10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 3
Average Mileage:
40,701 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2012 Toyota Prius v brakes problems

brakes problem

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2012 Toyota Prius v Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)

problem #113

Jan 142025

Prius v

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Brake booster pump assembly. Toyota has sent a notice of extended warranty for this vehicle which has expired. Without repair, the brakes will loose compression and stop working.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #112

May 042024

Prius v

  • miles
The issue is my brakes failed on me all of a sudden. My abs light, traction control light, and brake light came on out of nowhere. Suddenly didn't have brake pressure. Had to pump the brakes a few times before the car would stop. Luckily I didn't hit anything or anyone. I brought the car to Prius specialist and they diagnosed it saying it was the ABS Actuator Pump Assembly and Master Cylinder. They said it is quite common in the 3rd generation of Prius'. I contacted Toyota North America and they said they had a recall on the parts but it ended Dec 31st, 2021. I bought the car in 2022 unknowingly. Was quoted around $4000 to repair it parts and labor. This is a safety issue that should not be limited to time. Luckily I was not on a Freeway or anywhere where I could have done damage. This issue is a hazard to myself and other people on the road. Toyota needs to resolve this.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #111

Jan 162025

Prius v

  • miles
Anti lock brake malfunction. Code c1391 leak in brake accumulator. This seems to be a common code for brake issues with Prius. The cost to repair is significant, more than the value of the car. This is a certain safety issue that needs to be addressed. This is clearly a Hazzard and will cost lives to those who cannot afford the cost of repair.

- Prescott, AZ, USA

problem #110

Oct 232024

Prius v

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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

- Greenwood, IN, USA

problem #109

Sep 212024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Harrisonburg, VA, USA

problem #108

Aug 302024

Prius v

  • miles
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?

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #107

Sep 012024

Prius v

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Garner, NC, USA

problem #106

Aug 012024

Prius v

  • miles
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?

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #105

Aug 212024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Oldsmar, FL, USA

problem #104

Aug 152024

Prius v

  • miles
Brake master cylinder and brake booster accumulator assemblies brake parts from this vehicle failed on another vehicle.

- Glenwood , IA, USA

problem #103

Jul 302024

Prius v

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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).

- Round Rock, TX, USA

problem #102

Nov 082023

Prius v

  • miles
The brake booster noise, brake problem, brake booster pump internal mail function

- Worcester, MA, USA

problem #101

Jun 222024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Newnan, GA, USA

problem #100

May 312024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #99

May 012024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #98

May 252024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Glenwood, IA, USA

problem #97

May 112024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Scottsboro, AK, USA

problem #96

Apr 082024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Elkhart, IN, USA

problem #95

Jun 252023

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Cocoa, FL, USA

problem #94

Jan 302024

Prius v

  • miles
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.

- Glen Allen, VA, USA

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