Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2012 Toyota Prius submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 32 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 32, in the owner's own words
Unknown. There were a multitude of codes that appeared on the diagnostics causing problems with engine. The temperature, brake, tire sensor lights are all on. The cruise control is not working. White smoke emitting from tail pipe and engine. Main engine coolant leaking. Car overheating rapidly.
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, there was a rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle started shaking abnormally with a rattling sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a blown head gasket and that the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
I bought my first used car, 2012 Toyota Prius, from Fowler Toyota back at the end of October 2023, but I was not able to pick it up until September 21, 2023 due to extra time for re-conditioning. I did not haggle about the price nor complained about the 3 week delay. In the last 3 weeks of owning my car, the TPMS sensor light and check engine light infrequently turned on. February 28, 2024 all the fault sensor lights on my instrument panel are on, along with the loss of proper braking function. I was not worried about the other sensor faults, but brake malfunction is a matter of life and death to myself and others on the road. I have had the car for a little over 4 months and less than 10k miles. I brought the car in to diagnose all the error codes. The dealer said it will cost over $2600 to fix the brake malfunction. I chose this particular car because carfax had well documented service records and Fowler Toyota advertised that every used vehicle for sale has surpassed rigorous inspection. I voiced my complaint to the used car director and he offered numerous default excuses for unforeseen problems inherent in buying a used car. I said I did my due diligence by selectively purchasing a used Toyota Prius, from a reputable Toyota dealership that uses a Toyota certified service center to inspect and recondition vehicles for sale. All the cliche nightmare stories of buying a used car from the side of the road car lots came true in my experience at Fowler Toyota. The worst used car story happened to me, despite performing my due diligence: to buy a used Toyota from a Toyota dealership that uses a Toyota certified service center for re-conditioning vehicles. I even paid more to finance my Prius through Toyota Financial services, which did not offer extended warranty. For God sake, I was buying a Toyota with 121k miles. I only bought a prius because I work too hard to throw away all my hard earned money on gasoline. The only recourse the dealership offered
I was driving on the internet doing 60mph and there was a very loud bang and then a shaking of the parts under the hood. I was right next to an exit and coasted off the exit to a hotel parking lot. I had car towed to my mechanic. He said that the piston went thru the engine and the engine is done and needs replaced. I am having a hard time trusting Toyota again to purchase another Prius. I have had Prius for over 10 years and never had anything like this occur. I had no warning signs and no dashboard lights lit up until after all of this occurred and scared the life out of me then the engine light came on.
There is no incident occurring to me .but I change some parts like head light.& whisper .engine .
Head gasket failure
The engine caught fire while sitting in my garage. I had driven it for a few hours doing deliveries for a store and parked it in my garage around 2:30pm. About 1.5 hours later, my wife was coming home and opened the garage door and saw smoke above the hood of my car and then a few seconds later it burst into flames. I believe that it was smouldering for a while and the gust of wind when the big garage door opened gave it the extra push to ignite. The car was bought used and had a front end accident prior to my purchasing it so the electrical system could have melted and started the fire but the inspector that Toyota sent did not give me any copy of his report. It is a 2012 model. I bought the car in 2014, and had it for about 5 years until this happened and completed burned up the car and all the contents of my garage. I had a T-Mobile Sync-up module in the OBD port and it recorded a drop in voltage from around 12 to 5 volts at the time of the fire which I believe was transferred to my phone when I was near it.
There has been a safety recall on my vehicle for the years 2004-2009 models of the Toyota Prius, but my model year is 2012 and I have the exact same issue. 1) My check engine light comes on and off and it appears to be the hybrid electric water pump issue related to the coolant. The cap pops off and spills out. 2) When the light comes on, I am assuming the car is starting to overheat and is putting myself and my 3 year old daughter at risk as this is the primary car we use to transport her. We have just stop taking her out at all due to this issue. When the car overheats, I pull over and it can be risky as sometimes, I am on the highway or local streets. I do not want this issue to cause problems for other other drivers as well while I am trying to pull over where ever I am. 3) The problem as I stated above has been acknowledge by you and Toyota but just for 2004-2009 models. 4) The problem has not been inspected by Toyota, the police, or third party. I have been the only person checking the car and I am using a diagnostic check engine light tool to read the code and looking under the hood to find the coolant pump leaking and popped out just as indicated in the recall for other models. 5) Yes, the check engine light and high temperature light goes on and off. The issue first appeared around November of 2020.
THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN BURNING OIL FOR THE PAST 10,000 MILES. VEHICLE HAS HAD ALL SERVICES AND SYNTHETIC OIL CHANGES DONE FROM DAY 1 AT THE DEALERSHIP. OIL CHANGES EVERY 5,000 MILES SINCE DAY 1. AT 90,000 MILES THE CAR STARTED BURNING OIL EXCESSIVELY. COMPLAINTS AND DIAGNOSTICS WERE ATTEMPTED AT TOYOTA FRANCHISE DEALERSHIPS BUT THEY FAILED TO FIND THE ISSUE. FINALLY AT 100,000 MILES THE ENGINE FAILED DUE TO HEAD GASKET FAILURE. THIS VEHICLE IS CLASSIFIED AS A PARTIAL ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE AND IT IS REGISTERED IN A STATE THAT FOLLOWS CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCE BOARD REGULATIONS AND IS BEING SERVICED IN A STATE THAT FOLLOWS AS WELL. UNDER THE PZEV REGULATIONS, TOYOTA WARRANTIES EMISSION RELATED COMPONENTS FOR 15 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES. UNDER TOYOTAS WARRANTY GUIDE IT STATES SEALS AND GASKETS ARE COVERED. THE MANUAL DOES NOT CLARIFY ANY FURTHER LEAVING THE COVERAGE LEVEL VAGUE AND QUESTIONABLE. UPON TRYING TO GET TOYOTA TO REPLACE THE ENGINE, THEY GAVE US A WEEK OF NO RESPONSES AND FINALLY DECLINING THE CLAIM EVEN WHEN THE MANUAL STATES IT SHOULD BE COVERED. THE OIL BURNING ISSUE WITH THIS MOTOR IS A BIG PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA HAS BEEN TRYING TO COVER UP. TOYOTA IS QUOTING $13,000 FOR ENGINE REPLACEMENT. THEY HAVE A SERVICE BULLETING REGARDING THE OIL BURNING BECAUSE IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE, BUT THEY ONLY HONOR CLAIMS UNDER THE 5 YEAR 60,000 MILES POWER TRAIN WARRANTY.
WHEN IDLING THERE IS A LOUD RATTLE AND MULTIPLE RANDOM MISFIRES IN THE ENGINE. APPEARS TO BE A HEAD GASKET LEAK PROBLEM FROM READING FORUMS. I HAVE BEEN TO MULTIPLE REPAIR SHOPS THEY CANNOT DETERMINE THE PROBLEM.
ABS , TRACTION CONTROL,BRAKE LIGHTS ON. NO POWER ASSIST BRAKE, NO ABS, NO TRACTION CONTROL
PROBLEM WITH HEAD GASKET, LOW MILES, COLD ENGINE STARTING, STATIONER, AND SOME TIMES IN MOTION
2012 TOYOTA PRIUS II, DEALER MAINTAINED, NOW NEEDS NEW ENGINE DUE TO BLOWN HEAD GASKET. MILEAGE 151000. THE CAR HAS RUN PERFECTLY UNTIL A RECENT ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT INTO THE DEALERSHIP, THE DIAGNOSIS WAS MISFIRING OF 2 CYLINDERS AND COOLANT LEAKING INTO CYLINDERS 3 AND 4. THERE WAS NO PREVIOUS ENGINE PROBLEMS. AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT WAS FILED WITH TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE. THEY RESPONDED THAT THERE WAS NO FAULT ON THEIR END AND I SHOULD HAVE THE ENGINE REPLACED AT AN AUTHORIZED TOYOTA DEALER. A SEARCH FOR THIS TROUBLE RESULTED IN SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THE FAILURE OF HEAD GASKETS IN THIS YEAR AND MODEL PRIUS.
HEAD GASKET 77,000 MILES WITH THE HEAD GASKET ISSUE THE CAR ENGINE WAS SHAKING WHEN IT'S WARMING UP. THE CAR LOG SHOWED MISFIRES IN 1ST AND 4TH CYLINDERS.
BOUGHT THIS CAR BRAND NEW IN 2012 AND HAVE ALWAYS PERFORMED MAINTENANCE ON TIME. BETWEEN THE LAST OIL CHANGE AND THIS OIL CHANGE THE PRIUS IS BURNING OIL AND I AM HAVING TO ADD AT LEAST TWO QUARTS OF OIL BEFORE IT IS BACK ON THE DIPSTICK. I AM NOTICING THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE 2010-2014 PRIUS AND THAT TOYOTA HAS DONE NOTHING TO SOLVE IT. I DO NOT WANT TO BE ON A LONG TRIP AND BURN THROUGH OIL AND LOCK MY ENGINE UP CAUSING HARM TO MYSELF OR OTHERS.
SOON AFTER GETTING A RECALL SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR THE HYBRID SYSTEM, THE CAR DISPLAYED HYBRID SYSTEM CHECK MESSAGE AND LOST POWER. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED. CREATED AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION DUE TO NATURE OF PROBLEM WHILE DRIVING ON THE ROAD AND HAD TO PULL OVER RIGHT AWAY.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING AT UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND ALL THE INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DELLA TOYOTA (32 DELLA DR, PLATTSBURGH, NY 12901), BUT A DIAGNOSIS WAS NOT PROVIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 91,000.
I WENT TO THE CHARLES MAUND TOYOTA DEALER AT AUSTIN, TX FOR A RECALL. NHTSA RECALL ID 18V684. ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL RECALL REMEDY FROM NHTSA, "IF THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED AN INVERTER FAILURE WITH CERTAIN HYBRID SYSTEM FAULTS RELATED TO THIS CONDITION, THE INVERTER ASSEMBLY WILL BE REPAIRED OR REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE." MY CAR LOST POWER ON THE HIGHWAYS SEVERAL TIMES RECENTLY. THE ERROR CODE IS P0A08, WHICH IS RELATED TO INVERTER FAILURE WITH CERTAIN HYBRID SYSTEM FAULTS, SO THE INVERTER ASSEMBLY SHOULD BE REPAIRED OR REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. BUT THE DEALER DIDN'T WANT TO REPLACE OR REPAIR THE INVERTER FOR MY CAR. THERE IS STILL A POTENTIAL THREAT ON MY CAR TO LOSE POWER ON HIGHWAYS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE VIBRATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TOYOTA VALLEJO (201 AUTO MALL PKWY, VALLEJO, CA 94591, (707) 552-4545) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HEAD GASKET WAS BLOWN OUT AND THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 165,000.
TYPICALLY THE KEY IS LEFT IN THE CAR IN THE GARAGE. TONIGHT AT 6 PM, AT A GARAGE TEMPERATURE OF 83 DEGREES F, THE ENGINE SPONTANEOUSLY STARTED. NO ONE WAS IN THE CAR AND IT HAD BEEN GARAGED FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS. I JUST HAPPENED TO BE IN THE GARAGE WHEN THE PRIUS STARTED AND WAS NOTHING SHORT OF FLABBERGASTED.
EXCESS OIL CONSUMPTION
MY PRIUS IS USING 1 QUART OF OIL PER 900 MILES, THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP DID A OIL STUDY AND VERIFIED THAT INDEED THE CAR IS USING 1 QUART PER 900 MILES, BUT WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT AND STATED MY CAR IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY AND COULD BE REBUILT FOR 9000 DOLLARS-THIS IS A COMMUTER CAR ONLY AND HAS ONLY BEEN USED FOR OPEN ROAD DRIVING.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AS THE MASTER WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE ONLY CODE FOUND WAS RELATED TO LOW FUEL ALTHOUGH THE VEHICLE HAD A FULL TANK OF FUEL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND MADE THE CONTACT WAS MADE AWARE THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V053000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM , HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 37,795.
AFTER TOYOTA POWER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE RECALL INSTALLED "POWER MANAGEMENT UPGRADE" SOFTWARE IN MY CAR I IMMEDIATELY EXPERIENCED SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH MY IGNITION /START OF HYBRID/GASOLINE ENGINE. AFTER PRESSING IGNITION, I HAD TO WAIT 15 TO 20 MINUTES AND PRESS START BUTTON ON/OFF REPEATEDLY UNTIL THE GASOLINE ENGINE IGNITE BUT HYBRID FAILED TO START. IT IS NOT NORMAL BECAUSE A PRIUS HYBRID ENGINE STARTS FIRST NOT THE GASOLINE ENGINE. TOYOTA HAS DISABLED SOME IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS IN ITS POWER MANAGEMENT RECALL SOFTWARE UPDATE THAT AFFECTS THE HYBRID ENGINE PERFORMANCE AND FAILURE TO START. I DRIVE MY PRIUS 3-4 TIMES A MONTH AND I DID NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM BEFORE THE RECALL SOFTWARE UPGRADE BECAUSE PRIUS OWNERS MANUAL CLEARLY SAYS THAT THE BATTERY WITH BE DISCONNECTED BY BATTERY SAVING FUNCTION WHEN YOUR CAR IS PARKED FOR LONG TIME, SEVERAL DAYS, WEEKS. IN FACT, WHEN YOUR CAR IS PARKED FOR JUST DAYS, TOYOTA POWER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (RECALL) IS DRAINING THE CAR BATTERY AND RECONFIGURING THE RELAYS TO POWER UP THE GASOLINE ENGINE. TOYOTA OWNERS MANUAL CLEARLY STATES THAT WHEN YOU ARE PARKED, "POWER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE DISCONNECTS THE AUXILIARY BATTERY FROM THE HYBRID SYSTEM." HOWEVER, AFTER THE RECALL, NOT ONLY AUXILIARY BATTERY IS NOT DISCONNECTED BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF "ACTIVITY" IN HYBRID ENGINE THAT DRAINS THE BATTERIES. I CALLED THE TOYOTA SERVICE AND THEY NOW SAY YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE CAR ON A CHARGER ALL THE TIME WHEN PARKED FOR SEVERAL DAYS. OF COURSE , IT IS A HUGE SAFETY PROBLEM TO KEEP THE CAR ON A CHARGER ALL THE TIME WHEN PARKED FOR DAYS BECAUSE THE BATTERY IS HOUSED IN THE CABIN AND THE VENTILATION DOES NOT EXIST UNLESS YOU PARK YOUR CAR OUTDOORS. AT THE SAME TIME TOYOTA RECOMMENDS KEEPING THE CAR ON A CHARGER , IT ALSO WARNS OF EXPLOSION CAUSED BY CHARGING THE BATTERIES IN A GARAGE.
STARTING IN SPRING 2013 AND CONTINUING DURING THE REST OF THE SPRING, SUMMER AND EARLY FALL IN THE HOTTEST MONTHS, AFTER PARKING MY PRIUS C OUTSIDE, IT ALWAYS HAD ISSUES STARTING, WHICH CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. I WILL PUT THE KEY IN THE IGNITION, START THE CAR, ALL THE DASH LIGHTS COME ON AND THE CAR WILL USUALLY NOT ALLOW ME TO PUT IT INTO REVERSE OR DRIVE. I HAVE TO TAKE THE KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION AND START IT AGAIN AT LEAST TWICE BEFORE IT STARTS NORMALLY AS IT DOES WHEN THE WEATHER IS COOLER AND/OR WHEN THE CAR IS PARKED IN MY GARAGE. A COUPLE OF TIMES, I MANAGED TO GET THE CAR TO GO INTO REVERSE, BUT IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER AS IF THE PARKING BRAKE WAS ON. THEN THE VEHICLE STOPPED, LEAVING ME IN THE PATH OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR AND THE DEALERSHIP SAYS THEY CAN'T FIX IT UNLESS THEY CAN RECREATE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE TAKEN PICTURES AND VISEO, BUT THAT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO THEM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO BE FIXED. THIS IS THE SECOND COMPLAINT I HAVE FILED RE: THIS MATTER AS MY FIRST DOES NOT SEEM TO APPEAR HERE.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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