This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
11/15/19 originally the car showed brake, ABS, antiskid and engine idiot lights went to the dealer with a code C1391. They said I need to replace the master cylinder and the power booster for $2600. Then they said it was policy to also replace the brake booster pump assembly for an additional $2,000 or a total of $4600. After I complained that they had recalled 972,000 other prius but didn't include the Prius V they said I only needed to replace the master cylinder and power booster and said they would do it for $1,516.89. So then I go to take the car to the service department today 12/4/19 and while sitting there the idiot lights all turn off and the brake start to function normally own its own... I ask the service representative what his thoughts were and he said I should still make the repairs, but he couldn't say what they would do it came back. So I'm going to drive the car for a week to see. While I'm waiting can you please do a recall on the brake pump assemebly since these folks dont even know what the heck is going on with this car. It appears its not either device and its a computer glitch that they haven't resolved...help us prius owners please!!!
My entire breaking system went out while driving to work on a busy road, where I had to pull over to the side to see what was wrong, as I had never seen those five lights light up ever, as this is not a typical issue that would ever break without a manufacturing issue. I was never notified of a specific issue with certain 2011-2015 prius vehicles that are involved in a customer support program zjb. I have now paid $100 to Toyota to diagnose this problem, which was not necessary, as it is obviously the exact issue (5 lights luminated) from the customer support program, and they have told me that I was not notified of the issue because my VIN is not included in the program. It has been diagnosed with the exact break booster issue listed in the letter sent to other VIN numbers. I drive children around in this car, and this issue is severe and should clearly be for a larger number of cars than they are admitting. I have now been told that they will not pay for the $3,000 in repairs because it is not included. This is unacceptable. This is a safety hazard on the road and unbelievable that I would pay extra money for a Toyota because it is supposed to be a safe and reliable car, only to find out they will not admit when they have a widespread break manufacturing issue with their vehicles. My only recourse though Toyota I am told is to make a case number and if my VIN happens to be added to the list, they may reimburse me. This is unacceptable. Toyota needs to recall all vins for this issue, so consumers are aware that their breaks may fail at any moment.
My 2012 Prius V started showing the warning lights for brakes, ABS, anti-skid and engine lights. This happened while driving on a regular road. Brakes still work but feel spongy. Scanned for codes and it says C1391 which requires replacing all the main brake components. The cost is over $3000 because so many parts involved. There's seems to have been a recall for other models of prius but the 'V' not included. Many V owners have experienced this problem. All the parts shown in the attached picture need to be replace cause Toyota doesn't know or can't figure out where the problem is. Car only has 68,000 miles on
The brake loses its grip over a rough road bump while pulling in for a stop. Very very not safe, I almost rear ended a car in front of me a couple of times. Creates extremely unsafe feeling. Brake loss happens all the time over bumpy road only.
The brakes failed while driving. All the ABS, brake lights and a continuous beep sound turned on. I almost had a crash. It was the brake actuator pump and I read about multiple owners had complains with it.
- Isabela, PR, USA
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My 2012 Prius V is only 90K miles. Starting from about 2 weeks ago, the warning lights including brake system warning light, ABS warning light and slip indicator light were suddenly lit on when I was driving, then I found the regenerate brake become very hard and difficult to stop which was malfunctioning. These warning lights were kept on all the time when I drive the car. The car threw out code C1391 when given a diagnosis. After some online work, I found this is a very common problem for Prius V. I went to the dealership however the dealership states that my car, based on its VIN, is not in one of the certain cars covered by zjb phase 2 which covers brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies for certain 2011-2015 model year prius vehicles. The failure of the brake could be a deadly deficiency to all the people in the car when driving. Now I have to think to stop using this car because of the severe security risk. Toyota should take action to solve all this problem for all involved cars, not certain cars. My car is made in 2012, the diagnosis code C1391 given by my car are falling into one of the four codes associated with the brake problem covered by zjb phase 2. it is ridiculous that my car was not issued this extended warranty.
My 2012 Prius V with only 55,000 miles. ABS lights came on and buzzing sound every 3 seconds from just in front of steering column. Toyota dealer charged $270 for computer diagnostic then gave me a parts and labor estimate for replacing brake booster and master cylinder of $4400!!! independent mechanic can order parts from another Toyota dealer in mainland us for $1400 less than the $3200 that dealer in Hawaii quoted and labor for much less. But still will be costing me about $2500. Searched recall sites and regular 2012 prius models had recalls for exactly the same issue but no recall on 2012 Prius V brakes?
Complete brake failure on the freeway!!! ABS, brake and traction control lights lit up. Almost crashed! code C1391-abnormal leak in brake actuator pump. How long will it take this Agency to make Toyota fix this?? its a safety issue!!! stop picking your asses and do something about it!!!!
Car experienced greatly diminished braking power on interstate 75 prior to approaching heavy traffic backed up to exit. Many warning lights illuminated on the dash: Brake, ABS, etc. Toyota has already issued a warranty extension for this issue for the standard model prius, and I believe this is a safety hazard on the Prius V wagon as well.
Takata recall. Right after recall no 18V-684 update system on my prius at local Toyota dealer my car brakes pedal become veird. When I just start on the engine thn start moving and stoping, the brake pedal is really up and not moving down and brakes car really quick. At the same time when I start driving I hear that rear writing brakes for about 1-2 miles. Then it come off and brake pedal goes down little bit to normal position and works great. This is happen every time when shot down engine and start again to go somewhere. Its really dangerous bacous the position of brake pedal sometime up sometimes down, can not predict how soon you can stop when its needed. It always happen now when I drive in my city roads. I came back to dealer that did update system on my car, they said that I need to pay to find out what is going on with my car, they will charge me even if this happen after theire recall update system on my car. This is horrable.
The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius V. while driving at any speed, the brakes made noise and the ABS failed. The vehicle was taken to venice Toyota (941-451-5150, located at 900 U.S. 41 bypass, venice, fl 34285) where it was determined that there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
ABS brake is not working. While I was driving on a city traffic and come to a complete stop at the traffic light, the brake pedal went deep when I step on it and it took me more time to stop than I expected it. I went and got it red the code C1391 abnormal leak in accumulator.
While pulling into a parking space (speed less than 5 mph) and applying the brakes the pedal went to the floor and the car seemed to speed up. The car jumped the curb and struck a tree. A good samaritan assisted and actually got in the car and found the brake pedal went to the floor. Shortly after the accident the brakes returned to normal operation. This is the second time that the car has experienced similar problems. In 2014 while pulling into the driveway the brake pedal went to the floor and struck the house. Shortly after the brakes returned to normal operations. Toyota was notified and inspected the car's computer and braking system per case number 1410012557. After the inspection Toyota said that there were no brake issues found with the car and stated that it was safe to drive. Obviously there is an issue with the braking system in these cars.
Brake activator unit failed after 4 months of reporting the issue to Toyota. It follows the conditions indicated on Toyota wen ZG1. Vehicle was in motion at highway speed when braking malfunction occurred. Vehicle was controllable and allow for secure stop. Brake response was sluggish and hard on the foot.
On Jan. 3, 2018 while moving at a minimum speed (less than 15 mph) I applied the brakes and several warning lights illuminated (brakes, ABS, traction control) along with a warning sound. This was on a city street, driving in a straight line. I was able to brake to a stop. I then attempted to continue to drive at a very low speed but soon lost all ability to brake the vehicle and I coasted to a stop. I had the vehicle towed to a local Toyota dealer. I was told the brake actuator had failed and was charged $3288 plus tax for the repair. I received the car on Jan. 9, 2018 from the dealer. On Jan. 12, 2018 the car failed once again in the exact same manner. The dealer kept the car until Feb. 1, 2018 at which time they returned the car to me at no charge, stating they had changed the same exact part as before. The car has 84,000 miles and I purchased it new. I understand Toyota has issued recalls for this issue on other models but not on my vehicle. I have retained my repair invoices but am unable to upload them at this time.
On Sunday December 17, 2017 at about 3:00 pm I was driving with my family (wife and two kids) in South Florida on us highway 1. the weather was clear and I was traveling about 55 mph. Then without any warning a number of trouble indicator light illuminated on the dash. When the lights came on I was driving in a straight line with just enough gas pedal input to maintain my 55 mph speed. Startled by the lights I lifted my foot off the throttle and attempted to apply the brakes. When I attempted to apply the brake pedal I had little to no brakes and I had to 'stand on the brake pedal' (press it as hard as I could) to get the car to slow and eventually stop while pulling onto the shoulder of the road. I was scared and shocked at the same time. I turned the car off and back on thinking it might fix the problem. It did not. I was able to get the car home and the very next morning took it to South dade Toyota. I was able to get it home and to the dealer by driving very slow keeping a very large space cushion and standing on the brake pedal when I needed to stop. While I did not crash understandably I was scared because you should not just lose brakes out of the blue. At the dealer they informed me that the brake actuator failed and needed replacement costing $5734.94. I did research and found that Toyota issued a warranty extension ZG1 for this exact problem but was told by the dealer that my VIN was not part of the program even though my vehicle experienced the exact problem. I reached out to Toyota cooperate and while they agreed that yes I had the same problem my VIN was not part of the program (they gave me a case # 1712180647). However they did offer $2207.57 as a good will gesture towards the repair. I paid $3527.37. Toyota knows of a life safety problem and has chosen to limit the program. My mileage was 106,451 and under the program would have been covered.
Since I first bought the car in 2012 I noticed that every now and then when I pushed down the brake pedal to slow down for a stop, if the car hit a slight bump in the road, the car would momentarily accelerate instead of braking. It felt like I was losing control of the car. (note: Since I did not record the dates, please note that I have chosen August 1, 2017 as a random date just so I could continue on to the next step but this has happened from time to time since 2012.)
November 4, 2017 - car was parked in our driveway. Put the car in reverse to back out of our driveway. The brakes failed. No matter how many times the brake pedal was repeatedly pushed down, the car just would not stop. It actually felt like the car was accelerating! the car ran over our mailbox at the end of our driveway. The mailbox got dragged under the car and the car rolled out onto the street. Finally, we pushed in the power button and that was how we were able to get the car to stop. Our mailbox got totaled and damage was done to the undercarriage of our car, as there is twisted metal hanging down scraping the ground. The brakes started to work again a few minutes later, as I was able to pull it back into the driveway off of the street. On September 19, 2017 ' car was parked in a parking lot. When reversing out of the parking space, the brakes did not work. After repeatedly pumping the brakes, they finally engaged just before it hit a car parked behind us. We thought this was a freak one-type event, so we didn't report it.
NHTSA recall number 15V449 manufacturer recall: For / hybrid inverter/power module (ipm) crash involving Prius V (owned by another person - my mother was hit and killed by Prius V) occurred on sr 105. Prius V traveling N on outside lane crossed inside lane and 11' grass median bordered by concrete into S bound inside lane and collided my mother driving oncoming vehicle on inside S bound lane. Woman driving Prius V was killed on impact, and my mother died later that day at uf hospital jacksonville. Two witnesses driving behind my mother saw crash and said the Prius V appeared to be accelerating across median. Crash occurred approx. 2 months before Toyota's recall on July 15, 2015 of 109,000 Prius V hybrids. The Prius V that killed my mother was part of this recall. In Feb 2014, there was a recall on the prius ECU. The pruis V had the same ECU, but Toyota chose not to recall the Prius V until almost a year and a half later, 2 and a half months after my mother's fatal crash. If they had recalled the Prius V in 2014, would my mother still be alive?
When driving on uneven ground, like pot holes, the brakes fail. Literally if you have your foot on brake when driving over a pot hole, you can feel the brakes release and the car won't stop. I've had similar issues on bumpy ground. The car has always had the problem since I purchased it, probably on a weekly basis, and I've wondered about the safety and whether it's just related to ABS. I've also inquired at the dealership. Luckily, I've never been in an accident because of the problem. But, this weekend my friend with a prius had an accident because of the problem, so I decided to report my complaint.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Honolulu, HI, USA