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Problems with 2012 Toyota Prius v SERVICE BRAKES

On average, the 2012 Toyota Prius v starts to “feel” problems with the SERVICE BRAKES and its various aspects after 42 625 miles.

Recently reported SERVICE BRAKES problems on 2012 Toyota Prius v

2012 prius v 68,000 miles on vehicle brake issues from the time car was purchased new from a toyota dealer. history... when braking and going over rough surface or bump, the brakes would seem to momentarily disengage and then reengage after the surface smoothed. the car seemed to lunge or skip forward and take longer to stop. alerted the dealership, they checked and said everything was fine. this has continued throughout my ownership of this vehicle. recently during an emergency stopping action on a freeway, my prius was the 3rd car in a 3 car accident. the 1st car for some reason, slowed drastically,and was rear ended by the car in front of me. i felt i was at a good distance behind the car in front of me and i reacted and fully depressed the brakes and felt this car continue to roll and contact the car in front. the brakes did finally take hold, but i felt a hesitation which lengthened the stopping distance. i have researched and found there are dozens of reported issues with the hybrid's brake systems in both prius models as well as some reported issues with lexus hybrids. i wonder how many other incidents have occurred with the millions of prius vehicles that have not been reported. there seems to be issues with the computerized/mechanical braking integration and possible issues with the actuator.

Unlike other 2011-2015 toyota prius vehicles the prius v is not covered under toyota's csp-zjb customer support program. my 2012 prius v has all the indications of this brake booster and pump problem... multiple lights on the dash (brake, abs, pcs ..... on; codes c1252 & c1256; and brake boost pump running every 6-8 seconds plus a brake pedal that you can push to the floor in 4-5 seconds. in hard braking i've had to pump the brake pedal to get stopped. it's my wife's car but she will not drive it anymore. took the car to a toyota dealer who was aware of this problem and started to have it fixed at their expense until he put the vin # in his computer. his estimate was $2500+ to have the problem fixed after i paid to have the problem diagnosed even though he knew what the problem was. i declined and called toyota customer service which was a waste of time...sorry, your car is out of warranty and your car does not have a problem we will cover. on the net, there are multiple prius v owners with the same problem that started in 2008. until someone with a bigger stick (nhtsa), toyota is saying there isnot a problem with the prius v brakes.

Brought car in for recall j0v00d and immediately afterwards the abs,traction-control, brake light came on. the lights went on and off and then stayed on. went back to dealer and was told it needed a $3800.00 repair. was told that certain vin numbers were affected, but not my vin#. not sure how this is possible since i am reading all over the internet that this is a problem on this year car also? i was driving on highway us 19 in clearwater, when this all happened.

My 2012 prius v started showing the warning lights for brakes, abs, anti-skid and engine lights. this happened while driving on a regular road. brakes still work but feel spongy. scanned for codes and it says c1391 which requires replacing all the main brake components. the cost is over $3000 because so many parts involved. there's seems to have been a recall for other models of prius but the 'v' not included. many v owners have experienced this problem. all the parts shown in the attached picture need to be replace cause toyota doesn't know or can't figure out where the problem is. car only has 68,000 miles on it

The brake loses its grip over a rough road bump while pulling in for a stop. very very not safe, i almost rear ended a car in front of me a couple of times. creates extremely unsafe feeling. brake loss happens all the time over bumpy road only.

The brakes failed while driving. all the abs, brake lights and a continuous beep sound turned on. i almost had a crash. it was the brake actuator pump and i read about multiple owners had complains with it.

My 2012 prius v is only 90k miles. starting from about 2 weeks ago, the warning lights including brake system warning light, abs warning light and slip indicator light were suddenly lit on when i was driving, then i found the regenerate brake become very hard and difficult to stop which was malfunctioning. these warning lights were kept on all the time when i drive the car. the car threw out code c1391 when given a diagnosis. after some online work, i found this is a very common problem for prius v. i went to the dealership however the dealership states that my car, based on its vin, is not in one of the certain cars covered by zjb phase 2 which covers brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies for certain 2011-2015 model year prius vehicles. the failure of the brake could be a deadly deficiency to all the people in the car when driving. now i have to think to stop using this car because of the severe security risk. toyota should take action to solve all this problem for all involved cars, not certain cars. my car is made in 2012, the diagnosis code c1391 given by my car are falling into one of the four codes associated with the brake problem covered by zjb phase 2. it is ridiculous that my car was not issued this extended warranty.

My 2012 prius v with only 55,000 miles. abs lights came on and buzzing sound every 3 seconds from just in front of steering column. toyota dealer charged $270 for computer diagnostic then gave me a parts and labor estimate for replacing brake booster and master cylinder of $4400!!! independent mechanic can order parts from another toyota dealer in mainland us for $1400 less than the $3200 that dealer in hawaii quoted and labor for much less. but still will be costing me about $2500. searched recall sites and regular 2012 prius models had recalls for exactly the same issue but no recall on 2012 prius v brakes?

Complete brake failure on the freeway!!! abs, brake and traction control lights lit up. almost crashed! code c1391-abnormal leak in brake actuator pump. how long will it take this agency to make toyota fix this?? its a safety issue!!! stop picking your asses and do something about it!!!!

Car experienced greatly diminished braking power on interstate 75 prior to approaching heavy traffic backed up to exit. many warning lights illuminated on the dash: brake, abs, etc. toyota has already issued a warranty extension for this issue for the standard model prius, and i believe this is a safety hazard on the prius v wagon as well.

Takata recall. right after recall no 18v-684 update system on my prius at local toyota dealer my car brakes pedal become veird . when i just start on the engine thn start moving and stoping, the brake pedal is really up and not moving down and brakes car really quick. at the same time when i start driving i hear that rear writing brakes for about 1-2 miles. then it come off and brake pedal goes down little bit to normal position and works great. this is happen every time when shot down engine and start again to go somewhere. its really dangerous bacous the position of brake pedal sometime up sometimes down, can not predict how soon you can stop when its needed. it always happen now when i drive in my city roads. i came back to dealer that did update system on my car, they said that i need to pay to find out what is going on with my car, they will charge me even if this happen after theire recall update system on my car. this is horrable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota prius v. while driving at any speed, the brakes made noise and the abs failed. the vehicle was taken to venice toyota (941-451-5150, located at 900 u.s. 41 bypass, venice, fl 34285) where it was determined that there was no recall. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

Abs brake is not working. while i was driving on a city traffic and come to a complete stop at the traffic light, the brake pedal went deep when i step on it and it took me more time to stop than i expected it. i went and got it red the code c1391 abnormal leak in accumulator.

While pulling into a parking space (speed less than 5 mph) and applying the brakes the pedal went to the floor and the car seemed to speed up. the car jumped the curb and struck a tree. a good samaritan assisted and actually got in the car and found the brake pedal went to the floor. shortly after the accident the brakes returned to normal operation. this is the second time that the car has experienced similar problems. in 2014 while pulling into the driveway the brake pedal went to the floor and struck the house. shortly after the brakes returned to normal operations. toyota was notified and inspected the car's computer and braking system per case number 1410012557. after the inspection toyota said that there were no brake issues found with the car and stated that it was safe to drive. obviously there is an issue with the braking system in these cars.

Brake activator unit failed after 4 months of reporting the issue to toyota. it follows the conditions indicated on toyota wen zg1. vehicle was in motion at highway speed when braking malfunction occurred. vehicle was controllable and allow for secure stop. brake response was sluggish and hard on the foot.

On jan. 3, 2018 while moving at a minimum speed (less than 15 mph) i applied the brakes and several warning lights illuminated (brakes, abs, traction control) along with a warning sound. this was on a city street, driving in a straight line. i was able to brake to a stop. i then attempted to continue to drive at a very low speed but soon lost all ability to brake the vehicle and i coasted to a stop. i had the vehicle towed to a local toyota dealer. i was told the brake actuator had failed and was charged $3288 plus tax for the repair. i received the car on jan. 9, 2018 from the dealer. on jan. 12, 2018 the car failed once again in the exact same manner. the dealer kept the car until feb. 1, 2018 at which time they returned the car to me at no charge, stating they had changed the same exact part as before. the car has 84,000 miles and i purchased it new. i understand toyota has issued recalls for this issue on other models but not on my vehicle. i have retained my repair invoices but am unable to upload them at this time.

On sunday december 17, 2017 at about 3:00 pm i was driving with my family (wife and two kids) in south florida on us highway 1. the weather was clear and i was traveling about 55 mph. then without any warning a number of trouble indicator light illuminated on the dash. when the lights came on i was driving in a straight line with just enough gas pedal input to maintain my 55 mph speed. startled by the lights i lifted my foot off the throttle and attempted to apply the brakes. when i attempted to apply the brake pedal i had little to no brakes and i had to 'stand on the brake pedal' (press it as hard as i could) to get the car to slow and eventually stop while pulling onto the shoulder of the road. i was scared and shocked at the same time. i turned the car off and back on thinking it might fix the problem. it did not. i was able to get the car home and the very next morning took it to south dade toyota. i was able to get it home and to the dealer by driving very slow keeping a very large space cushion and standing on the brake pedal when i needed to stop. while i did not crash understandably i was scared because you should not just lose brakes out of the blue. at the dealer they informed me that the brake actuator failed and needed replacement costing $5734.94. i did research and found that toyota issued a warranty extension zg1 for this exact problem but was told by the dealer that my vin was not part of the program even though my vehicle experienced the exact problem. i reached out to toyota cooperate and while they agreed that yes i had the same problem my vin was not part of the program (they gave me a case # 1712180647). however they did offer $2207.57 as a good will gesture towards the repair. i paid $3527.37. toyota knows of a life safety problem and has chosen to limit the program. my mileage was 106,451 and under the program would have been covered.

November 4, 2017 - car was parked in our driveway. put the car in reverse to back out of our driveway. the brakes failed. no matter how many times the brake pedal was repeatedly pushed down, the car just would not stop. it actually felt like the car was accelerating! the car ran over our mailbox at the end of our driveway. the mailbox got dragged under the car and the car rolled out onto the street. finally, we pushed in the power button and that was how we were able to get the car to stop. our mailbox got totaled and damage was done to the undercarriage of our car, as there is twisted metal hanging down scraping the ground. the brakes started to work again a few minutes later, as i was able to pull it back into the driveway off of the street. on september 19, 2017 ' car was parked in a parking lot. when reversing out of the parking space, the brakes did not work. after repeatedly pumping the brakes, they finally engaged just before it hit a car parked behind us. we thought this was a freak one-type event, so we didn't report it.

Since i first bought the car in 2012 i noticed that every now and then when i pushed down the brake pedal to slow down for a stop, if the car hit a slight bump in the road, the car would momentarily accelerate instead of braking. it felt like i was losing control of the car. (note: since i did not record the dates, please note that i have chosen august 1, 2017 as a random date just so i could continue on to the next step but this has happened from time to time since 2012.)

When driving on uneven ground, like pot holes, the brakes fail. literally if you have your foot on brake when driving over a pot hole, you can feel the brakes release and the car won't stop. i've had similar issues on bumpy ground. the car has always had the problem since i purchased it, probably on a weekly basis, and i've wondered about the safety and whether it's just related to abs. i've also inquired at the dealership. luckily, i've never been in an accident because of the problem. but, this weekend my friend with a prius had an accident because of the problem, so i decided to report my complaint.

My 2012 toyota prius v (mileage: 55155) has had a failure of the rear brake pads and rotors due to excessive rusting. please note the front brakes are in great shape and show very little wear. the service manager was quick to point out that he was only a franchise store and was not responsible for the design of the rear brakes. he stated that this happens occasionally on the hybrid cars they service and if the manufacturer had coated the brake (i believe he was referring to the slide area of the caliper where the brake pads rides) that the brake pad would not have hung up and worn out along with destroying the rotors. i am a former licensed aircraft mechanic and a licensed engineer with the state of illinois. clearly there is no reason for the rear brakes to fail before the front brakes and certainly not the rotors. this car has been serviced by the dealer every 5000 miles, which demonstrates the failure was not due to neglect. this failure mechanism needs to be addressed before it causes an accident.

Brakes sometimes grab very sharply when touched while in motion, causing forward momentum of body to slam on brakes. almost caused accident when i touched brakes with someone tailgating too closely. also traction is interrupted when hitting the metal abutment to bridges.

Nhtsa recall number 15v449 manufacturer recall: for / hybrid inverter/power module (ipm) crash involving prius v (owned by another person - my mother was hit and killed by prius v) occurred on sr 105. prius v traveling n on outside lane crossed inside lane and 11' grass median bordered by concrete into s bound inside lane and collided my mother driving oncoming vehicle on inside s bound lane. woman driving prius v was killed on impact, and my mother died later that day at uf hospital jacksonville. two witnesses driving behind my mother saw crash and said the prius v appeared to be accelerating across median. crash occurred approx. 2 months before toyota's recall on july 15, 2015 of 109,000 prius v hybrids. the prius v that killed my mother was part of this recall. in feb 2014, there was a recall on the prius ecu. the pruis v had the same ecu, but toyota chose not to recall the prius v until almost a year and a half later, 2 and a half months after my mother's fatal crash. if they had recalled the prius v in 2014, would my mother still be alive?

Took car in for service at 40,251. was told brake pads are at 1mm for both rear brake pads, and that rotors were rusted. told for safety it should be replaced at this time. there had been no indication that brakes were faulty. no warning lights, no noise, no change in braking sensation. prior service at 35,397 indicates brakes in good condition with both rear pads at 7mm. also, no mention of rotor rust. service done at 30,109 also indicates brakes in good condition with rear pads at 7mm. multipoint inspection paper for 40k service was not attached to bill. requested inspection paper for 40,251 service, and all other inspection papers. car was bought at warren ohio toyota, and was always taken there for service. was told no inspection papers are kept longer than 6 months, and they could not provide any information about this cars previous inspections results. the most recent inspection paper was mailed to me. it indicates the rear brake pads were at 0mm and 1mm. a 0mm pad. there was nothing that occurred during driving to indicate the pad was down to metal. i have contacted the warren ohio toyota general manager and service manager with my concerns over this rapid decline in the braking system with no warning in less than 5,000 miles of driving. most of the driving i do weekly is highway miles. i have not received any response from the general manager or service manger despite repeated calls and emails. this rapid decline in my braking system with no warning is a serious safety concern. either my 2012 prius v has a faulty braking system, or the brakes were fine and toyota of warren ohio lied about the condition of the brakes. *tr

I owned this vehicle since brand new. it had happened more than a dozen times. when going over bumps or uneven surfaces, with the same pressure applied to the break, the 2012 privus failed to stop and lurched several feet before stopping. we had an incident that we almost ran into pedestrian yesterday when this issue occurs. this is very concerned to my family. we bought this vehical back to the dealer ship where we purchsed it.(expressway dorchester toyota in masschusettes) they said they could not fix it because they could not reproduced at the dealship. the service of manager claimed this is working as designed from the (tracking control). i feel this is a false statement, this does not happened to my other cars that has traction control. toyota should really starting fixing it before someone gets killed! *tr

I bought prius v in february 2012. i've noticed few times issues with brakes. while decelerating with my foot on the brake pedal to slow the car to a stop and if the car goes over a pothole or slight bump on the road then car accelerates forward before coming to a stop. this is safety hazard since it almost led to hitting the other car's rear bumper. also, i've gotten into an accident in december 2013 where there was another brake issue. i stopped my car in the incline road by putting my foot on the brake pedal. then, i changed the gear shift to rear and slowly took my foot off the brake pedal so that i can back into the street parking which was only about 4 to 5 feet away. suddenly, car sped down the road going rear direction to the directly opposite street and hit two parked cars. i had put the foot down on the brake pedal when i noticed the car going rear fast but it would not stop the car from going down the road. i had no control over the car or the speed. this is major safety hazard since someone could have been seriously injured with losing control of the brake and acceleration. i've owned other toyota car (camry) before but never had this issue until this prius v. my car has been in body shop for over a month with repairs. i plan to take the car to the toyota dealer to check out this brake issue. *tr

Driver was making a sharp left turn into a parking space at low speed and attempted to brake to a stop. the vehicle did not slow down at all despite hard pressure on brake pedal but instead accelerated,jumped a curb in front of the vehicle and hit a wall which stopped the car. no one was injured but front bumper badly gouged and front door slightly dented. driver was able to put the car in reverse and get off the sidewalk. vehicle is now at toyota dealer for inspection. upon reflection 2 other incidents occurred where what felt like a momentary speedup occurred again at low speed while turning and braking. but these 2 were while moving forward and not attempting to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. *tr

I was in stop-and-go traffic. i had accelerated to about 25 mph when i needed to slow down, i stepped on the brake and at about the same time hit a bump in the road. the car not only was not braking (i was stepping on the brake at the time) but indeed seemed to accelerate briefly before the brakes re-engaged (i had my foot on the brake--depressing it--the entire time). this has happened from time to time with my vehicle--it has happened when backing out of my garage, and also when breaking while driving over road bumps or potholes. this is a safety hazard that needs to be addressed. *tr

Brakes release and car accelerates when braking over potholes or uneven pavement at low speeds. *tr

The car was parked on a steep incline while i closed a gate behind me to a gated driveway. when i got back in the car and put the car in drive, i took my foot off of the brake and before i could get it to the gas pedal the car immediately rolled back and into the gate. the car released as if it was a standard shift car that needed a clutch and slammed into the gate. i have taken the car to other safe spots that are on hills and found that this car can not hold a stopped position on an incline. *tr

There are two things that occur with my brakes. one is a consistent and very loud groan with braking after any length of time sitting idle. the other is when the brakes are applied and i may be over a bump in the road or a pot hole or rocks the car lurches forward quickly as if i have lost control of breaking. almost like hydroplaning without water present. i have taking the car to the deal consistently since the noise began and yet to have a fix for it. they say there is nothing wrong with the brakes. however i specifically had someone sit in my car to hear the groan because they said they were unable to duplicate it. they heard the noise and again could do nothing to make it stop. *tr

I stated to the dealership on june24,2013 that the car feels like it runaway when i brake and hit a pothole in the road. they road tested my car and couldn't duplicate any abnormal issues with the braking. they visually inspected the brakes and they found nothing. there have been incidents where i brake and hit a pothole and jut forward either almost passing a red light or almost hitting a car in front of me. it is a very scary situation. i would have done this complaint sooner,but i was not aware of this website. i just happen to search to see if anyone else has the same issue with their 2012 prius v. this scary dangerous situation still continues till this day. *tr

Slowed for red light that was visible for a great distance so coasting and applied brakes and they weren't there....i hit the car in front of me, he hit the car in front of him....mostly dings in fenders....my hood was up on one side, and front panel moved....nobody was hurt police came and sat in the car and applied brake and it went to the floor. he said "you have no brakes; do not drive the car, have it towed". *tr

I began experiencing what i described to the dealer as a "hiccup" in my brakes. i complained of this problem the two times i took the car in for routine maintenance (first and next six months), and each time they found "no problem" with the brakes. it was not until this snowy rough winter with all the attendant pot holes in the street that i correlated this braking problem with uneven pavement. i know this happens when my right front tire hits a pot hole, and it may happen when any tire does, but if i'm apply the brakes - especially hitting the brakes at the moment one tire dips into the hole -they do not engage and in fact there's a slight lurch forward, almost an acceleration. the car is going to the service department tomorrow with the hopes that the problem can be located. this truly feels dangerous to drive. *tr

My 2012 prius v has been making a groining, howling noise since i purchased it. noise comes from front and rear brakes. has taken the car for repairs but they have not been able to fix it. it is very annoying and can be very loud. people inside and outside the car can hear it, so its quite embarrasing. noise comes and goes its not constant. toyota says they are aware of the problem but have no repairs at this time. i drive my family in this car and its scary to know there is an abnormality with the brakes. beware the dealer will tell you to follow through with a third party arbitration service. i did and my case was denied. *tr

Brake is having groaning/ grinding/owl hooting sounds. the grinding sound appears when you applied the brake, and when the car almost at complete stop, is the worst. groaning and owl hooting sound are always there, specially in the morning. in the afternoon is not as loud as in the morning, but still noticeable. been to toyota dealer and they inspected the brake and said there is nothing wrong. also saying that the sound is normal for a regenerate brake system. but i don't agreed to it. toyota need to find a fix for it, and we don't know is the brake really safe! *tr

On multiple occasions when braking if i hit a bump in the road or pothole the cars speeds forward for a few feet. it feels like the brakes release causing the car to stop slowing down. this is very discomforting. so far i have not been in any accident though i fear that this could contribute to an accident if i had to stop suddenly. *tr

Loud scraping noise coming from rear of car---had the car in to toyota 5 times. the noise continues to get louder as time passes.-- its now loud enough to drown out the radio.--toyota service says it is just rust on the rotors.--this is the 4th new toyota i have owned,-- but this the only one i have ha d this problem with.-- which leads me to believe that there is a fix for this problem.--ii was told by the service manager that toyota knows of this problem and are working a recall to fix it.---so where is the recall?????? *tr

Brake noise when pulling forward in am . dealer said fix is coming for months, service bulletin never came out. worried that may lead to brake failure. *tr

Purchased prius v in march 2012, june 2012 took vehicle in for service and to have dealer look into noise coming from rear brakes. dealer stated they could not hear the noise and saw nothing upon inspection. noise became more frequent and louder, took vehicle back to dealer and they could hear the noise. upon inspecting the rear brakes they found rear rotors had abnormal markings in them from improper machining. brake pad friction material glazed. rotors and pads replaced. after a week the noise returned. took vehicle back to dealer and was told this was a problem which toyota has been experiencing for months but has found no solution too. was told i would be informed when a solution was found and i could bring the vehicle back then. i feel this is a safety concern which needs to be looked into. *tr

When you start to drive it makes a loud howling sound, it is getting louder as time goes on. people look at us like we are crazy for driving with bad brakes. we have had it in to the dealer many times to just be told it is the way it is. no repair is necessary. it is getting more and more annoying to listen to. it lasts longer as time goes on. come on toyota lets get this taken care of before there is a fatal collision due to this! it is getting scary to drive and feel safe. *tr

My car has an issue i first noticed soon after i bought it, and that now happens at least twice a week. the date i've entered is the approximate first date i noticed the problem occur. i describe below a more recent instance of the same behavior, the time when it felt the least safe. /// the recurring behavior is that while decelerating with my foot on the brake pedal, if the car goes over an obstruction like a rock, a rough patch of road, or a pothole, it sometimes lurches forward before resuming deceleration. the sensation is of accelerating, but even if it's only that the car momentarily stops decelerating it's disconcerting and in a few instances has gotten me close to an accident. /// the time it came closest to causing an accident was on 3/21/13, when i feared the car was going to roll into a crosswalk as people crossed. with my foot on the brake, coming to a stop at a stop sign, we went over uneven pavement and the car lurched forward while only a few feet from the crosswalk. several people waited close to the edge of the sidewalk at a bus stop. one of them seemed ready to step outto cross the street, and i braced for the worst. /// ultimately i stopped a few feet before the crosswalk, but the situation felt completely unsafe since it involved losing stopping power while coming to a stop sign with pedestrians present. *tr

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