2012 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

THE LOW BEAM HEAD LIGHTS BOTH FAIL WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT NIGHT. THE ROAD WENT TO TOTAL DARKNESS. I FEEL LUCKY THE HIGH BEAMS WERE STILL WORKING. I HAVE TAKEN THE PRIUS C TO THE SHOP AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY ON DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS HAVE MELTED. THE WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED.

IN EARLY OCTOBER I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM TOYOTA FOR A "FAILSAFE DRIVING MODE" HYBRID SYSTEM FAULT THAT COULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO "STALL" INCREASING THE POSSIBILITY OF VEHICLE CRASH DURING CRITICAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. IT STATED I WOULD BE NOTIFIED WHEN THE FIX WAS AVAILABLE. 2 1/2 MONTHS LATER, I'VE YET TO HEAR FROM TOYOTA AND MY DEALERSHIP STATES THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED REMEDY PARTS OR PROCEDURES FROM TOYOTA. ALL THEY COULD DO WAS GIVE ME A PHONE NUMBER AT TOYOTA CORPORATE. I CALLED THE NUMBER AND THE PERSON HAD NO FURTHER INFORMATION ON WHEN A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM WOULD BE AVAILABLE. SHE STATED THE ORIGINAL NOTICE STATED A TIME FRAME OF 2-3 MONTHS; IN FACT, IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY TIME PERIOD INDICATION. IT IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR FIX FOR SOMETHING OF THIS POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE TO TAKE SO LONG. I'M CONCERNED THAT TOYOTA, AS THEY HAVE DONE WITH OTHER RECALL ISSUES, IS MERELY DELAYING TO AVOID COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING THE FIX AND ENDANGERING ALL OWNERS FURTHER THAN THEY ALREADY HAVE. THE LADY STATED I COULD CONTACT THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT PROVIDING A RENTAL VEHICLE DURING THE PERIOD, SOMETHING THE DEALERSHIP HAS DENIED THEY WILL DO. I BOUGHT MY VEHICLE TRUSTING TOYOTA WOULD STAND BEHIND THE VEHICLE AND THEY ARE FAILING TO DO SO.

IN THE PAST YEAR WE HAVE REPLACED MULTIPLE LOW BEAM HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS. ONE WEEK AGO, BOTH BURNED OUT CAUSING A NIGHTTIME SAFETY ISSUE. I RESEARCHED THE LIGHTING ISSUE AND LEARNED THERE IS TSB T-SB-0204-12 FOR HEADLAMP DURABILITY ENHANCEMENT AND A CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM "ZHB" FOR THIS IDENTICAL PROBLEM. IN THE ZHB PROGRAM, TOYOTA WILL MAKE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS FREE FOR ONLY 2010-2011 PRIUS'. SINCE THE ZHB PROGRAM ONLY SUPPORTS 2010-2011 PRIUS' I CALLED TOYOTA TO REQUEST THIS REPAIR UNDER THAT PROGRAM. AFTER SPEAKING TO A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER (DARCARS IN FREDERICK MD.) AND THE TOYOTA HQ'S SATISFACTION REP, OUR 2012 IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE ZHB PROGRAM EVEN THOUGH ITS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. LINK 1: HTTPS://ATTACHMENTS.PRIUSCHAT.COM/ATTACHMENT-FILES/2015/10/96257_T-SB-0204-12.PDF LINK 2: HTTPS://WWW.TOYOHEADQUARTERS.COM/THREADS/2010-2012-TOYOTA-PRIUS-HEADLIGHT-DURABILITY-ENHANCEMENT.1074/ THE PROBLEM IS THE HYBRID BATTERY IS CAUSING THE BULBS TO BURN OUR PREMATURELY. A WIRING HARNESS REPLACEMENT FOR BOTH SIDES IS THE REQUIRED CORRECTIVE ACTION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE DEALER (SOUTH BAY TOYOTA, 18416 S WESTERN AVE, GARDENA, CA 90248, 310-323-7800) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE ONLY ACCELERATED TO 9 MPH WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

WHEN I BRAKE THE CAR SHAKES A NOTICEABLE TYPE OF SHAKE AND STARTS TO MAKE A WEIRD STALLING NOISE.

MY PRIUS WAS JUST FINE THEN ONE DAY IT STALLED WHILE I WAS DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREE WAY. I TOOK MY VEHICLE IN TO ELMORE TOYOTA IN WESTMINSTER, CA, THEY FOUND IT HAD A FAILED INVERTER AND IT WAS STILL COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. IT TOOK 2 WEEKS FOR THEM TO FIX IT, BUT WHEN THEY RETURNED MY CAR, THE SLIP INDICATOR WAS NOW ON AND WOULD NOT TURN OFF. THEY CLAIM IT WAS LIKE THAT PRIOR TO THE FAILED INVERTER, THIS WAS FALSE, MY CAR WAS RUNNING PERFECT. THEY THEN WANTED TO CHARGE ME NEARLY $1K TO FIX A PROBLEM I DID NOT HAVE PRIOR TO FAILED INVERTER. I FEEL THE SITUATION WAS CONNECTED BUT THEY REFUSE TO COVER IT.

THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING OVER 60 MPH WHEN THE ABS, BRAKE AND TRACTION LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE BRAKE BECAME IMMEDIATELY SPONGY AND I HAD TO DEPRESSED EVEN HARDER (PAST THE FOAMINESS) TO REDUCE SPEED. A MOTOR COULD BE HEARD TRYING TO TURN OVER ON THE BRAKE SYSTEM. THE CAR SPEED WAS REDUCED TO 25-30 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY BUT THE SPONGY BRAKES CONTINUED. WITHIN 5 MIN I PULLED OFF THE HIGHWAY AND INTO A PARKING LOT. PARKED THE CAR, TURNED IT OFF AND ON TO SEE IF THAT WOULD REMEDY THE SITUATION AND NOTHING CHANGED. I THEN CALLED THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO BOOK AN IMMEDIATE APPOINTMENT AND ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP APPROXIMATELY 40 MINUTES LATER. THE CAR WAS LOOKED AT AND I WAS TOLD THAT THE BRAKE ACTUATOR WAS THE ISSUE AND THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT TOYOTA TO SEE IF THIS WAS IN WARRANTY OR PART OF THE RECALL. I WAS TOLD THE NEXT DAY THAT THE COST OF INSTALLATION AND PARTS WOULD BE AT LEAST $4,000 AND THAT I WOULD NEED TO PAY THE FULL AMOUNT AS TOYOTA WAS TAKING NO RESPONSIBILITY. I CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE, EXPLAINED MY SITUATION AND WAS TOLD THE SAME THING AS I WAS TOLD AT THE DEALERSHIP. I FEEL THAT THIS BRAKE ACTUATOR (ITS PARTS, ITS COMPOSITION AND/OR ITS INSTALLATION) IS A SYSTEMIC ISSUE WITH TOYOTA PRODUCTS AND A KNOWN ISSUE WITH TOYOTA PRIUS' IN 2009 AND 2010. TANGENTIAL TO THIS ISSUE, MY FATHER OWNS A TOYOTA CAR AS WELL AND HAS ALSO HAD TO HAVE HIS ACTUATOR REPLACED THIS YEAR. TOYOTA SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL FAULTY PARTS AND INSTALLATION AND PURCHASE OF NEW PARTS. MY MAINTENANCE RECORD IS EXEMPLARY AND MY DRIVING RECORD IS AS WELL SO THIS IS NOT REGULAR WEAR AND TEAR IN MY OPINION.

ROUGH START AT COLD START WHEN CAR IS LEFT FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS. INTERMITTENT PROBLEM CANNOT BE DETERMINED AT DEALER DUE TO INFREQUENCY OF ISSUE, BUT HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES A MONTH. TOYOTA WAS UNABLE TO HELP ME AND SAYS THIS IS UNRELATED TO THE EXACT SAME ISSUE PLAGUING 2010-2013 PRIUS AND PRIUS V MODELS, EVEN THOUGH SYMPTOMS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME.

PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WILL NOT WORK. I REPLACED THE BULB, AND CHECKED THE FUSES, AND IT STILL WILL NOT LIGHT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR.

TYPICALLY THE KEY IS LEFT IN THE CAR IN THE GARAGE. TONIGHT AT 6 PM, AT A GARAGE TEMPERATURE OF 83 DEGREES F, THE ENGINE SPONTANEOUSLY STARTED. NO ONE WAS IN THE CAR AND IT HAD BEEN GARAGED FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS. I JUST HAPPENED TO BE IN THE GARAGE WHEN THE PRIUS STARTED AND WAS NOTHING SHORT OF FLABBERGASTED.