yet I am unable to afford to make the repair because I am unable to worker as delivery driver is my employment to generate income needed for repair.

NHTSA ID

11575488

Incident

Jan 5, 2024

ABs Light came on high pitched sound and brakes suddenly stopped working while driving making very unsafe driving conditions. i recently purchased this car as my second, 2nd generation prius but the abs recall was evidently not performed when it was recalled and extended. this puts me upside down in a loan because i have found the repairs will be $1000-$2000 and now I can not afford to drive it. the car is at my home and available for inspection upon request. i felt very unsafe last night and the abs light recently came on and was intermittently making the high pitch sound which was continuous last evening when i was driving when the brakes stopped functioning

NHTSA ID

11568173

Incident

Jan 26, 2024

Apparently a known issue with the HID lights coming on or off intermittently.

NHTSA ID

11560636

Incident

Dec 1, 2023

The front lights and break lights sometimes turn off while I am driving. Both of the lights or one of them.

NHTSA ID

11552791

Incident

Oct 31, 2023

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65–70 MPH, the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the brake pump actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 236,425.

NHTSA ID

11544705

Incident

Sep 14, 2023

Mileage

236,425 mi

The hybrid water pump failed/ aka the inverter coolant pump. This was recalled years ago and has failed again. The previous owner of my car replaced it in 2013, so Toyota is refusing to replace it again, despite the fact that the part is faulty and has compromised the safety of my vehicle. This issue was diagnosed by a mechanic yesterday, error code P0A93. The master warning light, check engine light, brake light came on. The AC stopped working. The brakes nearly gave out on me driving on a bridge in New York City. This part was recalled. Toyota refuses to honor the recall a second time. They clearly did not properly engineer this part! It failed again! They should be responsible for fixing this issue.

NHTSA ID

11538564

Incident

Aug 14, 2023

All dashboard lights up. The brake fluid is full and the pads are in proper shape. When braking the car slips a few feets and I was about to make accedents several times with my school children.

NHTSA ID

11521687

Incident

May 1, 2023

I was driving the 2009 Prius to my storage unit there was a car that I needed to go around so i sifted into reverse when I noticed a scraping sound as I was backing when I shifted into forward the sound again was there is when i noticed I had no directional control of the vehicle steering wheel would turn but the tires would not respond at all. I called for a tow truck, I called think of a greater safety issue than driving a car with no control over where it goes.

NHTSA ID

11502267

Incident

Jan 16, 2023

UNKNOWN

NHTSA ID

11501357

Incident

Jan 4, 2023