Table 1 shows one common wheel related problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Wheel problems |
2012 Prius in very good condition with 180k miles- only 12 years old. Driving on back roads (thankfully) and the drivers side rear wheel compelely fell off while driving. I was doing about 30 mph and felt like there was a flat tire so I was in the process of pulling over when the whole rear assembly snapped. The wheel hit the rear quarter of the car and bounced about 100 feet down the road. I could have been on the highway and this could have been fatal I believe. Very, very scary. As can be seen in attached photos the issue was rust from the inside. This is very concerning since there was no way for me to know this was an issue. I could have been killed or killed someone else. I believe Toyota needs to look into this since there are other Prius' out there the same thing happened to on this very thread. Although this is a massachusetts car I have owed it since 25k miles and have maintained it impeccably. I always have the undercarriage cleaned after driving on salty roads. Safety inspection was current- only done the month before. Had that wheel bearing replaced about 2 weeks before the incident and the reputable mechanic reported no issues. There was no warning except for maybe a minute before it happened- the car was vibrating like I had a flat tire. The damage repair estimate on this was $8500. Catastrophic fail Toyota. Is this a rust issue like the tacoma, tundra, and sequoia?????.
Today 05/25/2024 noticed a slight camber on the right rear wheel. Jacked up the car and removed the right rear to take a closer look and realized the rear axle/subframe was splitting in half along the weld point. If I hadn't caught this today and my daughter was driving it I'm confident she or others would have been killed or severely injured since most of her driving is highway related. The part that is blowing my mind is the vehicle was at the dealership twice in the last month and no one noticed when on a lift. The car is now permanently on jack stands till it can be repaired. I'm not sure it will even hold together to get onto a tow truck. I will not attempt driving do to safety specially others. I witnessed a tire go through a vehicle resulting in the death of someone.
The brakes fail and the abs module stops working correctly and when I go at a speed of 60 mph the brakes lock until the speed drops and they work again. The problem is with the abs module and I went to the dealer and the repair value is $3450 dollars.
My 2012 Toyota Prius v went out and had no control crashing into the curb on the passenger side. Scraping the side of my car. My abs break system went out on my car going 40 miles per hour at 5:30 on a major street in los angeles called wilshire blvd. I almost died if I had not crashed into the curb I would have been hurt and hurt others Toyota issues a wait and see “courtesy program of a certain window to fix the break booster system and I ran out 1 month ago. My car is at Toyota culver city and they are refusing to fix the break system due to the time limit. I was not notified of break system faulty system. My number is 3108019110 if you would like to know.
More than once I was driving about 40/45mph, once on a curve, anyhow as I was going through the curve it felt as though the brakes engaged, without me touching them. I understand the safety thing, however at both instances it was not necessary. It caused the car to pull to the left. Almost causing me to loose control.
Turning right from a stop sign stop, the car took off in an unintended acceleration and could not be stopped until it hit a curb. The force broke the ball joint of the driver's side wheel causing the wheel to turn approx 45 degrees. The car then skidded about 20 yards and came to a stop with the motor racing. It was a single car crash with no bodily injury.
I was completing parking the car in a head-in parking space in a parking lot. With my foot on the brake, the car experienced unintended sudden acceleration. The car jumped a concrete sidewalk, crossed the 6-8 foot wide sidewalk, and crashed into a metal security fence.
Vehicle is parked outside, and during morning cold start, the vehicle produces a moaning/wooing sound for approx. 50-75 yards with vehicle moving under 25 mph. The sound is being generated from the front wheel wells. Sound generated is related to vehicle speed. The faster the vehicle moves, the more frequent the sound being produced during the first 50-75 yards. Strange sound is gone after that, and does not return until the next cool/cold start. Owner took the vehicle back to dealership for inspection, and dealer took off the front wheel to inspect breaks, wheels, and tires, and was not able to locate or reproduce the problem. Abnormal sound is only produced during morning cold starts and when vehicle is left to cool(I. E. Parking lot at work).