general problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius

While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden brake system malfunction without prior warning or gradual degradation. The vehicle was being operated under normal driving, road, and weather conditions. No recent brake service, repairs, or aftermarket modifications had been performed prior to the failure. Multiple warning lights illuminated on the dashboard, including the abs warning light, brake warning light, and traction control warning light. Shortly after the warning lights appeared, the vehicle began emitting continuous warning beeps. Audible buzzing or pumping noises were also present from the brake system during the malfunction. During this event, brake performance was reduced and braking felt inconsistent. The brake pedal became hard at times and spongy at other times, requiring increased effort to slow the vehicle and resulting in unpredictable braking response. This created a safety concern while the vehicle was in motion. The driver was forced to alter driving behavior and exercise extreme caution due to reduced braking confidence and unpredictable pedal feel. The malfunction has occurred intermittently during normal driving. The condition temporarily resolves on its own and later reoccurs without corrective action. The suspected failed component is the brake actuator / abs actuator assembly. A diagnostic scan retrieved fault codes c1252 (brake booster pump motor on time abnormally long), c1253 (pump motor relay malfunction), and c1256 (accumulator low pressure), which are consistent with brake actuator malfunction. The failure occurred at approximately 154,000 miles. This vehicle model and generation have a documented history of premature brake actuator failures with similar safety-related symptoms reported by other owners. The condition places the driver and others at risk due to unpredictable braking behavior, reduced braking effectiveness, and repeated warning alarms while driving. Warning lamps and audible alerts continue intermittently.

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.

I was driving my 2012 Prius on the highway at around 55 mph. The hybrid system warning came on and the car lost all power and immediately began to coast. I was fortunate not to have been in or caused an accident but cars behind me had to swerve to avoid hitting me. I was able to coast to a middle median lane. After waiting 15-20 minutes, the car never regained power. We were finally able to push it off the road and into a parking lot. It never regained power.

I brought the car to the Toyota dealer already 3 times for the same problem,now happened again,they told me the first time,nothing wrong with the car,and I paid them,the second time nothing wrong they said,the third time they said it’s the 12 v battery has to be replace it,I did replace it,but still the same problem I have,the hybrid system problems ,the Toyota company should fix it ,because it’s something very unsafe it’s happening with my car,please help me to resolve this problem…. . The car drive but stop anytime,I almost have a very bad accident with my daughter on board.

Hi, I have a 2012 Toyota Prius with around 120k miles that is completely inoperable. A local Toyota dealership is charging $3400 to replace both computers, but the more I research the more apparent it becomes that this is directly linked with past issues that were never fully resolved during previous recall attempts. . Read more...

While driving in interstate traffic the car lost power and would only go 11mph. When I got to a safe place to pull over the hybrid system showed failure and several other warning lights. The car had a previous recall for power management completed in 4/2019. This is an invertor failure.

It is having heavy miss fire which make the enging shaking too much many times.

On June 5th, 2019, I took my car in to round rock Toyota and they performed the 2018 Toyota Prius v recall fix. Since then, my mpg has gone from an average of 41 miles per gallon, which has stayed consistent since I purchased the car brand new in June 2012, down to 32 mpg. I took the car back to round rock Toyota for a diagnosis on sept 30, 2019 and they said that they cannot find anything wrong, there are no error codes, and that my now greatly reduced 32 mpg fell within Toyota standards. I am writing to file a complaint that their 2018 recall for the Toyota Prius v has a problem and needs to be revisited or the vehicles should be taken off the road. I am CO-filing a complaint with the epa as well.

Soon after getting a recall software update for the hybrid system, the car displayed hybrid system check message and lost power. Car had to be towed. Created an extremely dangerous situation due to nature of problem while driving on the road and had to pull over right away.

Tl - the contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18v684000 (hybrid propulsion system); however, the parts were not available. The dealer, south bay Toyota (18416 s western Ave, gardena, CA 90248. 310-323-7800) was contacted and confirmed that the parts are not available for the recall remedy. The contact had experienced a failure and stated that when he pressed on the accelerator pedal it only went to 9mph. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. VIN tool confirms parts not available. Jc.

Took in car for oil change /tire rotation , a software update was performed without my authorization from Toyota on to my Prius v , car went from getting 40 mpg highway to 32-33 mpg highway . City mpg dropped from 41 mpg to 36-37mpg . Dealer claims car has wrong tires which I agree, except those tires were the same tires on the car before and after the software update. Calculated the gas mileage myself before the recall and was pretty close to what the car's computer said ti was , calculated the gas mileage after the software update was done and it came very close to what the computer said.

I was driving the 2012 Prius on a downhill parkway at about 40 mph when the warning light check hybrid system came on. Within 10 second, the vehicle totally lost power. It automatically shifted into neutral. There was no back up fail-safe/limp home mode. Fortunately the car was gliding downhill by gravity and eventually was steered into a driveway. Then it refused to go on ready or drive mode. On this Saturday afternoon the car had to be towed home. It had to be towed again to the dealership for service the following week. It took the mechanic two days to make a diagnosis that a fuse on the main drive battery had blown. Another day was spent waiting for the part. The dealership cannot guarantee that this event will not happen again. I contacted Toyota USA. An agent named michael was courteous enough to listened to me and gave me a case number 1604142245. To anyone with common sense, this total lack of an emergency alternative propulsion system for even a cheap car is unacceptable. The dealership cannot even come up with a plausible explanation as to what may have caused the fuse to blow. Was it over heating? was there a short in some internal battery cells? this past week, I noticed that the charging part of the operation no longer can fully charge the battery to the former 11. 9 mile range. It only charges up to 9. 8 miles. This is a sudden loss of 2 miles of charge. I suspect that some lithium cells have been damaged after the incident. I also suspect that there may be other issues as well such as something wrong with the inverter module related to a recall on other models of Prius during my search for an answer. I need assurance from someone that this vehicle is now safe to drive. Besides the case number from my complaint to Toyota USA, aaa has record of my recent towings on 04/09/16 and on 04/12/16.

I was stopped at a red light on a hill. When the light turned green, I stepped on the gas with no response. The car slid back and I braked. The panel light affirmed that the car was supposed to be in drive. Yet there was no response at all. The car seemed to be in neutral. I put the blinkers on and the cars behind me passed. The panel lights and radio were on along with the blinkers. I turned the ignition off and then turned it on again. It worked without a problem. I called the dealer who stated he had no idea what happened and there was nothing he could check. I have driven the car to various hill tops and stopped. The problem did not repeat itself. Is this car safe to drive? is there a way to evaluate the transmission?.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that whenever he made a u-turn, the vehicle made a loud noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the fuel sending unit needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 16,400.