DRIVING VEHICLE DOWN HIGHWAY, TAPPED BRAKES BUT BRAKES DID NOT WORK, ALL THE LIGHTS ON MY DASH LIT UP. I LOST TRACTION IN BRAKES CAUSING VEHICLE TO LOSE CONTROL.
NHTSA ODI 11154783
Home · 2011 Toyota Prius V · Complaints
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
Newest first · 516 complaints · page 11 of 21
DRIVING VEHICLE DOWN HIGHWAY, TAPPED BRAKES BUT BRAKES DID NOT WORK, ALL THE LIGHTS ON MY DASH LIT UP. I LOST TRACTION IN BRAKES CAUSING VEHICLE TO LOSE CONTROL.
NHTSA ODI 11154783
4 LIGHTS CAME ON MY DASHBOARD: BRAKES, ABS, ETC. SO I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID I NEED A NEW BRAKE ACCUMULATOR BUT IT ISN'T COVERED AND IS A $3500 REPAIR. I SEE THAT THE 2010 PRIUS WAS RECALLED FOR THIS SAME PART BUT THEY WON'T COVER MINE.
NHTSA ODI 11154502
THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM NOT FUNTION AND THE LIGHT STAYS ON
NHTSA ODI 11153522
GOT IN CAR ONE MORNING AND ALL THE BRAKE / TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM RELATED LIGHTS ARE ON. TURNED CAR OFF, WAITED 10 MINUTES RESTARTED CAR AND LIGHTS ARE STILL ON. TESTED BRAKE FUNCTION IN YARD, REDUCED BUT STILL ABLE TO GET CAR STOPPED. TOOK IT TO SHOP AND READ CODES, CAME BACK AS THE ACTUATOR WHICH IS ALREADY RECALLED ON PREVIOUS YEAR MODEL PRUIS', OBVIOUSLY THEY DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE ON THE EARLY GEN 3 MODELS (2010 & 2011). I HAVE FOUND MULTIPLE OTHER PEOPLE WITH GEN-3'S THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE OS THESE SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE GEN-2 RECALL BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. WITH IT BEING A DEALER ONLY PART AT $4500-$5000 (PARTS AND LABOR) TO FIX ON A CAR THAT'S ONLY WORTH ABOUT $10,000 I WONDER IF IT'S REALLY WORTH FIXING. AT THIS POINT THE CAR IS PARKED BECAUSE WITH THE DIMINISHED BRAKING PERFORMANCE I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING IT.
NHTSA ODI 11150662
TAKATA RECALL MY 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER HAS THIS CAR WITH A MAJOR SAFETY RECALL AND NO APPARENT FIX! NOT HAPPY AND NOT FEELING SAFE WITH HER DRIVING IT NOW. IT HAS STALLED OUT ONCE SO FAR ON A BACKROAD.
NHTSA ODI 11150044
BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILURE. ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, AND BRAKE LIGHT ALL ON DASHBOARD. THE CAR HAS NO REGENERATIVE BRAKING. ISSUE OCCURED RANDOMLY WHILE IN MOTION.
NHTSA ODI 11144888
BRAKE ACCENTUATOR FAILED - NO WARNING AND TRACTION CONTROL/BRAKE LIGHT/ABS WARNING LIGHTS ALL ILLUMINATED. HARD BREAKING TEST @25 MPH CONFIRMS ABS NOT WORKING (I.E. TIRES SKID) AND BREAKING DISTANCE ADVERSELY IMPACTED FOR NORMAL BRAKING. HYBRID SYSTEM CHARGING FROM BRAKING IS DIMINISHED.
NHTSA ODI 11143620
THE TRACTION CONTROL, ABS LIGHT AND WARNING LIGHT ALL CAME WHICH I BELIEVE ALL TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE
NHTSA ODI 11142932
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER WITHOUT WARNING. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A TREE AND A CEMENT BARRIER. THE AIR BAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED BACK, NECK, AND CHEST INJURIES THAT DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS LATER DEEMED DESTROYED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V684000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,000.
NHTSA ODI 11142471
IN MOTION WHILE ACCELERATING PAST A SLOWER CAR. HEARD AND FELT A PRONOUNCED THUMP AND LOST ENGINE POWER ON BUSY LOCAL THOROUGHFARE. MOVED TO A TURN LANE AND STOPPED. MULTIPLE DASHBOARD LIGHTS AND "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" ON LED DISPLAY. POWER OFF CAR, AND BACK ON TWICE AND GOT THE SAME ERROR ON DISPLAY. FOUND THAT CAR COULD MOVE ON EV POWER AND I GOT IT INTO A SAFER LOCATION AT AN ADJACENT PARKING LOT. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO REPAIR FACILITY. AS A DRIVER THIS WAS DISCONCERTING AS I COULD NOT CLEARLY DETERMINE IF THE CAR WAS AT ALL DRIVEABLE. IF A DRIVER WERE TO STOP IMMEDIATELY IN THE SAME SITUATION THEY WOULD BE ON THE ROADWAY. IF I HAD NOT PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AFTER POWERING ON THE CAR AGAIN I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN I COULD MOVE THE CAR TO A SAFER LOCATION. DISPLAY SHOULD READ "HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE" THEN "LIMITED EV POWER AVAILABLE" THEN "MOVE TO SAFE AREA IF NECESSARY" CAUSE: HYBRID INVERTER FAILURE. REPAIRED BY TOYOTA UNDER 2014 EOE AND NEW 10/2018 RECALL J0A
NHTSA ODI 11141949
THE VEHICLE TAKES LONG STOPPING DISTANCE WHILE BRAKING AND , ALSO L HAD MANY TIMES WHEN THE CAR SLIPPED WHILE BRAKING
NHTSA ODI 11139660
HORN STOPPED WORKING. ONLY WORKS WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT. FORUMS HAVE POSTED THAT IT COULD BE THE SPIRAL CABLE FROM OTHER VEHICLE OWNERS. THIS REPLACEMENT IS OVER $1,000.
NHTSA ODI 11139205
2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO RECALL NOTICE FOR CURTAIN SHIELD AIR BAG INFLATORS. *AS THE CONSUMER WAS ADVISED THE AFTERMAKET MOON ROOF DISRUPTED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE AIRBAG. *JS
NHTSA ODI 11139768
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY ALL THE BREAK LIGHTS CAME ON AND STAYED ON BRAKE, ABS AND SKID LIGHTS ON ALSO NOISE UNDER HOOD BY BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY VERIFIED ABS / BRAKE LIGHTS ON). TOLD ME I NEEDED TO REPLACE BRAKE ACTUATOR / BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP / BLEED / AND RE-FLASH SYSTEM . FOUND OUT THIS ALSO HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON THE 2009 AND THE 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS HYBRID AND THEY HAVE A RECALL OUT ON THIS. I WAS TOLD AT THE DEALERSHIP THAT IT WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITH THIS OCCURRING
NHTSA ODI 11139105
MY PRIUS 2011 HYBRID BURNING LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT EVERY ONE OR TWO MONTH. IT IS HARD BECAUSE NO ONE HAVE SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE. THE PROBLEM IS NOT JUST CHANGING THE HEADLIGHT EVERY ONE OR TWO MONTHS BUT THE PROBLEM IS SAFETY, ON HIGHWAY ONCE THE LIGHT GOES DOWN. IT HAPPENED TO ME! IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
NHTSA ODI 11133428
I HAVE A 2011 PRIUS, AND IT FAILED TOYOTA'S OIL CONSUMPTION TEST TWICE, AROUND 110,000 MILES. IT CONSUMES OIL WAY SO QUICKLY THAT I HAVE TO ADD OIL 2-3 TIMES BETWEEN SCHEDULED OIL CHANGES. BOB SMITH TOYOTA (LA CRESCENTA, CA) PERFORMED THE TEST PER TOYOTA'S INSTRUCTIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM BUT DID NOT TAKE ANY MEASURES TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF 2010-2012 TOYOTA PRIUS OWNERS WHO PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON THE PREMISE OF BEING A "ECO FRIENDLY HYBRID" TOYOTA IS CLEARLY NEGLIGENT AND AFTER HAVING AN ATTORNEY DRAFT LETTER TO TOYOTA THEY STILL WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSBILITY.
NHTSA ODI 11133556
ON UNEVEN ROAD SURFACES (WASHBOARD ROAD, MANY SMALL POTHOLES, GRAVEL ROADS, ROUGH ROAD SHOULDERS) BRAKES WOULD GIVE OUT IF BRAKING HARD. IF FELT LIKE ONCE ABS KICKED IN THE BRAKES WOULD GET ALMOST COMPLETELY RELEASED. THE CAR WOULD BRAKE JUST FINE ON FLAT SURFACES, WET OR DRY. I HAVE MULTIPLE VEHICLES AND KNOW HOW ABS BRAKES WORK BUT THOUGHT THE PRIUS BRAKES WERE JUST A BIT MORE SENSITIVE AND I HAVE TO WATCH MY DISTANCES MORE CAREFULLY AND AVOID HARD STOPS. THEN ON APRIL 23, 2018 THE CAR STARTED TO MAKE SOME STRANGE NOISE BUT NO DASHBOARD LIGHTS CAME ON. I CONTINUED DRIVING AND NOTICED THE BRAKES WERE WORKING ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. AFTER I ALMOST CRASHED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO BREAK IN TRAFFIC I LIMPED BACK HOME AND TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE REPAIRS TO REPLACE BRAKE PUMP AND CYLINDER ASSEMBLIES COST $4,193.31 BUT THE CAR WAS DRIVEABLE AGAIN. HOWEVER, I NOTICED THAT THE REPAIRS ALSO CORRECTED THE ABS PROBLEM THAT WAS PRESENT SINCE THE CAR WAS NEW. I THINK ANYONE WHO DRIVES A 2011+ PRIUS SHOULD GET THEIR BRAKES CHECKED FOR EMERGENCY BRAKING WHERE BRAKES STOP WORKING THUS ALLOWING THE CAR PLOW AHEAD EVEN IF THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
NHTSA ODI 11130222
THE ABS/BRAKE/SKID/WARNING TRIANGLE ON. MY 2011 PRIUS III IS 121K MILE. THIS WENT ON/OFF FOR A FEW DAYS THEN IT WAS ON THE WHOLE TIME. THE BRAKE SEEMS TO LOOSE THE HYDRAULIC POWER BRAKE. I FEEL LIKE THE BRAKES FEEL WEIRD WHENEVER HIT SMALL BUMP, BRAKE JUST FAILED FOR A SECOND. I WENT TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THEY SAID IT'S THE ACTUATOR THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED AND IT'S EXPENSIVE $2-3K. THEY SAID IT NEED TO BE FIX SOON BECAUSE BRAKE MIGHT FAIL AT ANY TIME. THERE SEEMS TO BE A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT FOR THE 2010 AND OLDER BUT NOT 2011 AND NEWER. SEEMS LIKE TOYOTA STILL HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH NEWER MODEL, NOT FIXED YET. PLEASE BRING THIS ISSUE UP FOR SAFETY REASON.
NHTSA ODI 11129167
THE BRAKES TEMPORARILY DISENGAGED SOMETIMES WHEN BRAKING. AT AROUND 100,000 MILES, THE BRAKE ACCUMULATOR WOULD CONSTANTLY MAKE NOISES WHILE DRIVING AND AFTER SHUTTING THE CAR OFF. EVENTUALLY THE BRAKE ACCUMULATOR AND BRAKE BOOSTER FAILED COMPLETELY AT 117,000 MILES, COSTING AROUND $4,000 TO REPAIR.
NHTSA ODI 11129186
AFTER HEAVY RAINS, WATER GETS INTO THE SPARE TIRE STORAGE WELL, CAUSING A SHORT IN THE TPMS MONITOR FOR THE SPARE TIRE. ALL TIRES HAVE APPROPRIATE AIR PRESSURE BUT THE TELL-TALE SHOWS UNTIL THE SPARE TIRE STORAGE AREA DRIES OUT - SEVERAL DAYS. THIS IS A NEW PHENOMENON BUT THERE ARE NO TEARS OR DINGS IN THE GASKET AROUND THE HATCHBACK. NOT SURE WHERE THE WATER GETS IN.
NHTSA ODI 11128651
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE EXITING HIGHWAY TRAFFIC, THE ENGINE STALLED AND ALL THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTING ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO COAST THE VEHICLE TO A SAFE AREA. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HENDRICK TOYOTA CONCORD (7670 BRUTON SMITH BOULEVARD, CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA 28026, 704-467-8287) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE COMPUTER INVERTER FAILED. THE INVERTER WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 93,500.
NHTSA ODI 11128145
UNKNOWN CAUSE. THE BREAKS TEMPORARILY DISENGAGE (FOR ANYWHERE BETWEEN 1-3 SECONDS) WHEN THE CAR ENCOUNTERS A SMALL BUMP OR POT-HOLE IN THE ROAD, WHILE BREAKING DOWNHILL. USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN BREAKING HARD ON A DECLINED FREEWAY OFF-RAMP. THIS HAS ALMOST CAUSED ME TO REAR-END ANOTHER VEHICLE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS.
NHTSA ODI 11123397
HORN DOES NOT WORK WHEN WHEELS ARE STRAIGHT. HORN WORKS WHEN WHEELS ARE TURNED COMPLETELY LEFT ONLY. I BELIEVE IT IS THE SPIRAL CABLE ASSEMBLY. TOYOTA WANTS $1,093.00 TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM. OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLES HAVE PLACED A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE RECALLED ON THIS VEHICLE. HAVE RESEARCHED THIS SAFETY PROBLEM ON OTHER PRIUS VEHICLES AND MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME HORN PROBLEMS. AFFECTED MODELS: 2009-2010 COROLLA 2009-2010 COROLLA MATRIX 2008-2010 HIGHLANDER 2009-2010 TACOMA 2006-2008 RAV4 2006-2010 YARIS
NHTSA ODI 11122748
THE BRAKES ARE PUMPING SLOW SPEEDS AND THE VEHICLE MAKES MUCH MORE NOISE. THE CAR MAKES BUZZING SOUND EVERY 30 SECONDS OR SOONER. A REPAIR PERSON SAID IT IS THE ABS ACTUATOR THAT IS ABOUT TO FAIL.
NHTSA ODI 11122139
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, WITHOUT WARNING, I LOST POWER ASSISTED BREAKING ABILITY - ACCOMPANIED BY A NUMBER OF DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHTS. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY STOP THE VEHICLE USING MANUAL BREAKING. I HAD THE CODE CHECKED AND HAVE LEARNED THAT THE (CODE 1391) BRAKE ACCUMULATOR FAILURE IS A COMMON ISSUE IN THE PRIUS AND HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO A RECALL/REPLACEMENT FOR THE YEARS PRIOR TO MY MAKE (I BELIEVE 2008-2010). CLEARLY THIS IS STILL AN ISSUE AND THE SUDDEN/NO-WARNING FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM CAUSES AN ALARMING AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS LOSS OF BREAKING CONTROL DURING HIGH SPEED DRIVING. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT USING THE BREAKS AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE AND WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE MANUAL BREAK PADS WERE SERVICEABLE BUT I NEEDED TO RAPIDLY INCREASE THE PRESSURE ON MY BREAKS TO SLOW DOWN SUFFICIENTLY TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT.
NHTSA ODI 11121916
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