2012 Toyota Prius C Recalls & Complaints

Incident: July 10, 2025 · Filed: July 15, 2025

Brake Actuator and ABS Accumalator failed. It is a common failure reported by multiple owners on these cars. I was on the high way going 70 when it failed and lost any brake boost I had putting me in a very dangerous situation where I narrowly avoided an accident. Upon scanning the car's codes I got code C1391 which I looked up and saw a bunch of other people who were also struggling with this issue.

Incident: May 3, 2025 · Filed: June 2, 2025

I am writing to express a complaint regarding the issues I have experienced with the brake system of my Toyota Prius C, 2012 model. For the past several months, I have noticed that the brakes exhibit strange noises, soft pedal sensation, reduced braking efficiency, were driving and the ABS, traction, brake, and that other light turned on and the brakes became slow these issues have been observed on multiple occasions and pose a safety risk to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians. I have taken the vehicle for inspection, but the problems persist or have not been definitively resolved. I believe these faults may be related to defects in the braking system, and therefore I request a thorough inspection and necessary repairs at no cost, considering that the manufacturer could be responsible for manufacturing defects.

Incident: February 17, 2025 · Filed: February 18, 2025

The brakes on this Prius started to make weird noises. Because it is a hybrid, I wasn't sure if it was normal. After searching online, it is a known issue. The car has just under 76,000 miles on it. It might be worth $7000 on a good day. Toyota wants to replace two brake parts, numbered 47050-52020 and 04006-74152 to a tune of $2700. According to a Toyota bulletin, this job should take 2.3 hours. For that amount of work, my local Toyota shop wants almost $2000 in labor. My car was seen by the local shop (being on an island, it is literally the only Toyota shop that this car can be seen) when the "customer support program" 21TE01 was in place and they did nothing. Now, the time window has disappeared, even though we only have half of the maximum number of miles to get the repair. Toyota should be ashamed of themselves.

Incident: December 29, 2024 · Filed: January 26, 2025

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

Incident: December 6, 2024 · Filed: December 11, 2024

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.

Incident: June 21, 2024 · Filed: June 30, 2024

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 .

Incident: January 13, 2024 · Filed: March 11, 2024

Code C1391 shows in which the accumulator and the brake booster assembly need to be changed. This is a known defect and was covered through an ‘extended warranty’ due to a lawsuit. Since it results in less than optimal braking, and can result in crashes since function disappears suddenly, it should have warranted a recall. This issue is also known to happen in multiple Toyota hybrid vehicles.

Incident: September 10, 2023 · Filed: October 11, 2023

The brakes fail and the ABS module stops working correctly and when I go at a speed of 60 MPH the brakes lock until the speed drops and they work again. The problem is with the ABS module and I went to the dealer and the repair value is $3450 dollars.

Incident: June 3, 2023 · Filed: June 9, 2023

Last week my 2012 Toyota Prius-C had four lights come on (ABS, Brake, Swerve, and one other). I took it to my local mechanic who informed me that it was my master cylinder brake that needed to be replaced and would cost me $3,300. This issue started roughly 10-12 months ago, when I heard my brakes making a noise that sounded very unusual, almost like a hydraulic issue. I learned that there was a Toyota initiated CSP. Toyota realized there was an issue with the 2012-2014 brake system that affected over 100,000 vehicles. Those affected by CSP's are supposedly notified by mail. Needless to say, I never received such notice. This aforementioned CSP expired in November 2022 that my car would have qualified for, had the problem been diagnosed prior. However, when I brought my car in on August 8th, 2022 for my hybrid battery, a diagnostic was done on my brake system with no indication that my brake system was in trouble. I really can't fault the mechanics at the local Toyota, I took it to a second brake specialist a few months after and they too could not identify the problem. The problem was so bad, Toyota discontinued the brake system. Toyota said it would need to be broken 100% with an error message to qualify prior to the November 2022 deadline. After being facetious and saying I should have broken the part myself to qualify, she said that is what I would have needed to qualify.

Incident: May 5, 2023 · Filed: May 6, 2023

Without prior warning brake pedal goes to floor before minimally engaging braking system at a very reduced rate causing me to swerve and narrowly avoid collisions on interstate. There is no pressure feeling in the brake pedal although brake fluid level is normal and inspection of brake pads indicated significant pad available. No DTC light is coming on and OBD scan tool indicates no brake error. Brakes are unable to stop car to avoid collision, so car is dangerous and undrivable.