In 2019, I took my Prius in for service. I reported that when I suddenly brake, the pedal feels spongy as if the brakes will not stop vehicle and lights on dash lit up. Toyota did diagnostic, no action taken by service department at Toyota dealership. I have service history documentation. On June 29, 2024 we had routine maintenance and the service department of the Toyota dealership recommended brake fluid serviced. On July 1, 2024, I was driving my child home from his summer camp and when I tried to stop the brake did not work. I started pumping the brakes several times until the car slowed and came to a stop. The lights on the dash lit up again. The brake failure put my son and I in danger. We had the car towed to the service department of the Toyota dealership. The service department sent the following information after their diagnostic. "The warning lights re-appeared after we drove it a few times. Now regarding the brake fluid service we performed, it is not related to those warning lights. Your accumulator is internally failing. The accumulator is a computer that distributes and controls the amount of pressure going into the brake system, and the computer was not untouched. Unfortunately it was bad timing and the computer started to internally fail. These vehicle's are known to have bad brake actuators, and Toyota created a type of recall for it to get replaced under no charge. Unfortunately they only cover up to 10 years and your warranty expired last year." My husband and I did not receive information regarding this recall. We did an online search to find out more about this recall and found several pages and posts of people describing the same situation.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Completely lost vacuum brake assist without any prior warning, while driving on the interstate. Got warning lights on the dash for brake and ABS, when it happened. Fortunately there was little traffic, but if there had been even moderate traffic, it could have caused a crash. Checked the codes and found a C1391 leak in the accumulator. Dealer has quoted me $3200 to repair.

- Antioch, TN, USA

Hi NHTSA, I have a 2012 Toyota Prius and all the Brake-related lights came on the dash. ABS and TC stopped working and the Brake Pedal lost sensitivity. I was about to crash the car and immediately took my car to the Toyota Dealership. They said that there was a Recall unfortunately the program has expired on my vehicle. I asked a couple of Toyota Prius owner friends and half of them had the same issue and they have been fixed under a program. But they said my 95k miles Prius is barely out of the program. My concern is that they charged the diagnosis cost released my vehicle and said that it was not safe to drive! I don't have the budget to cover the Manufacturer's low-quality BRAKE Booster production and I have to drive my car every day! I don't want to risk anyone but I have no choice. I hope you can help!

- Irvine, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle did not stop as intended. In addition, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact used the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed brake master cylinder, accumulator, and brake booster. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder, accumulator, and brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was informed of an unknown recall for the failure; however, the contact was informed that the recall had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

- Deland, FL, USA

Traction control, brake, and abs warning lights all came on at once while driving on freeway. Braking became harder. Car has fewer than 60,000 miles. I took it to the mechanic. He says I need a new booster pump.

- Duarte, CA, USA

Decreased braking performance. Sudden loss of ABS and Traction Control capabilities. (ABS light and Traction Control lights are now permanently illuminated on the dash). During the drive home, the brake response changed dramatically. More force is now required to operate the brakes. This failure occurred during a merge into traffic while on a merge ramp, going about 35 mph. It took what felt like a few seconds for both the vehicle and myself to adjust to the new braking requirements. During this time, it felt like a brief loss of braking ability. I continued to depress the brake pedal, and finally noticed a slowing of the vehicle. The pedal clearly requires much more effort and depress distance to begin slowing down the car. This decreased braking performance appears to be sustained until repairs are made to the vehicle.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

ABS, Stability Control and Brake warning lamps on dashboard. Faulty Brake Booster/Pump/Accumulator doesn't allow for safe stopping. Looking on the world wide web, it appears to be a common issue with this generation Prius (and it is COSTLY to repair).

- Menasha, WI, USA

Was 8 days out of warranty so Toyota would not honor offer to replace the brake booster/actuator. Paid personally to have it done with genuine Toyota parts. 16 months later same parts need replacing. Toyota refuses to help.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

Brake system warning lights illuminated. The brake pedal pressure required to stop the vehicle has increased. In effect: no power brakes, no traction control, and no antilock available. Intermittent engagement of an electric motor can be heard about every 8 seconds for a period of about 3 seconds during operation of the vehicle at all times.

- Yukon, OK, USA

Sudden lights appear on dashboard. Brake system sudden fail becomes very hard to press the pedal or apply brakes My car has 136000 miles only Asked mechanic and mentioned the brake booster pump.

- El Monte, CA, USA

Brake pressure actuator defect leading to major brake failure. No warning until it's too late.

- Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Warning lights, and while driving the ABS, brake, and traction control lights came on, and I NOTICED a strange sound when applying the brakes. The brakes seem somewhat soft when applied. This is a 2012 Prius with 123,000 miles.

- Milton, GA, USA

I bought my first used car, 2012 Toyota Prius, from Fowler Toyota back at the end of October 2023, but I was not able to pick it up until September 21, 2023 due to extra time for re-conditioning. I did not haggle about the price nor complained about the 3 week delay. In the last 3 weeks of owning my car, the TPMS sensor light and check engine light infrequently turned on. February 28, 2024 all the fault sensor lights on my instrument panel are on, along with the loss of proper braking function. I was not worried about the other sensor faults, but brake malfunction is a matter of life and death to myself and others on the road. I have had the car for a little over 4 months and less than 10k miles. I brought the car in to diagnose all the error codes. The dealer said it will cost over $2600 to fix the brake malfunction. I chose this particular car because carfax had well documented service records and Fowler Toyota advertised that every used vehicle for sale has surpassed rigorous inspection. I voiced my complaint to the used car director and he offered numerous default excuses for unforeseen problems inherent in buying a used car. I said I did my due diligence by selectively purchasing a used Toyota Prius, from a reputable Toyota dealership that uses a Toyota certified service center to inspect and recondition vehicles for sale. All the cliche nightmare stories of buying a used car from the side of the road car lots came true in my experience at Fowler Toyota. The worst used car story happened to me, despite performing my due diligence: to buy a used Toyota from a Toyota dealership that uses a Toyota certified service center for re-conditioning vehicles. I even paid more to finance my Prius through Toyota Financial services, which did not offer extended warranty. For God sake, I was buying a Toyota with 121k miles. I only bought a prius because I work too hard to throw away all my hard earned money on gasoline. The only recourse the dealership offered

- Warr Acres, OK, USA

Brake master control system failure with constant issues over 80k miles. Forward running lights control housing has not held a light fixture since day one and dealership wants to charge for light replacement. It-??s a faulty part and burnt through the housing. Olathe Toyota refused to repair under warranty saying it was a customer issue but is clearly a safety problem. Irresponsible dealer management.

- Olathe, KS, USA

Brake failure

- Springdale, AR, USA

Hard to stop, ABS AND BRAKE AND TRACTION CONTROLL RELATED WARNING LIGHTS ON. ERROR CODE C1391

- Buena Park, CA, USA

On October 24, 2023, while driving my car, several lights went on all at once, including the ABS, and brake lights. I immediately drove it to the Toyota Dealership on 2213 Old Jacksboro Hwy, WF TX 76301. The car was also making a noise constantly, that I had taken into Toyota service center previously which was also causing an issue with my battery dying. (It went through 4 batteries in the last 2 years). Toyota diagnosed it as a problem with brake booster and assembly and brake booster pump. calling for both of them to be replaced at a cost of $3,888. Toyota did not inform us of any recall regarding brakes, I did email Toyota directly, called and tried to work with the dealership, all to no avail. They are being sued due to numerous complaints and refused to assist me.

- Wichita Falls, TX, USA

I have had a 2012 Prius since 2016. The entire time I've had it, it occasionally "hydroplanes" but without any water. It happens in wet or dry (but mostly dry) conditions. Usually at slower speeds so, though it makes me very uncomfortable, it doesn't happen with any regularity. I've taken it multiple times to my mechanic who always says "Prius' just do that", which is not reassuring. I know there was a recall and I was told my car did not fall under that umbrella. On Wednesday of this week, 10/25/23, I finally had an accident because of this. The brake lockup had been happening more frequently in the past week and in this instance I saw the car in front of me suddenly slow down - I had about 2/3 of a cars distance between me and the car ahead. I hit the brakes and nothing happened. I was pushing down on them long enough to think, "Ok, this is it. They aren't responding at all and I'm going to hit this car in front of me." I did and it crushed the passenger side of the car. Luckily I wasn't hurt. There were no warnings from the car at all that this was going to happen, as there never are. I took it in for possible repair today (the mechanic is not sure but thinks it may be a total loss). This car did everything they describe in the recall cases and I want to know if there's anyway to be repaid from the company for this as there was nothing I could do to stop this accident" Why wasn't my car included in the recall"

- Boston, MA, USA

Error code C1391 confirmed by two separate facilities, described as "abnormal leak in accumulator" and "accumulator pressure." Took to an independent shop first, then to Haley Certified Toyota Dealership. At dealership, parts needed were quoted to include tsb-0024-19. Three lights went on simultaneously (ABS, Traction, Brake).

- Richmond, VA, USA

The abs pump kept running after the car stopped running... Malfunction and had to be replaced!

- Roswell, FL, USA