general problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius - part 2

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.

My abs actuator failed. Turns off the boosted braking and cruise control. This is a known issue in Toyotas and it always happens outside the warranty window. This is putting my safety at risk as the brakes don’t work as they’re supposed to.

Without warning, the abs, traction stability, brake and other lights lit up and I lost braking on the highway. Luckily, I was in very light and narrowly avoided a crash. I was able to get home with far less braking power and no regenerative braking. Since then, I have researched the problem and found that this is an extremely common issue. I can remedy it for ten or twenty minutes by putting the car in diag mode and pumping the brakes, but it will do it again, and again. I need a new accumulator and abs module, and the dealer wants thousands for it. I cannot afford it and it is a known flaw and a safety issue. I take my daughter to school in this car, thankfully it's nearby, but it's terrifying. Our other Prius has no issues, and I understand that Toyota has repaired other cars under a warranty program of which I was never notified.

The abs, brake, and traction control lights all illuminated while driving. I took it into a local shop, the computer scanned "brake accumulator leak". The accumulator is buzzing every 10 seconds and the brake fluid needs topping up. Now there is a brake fluid puddle under the car. The fix is to repair the brake master cylinder and replace the brake booster pump. The car is a 2012 with 110,000 miles. This is a known Toyota Prius vehicle issue but they decline to service it and can the brakes can fail.

Wednesday morning I went to start my car to go to work. I noticed the brake would not go down. It was difficult to press. I was unable to go to work safely. I brought my car to a mechanic where I was informed it was a faulty brake booster. When I researched online, I saw many many other Toyota owners went through the exact same issue. There is no recall but it’s a huge issue and a a safety problem.

Abs pump and actuator failed at 100,000 miles. Traction control, ebrake, abs light came on while driving. Many other stories of Toyota vehicles with the same failure.

I was driving down the interstate with my cruise control on when all of a sudden the cruise control disabled and warning lights came up on my dash board. It still drove fine for several weeks. On Friday December 6th, I was going down the road and had to press the brake slightly for a car turning. When I pressed the brake, the car went into a spin. It spun a couple of rotations. Luckily I was on a wide part of the highway and no oncoming cars were approaching. Toyota had a recall for the same code and parts for the 2010 Prius but did not include the 2012 Prius. They just had an alert which I did not receive because the notice went to the former owner. However, I did take my car in for oil change and diagnostic but they did not tell me that there had been a problem with these parts. They want almost $4,000 to repair it. Why would they not include all vehicles with this same part. If it fail on one, it will fail on another. I think Toyota should make them all good. Please make them issue a recall for all of these parts. I took my car to a mechanic but because of special tools needed, you have to take your car to the dealership for repairs. When I called the dealership, I was told I needed a break booster pump and a brake master cylinder for a total of $3, which is ridiculous on a $7,000 car.

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.

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.

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.

As I was driving, my breaks suddenly became spongey and unresponsive. I could hear a "hiss" sound come from below me. Abs and other warning lights came on on my dash. As I was near my auto mechanic I tried to make it there safely, and as I drove the brakes seemed to become softer and softer. By the time I had reached my mechanic I was so uncomfortable with its ineffectivness I felt it necessary to use the emergency brake to come to a complete stop. My mechanic confirmed that the issues included the failing of the brake booster, brake master cylinder, accumulator pump, abs, abs computer. According to him this was caused by a set of issues involving internal leaks in the brake booster assembly. These issues were replicatable, and my mechanic says they pose a saftey risk. Even after he gave it a "temporary patch job. " due to this the only times it has been driven were to get it home, to move it along our street so as to not get ticketed for having a stationary vehicle too many days in a row, and one time it was taken up the nearest rise in preparation for a tsunami warning. When looking for replacment parts, my mechanic allerted me to a technical service bulletin that should have been sent out to owners warning them of this issue and offering replacment parts. I never received this notice as I am the second owner of this vehicle, the notices were sent before I owned it, the previous owner claims not to have been aware of this issue herself, and because it was a voluntary service call, when researching the vehicle myself for any reported issues such as recalls, none had come up, meaning I had no way of knowing. To add to this, I contacted Toyota to see if they would honor the past offer to service this issue, but Toyota refuses to replace the parts now as it is too far past the voluntary service dates they set.

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?.

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?????.

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.

1. The abs system failed upon inspection at a dealership. Specifically the abs accumulator and booster. 2. The abs system put us at risk by failing prematurely, and traction control and abs functions seemingly stopped working while driving on the road. 3. Yes, dealership confirmed the issue with a full diagnostic, and the part has a customer support program bulletin/TSB out for this specific issue. 4. Inspected by manufacturer dealership service center. 5. Lights such as the parking brake, abs, and (!) lit up while driving and the failure occurred at the same time.

Jtdzn3eu1c3157707 brake master cylinder and brake booster pump assemblies both failed. Replaced with used parts from an identical part number from another jtdzn3euxc3030566 2012 Prius. Now code c1391 the parts from the donor vehicle have failed. Identical failure.

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

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?.

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).

Abs break lights turned on and it need replacement. Toyota have faulty abs this is my 3rd Prius that have the same issue.

In 2019, I took my Prius in for service. I reported that when I suddenly brake, the pedal feels spongy as if the brakes will not stop vehicle and lights on dash lit up. Toyota did diagnostic, no action taken by service department at Toyota dealership. I have service history documentation. On June 29, 2024 we had routine maintenance and the service department of the Toyota dealership recommended brake fluid serviced. On July 1, 2024, I was driving my child home from his summer camp and when I tried to stop the brake did not work. I started pumping the brakes several times until the car slowed and came to a stop. The lights on the dash lit up again. The brake failure put my son and I in danger. We had the car towed to the service department of the Toyota dealership. The service department sent the following information after their diagnostic. "the warning lights re-appeared after we drove it a few times. Now regarding the brake fluid service we performed, it is not related to those warning lights. Your accumulator is internally failing. The accumulator is a computer that distributes and controls the amount of pressure going into the brake system, and the computer was not untouched. Unfortunately it was bad timing and the computer started to internally fail. These vehicle's are known to have bad brake actuators, and Toyota created a type of recall for it to get replaced under no charge. Unfortunately they only cover up to 10 years and your warranty expired last year. " my husband and I did not receive information regarding this recall. We did an online search to find out more about this recall and found several pages and posts of people describing the same situation.

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.

While my daughter was driving brake pedal faded and rear brakes locked up causing her to lose initial control of car . Steering felt tight . Many warning lights , check hybrid system , brake lights , steering warning lights , along with abs lights came on . Took car to Toyota dealer to diagnose it needs brake booster and master cylinder module . Service consultant said known issue with TSB but it had expired . Many , many complaints of this same incident of Toyota and Prius forums .

My actuator is failing. This is a known issue for Priuses and a danger to those on the road. Toyota issued a voluntary service program on these parts to avoid a recall and now many are on the road with actautors that should have been replaced.

Abs brake system doesn't work with three warning lights on and warning beeping sound. I'v learned that brake actuator failed. Current mileage is only 67300.

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.

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.

Traction control, brake, and abs warning lights all came on at once while driving on freeway. Braking became harder. Car has fewer than 60,000 miles. I took it to the mechanic. He says I need a new booster pump.

Decreased braking performance. Sudden loss of abs and traction control capabilities. (abs light and traction control lights are now permanently illuminated on the dash). During the drive home, the brake response changed dramatically. More force is now required to operate the brakes. This failure occurred during a merge into traffic while on a merge ramp, going about 35 mph. It took what felt like a few seconds for both the vehicle and myself to adjust to the new braking requirements. During this time, it felt like a brief loss of braking ability. I continued to depress the brake pedal, and finally noticed a slowing of the vehicle. The pedal clearly requires much more effort and depress distance to begin slowing down the car. This decreased braking performance appears to be sustained until repairs are made to the vehicle.

Abs, stability control and brake warning lamps on dashboard. Faulty brake booster/pump/accumulator doesn't allow for safe stopping. Looking on the world wide web, it appears to be a common issue with this generation Prius (and it is costly to repair).

Hi NHTSA, I have a 2012 Toyota Prius and all the brake-related lights came on the dash. Abs and tc stopped working and the brake pedal lost sensitivity. I was about to crash the car and immediately took my car to the Toyota dealership. They said that there was a recall unfortunately the program has expired on my vehicle. I asked a couple of Toyota Prius owner friends and half of them had the same issue and they have been fixed under a program. But they said my 95k miles Prius is barely out of the program. My concern is that they charged the diagnosis cost released my vehicle and said that it was not safe to drive! I don't have the budget to cover the manufacturer's low-quality brake booster production and I have to drive my car every day! I don't want to risk anyone but I have no choice. I hope you can help!.

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.

Was 8 days out of warranty so Toyota would not honor offer to replace the brake booster/actuator. Paid personally to have it done with genuine Toyota parts. 16 months later same parts need replacing. Toyota refuses to help.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle did not stop as intended. In addition, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact used the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed brake master cylinder, accumulator, and brake booster. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder, accumulator, and brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was informed of an unknown recall for the failure; however, the contact was informed that the recall had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

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.