This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The actuator and brake pump booster failed and car was undrivable. For years I complained to Toyota service reps of an ecltronic wining noise. They told me iy was "common for older hybrid cars and not a problem ". It turned out to be the actuator & brake pump & booster all that time. Toyota knew about it years ago, but didn't warn or advise me. Luckily it did not fail while driving, but I had to haved it towed away from my clients parking lot. A toyota service rep mentioned it happened to her on her Highlander Hybrid too. I found this was a common problem and contacted Toyota USA, Engagement dept. They told me that because "they issued an extension to their up to 10 years or 140k miles and my car was 11 years 77k miles, I was not eligible". I told them that the car had made the noises for years but they said "that did not matter". I just got the car back after repairs and the noises I complained to Toyota service about are all gone. This is such a common problem and dangerous, that Toyota needs to recall ASAP before people are injured or killed. Their issuing only an advisory to dealers, who make money on out of warranty repairs, is uncountable and dangerous. Separately thousands of owners have paid thousands of dollars in repairs with no relief and may not know the failure was on Toyota. Please advise me further, thank you.
I started my Prius V 2013 and a lot of error lights came on. Some of these included the ABS, BRAKE, and traction control lights. I put the car in reverse to back out of my parking space and the car wouldn't stop beeping and none of the warning lights turned off. When I went to stop the car and put it into drive, the brake pedal was soft and wouldn't brake the car. I pressed as hard as I could and the car slowly came to a stop. I put the car in drive and the same problem happened with the brakes: the brake pedal was soft, as if the hydraulic pump wasn't working, and when I pressed super hard it eventually rolled to a slow stop. I had to have the car towed to a mechanic. They said three error codes that showed up related to the brakes: C1252, C1253, C1256. They followed the Toyota troubleshooting tree and concluded the brake booster pump assembly accumulator was faulty. The cost to fix the Brake Power Booster Unit: $2,700. Meanwhile, I discovered a Customer Service Program (CSP 20TE07CSP) from Toyota that has to do with the Brake Booster. Toyota was covering the cost of this repair under the CSP, but you had to have the problem before 07/08/2023 because that's when the program expired. So I was 10 months outside the window and now Toyota will not cover the cost even though the company knew the accumulator was faulty and will eventually break in all Priuses.
Brakes are incredibly stiff and require an egregious amount of force to apply any amount of braking force and the brake booster is constantly spooling up and making noises. apparently this as well the EGR was a recall but window to qualify for the recall is too short and the brake booster failing is a serious safety hazard.
On November 28, 2023 my brakes went out in the middle of 3 lanes of traffic. Fortunately, I succeeded in not having a traffic accident and pulled off the road. The car was towed to Daytona Toyota. They informed me it was the ABS malfunction. I discovered it has been a known issue. The brake booster pump assembly on certain Prius V vehicles from years 2022 to 2014 are affected. A 'bulletin' had been mailed out several years prior, and it could be repaired free of charge up to September 30, 2023 - if I had mentioned it. It was and has been traumatic to consider what can and could happen when the brakes go out without any warning. There was no indication the brakes were bad, no warning light, nothing. This car has been continually serviced by Daytona Toyota on a regular basis. Not once has it ever been mentioned to me. Not once. In my opinion, nothing said, no repairs to be paid for. When I complained, and called Toyota's 'Brand Engagement' (case # 231129001653) I was told they had mailed out the information and was very sorry I didn't see it. So, as I see it, they are absolved of any legal responsibility. My fault, not theirs. I could have caused serious or deadly harm to someone. It would be my responsibility. Again, not once has my service advisor or anyone else said a word about it. I stopped by my neighbor's to advise him of the problem with the car. He said he liked to keep his cars maintained and had happened to Google any info on his car. It showed up, he took his car in and they said good thing he saw it. That the service coverage was expiring in a few days (it was late September). They fixed it for free right away. I on the other hand, almost 'rear-ended' someone in the center lane of traffic and paid $3,506.76. (they gave me 10% discount for being a good customer) So, how many other car drivers are on the road with this unknowing problem?
At approximately 150,100 miles (barely outside Toyota's extended warranty) several dash lights came on including the brake, ABS, and traction control lights. A Toyota dealer determined the problem to be the notorious C1391 brake booster issue (which seems identical to previous petition DP19-004). Even though by the time I got the vehicle to the dealer it had 150,300 miles on it (just 300 miles outside the extended warranty), Toyota refuses to pay a dime of the $4,000+ repair cost! I cannot afford the repair cost and since I was NOT warned that I could not drive the car as the brakes were still operational without the ABS, stability control, and traction control, I continued driving it. But after approximately 4 months, on 12/29/2023, at 152,787 miles, as I was slowly driving through a residential neighborhood, I lost almost all ability to brake and had to put tremendous pressure on the brake pedal to get the car to stop. Upon a subsequent reading of error codes that I performed myself, in addition to the C1391, codes C1252, C1253, and C1256 have also now triggered. It is a miracle I did not have an accident as I could have easily been on a highway or going down a steep hill when this brake failure occurred. In my 36 years of driving, I have never been behind the wheel of any car in which the brakes have failed like this, regardless of make, model, or year of vehicle. Please issue a recall on this known defective part before someone gets killed. (NOTE: I tried several times to upload the document receipt from the dealership with brake booster diagnosis but every time I click on the "Upload Files" button, the button disappears.)
- Baltimore, MD, USA
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It happened overnight. 4 different warning lights on dashboard ( abs, brake, red triangle, ) car 100% unsafe to drive with faulty brakes. Dealer said its brake booster and brake assembly). They refused to cover expenses. 4 K total to fix it. This should be recall 100%. Please do something.
Driving 2013 Prius V multiple lights suddenly came up on dash Brake System, ABS, Master Warning, SLIP indicator Safety put at severe risk while driving. These defective parts installed were never disclosed, or notified, by Toyota and put in severe risk for consumers to drive as a National Recall was NEVER issued. Toyota was called since this and refused to fix. Toyota acknowledges parts are defective yet refutes liability despite acknowledgment of defective parts. Defective parts never disclosed to me by any entity of Toyota including Dealerships/Corporate despite willful knowledge of national defective parts in model 2013 Prius V. This is a liable safety situation that can cause irreparable human life damage.
When braking to slow down in a roundabout, I had to push my brakes down further than usual to stop. After this various warning, signals came on my dashboard: brakes, slip indicator, brake system warning light, PCS, ABS. I took it in to Toyota dealer they said I needed to replace my master cylinder kit and brake booster pump. My concern is that when I went online, I discovered this has been an on going problem with no recall. It has caused accidents!
The brake booster begins to show signs of failure and Toyota refuses to address it citing expired warranty. The faulty brake booster in Toyota Prius is a known issue to Toyota since there are numerous accidents happened because of it and a class action lawsuit brought against Toyota.
As my wife was driving my children to school All the lights on my 2013 Prius V dash came on as I was driving on December 2, 2022. All braking power became stiff and it was hard for me to stop. I pulled over turned off my car called AAA. When the AAA driver came to check out the vehicle she was surprised he told me -??oh ya this is a common problem. He told me is most likely was the ABS master cylinder and brake boosters needing to be replaced. I would take it to Lithia Toyota of Missoula. A representative from BOSCH came to look at the vehicle made a special appointment for this person to meet me and my wife at my local Toyota dealership. They checked the car and told me there wasn-??t a problem with my brakes. The Bosch representative said the car was fine. My wife and I would then leave and exactly one week my wife called me at work to say all the lights on the dash would came on again as she was driving. We would then take it back to Lithia Toyota for them to tell me it was the ABS braking system and I would need to spend $5000 to get the car repaired. Parts and labor. Her car is only worth 11500. They wanted me to spend more then half of what the car was worth. I would research and learn so many people are having this issue. There was a -??customer support program that ended at the end of August 2022. This would be there way of weaseling themselves out of the issue. I am reporting this to help me and other drivers. Please don-??t ignore. There are TOO MANY COMPLAINTS FOR YOU TO IGNORE. People have HAD MAJOR ACCIDENTS my wife and Children-??s lives were at jeopardy due to your incompetence of over looking this issue.
All brake and traction lights illuminated. Brake pedal developed variable pressure. Brake Booster diagnosed. This particular issue is now appearing across many Toyota Prius V of the same vintage. A TSB and Recall should be announced, extremely unsafe to drive as is.
Completely unexpected, I started my Prius V and the ABS warning light, Traction control and parking brake lights were on. I had been hearing a high pitched thumping sound when stopped at street light or other times when brakes were engaged, but my mechanic was unable to locate the source. After the warning lights came on, The brakes still worked in a limited fashion requiring several seconds to engage. Had I not been an experienced driver using longer distance between myself and other drivers, I am sure I would have wrecked. Took the car to my mechanic. He ran the codes and found C 1391. After researching the chat groups, I found this to be a long term known defect. Disappointed that consumers reports did not mention. Called dealership and they required their machines run diagnostic codes. I decided to call Toyota customer service and talked to several levels of associates and I am stone walled. By the way: I feel for those people in their jobs. The supervisor I talked with kept mentioning the distressing lights. My concern is the wrecks I, and other drivers, could cause. I do see people stating in chat groups that thry have wrecked. And someone mentioned that if the dealership runs the code, the receipt will say -?? do not drive-?? and -??Toyota is not liable-?? if car is driven and a wreck occurs. ( my summary may not be exact.) I now have a fabulous non-functioning car.
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving with the brake pedal applied, the vehicle hesitated and was slow to respond. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
Prius displayed all brake warning lights when car was running. Toyota dealership confirmed that brake booster and pump assembly need to be replaced, but would not replace them under customer support program 20te07 because they could not pull the specified diagnostic code. Dealer acknowledged that the battery dying two weeks prior could have erased the necessary codes, but still refused to fix the car. After calling the corporate customer service line and speaking to someone for 30 minutes, they stated that Toyota could fix the problem, but made a business decision not to.
My brakes failed on a two-lane divided street in lutz. We were driving straight, and when my husband put his foot on the brake, they failed. We drove to the nearest Toyota garage and the agent said that it was a master cylinder problem but the prius would be covered under a recall - prius' less than 10 years old and less than 150,000 miles on the clock were covered. My car fit both criteria. On returning to collect the car, none of the V class prius' were included. The part number was C1391. We had to pay $3886.09. Our manufacturer number was not covered. It was one number different. I spoke to the most senior executive I could contact at Toyota. (danny castro). Danny had no answers that I found satisfactory. His basic reply was: 'your manufacturers number is not included.' These are my concerns and reasons: 1. there is a known fault with the master cylinder with all prius cars, but the company says that it is only responsible for certain manufacturer part numbers, which doesn't include the V's. I think it's a design fault and by giving the part a different number to avoid the recall on V's, seems underhanded. 2. there is nothing I have done to instigate or aggravate this problem. 3. my car has been perfectly serviced and I have not missed any mileage dates. 4. we were lucky. With the brakes failing abruptly and without warning, we were at risk and I believe that my complaint may save others that aren't so fortunate as us. All prius cars should be covered under the recall program.the internet documents master cylinder failures on all prius models, the top one being a leak; my problem. 1.5 million cars are being recalled - why not mine!!!!
This is something that's happening occasionally, I'm driving and all of the sudden, the traction control, ABS and brake lights, turn on and the brake pedal feels sluggish and starts to apply at a dangerous low level, the pedal almost hits the floor, then a day may pass, then it starts normal again, for a couple of hours, then, the lights come on again, and the pedal starts with the problem again, it's getting very dangerous for me to drive the car. That happened with my youngest son and my grandson, this started at April, and it still doing it 'till this day, please help.
While driving the vehicle a sequence of 4 lights appears on the dash- 1. brake light 2. master warning light 3. slip indicator light and 4. ABS (anti-lock brake system indicator light). When this happens the vehicle's power braking system goes into what seems to be a manual mode making the pedal hard to press and brakes to malfunction, it is so dangerous. I took the vehicle to my local Toyota dealer and they confirmed fault code C1391 (abnormal leak in the accumulator) and the "brake cylinder assy. ABS pump, part # 47050-47110 is defective. The estimate given by the dealer for my repair was $3040. After doing my research on the condition, it was discovered that Toyota has issued a warranty enhancement letter coded "zjb" for similar prius vehicles of the same year span as my vehicle. After contacting Toyota, they stated the enhancement is VIN-specific and the Prius V model does not fall within the "zjb" enhancement. The enhancement currently applies to 2012-2015 prius and prius phv vehicles, but not the Prius V. the program offers complete repair, at zero cost to the customer. It is my position that the Prius V should be included in this rework as it affects the same components, same fault codes, and same symptoms affected on the covered models. Toyota is well aware of the issue with these ABS brake pumps going back to their 2010 cars. It is also my position that since there are less Prius V models on the road, there just hasn't been enough complaints to make it relevant. I currently have an open file with Toyota, the file number is 2005133097. At this time they have agreed to make some adjustments on the repair costs, however, Toyota should be required to add the Prius V model to the "zjb" warranty enhancement rework letter. There are many other Prius V model owners that this issue is affecting and not being treated fairly by Toyota. Please do what you can to help?
2013 prius, mileage 100,590 car in motion driving on city streets. While breaking on uneven roads/potholes, the car skids and front wheels lock up and traction control/break assist light appears on the dashboard. When this occurs the car is dangerously slow to break and takes far too long to stop. This happens almost daily on my commute to work in both dry and wet conditions. This seems to be an issue with the breaking/stability system.
Own a 2013 Prius V. noticed about 5 times over past 2 years-when car starts after sitting overnight (12 hours) and put into gear, car will roll back while foot is depressed on brake. After a few feet of rolling and pumping brakes, car will stop.no injuries or damage sustained as car was in flat carport. Over past 6 months, braking while at low speeds (less than 5 mph), produced a rhythmic jerking type of stop. Dealership diagnosed problem as needing replacement of brake booster pump and master booster assembly. Drove car without repair for 1.5 more months when ABS warning lights came on while on the freeway. Stopping distance greatly increased and need to press the brake down hard was a significant difference. Wrote to Toyota headquarters as well as local servco which is the main Toyota/Lexus/Subaru dealer in Hawaii. They declined to my request to repair the defect at no charge stating car is not covered under the zjb customer support program that Toyota already has in place for 2010-2015 prius and prius plug in (but not the Prius V). Dealer states the zjb program is a "courtesy" for those covered vehicles. This is a defective part that Toyota and servco knowingly sold to the consumer-it is a consumer safety issue.
During an inspection, it was discovered that the brake accumulator and booster developed an internal leak. Fluid was accumulating on top of engine components and inside the cabin on the brake pedal. The repair cost nearly $3,000 and can only be performed at a Toyota dealer due to a special tool.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Delray Beach , FL, USA