10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 16 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 7 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 30,274 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The brake booster on my car has stopped working causing my car to be unsafe and expensive to repair. This seems to be a common issue with prius-€™s which is not fair to the owners.
- Palm Bay, FL, USA
brake booster and brake actuator internal leaks the brake pedal goes to the floor with firm press when trying to stop the car yes, the problem has been reported to two toyota dealership and report to toyota brand engagement multiple times yes, vehicle was inspect by toyota dealship and independent service center yes, the following (traction control lamp, brake lamp and ABS lamp) warn lamp was and still is
- Foothill Ranch, CA, USA
Driving down the road and the brake light, ABS light, VSC light and a ! with a circle around turned on in the dash. My breaks almost stopped working I almost hit the car in front of me. I've been try to figure out what's wrong and keep hearing this is a brake booster/ actuator problem. I have parked the car due to the brakes barley working.
- Maryville, TN, USA
break booster systems fails in the ABS system, causing warning lights to come on intermittently and the breaks to not work properly. this is a known issue by Toyota that affects numerous priuses was well a large group of camry's. The company issued a Customer Service Program to address the issue but did not make extensive efforts to warn vehicle owners that this is a known problem. The fact that this issue of leaking oil in the break booster assembly is considered serious by the company and the urge you to get it repaired immediately if you become aware of it. this seems like something that should rise to the level of a product recall, not a voluntary program by Toyota. I have the documentation of from Toyota on this issue if you need it.
- Appleton, WI, USA
vehicle brakes fails to stop and needs to push hard on brake paddle to stop the vehicle. traction control light, ABS, and Brake lights come on. took to autonation Toyota irvine in dec. 2020 reporting the issue but the tech clear the codes and told me that nothing is wrong. the same light came back on and took to 3rd party shop and was informed code C1391, C1345 & C1368 reporting issue of a failed booster and booster pump. customer support program ZJD. I've been in contact with toyota brand engagement to report the issue and regarding automation Toyota Irvine clearing the codes after I took my vehicle to the shop for repairs. but dealer is not repairing the vehicle and the vehicle has been in the dealer shop since jan 10, 2021. REPORTING A ISSUE WITH BRAKE FAILURE ON MY 2013 TOYTOA PRIUS.
- Foothill Ranch, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond and went all the way to the floorboard. The traction control warning light, ABS warning light, the brake warning light, and an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she continued to depress the brake pedal until it responded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the brake actuator needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as her vehicle was 5,000 miles over the mileage for the extended warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
- Douglasville, GA, USA
Hi, I have been having trouble with my car for the past few days. It is getting C1391 Diagnostic trouble Code. I have been busy with work and had to take the car to work. It has around 151,000 Milage now. I called Toyota regarding this problem and was told that my car don't qualify for Customers Support Program as it has more than 150,000 miles. I checked this website, and came know about extension till 31 August 2021 and unlimited mileage. My car starting showing up the code few days back, although I could notice chirping sound while applying brakes for past 2 years. I didn't know it was an issue. Fred Haas Toyota Country, 22435 TX-249, Houston, TX 77070 quoted around $2600 to replace the brake booster and pump. Can you please look in the matter?
- Houston, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that when he started the vehicle and depressed the brake pedal, the vehicle made abnormal whirring sounds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they would not cover the repair of the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
Failure of the ABS accumulator caused an accident that could have easily killed my family. The issue makes all ABS and stability control inoperable. While applying the brakes to avoid a deer at highway speeds, the wheels locked up while sending the car in an uncontrollable sideways slide across the highway and into a culvert. My wife was driving at the time and she had our 2 small children with her. I learned about the problem from the Toyota dealer and the service advisor told me that Toyota knows about this problem. The advisor informed me that it-€™s simply just a TSB. This is highly dangerous and Toyota should be responsible for this faulty system.
- Lakehills, TX, USA
Brakes were applied in order to avoid a collision with a deer, but the brakes locked up, sending my family out of control across the oncoming lane and into an embankment. They were lucky they weren-€™t killed. Toyota knows this is an issue and have failed to address it. The ABS accumulator no longer works, causing a dangerous situation. A local Toyota dealer alerted me to this issue.
- Lakehills, TX, USA
While driving vehicle the parking brake light, abs light and traction control lights all suddenly came on. I was driving on smooth roadway with no bumps. I pulled to side to investigate to found that I had to press really hard to get brakes to function and stop the vehicle. LuckÃly there were no other vehicles around.
- Palm Coast, FL, USA
For about a week, I heard intermittent strange noises when I would be stopped in traffic with the brake pedal depressed. On 08/31/21, lights on the dashboard came on - the "brake" light, "Brake system warning light", ABS light, and the "Slip indicator" light. All of these remain on. Braking was feeling sluggish and the brake pedal would decompress to the floor when starting the car. When starting the car on 09/01/21, the car lurched forward although in "park" mode. I drove the car to the lube specialist to have them check the fluid levels, and they said that everything was o.k, nothing to make all the warning lights light up. Then I was referred to a mechanic who works on Pruis cars. His diagnostic tool was indicating that my brake accumulator was bad. This has led me to check for recalls on this model and year and it seems there have been problems submitted on this very issue.
- Titusville, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shake and vibrate while depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle would not immediately stop, causing the braking distance to become extended. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the brake pads, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 108,000.
- Auburn, CA, USA
I cannot stop my car in time, it feels like I am fred flinstone trying to use my feet to stop. I have rear-ended another car. I have no car to drive as it is not safe. Kendall West Toyota gave me car back and said part of recalls completed but unable to complete other recalls. They said ABS fixed but it is not as still makes the same whining sound and I cannot brake. I have to use all my strength to push as hard as humanly possible. I have to pay for rental car. Kendall Toyota could not provide a time frame of when my car would be fixed.
- Miami, FL, USA
My 2013 Prius is having issues with the interface and it has been recalled and I don't know what to do from here.
- Kissimmee, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an clicking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the clicking sound was more evident while the brake pedal was depressed. Additionally, with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle failed to stop slow or stop as designed. The vehicle was taken to cobb county Toyota (2111 barrett lakes blvd, kennesaw, ga 30144) where the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with a defective relay inside of the brake booster. The contact was informed that the vehicle would not be serviced under warranty until a check engine or service engine warning light was illuminated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.
- Dallas, GA, USA
My brakes don't work like they normally do. They are hard and the brake pedal is spongy. The traction control, ABS, brake and a round with an exclamation pint light is on. It goes away and it comes back and its very dangerous because it happens when I'm driving and once I try to stop the brake pedal is hard. First time it happened I almost hit a car infant of me at a stop light.
- Chicago, IL, USA
Vehicle brake actuator continuously pumping and running even when vehicle is off or stopped, ABS lights can light up under moderate braking on dry roads. Earlier generations of the Prius had similar issues and Toyota added an extended warranty to cover a rather expensive repair that could compromise the safety of the vehicle. There is a well known issue with this braking system when reading further on Toyota Prius forums.
- Lake Worth, FL, USA
Car fails to stop and/or loses traction when applying the brakes at low speeds. My tire shop has inspected both winter and summer tires for tread and inflation, so those factors weren't an issue during the times I lost traction control. Examples include: 1) skidding and failing to come to a complete stop at the exit to a dry, paved parking lot (fortunately my car stopped before entering traffic, but I slid past the actual stop sign in line with the sidewalk - it felt like I was rolling on loose gravel but when I got out and checked the pavement was clean); 2) failing to stop when applying brakes on a straight road in snow as I approached a light that was changing while going about 30-35 mph (I had enough stopping distance to test every braking technique, from normal braking to pumping the brakes to pushing the brake pedal all the way to the floor; I ended up making an emergency right turn into the shoulder otherwise I would have gone through the light into the path of other cars); 3) sliding and failing to stop on winter side streets despite only traveling 5 mph because I don't trust my brakes. I've also had the traction light come on and felt my car slipping when driving normally (20-25 mph) through dry residential intersections with engineered drainage gutters running perpendicular to the street, or while making slow turns through intersections with unavoidable shallow potholes. I took the car to a Toyota dealership in October 2019 in response to a customer support program notification that indicated my make and model might be affected by a brake booster pump assembly issue, but the dealership found "nothing wrong" (no warranty related diagnostic code per Toyota's guidelines) and subsequently did not perform any repairs. I've experienced this issue sporadically for over a year, most recent incident on 2/3/2020.
- Wheat Ridge, CO, USA
- Fontana, CA, USA