2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V Complaints

Brake actuator assembly failure on a vehicle with 99,818 miles. Whirring sound when braking followed by lighting of several brake alert lights on dash including PCS and ABS and others. The whirring noise has occured for several weeks, but the light indicators happened on 6/28/26. Toyota has an acknowledged Customer Support Program (20TE07) for this exact failure on this exact and Toyota declined to cover the repair. This vehicle is 14 years old but has well under 150k miles and Toyota will not honor claim though they clearly are aware of the safety hazard.

Driving down the highway, the engine suddenly threw a rod, causing a terrible jolt, after which the engine burst into flames. There had been no warning lights.

The ABS system has failed. All brake related warning lights have appeared on the dash board and the ABS no longer works. The car will brake for now, but the pedal is mushy. The issue was diagnosed by a dealer. The diagnosis from the dealer, based on diagnostic trouble codes they did not provide, is that brake fluid is leaking in the master cylinder and brake booster. The recommendation is to have both the master cylinder and booster replaced. This vehicle has 143,000 miles on it. No accidents have occurred as a result of the brakes yet but how long before the brakes ultimately fail is unknown.

ABS, brake, and traction control lights, all illuminated at once on the dashboard. Inspection found DTC C1391 indicating the accumulator is leaking or failing to hold pressure correctly. We are advised that the braking system performance will decline, eventually failing. An very expensive repair is required and Toyota apparently has a shortage of the parts required. We cannot drive the vehicle given the potential of braking failure and cannot get it repaired in a timely manner for lack of Toyota parts.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake master cylinder was constantly cycling. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. Most recently, while the vehicle was turned off, the brake master cylinder was cycling. The contact stated that while the keys were in his hands and standing several feet away from the vehicle, the brakes started cycling. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

The power assist braking system failed while I was driving in the rain. I was approaching a stoplight and I had to push down a lot harder and farther than I typically have to in order to stop. Luckily I was not going that fast and there were no cars ahead of me, but I stopped beyond where I had intended at a busy intersection. No warning lamps or messages had been illuminated prior to this happening. After the failure, the Brake system, ABS, and SLIP indicator lights were on and remained on when the car was restarted. An independent service center used a scan tool and found code C1391 stored in memory, indicating that the brake booster is unable to hold pressure due to an internal leak. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance, but can be available upon request.

I bought this car over a week ago for a good price, performed fine until I’m driving it home on the interstate and some abs/brake lights came on the dash. I enter my city and notice the brakes aren’t performing as tight as they were during the test drive. A few days later I take it to a local dealership to get it looked at. The brake actuator and pump had gone bad, causing this issue. It cost almost $5,000 to fix there, I couldn’t afford it so I had to only pay the $185 for the diagnostic. It’s an on and off thing, sometimes the lights go away and it brakes as it should, but most of the time the lights are on and the brakes don’t work as they should. I fear one day the brakes may eventually give out on me and cause an accident. I am available for inspection.

After 13 years and 112,000 the brake booster and brake booster pump went out on my car. Toyota extended the warranty to 10 years because of this issue. Now just outside of the 10 yr mark my car has this issue and Toyota will not cover it. This is a huge expense and also a major issue with this year and model of car.

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

While driving on the interstate I went to slow down to merge and my brakes failed. The following warning lights came on: 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.