2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID Service Brakes Problems
10 complaints about Service Brakes
High Severity Issue
This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.
This Problem Across All Years
All Service Brakes Complaints (10)
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.
I was driving less than 55mph on freeway on February 5, 2024 when my vehicle went into an out of control spin, Brakes did not seem to work and unable to control vehicle until hit center divider on freeway, Spun 180 degrees and kept going back with no braking until hit center divider.
2012 level 5 plug-in I was driving on the freeway with radar cruise control and the vehicle dash lit up with check pcs system ever warning light came on the brake petal was not there as normal it would go about half way down to engage very scary I took it to the dealership service said I need new brake booster installed not covered under warranty 130k miles
Brakes failed while I was slowing down for a speed trap; if I had been stopping for traffic I would have been in somebody's back seat. There was already a class action lawsuit about this that Toyota settled out of court. We were supposed to receive notice about the extended warranty related to this but did not; additionally the dealership lied to us on two different occasions about our brakes being fine after they started behaving differently. If the dealership hadn't lied in both 2020, and 2022, my life wouldn't have been in jeopardy, and we wouldn't be paying thousands of dollars to fix a defective part. Why are you putting so many people's lives at risk by not forcing Toyota to issue a recall? All their hybrid braking systems over a decade of models have this issue. The hybrid specialist mechanic we ended up with said he sees several cars a week with this issue.
The brake booster pump started pressuurizing frequently last year around 140,000 miles. Error lights and less responsive breaks this year so I called Toyota service they said bring it in. They said repair is over $3000. The mileage was just over 150000 and just over 10 year extended warranty I didn't know about for this problem coded c1391
The brake pressure pump comes on every 2 seconds. The warning lights on the dash are on for brakes and abs. The car still stops but it reacts slower to pedal pressure. Dealer says it needs master cylinder and actuator pump for 3000$ at least. It is available for inspection, has 155,000 miles now, but pump has been hyperactive for about 12 mo. May be a hazard now, may fail completely ,I don't know. But too expensive to me to fix. Has only been inspected by autonation Toyota, not police etc. Pump was overactive for a year but right after anautomatic car wash the lights came on an the brake pedal got mushy. Then I called dealer. Apparently a common problem that was a recall for 2010 and silent recall after for later model gen 3s.
I bought a first generation Toyota Prius PHEV in 2012. Apparently a Customer Support Program notice was sent out two years ago which I never received. For the last year or so my Prius has made a hissing sound when I stepped on the brakes unless I push extra hard on the pedal. Didn’t think anything of it until last month several lights went off. I took it to Big O Tires and they added brake fluid and the lights went away. Next month it went off again, I took it back and they suggested taking it to a dealer. I take it to Tustin Toyota they diagnose it as a Brake Booster and Pump problem. My issue is that I never received a mailer or email like I did for previous recalls. I did transfer ownership to my wife a while back, so I don’t know if that DMV administrative change impacted the mailer. It is a safety concern as my wife drives our two kids and the brake had signs but we did not take it in to the dealer until the failure lights lit up 11 months after the expiration. Is there a chance that a Customer Support Program becomes a Recall if NHTSA receives enough complaints?
MY 2012 PLUG-IN PRIUS CAME UP WITH A C1391 CODE. THE ABS, BRAKE AND BRAKE SKID LIGHTS CAME ON. I HAVE NO RE-GEN BRAKING AND WHEN I ACTUALLY BRAKE IT SEEMS VERY SLUGGISH.
Mileage: 135,000
WHEN THE DRIVER DOOR IS OPEN, FULL POWER IS ON, BRAKE PEDDLE RELEASED THE CAR WILL STILL MOVE FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. THEN STARTED IN MOTION I STARTED TO GET OUT OF CAR BUT STOPPED IT
Mileage: 88,000
WHEN OPERATING THE VEHICLE ON A SNOW COVERED ROAD, I ATTEMPTED TO STOP WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 35 MPH. WHEN I PRESSED MY BRAKE PEDAL DOWN AS I WAS APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION, THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES DID NOT FUNCTION. THE PEDAL PRESS WAS FIRM, BUT THERE WAS NOISE THAT IS TYPICALLY EXPERIENCED WHEN ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ARE IN USE, AND IT FELT LIKE THERE WAS INITIAL BRAKING WITH MY APPLICATION OF THE BRAKES, BUT WHEN THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES SHOULD HAVE KICKED IN, IT FELT LIKE THE CAR SURGED AHEAD AND THE BRAKING MOSTLY STOPPED, EVEN THOUGH I WAS PRESSING DOWN AS HARD AS I COULD. I TRAVELED ABOUT 1/8 MILE DECELERATING FROM 35 TO 0 MPH. THE NEXT DAY I DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCED WITH MY SPOUSE, AND IN OUR LONG SNOW COVERED DRIVEWAY, I ATTEMPTED A STOP USING THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM AND IT FUNCTIONED CORRECTLY STOPPING QUICKLY. WITH THIS BEING THE FOLLOWING DAY, STARTING THE CAR UP THE NEXT DAY MAY HAVE RESET THE BRAKE SYSTEM, BUT I HAVE NOW WAY OF KNOWING. THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES GENERATED.
Mileage: 59,000