general problems of the 2010 Toyota Prius - part 1

Toyota issued a recall with a limited time for Prius brake booster/actuator failures. This issue is known to present brake failures and necessarily place drivers, passengers, and pedestrians at risk in the case of such brake failures. Toyota made no effort to proactively remedy this problem and further neglected customer safety by excluding Priuses with the same manufacturing issue from the recall, under its 10 year 150,000 mile requirement. Whether or not the Priuses have been driven 150,000 miles or 10 years the nature with which the malfunction presents represents a safety for any driver.

The abs pump( accumulator and booster) are regularly failing on all Toyota Prius( 2010-2015). When the abs pump starts to fail, the warning lights for traction control, brake and abs come on. These lights come on at all speeds and its very hard to bring the vehicle to a complete stop when this happens. The brakes completely stop working and the brakes become rock solid. The brakes become so hard that they can’t be possibly be depressed to stop in time. I nearly missed getting killed from this as I am out of country and Toyota is refusing to fix it since its not a recall and I am in canada. Toyota is asking $3500 in parts and $1500 in labor to repair. I can not afford it and this issue is on all Prius from 2010-2015. This is a major safety hazard and can cause serious injury and damage. Toyota is refusing to repair it since they believe the cars are out of warranty. However Toyota has been notified about this safety hazard arising on all Prius(2010-2015) but decline to respond or take action. I urge NHTSA to take action and get this resolved as the abs brakes failing on the Prius can be really dangerous and can cause life threatening accidents.

Passenger side low beam headlamp has continued to need to be replaced. I was not made aware of a "customer service protection program" on this and when I contacted Toyota they said it was too late for the repair, electrical harness, to be covered by their extended warranty. I never received information regarding the extended warranty. They stated they sent it to the correct address. But just because you mail something doesn't always mean it is delivered to that address. Also, I had my car serviced many times at Toyota dealerships and they never informed me of this extended warranty. If I had been made aware of the extended warranty I would've had it repaired in a timely manner. I have spoken to two representatives of Toyota and they stated they could not help me. I'm wondering why this is not considered a recall issue as it does affect the safety of driving a vehicle and the lights stop working. This may not be the right place to ask this question but I'm hoping someone in your organization can help me.

See all over the internet that 2010 Prius have a recall for inverter. I called the dealer they said no recall with my VIN. I was told that a new inver is almost $5000 dollars. I need help I have bought 3 Toyota already. Please help me with good will or warrenty the inverter like you have so many other people with 2010 Prius. If not I willand my family will never buy a Toyota again. Please call or email me 480 236 7841 josephblakehefner@gmail. Com the Prius died when driving and we almost got in a major accident because it stalled with no warning.

Total malfunction at highway speeds. Very unsafe, the car completely shut off. This may have resulted in a highway fatality due to collision as the vehicle was in the fast lane. Ntsa please do your due diligence and investigate the faulty, defective hybrid system as I believe the faulty inverter recall is much more larger than the original recall.

My 2010 Toyota Prius hatchback suddenly had 4 or 5 warning lights appear on the dashboard and my brakes failed to function properly. It felt like the power brakes was turned off ! although I did get the vehicle stopped, it surely was a dangerous situation. I understand that Toyota knows about this problem, and have read that it was warranted if this happened before 150,000 miles. My Prius has approx 167,000 miles right now and to replace the brake actuator, the cost will be $ 3 - 5 thousand dollars…absurd amount in my opinion. Since this critical feature (brakes) has a long known history of being faulty on Toyota vehicles it should be warranted for at least 25 years and at least 300k ! my Prius is “unsafe to drive” and is nothing more than a paperweight…I repeat, Toyota knows, and has known about this defective brake actuator problem for years and years!!! please lean on Toyota to up the warranty of this faulty brake problem for the many, many Toyota owners who have purchased the Toyota product and and not screwing the public like they are doing now !.

Hi I want submit issues with the master cylinder and abs pump assy I have 2 vehicles same model with average same mileage and both had issues with this system if I drove any distance below 25 mph in a constant time the dash lights comes on traction control, abs light, brake light , and the brake pedal goes low and barely brakes make this situation dangerous when I stop if you try turn it off the engine and on again lights stay there but if I reset the codes the pump works again for some while and then again when you don’t expected lose pressure and I am really afraid for my safety and my family, and I am not the only one with this problem is too many Prius owners who have the issues I went from dealer and they advice $3000 dlls fix situation who motivate people to lose money for $1200 in parts and $1800 dlls in labor for something they can resolve it because in reality is an manufactured defect.

It is a known problem that Priuses manufactured from 2004 to 2015 have issues with the brake master cylinder and brake booster accumulator. When the vehicle computer recognizes an internal leak (abs c1391) or other issue in the accumulator pump, it completely disables the regenerative braking system, which significantly reduces braking power. In my case, the problem is intermittent, and the vehicle computer will occasionally clear the code and operate normally. A slight whirring sound can still be heard (indicative of an internal leak), leading me to conclude that the part is still damaged, even when the code clears itself. This continues to affect my and my passengers' safety because the problem comes back with no warning while driving. Many times at highway speeds, the regenerative braking system will shut off while decelerating. This has caused scares and near-accidents. Imagine you are approaching stopped traffic while traveling 65 miles per hour. You press the brake to start slowing down, and while decelerating, the dashboard lights up and the brake pedal goes spongey. Now, you must slam the brake all the way into the firewall to engage the disks and pads exclusively. Aside from the imminent terror of hitting the car in front of you, now you are skidding on the brakes, worried the car behind you will crush the rear. Sooner or later this will cause somebody to get into an accident when a split-second decision cannot to be made quickly enough. The issue is well-known, and a warranty recall was issued, but it does not cover any vehicles over a certain age and mileage. It has been reproduced by my local mechanic and inspected by a Prius specialist, who both quote about $3800 to fully replace and recalibrate the failing parts. There were no indicators of this issue before it happened to my wife and I the first time on the highway. While I am grateful that nobody was injured, the situation could be completely different had the problem occurred just seconds later.

Purchased new a 2010 Toyota Prius third generation level 4 in July of 2009. Hybrid battery pack failed just after 150,000 warranty lapsed at 155,000 miles. January 2023 floods in merced, CA damaged one of blocks in hybrid battery pack driving through waters at 191000 miles on odometer. This threw dtc poa 080 'check hybrid system' message. The following month February 2023 at 191500 miles I notice loud cooling fan for hybrid battery operating for the first time ever! fan is located in rear seat behind front passenger. Air vent is clearly visible. I believe defective fan led to overheating of hybrid battery premature failure at 155,000 miles.

Car slows down to a stop when driving on the freeway. With no power to accelerate, it makes it hard to get to the side of the road to be towed. Been to the dealer twice to address the problem, and was told that if I don't pay $200, that there is nothing they can do. Then when I did pay the money for evaluation, they told me the problem could be one of several things that would start the never-ending process of repairs that will keep me paying until they solve it. I would think that with a $200 code reading, that the dealers software could narrow it down to the exact repair needed. I mentioned to the dealer about the jov update I had done earlier to the car, but dealer refuses to recognize that there is a recall on my vehicle, and that I needed to pay money(that I don't have) to do anything. My check hybrid system light and orange triangle comes on when the car dies.

I was driving home from work when all the warning light all came on at once. The car suddenly stopped accelerating and the “check hybrid system” was showing on my dash. I was lucky enough to be going down hill so I can make it to a shoulder to get off the road. Tried troubleshooting everything but to no avail and needed to get towed because the Prius would not move at all. Haven’t got the vehicle checked yet because the vehicle will not move and can only be moved if towed.

I had just gotten back in my car from a quick store trip. My Prius turned on like normal but soon after when I was driving different kind of warning lights turned on. My steering was affected ,the car slowed down considerably to the point I was almost rear-ended. The triangle of death, check engine, brake and steering lights all came on with the check hybrid system warning. Before this I had no prior issues with my car. I had it checked by an independent mechanic who states it is the inverter that caused this.

Hello there, my name is lashyrah and I do not know much about cars so most of this is unknown. The person I bought my vehicle from did not give me much information and I was desperate at the time so I bought it. Most of the lights on the dashboard are abs, brake system, engine, tire/safety alert, fuel pump reset warning, and stability control are lights that come and go. I have used the code system to try to reset these things and they go away then pop back up. Sometimes while I am driving, all the dashboard lights disappear and the breaks start getting really touchy and it feels completely different driving until the previous lights all come back on. This has been an issue before and when I last went to Toyota to get my car serviced, I asked them to check the lights and system, and if they could do a multi-point inspection. They wanted me to pay $300 just to find out why the lights keep coming back on. Please help me get this fixed at no cost I am a single mom and college student working part time so I need my car to get around or a free loaner car to get around until this is fixed. I strongly feel these are recalls that did not get taken care of or are not showing up in the recall system. I need assistance as soon as possible and would like to know my options, especially after getting a notice in the mail a few days ago from Toyota about my car possibly being affected. My fuel gauge is also empty at around 3 bars or sometimes 2 bars instead of going all the way down to empty, costing me more money on gas having to fill it up more often. Thank you for your time and help.

2010 Prius started up in the garage 3 hours after being shut down. I am certain the car was not still running while we unloaded groceries from hatchback and left the garage. * nothing was retrieved from the front seat so no accidental start could have occurred. * my son "heard it start" almost 3 hours after the vehicle had been shut off while in another room near the garage. * I heard nothing from the upstairs. * the Prius key fob was nowhere near the vicinity of the vehicle at the time it started nor was any person. In fact, both key fobs were upstairs and only the currently used 1 had a battery and was stored inside a tin so as to always know where it was. *Toyota executives were made aware of incident but essentially denied the Toyota could start without the key fob: "Toyota is not aware for any possible way for the vehicle to be started without the key. ".

The abs, brake, and traction control light came on. The braking became difficult. The car did stop but if it was in an emergency circumstance there may have been a collision. I called Toyota about the issue and was informed that there was a brake actuater and master cylinder issues with this make and model. Toyota replaced them in cars that had this issue under a special warranty that was over in 2021. It is a $3500 issue. I purchased this car new and have never received a notice about bad braking system. I have lived at the same address since the purchase. Toyota informed me that notices were not sent out, however if the owner came in with this issue before 2021 it would have been repaired and replaced. I can not understand how all owners were not informed. I do not understand how a recall wasn't enforced. I live in florida where the speed limit is 70mph. This could have been deadly. I looked on forums online and apparently this has been an issue for many many 2010 Toyota Prius. I have a case in with Toyota american. 220701001489. I can use any help I can get with this issue. It may save a life.

Hi- I have a Toyota Prius 2010 model and I encountered a braking failure yesterday. My abs lights, brake lights and another light came up on my dashboard of the car. Upon diagnosis, I was informed by Toyota dealership that my car has a faulty c1391 - abnormal leak in accumulator. This condition may be caused by small internal brake fluid leak inside the brake booster assembly with master cylinder. This is a known issue by Toyota and lots of press coverage on this issue since the past few years. I was told today that if this issue occurred within 10 year or purchase or <150k then the repair work would be covered by Toyota. I purchased the car in 2010 and I past the 10 year mark but mileage coverage is 125k (<150k). Toyota is unwilling to bear the cost and would want me to pay for the fix. This is a known issue with Toyota and the braking system can fail anytime before/or after 10 year mark. It is now costing me $3000 to repair. I am shocked with the Toyota's response in this matter. There are lots of blogs I read online who have similar issue. . Read more...

Hazard lights flashing, flashes faster at higher speeds. Hazard button useless. Mechanic not sure what is the problem; reset codes. Problem went away for a few days and then came back.

I was driving on the road and right before a stop light my car jumped as if someone hit me from behind. After looking in my rear view and seeing no one on me I realized something else happened. I look at my dash and check hybrid system light was on. I was in traffic at the light waiting and looked it up on my phone to find out what to do. Some article said to pull over and turn it off and restart it. The light turned green and traffic started moving so I started to drive. I thought I could probably make it home but the car started driving a lot slower than usual. I really didn’t want to pull over because it was in a bad part of town but I felt like I had no choice because the car was barely moving. It seemed more dangerous to be on the road with other drivers. So I pulled over and parked and tried starting it again. It wouldn’t shift to drive so now I’m stuck and can’t get home unless I pay to get my car towed. I get my car towed to the house. I put a meter on the battery and it was fine. I put a diagnostics tester on it and came up with these codes poa1a and poa94. I contacted hybrid mechanic that doesn’t work at Toyota and he said to take it in to a dealership and sent me the ze3 warranty letter and said they would fix it. I paid for it to be towed to the dealership. There were already a lot of cars waiting to be serviced when I got there. Anyway, they said they would fix it after they did their diagnostics after I paid $120 for it. That was 3/21/2022. I sent csr the ze3 letter and he said it wasn’t covered. It’s like he didn’t even read it. A day later he said he needed to talk to a warranty administrator then a day later he said it would be covered but I don’t qualify for a loaner but they can give me a rental for $45 a day. I friend let me borrow their car for a couple days. Now as of writing this it’s midnight 3/30/2022. I still don’t have my car and I’m about to be without a car unless I buy one or rent one. No eta on the part being delivered either. I’m sol.

Brake booster failure; has been inspected and confirmed. Warning lamps for traction control, abs, brake system lights, master warning light all came on during normal city driving. Immediate loss of brake assist causing sudden need for much more distance while stopping the vehicle. Clearly, sudden changes in brake behavior is a safety concern and this problem seems to be well documented as common issue in this era of Toyota vehicles. I believe Toyota has fallen short in its efforts to remmedy the situation. An extended warranty was issued but it was for a brief period of time that required this problem to occur within a narrow window. It's a wildly expensive repair to a critical system and it seems to be a common problem in these cars.

Last week I check hybrid system message appeared on the screen and orange triangle with check engine light. I took it to the shop and they said that there are code p0a94 wich is related to the inverted and that is needed replacement. I saw that there was recall on inverter and want to see if I can get it replaced. Thanks.

I have recently bought a 2010 Prius. The abs (!) , traction control, and emergency brake light all illuminated three days after I transferred title with the dmv. This apparently is a very common problem with this car. I am told that these lights lead to a very expensive repair. My primary concern is my safety and of course the safety of others. A car that has brakes that suddenly fail is lethal. I was advised by a helpful agent that these repairs would come out of my pocket. My complaint is that Toyota should be responsible for this. I cannot drive this vehicle at the moment because I refuse to endanger anyone.

The dash lights on my 2010 Prius went all dark, lost all information on my dash. No lights on dash, no fuel gauge, no speedometer, nothing. This is very dangerous to suddenly have happened and I don't see a recall from Toyota to address this problem.

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving, the brake lights, abs, and check engine warning lights illuminated. There was an abnormal noise detected. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed that the brake booster assembly needed to be replaced. Additionally, the contact was informed that the vehicle was not safe to drive. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000. The VIN was not available.

While driving on a highway at night around 60 mph, brake light turned on then ab light then slip light. Nothing else happened but since this hadn’t happened before, I pulled over, turned off car, waited a bit then turned back on. Car still worked although these lights stayed on. Continued driving to get home at reduced speed (around 45-50) plus with blinkers on with mental note to take to the dealer next morning. A few miles out, a loud unchanging alarm went off and I couldn’t use my brakes no matter how hard I pressed on them. I was able to glide off an exit that was near and making right turns get into a lot. Also neither of the brake pad nor the parking button was working so I couldn’t stop the car but then I hit power to shut down and that was able to stop it. Called for towing to dealer the following day. They say it’s the brake booster and that I have to pay out of pocket since it passed a recall but this is a dangerous issue with the car. If the light had been red and a car crossing, without brakes I would have gotten into an accident and since I bought it used last year, I wouldn’t have even known about this being an issue. There shouldn’t be a date limit on this recall, if models of Toyota Prius needs the recall and it hadn’t been done by previous owner, it needs to be done as this is a really traumatizing and potentially deadly issue.

My problem began when I pressed my brakes and instead it accelerated. I thought maybe my foot slipped and didn’t know what it meant. It happened again a few weeks later and then all of the dash lights went on that indicated that I had to have the big brake recall repair. Being that my car is past the 10 year warranty and past the extension for mileage, I had to pay out of pocket. This repair was done and upon receiving my car back, the gas mileage instantly began to drop. It went from averaging 42-48mpg in my town to 25-30mpg. I took it in the be looked at and they ensured me nothing was wrong with the car at all. The battery wasn’t holding charge on top of this and it wasn’t reading the same on the dash about the 0-100 current gas mileage you’re getting as you go (the lines scale thing) that goes up when you let off the gas, and I could feel a strange shift while I was driving so I took it in again. They told me this time it’d be $110 to diagnose even though it was the same issue that started after the brake system repair, so I left extremely upset. A few days later my cars steering went out while I was driving and the whole hybrid system died. The car now only works in power mode.

I was just told that my 2010 Prius needs the brake boost assembly (cylinder and boost) at a cost of $2,570. It was causing my 4 month old, 12v battery to drain. I thought that was outrageous so I looked into it and found out there was an "enhanced extended" warranty issued (not a recall) , but for my vehicle it expired April 2020. Another issue that I uncovered that this part also causes the Prius to lurch forward when braking and you happen to drive over a bump. Train tracks, or potholes which is a safety issue. I have also experienced this with my Prius. Fortunately, I have had no accidents so far. I have read that there have been accidents caused by this issue. Toyota should step up and fix the problem before people are injured due to this defective braking system. My daughter drives a 2015 Prius. Is anything more being done? or are they going to wait until more accidents happen? I stumbled across this issue when my 2010 Toyota Prius 12v battery required frequent jump starts. I replaced the battery ($300) Dec 2020. Prior to that, I called aaa and got a jump start. Because of covid, I wasn't driving the vehicle daily (work from home) so it was assumed the cause was the vehicle should be driven frequently.

Check hybrid system light ignites, slows down vehicle in middle of high speed highway. First incident November of 2020 then several incidents after. Repair shops don't assure problem according to error codes & they recommend possibilities they cannot assure will resolve the problem. Car was taken into local dealership after receiving recall notice for software and airbags prior to November 2020 when the issue began. Software update took a couple of hours. Restart/reboot temporarily allowed driving again. Most recently the system entirely shut down & the car will not start or run. Abandoned car on side of the road and got heat exhaustion from walking the rest of the way home and had vehicle towed. Error lights come on including "check hybrid system" says "shift to p position when starting" and will not allow start.

I have experienced problems with the electrical, oil, and break systems ever since purchasing my certified pre-owned 2010 Prius from the dealership in 2013. Toyota has never provided a satisfactory answer for what is actually wrong with the electrical system; the problem still remains. Toyota also does not have an ideal maintenance plan set up for the known increased oil consumption rate that is directly linked to my model vehicle and has not only not performed routine oil changes but also sent me home after a supposed oil change with zero oil in my tank. But today my main concern that I take issue with and that ive encountered from the get-go, has to do with the breaks. For years I've been telling Toyota about how my breaks do this thing where under the right circumstances (those being things like slight bumps or raises in the road, or going over a manhole cover) the breaks not only give out but actually propel me forward with zero chance for stopping which is quite terrifying already and then when you add in other drivers on the road into the equation is a literal nightmare. Despite my many efforts for Toyota to take a look at them they always refuse any service to them because my dashboard is not displaying any warning signs. Also, due to the fact that its not a constant issue, meaning it only happens under the right circumstances which idk where such a precise place exists near the dealership, they cant experience it for themselves. So my concerns are dismissed leaving me to fend for myself whenever these circumstances arise which no doubt an accident seems to be on the horizon. Then with ~114,700 miles on the odometer, my entire abs system crashed while I was in traffic. Luckily I am a beyond exceptional driver and also have catlike reflexes so was able to manage my way to the shoulder of the road when this occurred. However, with warning lights now illuminated o.

I was driving on the hwy with 3 children when it cut off on me and my steering wheel was locked . I took it to four mechanics I saw the Toyota dealer and they told me that it was my battery and now I know that I have a recall on it . I have not driven my car in three months I'm also still paying payments on it . I also was told that it was my break. I bought a new brake booster and pay for the replacement and the problem was still hungry just.

While in motion driving at 50 mph, warning beep signaled and car started slowing down. Notification on the dashboard read "check hybrid system". Vehicle eventually slowed to a stop and put itself in neutral automatically. Took it to a mechanic who said it is the inverter/converter.

Prius has less than 100k miles and has been running perfectly. Today while driving, the brake, abs and traction control lights came on simultaneously and began alarming, while suddenly my brake locked up. This could cause accident and injury if it occurred under the right circumstances. Apparently there was a previous brake booster recall that I was never notified of and which has since expired. This recall should be reissued to include the many 2010 Priuses affected by this problem.

Tl the contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that at start-up the air bags warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to parkway Toyota located at 50 sylvan Ave, englewood cliffs, NJ 07632, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that clockspring spiral cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,680.

Code c-1391 leak in brake accumulator. These should be a recall with Toyota putting a bad brake accumulator in Prius model. I notice it was a secondary recall with this part. Toyota know this is a safety problem when this happen the car goes to manual breaking and you can lose control of the car. Please look into this problem.

I have �check the hybrid system �window on dashboard. Independent mechanic checked and told me that it has problems with inverter. Toyota has and had multiple recalls but they are doing some type of reprogramming which isn't helpful. It is expensive and common problem.

My abs system started showing signs of problems, and I started getting codes for all sorts of brake-related issues. My brakes ended up locking up and not working, and my battery in my car died because it was the brake system was not able to recharge my battery. Even though I started having issues with it in February, apparently Toyota said that because I had a 2010 Prius, that since November 31, 2019 had passed, the recall/extended warranty "ran out" on it. Even though this is a problem that obviously wasn't fixed in the first place. So when I took it to the dealership to get a diagnostics ran on it, they said that they needed $3,200 to fix the vehicle. This included both the purchasing and installation of a new brake booster/master cylinder assem and an abs pump motor assem. I obviously do not have the money for the repair and they are telling me to go kick rocks. This is not right and because of the brake issue not being fixed in the first place, it then allowed my battery (which runs around $1,500) to get completely drained and prevented it from being properly recharged by the brake system.