3.4

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,600 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Toyota Prius c:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #3

Aug 102020

Prius c

  • 118,000 miles
I was driving my 2012 Prius C and I'm middle of traffic my car lost its power, thankfully I was able to park the car. I got it towed to the dealership and they told me it's the inverter. I advised that I had read on recalls on them they said my car didn't have a recall they are wanting me to pay 4K for a new inverter ( which I know it's the same issue other 2012 Prius C have had issues too). It's upsetting that no investigation is taking place just sorry and ohh by the way the employee at the dealership handling my case offered me $200 for my car said I would not get more than $400 if I tried selling it like that. Very unprofessional and can't even trust my own dealership.

- San Diego, CA, USA

Add Complaint
problem #2

Dec 192019

Prius c

  • miles
Transaxle is failing after 100K miles of normal driving and maintenance. Spoke with both a Toyota dealer and transmission shop who said the cvt failure on this model year and the following several is an extremely common occurrence. This is a $5000+ repair fairly early in the life of the vehicle. The transmission shop said this was due to poor initial design.

- Dallas, TX, USA

Add Complaint
problem #1

May 232012

Prius c

  • 800 miles
From date of purchase, vehicle performed unpredictably. Transitioning from electric to motor was rough and noticeable. At 600 miles, a significant impact was felt during transition. Dealer found nothing. Brake pedal traveled to the floor and vehicle went through stop sign at low speed. Route 44 Toyota insisted I needed to get used to electronic brakes. Toyota insisted brakes worked as prescribed. Recently, a aaa driver discovered the ground wire on the battery was loose. The battery was replaced and the vehicle now functions as described, the hill hold functions as described. NHTSA did an inspection in response to a defect petition - vehicle did not perform as described in the federal register. Brake pedal is now high, as it was initially. This vehicle was sent from the factory with a loose battery ground and it was covered up by everyone from Toyota, dealerships to NHTSA when the correction was simple. Toyota does not stand behind their product.

- Middleboro, MA, USA

Add Complaint