general problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius - part 1

2012 Toyota Prius. The brake system malfunctioned and my daughter was almost in a wreck. The abs, traction control, and brake warning lights on the bashboard all illuminated at the same time. The brake pedal feels soft and is less responsive requiring more effort to stop the vehicle. The brake actuator assembly is making a hissing noise. Ran a abs test using a scan tool and received a c1391 error code. The code points to a leak within the brake actuator system. Upon research I have found that this is a very common and costly repair that Toyota has known about for many years. Toyota issued a customer support program related to this issue that ran for 10 years or 150,000 miles from the vehicle's date of first use. This car, being a 2012, is beyond the support program. I contacted Toyota, hoping they would do the right thing and cover the repair. I was told that they would not cover the repair or supply the parts to cover the repair. I told the rep. For Toyota that I did not feel like it was fair for Toyota to continue to put millions of drivers at risk for a product that they clearly realize for years now is defective and could hurt or kill someone. The code and the braking issue did not appear until after the customer support program ended and therefore we had no warning or way to anticipate this braking issue or the danger to my daughter and anyone else riding with her in the car or on the roadway near her travel routes. I traveled 300 miles, rented a uhaul car tow trailer and brought the car back home. My mechanic confirmed the code c1391 and the fact that the brake actuator has failed. The mechanic has ordered the parts (the same defective parts) to replace the broken ones. Toyota is still selling the same part as a replacement part clearly knowing that it is not safe and no warning came with the replacement part explaining the potential for a braking issue. Based on internet research this same part is in many 2005 to 2013 Toyota and Lexus.

I have a Prius v 2012, and the lights for abs turned on and when I checked on internet Toyota was repairing the part for 150k miles and 10 years but this is a safety feature my car is now at 149922, and while I was on road suddenly the signs came up and I the brakes were hard, and this is a problem for my safety and for others too since it doesn’t brake well.

I own a 2012 Toyota Prius c with approximately 156,578 miles. The vehicle has been diagnosed with c1391 – abnormal leak in accumulator, which causes the brake actuator to lose hydraulic pressure. This results in frequent buzzing from the actuator pump, illuminated warning lights (brake, abs, traction control), and loss of abs and stability control. The condition increases stopping distance and creates a serious safety hazard. Toyota previously acknowledged this exact defect under customer support program csp 21te01, which covered brake booster and pump assemblies for certain Prius and Prius c models when codes such as c1391 were present. However, the program expired on November 30, 2022, and my vehicle is just over the 150,000-mile coverage limit. Despite this, my Prius exhibits the same defect that Toyota has already recognized as a safety-related issue. Toyota carlsbad confirmed the diagnosis and quoted $3,399. 55 plus tax for repair, with a reduced courtesy estimate of $2,817. 86 plus tax, but declined goodwill assistance since csp 21te01 expired. Given the widespread reports of brake actuator failures in Prius models, I believe this represents a systemic safety issue that warrants NHTSA investigation and potential recall/extended coverage.

Brake getting stuck on the floor would have to press on brake really hard just to get a response, this will happen out of the blue! driving in highway or just driving off the driveway. I almost hit a car in front of me due to lack of brake, I had to swerve to the side! first appear 1 day after buying the car. . This issue needs to be worked on right away.

While driving on the freeway I applied the brakes and the brakes suddenly felt soft and not very responsive. At that moment 3 dashboard lights turned abs, brake, and the slip indicator lights. I carefully got out of the freeway, parked the car, and had the car towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic detected brake booster and actuator problems, code c1391.

Brake actuator and abs accumalator failed. It is a common failure reported by multiple owners on these cars. I was on the high way going 70 when it failed and lost any brake boost I had putting me in a very dangerous situation where I narrowly avoided an accident. Upon scanning the car's codes I got code c1391 which I looked up and saw a bunch of other people who were also struggling with this issue.

While driving on the interstate I went to slow down to merge and my brakes failed. The following warning lights came master warning light (yellow), brake system warning light, brake system warning light (red), abs warning light, and the slip indicator light. My vehicle was towed to a Toyota dealership and after running a diagnostic test, they confirmed that it was the "break booster with accumulator c1391 stored internal leak of accumulator and need immediate attention" which they quoted at $4,295. 68 to fix. After researching the issue saw a customer support program 20te07 was issued taking responsibility for the faulty brake booster pump assembly however only covered the repair for a two-year period and only if it was one of the identified diagnostic trouble codes listed in the csp issued by Toyota but expired in Feb 2022. The code pulled from my vehicle 3 days ago was listed in this document, but the coverage only covers until Feb 2022. This is not a normal wear and tear issue, it is a faulty part that Toyota identified as a life and death safety concern but refuses to do anything about because mine didn't show an issue within their 2-year csp timeframe. Toyota identified that there are roughly 118,950 2012-2014 model year Prius v with a production period of late September 2010 to mid-November 2014 vehicles that this faulty part affects along with everyone else on the road with these vehicles as it causes failure of the brake booster pump assembly, which leads to a loss of braking assist and the deactivation of the vehicle stability control system. For the safety and lives of the owners of these vehicles and all of the other lives of the drivers on the road that this could affect in the case of this faulty part should there be a catastrophic accident, like mine could have been, a nationwide recall on this part must be issued.

While pulling out of a parallel parking spot going slightly uphill, I braked as I looked around the back of a double parked truck. I saw a car coming, braked hard, and suddenly my car surged forward across the street and hit a parked car. I looked down and saw that my foot was squarely on the brake pedal pressing down as hard as I could. The parked car was unoccupied, and I was uninjured. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem. I turned my car into the dealer for repairs and a fix to the sudden unexpected acceleration. They could offer no fix until a Toyota representative examined the car. On August 14, by an emailed letter, Toyota claimed it found no defects and it must be the result of driver error, specifically, my mistakenly hitting the accelerator. This is gaslighting denialism. (a) the edr data sent to me does not indicate that I hit the accelerator unless that data is in the page of hexadecimal numbers. (b) Toyota's claim that I hit the breaks at "-0. 2 seconds prior to the collision" is physically impossible. No one can move their foot from the accelerator to the brake that fast. (c) Toyota's claim is contrary to what I experienced and observed.

C1391 - abnormal leak in accumulator.

While driving my 2012 Toyota Prius, the traction control, brake, and abs warning lights all came on at the same time. I used a home obd scanner but it didn’t show any diagnostic codes. After some research and inspection, I discovered that the issue was related to a faulty brake booster and accumulator—something I’ve learned is a common problem with this model. I was relieved to hear that Toyota has an extended warranty on these parts. However, last night while driving, the brakes suddenly stopped functioning properly. It became very difficult to slow down, which put me in a dangerous situation. I’m deeply concerned about the safety risks this defect poses and believe this issue deserves further attention.

The brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies had to be replaced at the dealership. Parts are not available for inspection as far as I know. We were warned by the dealership that we should not be driving the car because the brakes could completely fail at any moment if we didn't have parts replaced. That would have been dangerous for us and anyone else sharing the road with us. On a Sunday, leaving our house and driving down our street, three lights turned on on the dashboard display - traction, brakes, and abs - and the brakes felt softer and less responsive than normal. After having gotten a diagnosis and repair estimate from the dealership, we carefully drove the car home to consider our options. We tried to get a second opinion from a trusted mechanic, but it sounded like the parts we needed were tightly monitored by Toyota and the original estimate for the repair from the dealership was above $3,000. After a few days, the dashboard warning lights turned off and the brakes felt back to normal. The whirring noise which had been happening roughly every 4 seconds had slowed to roughly every 10-12 seconds. We were told that this turning off of the lights sometimes happened, but that the issue was still the same. Prior to these lights turning on, the car had been making a lot of the whirring noises for some time, but it had never thrown the codes before that would have been picked up by a mechanic. At the time, we didn't recognize the sounds as a sign of an impending commonly recognized failure - only after doing some research did we find that this was a very common problem for a lot of Prius owners, especially for the given year and number of miles we had. There is an "extended warranty" for this part and repair, but while we were within the mileage limit, we were outside of the time limit and we were told at the dealership that Toyota would be inflexible about paying for the repairs.

I am reporting a sudden and dangerous failure of the brake booster in my 2012 Toyota Prius. While driving, I experienced a loss of braking power, accompanied by several warning lights including abs, brake, and the traction control system. The brake pedal became extremely stiff and unresponsive, significantly increasing the stopping distance. This failure nearly caused an accident, as I was unable to stop quickly enough when traffic slowed unexpectedly. This issue happened without warning and is a serious safety risk. I later discovered this is a common and widely reported defect in 2010–2015 Toyota Prius models. Toyota issued an extended warranty (customer support program ze3) to cover this known brake booster defect — but only for vehicles within 10 years or 150,000 miles. While my Prius has well under 150,000 miles, it is just over 10 years old, which disqualifies me from coverage, leaving me with a repair estimate over $4,000 for a well-documented manufacturer defect. This seems grossly unfair, especially for responsible owners with low-mileage, well-maintained vehicles. Toyota’s refusal to issue a formal recall and instead offering only limited support puts millions of Prius drivers at risk. A brake system failure of this kind should qualify as a safety defect and trigger a mandatory recall, not a quietly limited program with arbitrary expiration dates. I urge NHTSA to investigate this issue further and consider a recall of the defective brake booster system in these Prius models to protect public safety and ensure fair treatment for affected owners. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius v. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service brakes warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the brake booster assembly and brake booster pump assembly. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to customer satisfaction program: 21te01. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the abs and traction control warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that while attempting to depress the brake pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding. The contact stated that there was a buzzing sound coming from accumulator pump. The dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to nico's auto repair where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake booster and accumulator assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

I am writing to express a complaint regarding the issues I have experienced with the brake system of my Toyota Prius c, 2012 model. For the past several months, I have noticed that the brakes exhibit strange noises, soft pedal sensation, reduced braking efficiency, were driving and the abs, traction, brake, and that other light turned on and the brakes became slow these issues have been observed on multiple occasions and pose a safety risk to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians. I have taken the vehicle for inspection, but the problems persist or have not been definitively resolved. I believe these faults may be related to defects in the braking system, and therefore I request a thorough inspection and necessary repairs at no cost, considering that the manufacturer could be responsible for manufacturing defects.

This Prius hybrid is my [xxx] mother's car which she got thinking is was a very safe and reliable vehicle. She purchased the vehicle from a Toyota dealership here in maine on [xxx]. Last week while driving down the road, all of a sudden, every brake warning light lit up the dashboard and the brakes became extremely unresponsive. It scared us both to death but thank goodness, I was driving when this happened. After doing some research, I have discovered that this a very well known brake issue with the 2010-2015 Prius cars. I cannot for the life of me understand how this major safety defect has not been made into an actual safety recall. I did contact Toyota customer service and they will not help us at all. Even though my mother has only had the car for just under 9 years and is well under the allotted mileage, they said their customer support program (zjb) only covers 10 years from the day the car was first driven after production. Her Prius now is inoperable and the repair costs are in the thousands. We are so incredibly disappointed with Toyota and the safety board for allowing this to happen to all of the defective Prius owners. I hope you will reconsider and do the right thing and recall these cars before someone does get into an accident where they are injured or killed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My brakes began making a funny noise when I used them. I only have 80000 on the car and do regular maintenance. I took it in because it seemed the brake pedal was getting spongy as well. They ran in through diagnostic tests and determined the braking module or brake booster/master assembly was bad. This seems to be an issues with Toyota and should be addressed immediately. It is an expensive fix for a low mileage car.

47050-47180 47070-47060 both failed at same time along with many others getting quotes of 3500-4000 to replace no brake control or anti lock brakes.

Brake booster failures are a common safety issue with 2012-2015 Toyota Prius' this one included is starting to fail which can lead to abs deactivating and shorter braking distances. There was a recall for this part but most tend to fail after the warranty period. Leaving many vehicles unrepaired and dangerous.

Brake system went out suddenly making the car brakes not work.

Toyota installed known faulty brake booster and master cylinder systems in Prius c models manufactured 2012-2014. Knowing these systems would fail, but not wanting to pay for their mistake, they created a basically secret "extended warranty program" for owners to get their brake booster replaced only if for a specific 2 year time frame their brakes failed with a certain dtc code. Knowing that many Prius owners would not actually receive the notification nor had driven their vehicle enough miles for the braking system to fail, they got away without having to correct their issue. The brakes literally just fail and stop working in the middle of the highway, causing extreme safety concerns and accidents with no responsibility from Toyota.

My break actuator goes off every 12 seconds continuously. There is no warning sign in the dash board. Brought the vehicle to the Toyota dealership and had it checked out. The dealership says there is no problems according to their analysis. But the actuator continuously goes off every 12 seconds and the dealership said this was "normal" and charged me the service fee. I am seriously concerned because I drive this car with my child and I am reading that this is a bad sign and that the breaks might fail at any time. Since the dashboard doesn't give me a warning sign and the dealership says there's no problems based on their diagnostics, even if everyone can hear the actuator go off ever 12 seconds I guess I can safely drive this vehicle. . . It seems like driving a ticking disaster waiting to happen.

Abs pump and master cylinder malfunction. Pump is running very often. Hard braking makes it sound abnormally.

My Prius, along with the thousands of others this has apparently happened to according to a quick online search, has had the c1391 code appear, indicating a failed brake actuator and accumulator. It, like the thousands of Priuses from this generation, have had these faulty brake pump systems develop a leak and begin to fail. You will hear a whirring and hissing noise constantly when it starts going out, eventually resulting in a christmas tree of dash warning lights and reduced braking due to a failsafe kicking on. Toyota apparently issued a "customer service bulletin" that is now ineffective as it only covered if you had the system fail within 10 years of manufactor or 150,000 miles and had the codes appear. Most people's Priuses go out after this, unless you're driving it like you stole it. It is a hefty repair too, being quoted at over $3000 at the Toyota stealsrship!! I have since gone to an independent mechanic and had one portion replaced in hopes that would fix the issue, but it turns out both the actuator and accumulator are needed to be replaced, which is extremely expensive, more so for the actuator than the accumulator, but still exorbitantly expensive. In conjunction with this, Toyota further added difficulties by making their paet numbers they have listed different from the mark number engraved on the part, so buying third party is made a bigger hassle by this as they will not know for certain the part number. This is a huge safety concern as this affects the vehicle's ability to brake. Their service bulletin was the equivalent of offering people bandaids years before they'd be anywhere to getting a cut!! please investigate and please please please lead to Toyota issuing an actual recall, regardless of miles or year from manufacture. More and more Priuses are reaching the time where this will occur and it's a huge safety concern, if not an environmental concern when people start disposing of Priuses due to this massive failure with hefty repair bills.

Brakes failed.

Subject: safety complaint – 2012 Toyota Prius brake booster failure (c1391 code) I am writing to formally report a serious safety defect in my 2012 Toyota Prius involving the brake system. Recently, my vehicle’s dashboard displayed the abs, traction control, and brake warning lights, indicating a critical braking issue. Upon diagnostic testing at a Toyota dealership, the vehicle was found to have dtc code c1391 – brake booster leak/accumulator failure. I later discovered that Toyota acknowledged this defect and issued a customer support program (csp) to cover repairs. However, I was never notified, despite always servicing my vehicle at Toyota dealerships. When I contacted Toyota, they confirmed that my vehicle has been flagged in their system, yet I was never received anything in the mail about the potential brake failure. Toyota initially set the csp expiration in 2023, later extending it to may 2025, but they have refused to repair my vehicle under this program. The estimated repair cost is $4,680. 09 along with a diagnostic fee of 206. 09, which is a significant financial burden for an issue stemming from a known manufacturing defect. Most importantly, this is a major safety hazard: my brakes now produce a loud hissing sound when pressed, indicating imminent failure. If the brake booster fails completely, it could result in a loss of braking power, endangering myself, passengers, and others on the road. Numerous Prius owners have reported similar failures, yet Toyota has not issued a formal recall. I urge NHTSA to investigate this defect further and push Toyota to issue a full recall instead of a limited support program that many owners were unaware of. Given the life-threatening nature of brake failure, Toyota should not be allowed to limit coverage or deny repairs for a problem they have long recognized. I respectfully request that NHTSA take action to ensure Toyota addresses this safety defect responsibly.

The brakes on this Prius started to make weird noises. Because it is a hybrid, I wasn't sure if it was normal. After searching online, it is a known issue. The car has just under 76,000 miles on it. It might be worth $7000 on a good day. Toyota wants to replace two brake parts, numbered 47050-52020 and 04006-74152 to a tune of $2700. According to a Toyota bulletin, this job should take 2. 3 hours. For that amount of work, my local Toyota shop wants almost $2000 in labor. My car was seen by the local shop (being on an island, it is literally the only Toyota shop that this car can be seen) when the "customer support program" 21te01 was in place and they did nothing. Now, the time window has disappeared, even though we only have half of the maximum number of miles to get the repair. Toyota should be ashamed of themselves.

I accidentally slid out into traffic as my brakes failed as I pulled up to stop at the edge of the parking lot. I was nearly hit driver's side on a pickup. Fortunately, it was able to swerve around me and there was no immediate following vehicle. I was able to pull out and back into a nearby parking lot to address the problem with my brakes. Upon speaking to my mechanic and local Toyota dealership I was informed that the brake booster/accumulator had failed and that this was a known issue on my vehicle. Toyota extended a special warranty on these parts several times but did not notify owners of the safety risk. That warranty coverage has expired for my vehicle. I believe it is an inherent safety risk and they obscured it by covering the parts under this extended warranty. I believe they should be recalled and at the least owners should be warned of the risks. All communications were done over the phone or in person, I have no electronic records. I submitted an identical request on my 2011 Prius by accident, as I used it's VIN when I meant to use the VIN on my 2012 Prius. Regardless, I am now concerned for my safety in both vehicles.

Vehicle has good break pads and rotors. Also the vehicle turn on the abs the break and the slippery lights on. When the car was scanned is show code c1391" which indicates a problem with the brake accumulator within the system, often requiring replacement of the brake booster and accumulator assembly. I can't drive the car and other people with same car on 2011 year has the same issue.

Failure in abs system.

My wife was driving home and four dashboard error lights illuminated (brakes, abs, slip and a yellow light_) the brakes suddenly "went soft" (in her words), and it freaked her out. I now learn that I need to have the brake master cylinder and a booster pump assembly replaced at a cost of over $4,000. Ouch!.

While driving suddenly the abs and vehicle traction lights came on and the car became very slippery, was unable to stop without an excessive amount of space between the car in front of me and me. While looking at the car, I realized the actuator brake booster pump. I then found multiple websites and forums dedicated to people with the same problem ( brakes suddenly not functioning correctly while driving) with the same model car as I have, and there was a service bulletin that shows Toyota acknowledged there was a problem ( and a fix) but with the date of the bulletin and the date it was to be fixed within, it was near impossible to actually have it fixed. My car has 87,000 miles and the brake system is dangerous.

My brakes almost caused me to crash on Jan 18th. I'm driving down the highway and traffic comes to a complete stop. I started braking but my abs, stability control and brake light come on. When this occurred I had to push the brakes to the floor just to stop. My brakes were very unsafe and unpredictable. I had to drive way below the speed limit to make it home, keeping at least 8 car lengths between me. I inspected the vehicle when I made it home. Their is noise coming from the driver side firewall. Something is consistently turning on and off and a slight click after each cycle, every 5 seconds approximately. I was told that it was my abs pump or brake actuator. This is unacceptable and dangerous to all consumers. The fact there was no warning that occurred in a safer environment. I'm so thankful my kid wasn't driving it. Why isn't this a recall? I don't understand how something this dangerous is not a factor to the consumers. I have researched and found many cases that consumers have had a similar issue. This issue is not like brake pads. Their is a clear warning when its time to change brake pads. I honestly would like to see Toyota to fix this issue.

The brake actuator has failed in this 2012 Prius with 135,000 miles. No issues were noticed while braking, however, when starting the car, the abs, brake and traction control warning lights lit up. The Toyota dealership said this is a failed brake actuator and quoted $3,800. We have learned there is a secondary warranty on this part due to constant failures that Toyota issued, however, this warranty only applies to Prius up to 150,000 miles or 10 years from initial use, whichever comes first. This is unfair to most Prius users as this is a common problem happening, but typically happening after the 10 year mark.

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.