Toyota Prius V Complaints (2012)

218 consumer complaints on file.

#11621521October 23, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
I write to add my voice to the litany of complaints in support of NHTSA investigation DP23005. While on an road trip recently the ABS, Traction Control, and Brake warning lights all came on. The brake felt squishy and didn't seem to be functioning as confidently as before. I altered my driving (giving plenty of distance, lowering my speed) so that in the event the brakes quit working I would have an exit strategy. I took it to my Independent Service Center as soon as possible who found the code C1391 and diagnosed the need to replace the master cylinder / booster assembly for several thousand dollars. Of course I must do this in order to remain safe but this is clearly a safety issue that could have been catastrophic. Meanwhile I am out of a car for several weeks until the part arrives and out of at least $2000 as quoted by my mechanic ($1640 for the part). The car only has 146,500 miles on it so otherwise would have plenty of life left in it. I'm filing this complaint to add my voice to the open petition and toward the NHTSA's investigation in strong support of holding Toyota responsible for PREVENTING injury and death through a proper recall, as well as against burdening the car owner with the costs of making up for Toyota's negligence on this issue. At the least they need to cover the cost of these necessary safety repairs when they are warned by the lights and reinstate their warranty extension for this issue
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11616998September 28, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
I write to add my voice to the litany of complaints in support of NHTSA investigation DP23005. While on an interstate road trip recently the ABS, Traction Control, and Brake warning lights all came on. The brake felt squishy and didn't seem to be functioning as confidently as before. I altered my driving (giving plenty of distance, lowering my speed) so that in the event the brakes quit working I would have an exit strategy. I took it to my Independent Service Center as soon as possible who found the code C1391 and diagnosed the need to replace the master cylinder / booster assembly for several thousand dollars. Of course I must do this in order to remain safe but this is clearly a safety issue that could have been catastrophic. Meanwhile I am out of a car for several weeks until the part arrives and out of at least $2000 as quoted by my mechanic ($1640 for the part). The car only has 146,500 miles on it so otherwise would have plenty of life left in it. I'm filing this complaint to add my voice to the open petition and toward the NHTSA's investigation in strong support of holding Toyota responsible for PREVENTING injury and death through a proper recall, as well as against burdening the car owner with the costs of making up for Toyota's negligence on this issue. At the least they need to cover the cost of these necessary safety repairs when they are warned by the lights and reinstate their warranty extension for this issue ("POL18-03") which expired for my vehicle in August of 2021.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11614556September 14, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
have suddenly brake failture, w code c1391, it problem persist car do not stop by pressing brake , it is too dangerous to drive this car!!!! what you can help me w this recall or rebate option for brake repair?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11614025September 11, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
The Toyota Prius of this generation has a known defect in the brake booster pump assembly. About 2 weeks ago the dash lights came on for ABS, Traction control, general warning light. The brakes work but feel soft, and a motor sound pulses behind the steering column every 8-10 seconds. My mechanic pointed out it is a known problem where the ABS booster pump has a faulty valve that doesn’t allow proper pressure to build to engage ABS system. I cannot afford the Repair: $3890 for master cylinder and brake booster. My concern is that most people can’t afford this repair and without a functioning ABS system, people are put at risk from this generation of Prius. Toyota did offer a customer service program acknowledging the issue, but that program only helped if these issues occurred before 2022. With the known issue, why wasn’t a recall required? Toyota should be required to address this safety issue. How many of these Prius are on the road where customers are expected to perform a $4,000. Repair to keep up the safety standards. The car is available for inspection upon request. Thank you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11610467August 23, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving and all of a sudden the emergency brake light, the ABS brake light and a couple more turned on and I had no more brakes. I had just driven 25 miles with it and stopped at many red lights along the way with no issue and NO WARNING lights. I could have gotten into a major accident if it had happened anywhere else in my route. Fortunately, I was about a mile from my house and the hybrid motor helped slow the car down. I was unable to stop at any stop sign in my development and here again was very fortunate that there were no cars along the way. Once I got home, I got it towed to Toyota and was told it is an internal failure of the actuator. I contacted Toyota America and was just told that there was a campaign to repair this but that I had passed the date. My car has only been serviced at the same Toyota in my city since I got it. I religiously brought it every 5000 miles. I am shocked that they never mentioned this campaign to me and that they didn't initiate a repair during the campaign. This is a major issue that needs to be addressed and Toyota needs to be held accountable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11610479August 23, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
About three weeks ago, my daughter told me that several lights were on on her display. I checked and among them were the traction control and 2 other related to the brake system. I looked up possible causes on the Internet and it seemed the brake booster/master cylinder could be a culprit, but then I checked the fluid reservoir and the fluid was low, so I topped it off, drove the car, pumped the brakes a few times and all the lights went off. About a week later the lights were back on. I checked all the lines and saw not visible signs of leaks and decided to take it to a mechanic. I took it to a local mechanic and I was told that the brake master cylinder with brake booster failed and had to be replaced. Afterward the brakes were repaired I went to 2 local Toyota dealerships to check the price of the parts. The first dealership provided the prices without any discussion. At the second dealership, the employee who waited on me, after I provided her the VIN and told her that I need the price of the brake booster/master cylinder,m told me that there was a service notice on the booster/master cylinder because of a high rate of failure and that I would have to check with the service department before she could sell me the part. This is concerning, if Toyota knew/knows that the part has a high rate of failure, why wasn't a recall notice issued?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608645August 15, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
Brake master cylinder and brake booster accumulator assemblies brake parts from this vehicle failed on another vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11605920August 1, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
After starting the car on 7/30/24, the Brake System Warning Light, ABS,Slip Indicator, and Master Warning Light all came on indicating an issue with the brake system. We were able to get it to the local dealership and when they ran diagnostics on it, it returned a code C1391, which confirmed the issue. This was addressed in 2020 by Toyota, but only for cars 10 years or 150,000 miles old. Our car is a 2022 with 105,000 miles on it, but we are outside of the year limit (car was 8 years old when the Customer Service Program was released).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11603781July 22, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
The brake booster noise, brake problem, brake booster pump internal mail function
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11599562July 6, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
2012 Toyota Prius brake actuator failure . While driving my Toyota Prius the braking system failed, this was on a large road and so posed a major danger to not only me, but the passengers in the vehicle and the vehicles around us. Thankfully nobody was hurt. After having the vehicle inspected by a Toyota dealership the problem was found to be the “Actuator/accumulator” and after speaking with the dealership it has come to be my understanding that this is a common and unavoidable problem with Toyota Prius models. There were no lights or warnings on in the vehicle until after the brakes gave out. I cannot understand why this has not been recalled when it is a manufacturing issue on Toyotas end that poses a significant danger on the roads, and am wondering what the reimbursement policy for this is as it came out to be quite expensive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11595092June 18, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
The Brake Master Cylinder and Brake Booster pump failed to maintain pressure. I don't have the replaced parts, my mechanic recycled them before I realised I was going to submit this. When the part completely failed, I had the ABS, traction control lights on. I couldn't trust that the car wouldn't have a problem stopped, and the brake pedal also became squishy in responsiveness. My own safety, my kids safety, and the safety of others was at risk and I immediately stopped driving it to get the repair done. The problem was confirmed by a Toyota dealership and this was a recall but since my car is older the recall had expired. I was unaware of this recall until the issue began. It was also confirmed by my personal mechanic to be the failure. The Dashboard lit up the ABS, TCS, Brake, (!) light, VSC, and the sound of the pump changed. Before all the lights came up I had noticed a air leaking sound coming from near the brake pedal at times.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11593589June 11, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
while driving i lost the power braking on my vehicle and the abs, traction and another exclamtion point symbol came on. my brakes had to be pushed really hard all the way down to the floor board increasing my braking distance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11590773May 25, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
Complete Brake failure, confirmed brake accumulator / actuator failure resulting in near miss crash, tow home not drivable, onle e brake works, appears pump burned up not running any longer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11588269May 11, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
Brake booster has gone out. This is a known, dangerous issue that Toyota knows will occur, It is a dangerous and expensive risk to those driving these ticking time bombs, and those potentially in the path of these vehicles. This is a pure safety risk item. No one asking for these brake actions are gaining anything materially other than the use of their cars safely. To make matters worse, Toyota doesn’t even make these in volumes that don’t generate volume pricing efficiency, meaning replacement runs upward of $4k to $5k at their dealerships to replace. Criminal…. Please help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11586049April 30, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On February 27 2024 I had spend 2300 dollars on car repairs see enclosed then on April 11 2024 while backing out of my driveway, I experienced a sudden acceleration of my vehicle which led to body damage to my car yet Toyota after inspection says that now the car system works perfectly. Prior to this incident I experienced warning light and windshield wiper malfunction .
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11583145April 15, 2024
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle then stalled. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582287April 11, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving when I felt my brake pedal start to become soft and mushy. I was able to brake, but I had to pump the brakes to get full brakes to stop. I also noticed warnings began to appear on my dashboard. The warnings that were shown are the brake light, traction assistant light, and ABS light. I took it to Gates Toyota in South Bend, IN and paid for a brake inspection. They told me that my brakes themselves were OK (pads, rotors, calipers), but they were getting a C1391 error. I was told that the brake accumulator has an internal leak. I was told that I needed to replace the brake master cylinder and brake booster pump assembly. I bought the car used from the dealership about a year and a half ago. After doing research, I found that this same issue has been a common recall problem on a number of Toyota vehicles starting as far back as 2008. I also found a few class action lawsuits concerning Toyota vehicles with the exact same issue. My vehicle doesn't show any current recalls, but I'm having the same problem as other Prius V vehicles are having. I was quoted $3300 to fix this problem. I shouldn't have to be responsible for paying for a defect that has been recalled on a very large number of vehicles, and also has been the result of class action lawsuits.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11575834March 6, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
Brake failure resulting in code C1391. Petition for Defect Investigation dated 09/09/23 summitted to NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation via Certified Mail. Received by Office of Defects Investigation on 10/10/23.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11569297February 1, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
8/2/22 My ABS light came on. Took the car to a dealer. They kept it for six weeks and returned it on 10/3/22. No charge and no explanation. 11/7/22 engine light came on. Took in to dealer, they returned it 11/17/22 indicated incorrect air/ fuel mixture. 10/9/23 Traveling 47 mph, came around a mountain and encountered stopped cars. Slammed on the brakes, car did not slow down, steering wheel locked to the right, car yawed to the right, and turned over, hit a curb and the car righted itself. 3 occupants, 2 injuries , 1 death. Researching the 2012 Toyota Prius, found many instances of a faulty ABS system, mimicking exactly my experience. I was never informed by Toyota or the local Toyota dealer.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
1
#11569382February 1, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The hybrid system was shut down while driving. The symptoms are like the description in this recall (NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V684000). However, my VIN is not on the recall list.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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